By Rebekah Sherman, current counselor and long-time camper
When we pray the Sh’ma, we say,
Sh’ma Israel Adonai eloheinu Adonai echad.
Listen, Israel! Adonai is our God. Adonai is one.
On Friday night, when I said the Sh’ma, I listened.
And I heard God—
In the wind, in the water,
In the voices of my friends—
In this place that is new and already a little familiar
And has already started to feel like camp—
In this beautiful place, I swear I heard God.
And God said, “Amen.”
Camp at Cal Maritime will never be the same as camp on Porter Creek Road, where I could look around and see the impact made by each and every person who came and went. Here, we don’t have the same tangible reminder of everyone who came before—and that’s okay. We still have the memories, and we have the opportunity to make our impact in a new way. I still miss Porter Creek like crazy, but tonight, as the first groups of campers gathered to celebrate Shabbat with the staff who have been here for a week or more, it really felt like Shabbat.
It really felt like camp.