Tel Yehudah (7/29)

Brainy Camps (7/25)

Spout Lake (7/31

Ramah Canada 7/17

Ramah California 7/11

Sprout Lake 7/6

YJ Tel Yehudah 7/4

From Elihu; week 2 update

Hellow Amir Gang!!


We've planted over 300 veggies so far. Its looking fantastic! The kids of all ages had a great time planting. Other adults in camp are definitely excited as they walk by and see the progress. We still have flowers and herbs to plant. 
Today I did a lesson with the kids on Independence Day asking them independence from what and could we in fact be independent from the elements that make things grow. 

Worried about the heat (its 105 or so) potential to kill the plants (they needs lots of water), and the rabbits since the fencing is not completely finished yet. lets hope!!

Happy Dependence on sun, rain, earth, air, and HaShem Day !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Elihu

From Leah Silverman; Lead Farmer Ramah Canada

During the training seminar I spoke about some ideas from the book ‘Last Child in the Woods’. The author (whose name is slipping my mind right now) bases his book around the idea that children are disconnected from nature, causing various physical, emotional and psychological implications. The past two days has made me an even bigger advocate for the book than I was before camp. After only two days with the campers I have seen this disconnect from nature in action. Kids just don’t spend enough time outside, let alone playing with dirt. I was shocked to see that not all the kids were as enthusiastic and engaged as all of us farmers! I had to take a step back. These kids are coming from highly urban environments where their interactions with nature are limited to 15 minutes in a yard for recess or seeing trees whooshing by on the highway. Not everyone has an intrinsic desire to connect with the land and care for the world around us. That is where we step in. The challenge before us is daunting but I have a strong belief that all of us will reach these campers in many different ways. They will feel a sense of awe when those first flowers start to bloom. They will feel ownership over the garden when they walk by with their friends to show them which part of the garden they dug by themselves. They will feel a sense of accomplishment when they take that first bite of a vegetable. I hope we all can reflect back to those moments during the seminar when we believed we would change the world, even when simple tasks seem overwhelming.

On another note, I was speaking to David Fox briefly on the phone about the power of Amir in Jewish versus non-Jewish camps. I would like to share two stories from this past week that speak to the Jewish values of Amir. When preparing the site during staff week with Josh Goldberg, several staff members stopped by the garden to help out. The physical act of working the land immediately turned our conversation to the chalutzim who worked the land of Israel before and after the state was established. This immediate connection is hard to avoid. The foundation on which the state of Israel stands is the product of early kibbutzim and those who made it their duty to physically work the land. My second story involves a 10 year old camper I have not stopped bragging about to my fellow staff members. He is so passionate about the garden after only two days and comes to help work in all his spare time. The first day I asked each camper one thing they wanted to learn during their time in the garden. His answer was this: “I want to learn about the roots of the Jewish tradition”. I was utterly shocked after hearing this boy’s response. He was able to make an immediate connection between what we were physically doing in the garden and what we would be learning about in the weeks to come. We spent a lot of time during the seminar talking about the commonalities between the roots of where we come from and the roots of the plants we grow. The fact that the Amir garden is at four Jewish camps this summer is no accident. The values of our tradition and the lessons of the garden are one.

Shabbat Shalom,

Leah

Week 1 update from Ramah California

Hello farming chevre!! 

I hope you are all thriving and thrilled during your holy work of growing food and inspiring kids to make the world more just ! 

Things here in California are going well. We've started from scratch. We now have water to the site (with two hoses connected) and are in the process of making a giant 7-branched menorah. Each branch of the menorah is more than 40 feet long and about 3.5 feet wide. We have three of the branches on the right side, one on the left plus the shamash dug. Hopefully the rest will get dug tomorrow. (The one on the left needs a chiropractic adjustment as our flagging was off.) We purchased and had delivered 15 cubic yards of rich certified organic compost with 60 pounds of gypsum mixed in (helps balance the pH). And a bunch of kids began spreading the compost on to the formed beds. We've had about 60 kids involved so far from 3 or 4 eidot. We've had good conversations as we work about growing food, generosity, peah-forward, and the fact that it is WORK ! 

A tool shed, picnic table, sink and our first set of more than 300 plants will be delivered on Wednesday. I've obtained agreement from the kitchen staff to divert kitchen scraps (limited to fruits and veggies) to a couple of trash cans each day that the kids will pick up and roll over to the garden and make compost, and the landscape crew has agreed to dump their lawn clippings at the garden that we can use for mulch on top and on the sides of the beds. We're going to make a poster for the chadar ochel tracking how much kitchen scraps is being diverted so all the campers can see it. Also, i've invited participation of art, ceramics, and jewelry, and all are going to contribute in some way including a scare crow! We'll get the gan kids involved too. We also developed a 3-part curriculum for Sollelim boys that is comprised of a lesson from the Amir handbook that i modified slightly and two that i developed. They liked part 1! 

Unfortunately, the local gophers have been reading our blog, and know that a garden is on the way. I can only hope that the resident coyotes are reading the gophers' blog. Its either that, or we've got to put down chicken wire fencing beneath the beds, and re-dig the beds already dug! Nevertheless, its only been two days of camp, and we've got a lot done. Everybody at camp is really excited. People have noticed the odiforous compost, but no complaints yet. Lots of people are interested in the garden, including edot that are not signed up are beginning to come over to work. Looking forward to a productive week of bed formation and planting. Photos will be coming in a few days. Need to get a few hours of sleep now.

Ciao!
Elihu

"Tzedek" Judaism?

I was raised in a Jewish community, attended Jewish day school and summer camp, and spent a year abroad in Israel.  I have a unique and comprehensive look into my generation's connection to Judaism and Jewish practice.  It seems to me that more and more people my age no longer identify with "being Orthodox" or Conservative or Reform.  Rather, the phrase is, "I'm just Jewish."  Now, this word choice has different connotations for each person, but there seems to be a question here that is worth asking: Is there a new sect of Judaism emerging?  Is there a new way of manifesting our Judaism?

This summer four Jewish camps will be implementing the Amir Project, introducing a large-scale gardening initiative to their specific communities.  Each of these projects will be led by a Lead Farmer and two Amir Fellows (counselors).  The project uses the process of designing, building, planting, and nurturing gardens as a vehicle to tap into campers' creativity and to instill in them a sense of agency.  Through creating gardens and harvesting produce, campers will be challenged with questions of "what to do with our food" and "who needs food when we already have it?"  They will delve into ancient Jewish texts of Pe'ah and Leket, two agrarian based laws about giving our land's produce to those in need.

I'd like to use this site as a forum to discuss what the Amir Project "really means" and what does it mean to connect Judaism, the land, and social action.  There are many distinct communities and initiatives that are, and have been, practicing "Tzedek" Judaism for some time now (Kayam Farm, Jewish Farm School, Adamah, Camp Eden Village, etc.).  What do all of these have in common?  How does the Amir Project further the mission of these communities?  How can we connect these communities and build a broader movement that centers our everyday lives and practice around the pursuit of justice?

So, brothers and sisters, who are we and what do we value?

Peace,
David