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Have We Been Our Best Selves?

By Rabbi Erin Mason, URJ Camp Newman Camp Director Shabbat shalom, and Shana Tovah! Today marks the end of the Days of Awe, the 10 days between Rosh Hashana (the Jewish new year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar). During...

First-hand Stories of the True Meaning of Camp

First-hand Stories of the True Meaning of Camp

For Josh Cohen, URJ Camp Newman has been his second home for nine years. As a CIT this past summer, Josh decided to create a podcast that shows how amazing and special camp is through his interviews with two staff members and one of his third-grade campers.

How to Have an Endless Summer in Camp’s Utopia

As thousands of children, staff, faculty who have spent weeks or months in Jewish camps across the country begin to sunset their summers, with endless goodbye hugs and tears, we yearn for one more hour in our camp utopias.

An Audacious Opportunity: How We Can Welcome Every Child at Camp

Rachel Dubowe has acted as URJ Camp Newman’s summer camp Nefesh Director for the past two years, and this year, we’re excited to announce that she’ll be our year-round intern, helping to make our camp more inclusive of campers with special needs.

What are you excited about for Shabbat?

In just a few hours, something magical is going to happen at camp. Campers, counselors and staff will dress up in their very best whites and gather together – many campers for the first time – for Shabbat.

70th Anniversary

Honoring Our Alumni On July 16, 2017, over 500 alumni from Camps Saratoga, Swig and Newman came to spend the day with one another, and to hug, sing, cheer, laugh, and dance as one community. Little did we know that the very next October, Camp Newman would suffer...

Artful Weekday Prayers

Art, as we all know, can be a powerful means of expression, and a way to highlight the unspoken. Nowhere is this more evident in how our campers recently used illustration to convey their thoughts and feelings about prayer.

Why Prayer Comes Alive at Camp

Years ago when my kids were little, prayer was inaccessible to them. They would often pray in our synagogue, but I could only get them to do so for short spans and they didn’t often understand the meaning or context of the prayers.

The Jewish Renaissance at Camp

A month ago, I announced the beginning of our local Jewish renaissance. Newly returned from my annual stint at Camp Newman, I am even more convinced, not only of the veracity of that statement, but of its relevance to North American Reform Jewry at large.