. good morning, and welcome to mosaic. this morning, we're about to start a wonderful conversation about jewish summer camps. joining us are ken kramer, executive director of camp tawonga, along with jamie simon, camp director. welcome. >> thanks for having us. >> thanks for having us. >> what is camp tawonga? >> great question. let's start with the place. the camp is a former native american village on the river next to yosemite national park. it's been kind of a sacred gathering place for thousand of years. and today it's a place where the jewish community gathers, about 1200 children every summer, for, i would say, life

transforming appearances. >> we were founded in 1925 and we've had the same mission ever since. and the mission really guides everything we do. so there's kind of four parts. the first part being we want to raise children to have positive self image and self esteem. we train counselors to bring out the best in each kid and hopefully leave kids feeling better with about who they are than when they got there. the second part is building a cooperative community. it starts in the bunk. there are 12 children in a bunk and they have to compromise, live together, work together and each child feels a unit community and there is a camp committee. the goal is kids leave feeling inspired by community and want to create communities like the one they had at tawonga. >> here we are in mid-2013 and camp tawonga was founded in 1925 and the mission has not

changed. and so i'm wondering, what was going on, you think, in the founders' minds that they had this philosophy around jewish summer camp in which self esteem was to be enriched, along with all sorts of other things about what it means to be a person in the world. >> yeah, good questions. >> i think they were great people obviously, and i think what it tells you is that the philosophy that james is articulating is today we would say, well, it's scientifically sound. there's been enough research, psychological, sociological, this raises health eerks happy children. they were -- they had great intuition back then. they kind of got the same sort of scientific basis that jamie is articulating, that they got intuitively. >> it's fascinating because we live in a part of the country where we're constantly looking for what's new on the edge of something, whether it's

technology or agribusiness or social services or spirituality. and here it is that the freshness of that vision from 1925 is as fresh now in the 2013 with no change in the mission. >> yeah. i think that the mission is four parts. self esteem, community, nature, and spirituality. and i think that those four parts can be very basic or very intricate, depending on how you are interpreting it. every time we create a new program, we think of the mission and think about how will this build community? how will this allow kids to connect to nature? how will they have an experience? the mission stays the same, but the everything adds on to the program of the founders do. >> the founders are gone now, but we have to give them proper kudos. they are san franciscoans.

this is a place that brings innovation. compared with their colleagues, especially in the religious community, los angeles, new york, cincinnati, other centers of jewish thought, they had a different take on it here in the early days of san francisco, still do today. especially with what the kids do. backpacking is a central motif of the camp. every child will matriculate through a backpacking program. biggest users of the yosemite backcountry. when i say it's central, i mean kids learn how to be strong, independent, autonomous people on the emotional level, but then they take it to a physical level. they take this group adventure in nature with the peers they live with, wilderness first responder, and two counselors. they go way out in the backcountry, carrying the world on their back. >> and the age range is what? >> 7 to 17. >> 7 to 17. at 17, that's a backpacking

experience centrally? >> every year they go backpacking. it's just that it increases in maybe difficulty or the number of nights they go with age. so the youngest kids do a day trip. the 7 and 8-year-olds. as they come to our two and three-week session, the younger kids go on a one-night trip where the older kids might do a two-night trip, where others might do a more adventure trip. stay with us on mosaic after this break. ,,,,,,,,

. welcome back to mosaic. i'm rabbi eric wise. we're in the middle of a wonderful, robust conversation about jewish summer camps. we're with ken kramer, and jamie simon, camp director. jamie, before the break, we talked about what does a kid do at camp tawonga. what's a typical day look like as a camper? >> kids wake up together in a cabin. it's a group-centered camp. they go to a sports event, volleyball, archery, followed by an arts activity, drama, painting, music. the kids as a group have to agree on their schedule. it teaches consensus schedule making. they feel excited, tie-dye, we picked that as a group! we have lunch, a group meal, they eat family-style. then we have rest hour where they write letters home and have downtime, follow bid free swim, which everybody goes to

our olympic-size pool and enjoys swimming. if they don't like swimming, they can lay out, talk to friends. at night, we have unit programing, so two boys bunk, two girls bunk. they do story telling and s'mores, star gaze, and they close the day together as a cabin. >> one of the things most people associate with a camp is singing. i think that so many people when they look back on their camp experience, they might have a sense experience like the smell, the sight. but so many people in their mind attach a song they learned or even a kind of way in which music works within the context of a social interaction in the dining hall after dinner. i'm wondering, how does sipping music function at tawonga? >> music is a huge part of camp. we have a song session after breakfast and after dinner. it is a great way to build community, spirit amongst the campers. so we'll start at the beginning

of a session really with the song books on the tables. we have a camp song book and they will kind of learn the songs. as the session goes on, they will know the songs. we'll be up dancing, singing as a cabin and it's a really spirited, community thing. on friday night, after dinner we have a long song session. for 45 minutes, you'll find kids singing, dancing, and it's a beautiful spimplet it builds a beautiful community. >> what are the populations you serve, ken? >> we primarily serve kids age 7 to 17, as i said, in the san francisco bay area. increasing numbers coming from other major metropolitan areas. not seeking them out. i think they are finding us. particular unique blend of experiences that kids get with us, people coming from farther distances. you have a complete range in terms of economic diversity, really important to us as a nonprofit that every child,

every child have the opportunity to come to camp tawonga. we just finished allocating about a million dollars in camperships. >> and what are the sourcing? >> we do a lot of our own fund- raising, of course some of the major jewish philanthropies, like the jewish committee federation contributes very generously to our campership fund. >> i think what it's important for people to understand is by and large, does a fee per child literally cover every cost? are you able to do that? >> yes. well, we've been at this since 1925 and we don't have any debt. we own our own land. we don't have that kind of economic challenge. we're able to create a fee structure where each parent is paying for their child's experiences and then in addition to that, we raise money for innovation, capital projects, of course camperships. >> and so how do you understand through the whole of all of this, as impacting on what we might generally think of as

jewish identity, jewish identity development? >> well, the camp has a really big impact on jewish identity. so pe said that actually jewish summer camp is one of the biggest reasons people then live jewish lives. and we have, just to give you anedoctal research, seen when campers come to camp and then they apply to be on staff years later, they attribute their jewish experience in their lives currently to their experience as kids. so if they celebrate at home, it's often because they got excited about being jewish at camp. we serve a very jewish committee from non-you'res, cultural jews, religious conserve tiff reform jews there. is a nice diversity and meet everyone where they're at. it's something for everyone at their experience. >> are you serving a family or gender identity? >> definitely. we have many lgbt juice, queer

jews, interfaith, one-parent families, grandparent families. we have a really diverse community, both economically and in the family makeup. and the way to y to meet everyone where they're at. whether you meditate to be spiritual or you pray or you sing or you have a conversation, there is something for everyone. kids can go home feeling like i found something for me and that makes me feel empowered be jewish how i want and how i want to be connected. >> wonderful. ken and jamie, believe it or not, we've come to the end of another segment and we're going to say good-bye. when we come back from the break, we'll welcome two more folks from another jewish camp in the bay area, camp newman. please join us here in a moment on mosaic. ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

. welcome back to mosaic. i'm rabbi eric wise. we're in the middle of a wonderful conversation about jewish summer camps and ruben, executive director of camp newman in santa rosa, and rabbi aaron mason, executive director. welcome. >> thank you for having us. >> what is camp newman? >> camp newman is a place where children and young adults and even older adults have their lives transformed, and that's done by falling in love with jew judiism, discovering themselves, building mmunity and acquiring life-long skills, amongst many other things. >> and camp newman is -- some people don't know that some jewish summer camps have what we call an affiliation with a movement in judiism?

>> we are part of the reform event. we're one of 14 camps throughout north america. and we really have -- ruben mentioned community. we have a larger community. everything we do, hopefully, is build the community not only at camp and in the bunk, but also when they go home to their home communities, they feel that sense of belonging and sense of pride. >> so it's an interlocking experience from their specific camp to other things they might do in the community during the year. >> that's the goal. yeah. >> and so what is your age group? what's your program look like? what do kids do for a day at camp newman? >> so our youngest kids are entering third grade. oldest are entering seniors in high school. our youngest kids can come from 10 days or 13 days to 15 days. by the time they get entering 11th, 12th grade for high school, they are coming for a full eight weeks, spending the whole summer. it starts when they are younger, rotating through parts activities, arts activities,

music, dance, frisbee, hiking out, learning about sustainable agriculture and then the older they get, the more twists they have and the more specialized their program gets. >> what is the hiking program. >> it's a sustainable group, green experience. our goal is to make it a self- sustaining community. we have gardens out there, goats, chickens. the chickens -- eggs the chickens lay are eaten every day. our 101th graders spend one week, living in tepees, with no electricity and really live on the land and learn how to work the land and the importance of connecting with nature. our younger kids take time out of their day trips, spend a couple of hours learning what that means. >> when we talk about the importance of kids at summer camp, like at camp newman and

we have something as specific as communal living, a sustainability experience, what do you think in this world that promotes so much about individualism and autonomy that's a good thing, but also what becomes so attractive in a camp experience about the communal aspect of the experience? >> well, in some ways, i look at it as a symbol of the camp, and in many ways, jewish camping and camp newman is an anecdote to much of the rest of society. so you mentioned striving towards being an individual and all those benefits. camp is very much about sharing in communal and what goes on in the cabins and what goes on at camp is very much about celebrating that energy and that spirit. very much what camp is also

about is unplugging. so when we talk about it, we're talking about unplugging from a world that is minute by minute, day by day, kids and ults tied to the technology 24/7 and not only unplugging from that, but actually plugging into human, deepest human interactions that we can really have. one of the most poignant moments of camp for me every year, i look around at the end of an experience, a service, and i look at maybe the thousand faces that are looking around at each other and i ask everybody to pause and take a moment and look at each others faces and realize that the gathering here, that this family, these friends that you formed by living together in an immersive jewish communal space for 24/7, for weeks or months, these people are going to be part of your journey, your life- long journey for the sweet,

blessed, happy moments in your life, as well as for the tragic moments in your life. and that is very much what camp is all about. >> erin and ruben, thank you so much for being with us. we're going take a quick break and return to conversation with both of you in a moment, here on mosaic. is more fun than ever. sees better than ever. ♪ charges faster. and will charge. cool. and heat. from your phone.

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welcome back to mosaic. we're in the middle of a wonderful conversation about jewish summer camps, joined by the executive director and associate directors of camp newman in santa rosa. erin, we were talking before about the, what one does at

camp newman and the effects that you see in the kids. and i'm wondering how you think about jewish identity formation in the context of this communal experience. >> so we have kids who come from not just reform backgrounds, but all different kinds. one of the biggest questions i get is my kid, we don't go to services, don't know hebrew, don't know the songs, and will my kid fit in? my overwhelming response is yes. we have a base plan. when i started working there, the welcoming community is striking, accepting all kids from all backgrounds, all nationalities into our community. what we see in jewish identity formation is really an amazing transformation of people who find themselves at camp and become their best selves at camp. each friday night during our service, we do a priestly benediction, blessing of our campers n jewish homes across the world on friday night, parents bless their children.

we adapt that and our coselors you look out at the congregation, see this sea of blessings over the kids. the counselors bless their children. after one of these -- the first one of the summer, a counselor came up to us and said how powerful that moment was for him, that his entire life as a camper, he experienced it from the other end. but then to stand up and bless his own campers was an amazing experience for him and was really transformative. >> we usually think of camp as campers, but really, part of your example shows really the impact it has on staff and their continued adult lives. >> absolutely. what we see from a laugh of our staff who come back year after year is are not coming because we pay a lot of money. many of them actually turn down internships that would pay them more, but they come back because they find themselves at camp. and they become a truer part of themselves. and they want to carry that with them. and by coming back to camp,

they find that and it rejuvinates them for the rest of the year. it impacts who they are as college kids, but then throughout their lives, the decisions they make and what they decide to do and who they become. >>hat a wis the future for camp newman? >> it's a very bright future, as it is for jewish camping. and i want to echo a sentiment and add one point to the staffing piece at camp. one of the benefits and outcomes of all of this is that we're helping to raise the next generation of jewish parents. and i'm very moved every year when i hear stories from campers and staff and rabbis and educators who grew up at camp, coming back 10, 15, 20 years later, sharing with their own children the values and philosophies they created as parents, or learned at camp and were modeled at camp. for many of these parents, to be able to bless their children and know the blessing and be able to feel it, this really comes from the camp experience.

>> what an extraordinary legacy for actually building the resiliceof the jewish unity atlarge. >> absolutely. and one thing we find with that is camp is not only for the children. it's very much for the staff. it's also for the adults, even us, you know. and one thing i hear year after year from parents and grandparents is when can i go to camp? how can i have this experience? so part of our vision for the future at camp newman is to create all these outcomes and all this vision year round. so we're in the middle of an effort now to renovate and remodel and envision camp newman as a place 365 days a year, where this jewish living and learning, friendship, building a jewish family, comes to life. and i am just -- every year, every summer, whether it's a weekend or such when campers and staff, community walk

through our gates, i can see the weight of the world on their shoulders, and the pressures of life, which i think are growing year by year, and i watch that weight just evaporate from their shoulders, mostly because of the environment that we create. there are very few places in the world, other than jewish camping, where we can really treat people as divine individuals with inalienable gifts. we live and breathe that. and we see that all the time. and every night we close, we close in cabin groups, small circles. a group of campers, 10, 15, 20, will be swaying arm in arm around each other, thanking god for the camp family that's supporting them and i go back to this concept of the "wizard of oz," when dorothy would

always say there's no place like home, no place like home. what i hear from campers over many generations is there's no place like camp. >> thank you so much, ruben and erin. and thank you for joining us here on mosaic. have a wonderful day. ,,,,,,,,,,

. hello, everybody. welcome to bay sunday. another terrific show for you this morning. but first, our weekly reminder, if you've got a show idea we would love to hear from you. go to kpix.com. click on the kpix logo and scroll down to it. we kickoff to those of you who may have a little anxiety when it comes to public speaking. you may have plenty to say, but doesn't come out the right way. our first guest, the author of speaking up without freaking out. please welcome the author out of stanford, matt abrams. good to have you here, matt. >> thank you. >> your hand is not sweaty, so my guess is you're not