I was chosen for the All Around Camper Award in 1978 at an overnight Jewish camp in the Pocono Mountains. So it was not surprising that when I recently received an email from Trybal Gatherings about a day at camp for NYC Jewish professionals, I enthusiastically said “Yes!” and invited my whole team at Moving Traditions to join me.
From the moment we arrived I knew I was in for a special day – the blasting music, the mini-tree-trunk name necklaces, and the rainbow board with everyone’s names. I was already dancing happily through the registration process straight into the silent disco portion of the morning. Of course, the elective choices had something for everyone.
From my selections – drumming, text study, ropes course – to the plethora of other options, including pickling, archery, acrylic pouring, singing, and so much more.
I also had a great time bonding with my team while putting together a skit for the talent show, and I loved connecting with so many other inspiring Jewish educators throughout the day. All of these were important components of what made the day so extraordinary.
By far, though, the most compelling thing about the day was that I was free: Free to play, free to explore, free to literally skip from activity to activity without a care in the world. I cannot even remember the last time I felt that way.
The weight of the world
The world is a heavy place right now – between wars with Iran and Hamas, the remaining 53 hostages, the increase in antisemitism, and political violence and strife in the US – I know I am not alone when I say that at times, I feel buried under the weight of all that is wrong and the sense that I need to do something – but not at camp.
For one delicious day, I could just let go and be. Be the Pam who likes to dance, the Pam who loves s’mores, the Pam who is not in charge of anyone or anything.
At Moving Traditions, we help educators create safe and brave spaces where teens can just be themselves. The experience was a really good reminder for me that it’s not just something teens need, it’s something we all need. We are all over programmed, over extended. and anxious about what we see on our newsfeeds every day.
As a social worker, I remember learning about how stress accumulates, and if you pass a person’s stress threshold, it can lead to an impairment in emotional or cognitive functioning. I think many of us – adults and teens – have been walking around, even unknowingly, right at that dangerous threshold level.
Trybal Gatherings was not just a break from our ordinary lives, but an invitation to let these stress levels reset and return to normal levels.
When I was a child, I would return from camp each summer, and my mom would tell me I had three days to adjust to home life and leave behind the camp habits like throwing my clothes on the floor, eating with my hands, and shouting at the dinner table.
As an adult, I am hoping for just the opposite; that I hold on to everything I found at Trybal Gatherings- the freedom, the joy, and yes, the absolute magic of camp.
The writer is chief growth officer at Moving Traditions.