Celebrating as One Kehillah
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Ramah Darom7.3.26
On Wednesday, we welcomed chanichim (campers) to Machzor Bet (Second Session)! Campers from across the Southeast, and increasingly from beyond the region and even Israel, came together to create one vibrant Jewish kehillah (community). No matter where they call home, when we gather in the Ramah Darom amphitheater, we are one.
The highly regarded Jewish historian Jonathan Sarna shares that before the American Revolution, each colony was largely unto itself, even religiously for the 1,500–2,000 Jews who lived here. After the United States was established, however, the American Jewish community began to unify.
This Shabbat, as we mark the 250th anniversary of America’s founding, we are celebrating in true Darom style. Today at lunch, our tzevet musica (music staff) led an American songfest featuring classic favorites and “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Tomorrow, we will enjoy red, white, and blue popsicles as our seudah shlishit treat, and we’ll all wear those colors to celebrate Havdallah in style, complete with surprise cold sparklers!
Ramah is one of the great innovations of American Judaism. Here, we celebrate the country we call home alongside mitzvot and ahavat Yisrael (love of the land and people of Israel). We build a vibrant kehillah in a country where Jews have been fortunate to practice our faith freely for 250 years. While it is not always easy to be Jewish in America, our experiences at Darom inspire us to live proudly as Jews while contributing to the rich and diverse fabric of our nation.
Whether our campers come from Savannah or Charleston, both home to thriving Jewish communities during the Revolutionary era, or from larger Jewish communities today like Atlanta, Boca Raton, or beyond, they become part of one Ramah Darom kehillah. Together, we model the kind of vibrant, joyful, and connected Jewish life that strengthens not only our Camp community, but the broader American Jewish community as well.
Enjoy this week’s video:
First published on ramahdarom.org
