An accessible and engaging treatment of the experience of Jewish summer camps.
 
This book tells the story of how Jewish camps have emerged as creators of positive spiritual experiences for Jewish youth in North America. When Jewish camps began at the dawn of the twentieth century, their leaders had little interest in creating Jewish spiritual experiences for their campers. Yet over the course of the past century, Jewish camps have gradually moved into providing primal Jewish experiences that diverse campers can enjoy, parents appreciate, and alumni fondly recall. Making Shabbat Real explores how Shabbat at camp became the focal point for these primal Jewish experiences, providing an interesting perspective on changing approaches to Jewish education and identity in North America.
 

Joseph Reimer is associate professor of Jewish education at Brandeis University. He is the author of Succeeding at Jewish Education and coauthor of Promoting Moral Growth: From Piaget to Kohlberg.
 

1. Introduction

Part 1: Creating Shabbat at Camp
2. Developing Shabbat at Jewish Camps: 1920-2000
3. Shabbat at Three Jewish Camps

Part 2: Celebrating Shabbat at Camp
4. Preparing for Shabbat
5. Greeting the Shabbat
6. Intensifying Shabbat Joy
7. Skill-Building and Concluding Shabbat

Part 3: Learning from Shabbat at Camp
8. What Camp Leaders Can Learn
9. What Jewish Celebration Can Be