Hi Ho, Hi Ho, It's Off to Camp I Go

One of the greatest privileges I have as a rabbi is the ability to go away to camp each summer. I grew up going to Olin Sang Ruby Union Institute, a Reform Jewish overnight camp in Wisconsin. I spent a number of summers there, and it was indescribably formative for me. In many ways, my summers there led to my decision to become a rabbi. I learned that Judaism could be fun, that you could live it as part of your daily life, and that it was MUCH more interesting than Hebrew School made it out to be.

I am only half-joking when I say that one of the reasons I became a rabbi was to be able to go back to camp. But, it's true - each of URJ's camps invites clergy and Jewish educators to come up for 2 week shifts to spend time with the campers, to teach, and to show them how "normal" we Jewish professionals can be.

Tomorrow, I head up to URJ's Crane Lake Camp, up in the Berkshires. I look forward to this all year, and, though it is really hard work, I enjoy every minute of my time there. The camp "magic" still works, even as an adult.

However, this year, it is a slightly more bittersweet - I will miss my darling, Seth, while I am away. We haven't yet spent this much time apart. Two weeks will feel like a long time. Luckily, with various forms of social media and communication, we will never feel far away from each other.

How do you tackle the times where you are in a "long distance" relationship?