Camp is my second home, the place I feel safest. Every summer I go to Camp, I reconnect with old friends, make new friends, and come the end of each summer, I want to return to Camp more than the last. The friends I have made at Camp are not just friends, they are family. We are so close because of Camp’s isolation from the outside world. The distance from technology and social media allows us, Alonimers, to see each other as people, not avatars, to live in the moment without distraction—something our generation has tragically lost. To experience this is worth it in its own right, but Camp is so much more.
Every time I enter Camp, it has something new to teach me, and every time I leave Camp, I am a better version of myself.
Camp is where Judaism comes alive. Although I attended Jewish school for much of my life, Camp is where I learned to appreciate Judaism most. Camp has an energy like nowhere else — energy created by young people who are proud and enthusiastically Jewish. There is no better example of this than at Friday night Song Sessions where dressed in all white, we sing our hearts out to Jewish prayers and songs as one to welcome in Shabbat. The joy of participating in an Alonim Song Session, to have such a profound connection to the community, is sublime—it is beyond words. This connection to one another continues after Song Session where the night is concluded with hours of Israeli folk dancing. The Alonim community brings an energy and spirit to Israeli dancing unlike almost anywhere else. At Camp we say “You don’t have to know a dance to do a dance” and because of this, everyone who can participate does. As one, we dance in a singular circle, we pray with our feet, the perfect embodiment of our Jewish community.
Growing up at Camp has taught me what it means to be Jewish, instilling in me Jewish values. At Camp, these values are learned and expressed in their truest form. With Alonim’s kibbutz-like structure, we learn respect and kindness, and given Camp’s presence in nature, we embody Tikkun Olam. I attribute these and other Jewish teachings learned at Camp to why I have become who I am today and I am forever grateful. Every time I enter Camp, it has something new to teach me, and every time I leave Camp, I am a better version of myself.
To live in nature with friends, away from technology, and surrounded by Judaism each summer has been the greatest, most valuable, and happiest time of my life. There is no place I would rather spend my summers than at Alonim.
– Asher A. (CIT 2024)
