Janet Widmaier's Writings

In less than two weeks, our younger daughter, Leah, will become a Bat Mitzvah. This is our family’s second time through the process, and I have a fresh realization of how so many people come together to create an environment in which each child can succeed. Many of you know about this from the personal experiences of your own families, but for those who do not, let me take you through the process. 

You might think that B’nai Mitzvah preparation begins with one-on-one tutoring sessions six months prior to the child’s date. However, the process truly begins with Hebrew instruction in 3rd grade, which builds each year due to the dedicated efforts of Anne Stein and the Hebrew faculty. By the time Rachel Wood begins teaching the 6^th graders the Hebrew portions of the worship service, they already have a strong foundation. By the end of 6^th grade, most students have mastered the Hebrew liturgy they will need to know for their B’nai Mitzvahs. When Rachel begins working individually with students, she helps them articulate their personal goals for their service, figures out a path for achieving those goals, and then walks each child down that path.

The Rabbis also work in a dedicated way to help the children prepare. Rabbi Cosnowsky helps each child understand his or her Torah portion so that the child can write a D’var Torah sharing that understanding with the congregation. She also helps the child conceptualize and execute a mitzvah project. Furthermore, for those children who chose to chant their Torah and Haftorah readings (and most of them do), it is Rabbi Cosnowsky’s lovely voice that the children listen to in order to master the different tropes. Rabbi Bob meets with every child for three rehearsals in the weeks leading up to that child’s service date, which is a huge commitment of his time and energy. By the time the child reaches the third run-through, he or she is comfortable and confident on the bimah, and Rabbi Bob has reinforced his connection with that child in a meaningful way.

Many others contribute as well.  Marlon always makes sure the building is looking its best when guests come to celebrate with the B’nai Mitzvah families. Carol and the office staff facilitate all the details for each family. The members of the music department (whether Greg Zelman and a vocal soloist or Cindy Michelassi) contribute their artistic skills and musical talent and enthusiasm to enhance the service. Finally, when b’nai mitzvah children on the bimah thank their friends and families for supporting them, these are not empty words.  For all of these children, their Jewish identities are shaped by the Jewish role models around them. 

When our family celebrates Leah “becoming an adult in the eyes of the Jewish community,” I know that it is only possible because of all the different people who have helped.  Leah will be entering into the community as a result of the combined efforts, care, and energies of the members of the community, and to me this is just as it should be.       

The next evening, we gathered with friends and family to observe the first Seder. Our hosts had taken the time and effort to compile their own wonderful and personal Haggadah, taking readings from a number of different sources.  When we came to Dayenu, I was moved by a reading by Sheila Peltz Weinberg (from Levitt and Strassfeld’s A Night Of Questions - A Passover Haggadah), which eloquently expressed that which I had been groping towards:

Dayenu signifies deep acceptance and gratitude.  We acknowledge the present moment.  In the affirmation of dayenu, we are fully present to the preciousness of each act of redemption and care - dividing the sea, leading us across, caring for us in the desert...we receive each moment with love.  This acceptance allows us to move to the next moment and receive the waiting gift.  When we greet each moment with conditions, judgments and expectations – “well, this isn’t quite where we need to be” or “wait a second, this is not what we were promised” or “hey, what’s coming next?” – our expectations keep us tense.  We are not free.  We are not available to receive the next moment.  Our fantasies about the past and our desire to control the future cut us off from the wonders of this moment.  They shut us in a prison of disappointment and suffering.  Dayenu is a great liberator.  It is a jolt into the presence of awe, compassion, attention, and freedom.

I am as prone as anyone to get caught up in judging each moment, in expectations of myself or others, in a sense of disappointment, fear, or anger if these expectations aren’t met.  My expectations indeed keep me tense, and they imprison me.  I think this is true for all of us.  As we continue to observe the festival of Pesach, I hope that we allow ourselves to be jolted into paying attention to those things in our lives which are “waiting gifts” and that we feel awe and gratitude for the “wonders of this moment.”  In this spirit, I wish all of you a Happy Passover.

We also had a great time together on February 2nd, at our Puttin’ on the Ritz Gala night.  All decked out in fancy dresses, suits, and tuxes, we danced, gambled, enjoyed festive foods and beverages, and bid for exotic and wonderful prizes.  So many of the friends that I chatted with that night spoke about how fun it was to have a break from our everyday routines, to have an occasion to dress up and step out, and to see so many friends enjoying themselves. 

What is remarkable to me about both of these events, our Purim celebration and our Gala, is our ability to have huge amounts of fun while also contributing to a larger purpose.  The Gala was a great financial success for us.  After all expenses are paid and after the Brotherhood receives their hard-earned portion of the proceeds, we have netted over $24,000.00 for the Etz Chaim operating budget.  This is an amazing result, more successful than any previous Etz Chaim fundraising effort, and it will go a huge way towards reaching our budget for this fiscal year.  Likewise, our celebration of Purim was not just costumes and Hamantaschen.  Our mac and cheese greggors allow us to raise the roof when we hear Haman’s name, and they also allow us to help feed the hungry.  Our Purim raffle provides funds to help kids go to camp. 

Etz Chaim has a wonderful culture that combines celebration and serious purpose.  To me, the extraordinary thing is that the seriousness of purpose doesn’t weigh down the joyous celebrations; rather, our fun times are enhanced by the underlying purpose.  Our kids shake their mac and cheese greggors all the more enthusiastically because they know that someone will enjoy a hot meal as a result.  Similarly, many bar and bat mitzvah families decide to have decorated baskets full of PADS supplies decorating the bimah rather than flowers, and find these decorations all the more beautiful because of their usefulness.  Our sense of giving to the community enriches our enjoyment of our community celebrations, and this is a wonderful way for it to be.

My discussion of the success of the Gala is not complete without giving thanks to all who participated.  I cannot possibly name everyone who deserves thanks:  every committee member, congregant, and synagogue employee who took on a small piece of the work of the event contributed to its success, and I thank you all.  I do, however, want to thank Jim Weiskopf, Howard Bender, and Paul and Alice Heinz, who took on the leadership roles necessary for the Gala to succeed.  You are all amazingly hard working and dedicated members of our community, and we are all grateful to you.

This coming Sunday, the upper school at Etz Chaim will be having a family program focused on the question “What Makes Me a Jew?”  The 8^th, 9^th, and 10^th graders, along with their parents, will spend the morning studying this question.  I am one of the 8^th grade teachers (as well as the mother of a 10^th grader) so I have the inside track on the program.  While not wanting to give away any spoilers, I can tell you that the participants in the program will be looking at aspects of Judaism including religious observance and practice, study and mitzvot, concern for Jews around the world, and Tikkun Olam.  Our young teens have spent up to a decade in religious school learning about these various components of Judaism, and in this program we will be asking them and their parents to think about how these pieces fit together to form their Jewish identities.

For those of you who do not have an 8^th, 9^th, or 10^th grader and who may not have thought about this question in a methodical way since your own formal religious education ended, and even for those of you who will be at Sunday’s program or who have engaged in adult study on this topic, I would like to make a reading recommendation.  As I was thinking about Sunday’s upcoming program, I went back to an essay I first read several years ago, entitled “Judaism and the Love of Reason,” written by Martha Nussbaum, one of the great philosophers living and writing today.* This 25 page essay could as well be entitled “Why I am a Reform Jew,” and in it, Nussbaum (whose tremendous depth of knowledge and analytic power are matched only by her accessible and jargon-free writing) does two things.  First, she takes the reader through her own religious journey.  Raised an Episcopalian, she explains her own adult journey first to Judaism and ultimately to Reform Judaism, drawn by what she describes as a “this-worldly religion, a religion in which the primacy of the moral, and of this-worldly justice, informed not only judgments but also, or so it seemed to me, the entirety of a tradition.”  (p. 13) Then, Nussbaum takes the reader on an historically rooted yet deeply personal tour of the ideas that form the core of her understanding of Judaism.  On the way, she lays out in an easily digestible form some key ideas of the important Jewish Reformers and the ways that Reform Judaism reflects and interacts with Enlightenment ideals.

Nussbaum’s essay takes an adult look at many of the aspects of Judaism our students will encounter in Sunday’s Family Class.  She considers the work the Jewish Reformers did to reconcile the particularity of Judaism with the Enlightenment and Kantian imperative of universal regard for humanity.  She discusses the moral mission of Reform Judaism (as it developed in the United States) towards increased social justice.  She examines the history of the attitudes of Jewish Reformers to Zionism and Israel (and she reaches conclusions that may challenge the opinions of some of us and allow others of us the relief of knowing that our thoughts are consistent with our religious tradition).  She understands the importance of religious ritual “in connecting abstract moral truths to particular musical and emotional memories.”  (p. 28) Finally, she writes (with some relief) of Reform Judaism’s openness to many different ideas of God. 

As you can see, Nussbaum does a lot in her 25 pages, but the teaching and ideas in this wonderful essay can be yours with an hour’s concentrated reading.  We are all in agreement that we want to provide our young people with a strong Jewish education and we hope that they will be instilled with an interest in and curiosity about Judaism that will keep them connected and learning as adults.  Yet, too often we fail to nurture such interest and curiosity in ourselves.  The theme of  Sunday’s family program can be a springboard for all of us to think about what makes us Jews and to engage as adults with these questions which we may not have thought about since we were religious school students.

*This essay is found in Philosophy, Feminism, and Faith, 2003, Indiana University Press, edited by Ruth E. Groenhout and Marya Bower.  Copies are available upon request at the synagogue office. 

First, let me report back to you on the results of the fundraising appeal I made last summer.  Many of you will recall that I sent a letter to the congregation last June explaining that we anticipate replacing our aging HVAC rooftop units within the next few years, and asking for voluntary donations to our Building Maintenance Fund so that we can start accumulating reserves now to help us meet that anticipated expense.  I am happy to report that many of you responded generously to that appeal.  We have received $28,000.00 for the Building Maintenance Fund in response to our request for donations.  Although we anticipate that this project will cost significantly over $100,000, we feel that, with your generous help, we have made a great start in saving up for this expensive and necessary capital expense.  Thank you to all who contributed to the Building Maintenance Fund -- I am grateful to you for your dedication to our communal home.  If you are a new member and have not yet had the opportunity to contribute to this fund, please know that this is an important and continuing need.

Now, for those of you who are in the fortunate situation of being able to plan some additional year end charitable gifts, I have lots of ideas for you!  First and foremost, our “Puttin’ on the Ritz” Gala is coming up on February 2nd.  You can support the Gala in several ways.  Please consider a sponsorship package at the bronze ($250), silver ($500) or gold ($1000) level.  Also, this year we are adding a goods and services auction to the Gala.  The Gala Committee continues to receive generous donations for the auction, but we are eager for more!  Finally, the Gala is a wonderful opportunity to host friends (perhaps from outside the Etz Chaim community) to a festive and fun evening.

Of course, some of you may be thinking, “I’m planning to support the Gala, but what additional donations can I make to support the synagogue?”  We all know that difficult financial times are continuing, and for the past several years our Budget Committee has practiced stringent economies in order to present a balanced operating budget.  If you are in a position to give, a year end donation to our operating budget would help us a lot.  Finally, our donative funds are invaluable in supporting our creative and meaningful programming and projects, and those donative funds are wholly funded by donations.

However you have chosen to support the congregation in the past, or whatever gifts you are able provide in the future, we are so grateful to you for your generosity.  It is the love so many of us feel for Etz Chaim and the continuing commitment we have made to it that allow us to have this vibrant and nurturing communal home. 

Barbara Baruch, with her husband David, was one of the founding members of our congregation in 1960.  With seven other families, the Baruchs recognized the need for a Jewish congregation to meet the needs of Jews in the western suburbs.  From the beginning, religious education mattered to Barbara.  She immediately took on the role of school principal, and worked with the Jewish Board of Education to create a curriculum and start up a religious school.  After her tenure as school principal ended, she continued to work with the School Committee over the decades, sharing her insights and wisdom, as well as her dedication to the cause of Jewish education.  For those of you who never had the opportunity to meet Barbara, you can listen to her speak about the history of Etz Chaim (and our school) on the synagogue living history video on our website, a project that she spearheaded.  

Barbara’s death at this time last year was a huge loss to our community.  David has decided to honor her memory with a generous donation to initiate the Barbara Baruch School Scholarship Fund.  In the past several years, two forces have aligned which make this fund particularly timely and helpful.  First, in recent years, our school tuition has had to go up.  Even with these necessary increases in tuition, our school tuition is significantly lower than that of surrounding synagogues, but our families do feel the impact of the increase in fees.  Second, due to the economic downturn of recent years, a larger number of our families have been unable to pay their tuition obligations.  Of course, we never turn a child away from religious school.  Religious education is at the core of our mission.  But, when we waive tuition in an increasing number of cases, the impact on synagogue finances is painful.  The Barbara Baruch School Scholarship Fund will go a long way to helping us pay for the costs of teaching our kids.   

I would like to thank David and his family for their generosity in choosing to honor Barbara’s memory in this absolutely fitting way.  I think Barbara would have been delighted. 

With this scholarship fund, her memory will truly be a blessing for many Jewish students in the years to come.

It was taught in the name of Rabbi Yehoshua:

     The poor person (standing at the door) does more for the householder than the householder does for the poor person.

                                                Leviticus Rabba  34:8

How can this be?  As Alan discussed this question with the students, the group realized that, by providing the householder with the opportunity to engage in the mitzvah of giving Tzedakah, the poor person is giving the householder something more valuable than just money.  The householder is given the chance to be a Tzaddik, a righteous person.  So often we feel besieged by requests for money.  It seems that half of the envelopes that arrive at my house with the mail delivery contain requests for donations from worthy causes.  Of course, not all of these are causes I am committed to.  But, I wonder if I can approach these requests with a slightly different attitude, with an understanding that each of these requests is an opportunity for me to be a Tzaddik. 

These teachings were particularly timely because, right after Sunday School, I enjoyed a delicious bowl of soup and had the chance to give Tzedakah at the same time at the Social Action Committee’s “Empty Bowl” program.  With the goal of raising funds to support local organizations that combat hunger, the empty bowl program offered beautiful handmade bowls (and platters and trays and mugs), the empty bowls serving as a symbolic reminder of all the empty bowls there are in the world.  When I left the synagogue at about 2:00 PM, an initial rough count indicated that this innovative program had raised $3,800. 

We spend so much of our time caught up in thinking about our own affairs – our work, our families, and our troubles.  As many of you know, my father-in-law died recently, and as a result I have been very inwardly focused for the past month or so, on my family and on dealing with the practical consequences of this death.   For me, this day spent thinking about Tzedakah pulled me out of my own concerns and back into the community, and I felt refreshed by the chance both to study about Tzedakah and to engage in it.    

Some of you may know that my children are third generation members of Congregation Etz Chaim.  My parents joined Etz Chaim more than 40 years ago.  One reason that I began volunteering here is that I wanted to strengthen Etz Chaim for my children and perhaps one day their children.  Some of you who are here tonight were already members of the congregation when my family moved to Elmhurst in 1969.  Others of you joined the congregation in subsequent decades, and some of you may be in our sanctuary for the first time tonight.  Regardless, as we gather to celebrate these High Holidays, the congregation is here for us.  I would like to ask you tonight to join with me in thinking about what we should do to keep the congregation here for us and for future generations.  Let’s think about what we already are as a community, and about what we need to do in order to survive and thrive in the future. 

What we already are is a remarkable community, brought together by our commitment to Judaism, to Etz Chaim, and to each other.  Our bonds of friendship have grown strong over the years and decades, expanding and opening to embrace those new to our community, and providing a Tree of Life for all of us.  We succeed and flourish because we draw on the talents, skills, energies, resources and commitment of all of our congregants.  We all chip in our fair share to meet our expenses, and we all work together to keep ourselves and each other engaged in our congregational life.   

What I really want to talk about tonight is what we need to do in order to survive and thrive in the future.  To all that is already good about our community, we need to add a thorough understanding of our Congregation's financial structure and financial needs.  This evening, to begin this process, I want to lay out for you the basic financial workings of the congregation.  I promise you that I’m not going to end my talk by hitting you up for money, so please sit back and relax as I talk you through our financial structure.  

Imagine four buckets.  They represent four different financial categories, with four distinct purposes. Let’s talk about them one by one.

The first bucket is the “operating budget.”  The operating budget is the money we plan to spend each fiscal year in order to run things.  Our operating budget represents an annual set of expenses.  Every year, starting in December, the Budget Committee creates the operating budget based on conservative assumptions and careful expenditures.  The operating budget is presented to the Congregation in the spring and voted on in May at the annual meeting.  We use the money in the operating budget to pay our employees, to run our school, and to operate our building and pay our bills.  These are the expenses that are our core financial obligations. 

Our operating budget is funded by the money that we pledge in dues, as well as school fees, b’nai mitzvah fees, advertising income, and social hall rental income.  I think it is important for you to know that, at many congregations, funding of the operating budget depends not only upon the sources of income I’ve just mentioned, but also upon additional appeals to the membership over the course of the year.  Indeed, many congregations include an income line in their budgets labeled “High Holiday Appeal” and assume significant extra donations as part of their budgeting process. 

We don’t do that.  With our fair share dues system, we have never made a “High Holiday Appeal,” nor are we planning to.  Instead, we make assumptions each year about what we think our income will be, based primarily on dues and school fees assumptions.  In these uncertain economic times, this process has been challenging, and even our very conservative assumptions resulted in a shortfall in the past fiscal year.  However, I am confident we will weather these tough times with both our culture and our finances intact if we all continue to contribute our fair share of dues.

The second bucket is the “building fund.”  The building fund is money that is dedicated to paying the mortgage, a financial obligation we assumed when we built the office and classroom wing addition to the building about 15 years ago.  The building fund is completely separate and segregated from the operating budget.  None of your dues money goes into this bucket.  Rather, each new member who joins Etz Chaim is asked to contribute a set amount to the building fund over a period of years.  This means that the continued health of the building fund depends upon our ability to attract new members at a steady rate over time in order to keep our building fund consistently replenished. 

The third bucket is the “donative funds.”  Our congregation currently has 18 donative funds, plus the rabbis’ discretionary funds.  As the name suggests, the donative funds are places to donate money earmarked for specific causes.  The donative funds allow us to do things above and beyond what we could afford if we were limited to our budget.  The donative funds buy new prayer books, pay scholars to come and teach us, help kids go to OSRUI, provide aid to those in need, and do many other things that are at the heart of our mission but are not covered by our budget.  Without continuing generous donations to the donative funds, we would not be able to achieve many of our goals. 

I want to highlight one of these funds in particular, the Building Maintenance Fund.  I wrote to the congregation last spring, outlining our upcoming HVAC needs, and requesting those who are able to make donations to the Building Maintenance Fund.  I’m delighted to tell you that we have had an outstanding response to that request, and that to date our congregants have pledged more than $27,000 to this fund.

The final and fourth bucket is brand new for us.  It is the "Endowment Fund.”  As many of you know, under the leadership of Mike Kayman, our new Planned Giving Committee has been hard at work for over a year to establish the Etz Chaim Foundation, the vehicle through which our Endowment will operate.  We have not previously had an endowment, and Mike and his committee have done a lot of hard work and research in order to figure out the right way to proceed.  But what is an endowment, and why have one?  Mike says it's like a 401k plan for the congregation.  It's a way for us to accumulate money that we will not spend now or in the next few years, but that we will use down the road, well into the future.  By creating an endowment, we are working to make sure that future lay leaders of the congregation have money available to help them meet the needs of the congregation at that time.  How will we fill the endowment fund bucket?  You will be hearing much more from the Planned Giving Program in the coming months, as Mike and his committee roll it out, but briefly, the Planned Giving bucket will be filled by pledges (often in the form of future legacies or long-term vehicles) by congregants who wish to make such donations.  

In our own homes, we all have to budget our money.  We use part of our money for our month-to-month expenses, part for our mortgage, part for things we want to do or know we’ll need to do soon, and we save a good chunk so that we can meet our long term goals.  Synagogue finances are set up in just this way.  Each of our four buckets – operating budget, building fund, donative funds, endowment fund – is designated to meet a specific need of the congregation.  It is essential that we fill each of these buckets.  The reality of the situation is that a congregation where everyone pays their dues but does nothing to help fill any of the other buckets will not flourish.  

Before I conclude, I want to mention an initiative we have begun over the past year, in an effort to expand what we put into our buckets.  Up until now, all of our buckets have been filled almost completely from the resources of our congregants.  Under the leadership of Joel Spenadel, a new committee called the Development Committee has begun the process of seeking out external sources of income for Etz Chaim, for example from foundations or other grant sources.  Like the Planned Giving Committee, the Development Committee is charting new ground for us.  We're excited about it, and we're eager to learn more about these new possibilities.  

Now, I said earlier that, in order to survive and thrive in the future, we all need a thorough understanding of our financial structure and our financial needs in the coming years.  I understand that many of us start to nod off when the accountants start talking about balance sheets.  I tended to glaze over myself, but I stopped doing that since I began serving as congregational president. The issues are just too important.  And that's true for all of us.  We all need to take on the responsibility of understanding the financial structure and needs of our Congregation – just like we have to understand the finances of our individual households.   

Tonight I’ve tried to give you some information to start that process.  I’d like to leave you with an assignment:  Over the next six months or so, I am asking each of you to assume responsibility for learning more than you currently know about Etz Chaim’s financial status and needs.  You can do this in many ways.  Talk to members of the Planned Giving Committee.  Read the articles that our Treasurer, Wendy Jablow Spertus, will soon include in the bulletin.  Read the current budget that was sent out to all of you last spring, prior to the annual meeting (and we'll circulate that again).  Join the Ways and Means Committee.  Ask questions of me, the members of the Executive Committee, or the members of the Board of Directors.  However you do it, inform yourselves.  The more you know, the more engaged you will become.  And the more engaged you are, the healthier and stronger our Congregation will be. 

So, getting back to my opening question:  How do we help keep our congregation strong for future generations?  Our first step is to link our existing commitment and dedication to Etz Chaim with an increased understanding and literacy about our finances, in the hope that, with greater knowledge and understanding, we will be able to better nurture our community in the years to come.      

In that spirit, I thank you for the opportunity you have given me to serve Etz Chaim and I wish each of you and your families a sweet new year.

L’shana Tovah Tikatavu.

I would like to share with you a few activities that have taken place at the synagogue during what might seem to be a quiet time at the end of summer.  As kids get ready for school and rabbis get ready for the holidays, the synagogue is sponsoring events to increase membership and improve leadership.

Sunday morning, August 19th, the Membership Committee hosted the Prospective Member Brunch.  Every year we work hard to get out the word in the community about our congregation.  Marcy Kaplan spearheaded an effective publicity campaign, and we had a record high number of 23 prospective and new member families attend the brunch.  Ken Markwell and the Membership Committee organized a wonderful event, and many members of the Board of Directors brought food, led tours of the building, and showed these guests our warm and welcoming nature.  Those who attended were clearly having a ball, and were reluctant to leave.  Thank you to all who had a hand in making this event a success.  Several of the guests at the brunch have already sent in their membership forms!

Sunday morning, August 26th, a group of congregants -- including committee chairs, Brotherhood and Sisterhood presidents, VPs, and JYG advisers -- gathered at the synagogue for brunch and conversation.  We spent two hours in conversation, sharing with each other our learning and our goals, and brainstorming ways to be more effective leaders.  Marcy Kaplan gave a presentation on effective ways for these leaders to use publicity, and Joel Spenadel spoke about the Development Committee.  We also talked about how to run effective meetings, and how best to plan for the futures of our committees.  I think the best part of the event was the opportunity for these leaders of the congregation, who work independently of each other but who also share many concerns, sit together, form connections, and benefit from each others’ insights.

For the past couple of weeks, my husband and I have been having a taste of the future as “empty nesters,” because both of our daughters are currently at OSRUI.  As I have been reading their letters in our unusually quiet house, I’ve been thinking about the meaning and value of their time at camp.  Their Jewish camp experiences over many years have played a large role in shaping their identities and their self-perceptions. 

My 12 year old, Leah, is spending four weeks in Kibbutz HaTzofim, sleeping in a big canvas tent with a cluster of other girls, feeding the animals, eating out doors, and generally connecting with nature. Hannah, who will turn 15 in a couple of weeks, is spending seven weeks in Chalutzim, OSRUI’s unique Hebrew immersion program.  For both girls, their OSRUI summers have improved their “Jewish literacy” in the sense that they are deeply familiar with both the structure and the meaning of our worship services.  They have been filled with “ruach,” a spirit of connection to their Jewish identities and to their Jewish camp friends, through learning camp songs and cheers, studying and discussing together, and certainly through celebrating joyous camp Shabbats.    

Hannah’s experience in Chalutzim has been extraordinary for her, yet absolutely typical for this program.  She had studied hard to pass the Hebrew language exam required for acceptance into the program, a program in which the campers commit to speaking only Hebrew.  Nonetheless, when I dropped her off at camp on the first day and the enthusiastic Israeli counselors dashed up to her and started chatting in Hebrew, she looked like a deer caught in the headlights.  However, a scant four weeks later, when we arrived at camp for Chalutzim Visitors’ Day, Hannah was bubbling over with excitement and knowledge.  The first thing we did was to go with the campers to their Hebrew classes, which were conducted entirely in Hebrew. Their Israeli teachers provided discussion prompts and the campers immediately broke into small groups and began their conversations.  The amount of grammar, vocabulary, and fluency that she had acquired in only four weeks was astonishing.

I have read that one of the best predictors of whether young Jewish adults become actively engaged in Jewish life is whether or not they have gone to Jewish camp.This assertion makes immediate sense to me. OSRUI nourishes the Jewish souls of the children who are fortunate enough to spend time there, and fills them with the joy of Judaism.  Many Etz Chaim children are OSRUI campers every summer. Of course, as my husband recently joked, “Hmm, turns out OSRUI isn’t free!” In these tough times, we are fortunate to have donative funds at Etz Chaim that offer scholarships to help families afford this rich experience for their children. Every Etz Chaim family with children that are interested in OSRUI should know that financial help for camp is available. Ultimately the value of the camp experience is in the formation of committed and knowledgeable young Jews.