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Touches of Torah: Vayeitzei

Touches of Torah: Vayeitzei

by Rabbi Allie Fischman Camp Director This week's parashah, Vayeitzei in the book of Genesis, gives us so much to think about: Jacob's dream with the angels and his marrying two of Laban's daughters when he's tricked into marrying Leah only to work and wait seven more...

Facing Fear and Jumping In

Facing Fear and Jumping In

by Jackson Mercer CIT Advisor '16, Rosh Shira '16 & '17 Originally Written Summer 2016 Camp is about facing your fears and jumping in. I grew up terrified of water. In all my years at camp, I never went down the waterslide or joined for breicha until my third year...

All-Gender Housing: A small step toward gender-inclusivity

All-Gender Housing: A small step toward gender-inclusivity

To be part of making changes at camp to create an even safer and more accepting space is a gratifying and meaningful experience. Yet there is still work to do. I am confident that staff members and campers will continue to step up to carry out the next steps in our action plan and grow it further. After all, each of us can change the world for the next generation of campers.  

A Warm Welcome Home

A Warm Welcome Home

This weekend, we welcomed over 200 alumni, current camper families and friends of camp back home to Porter Creek Road – some folks joined us for an entire Shabbaton and many spent their Sunday together with us at camp. With CIT classes represented from the 1970s all...

Avodah 2022 – Impact at Camp and Beyond

Avodah 2022 – Impact at Camp and Beyond

by Judah Hoffenberg, Avodah 2022 Advisor The summer of 2022 saw Camp Newman’s Avodah class achieve an impact on Camp and the greater world around it far greater than their small number might’ve entailed. The Avodahniks chose to dedicate their time to four separate...

Environmentalism and Ecology at Camp

Environmentalism and Ecology at Camp

by Rachel Mellman, Camp Newman Alum & Marketing Associate Among the towering redwoods, generations of campers have made lifelong friendships, personal discoveries, and everlasting memories. Camp Newman comes from a legacy of tikkun olam, social action – our roots...

Youngest Campers, Biggest Heroes

Bonim: Building Connections, Becoming Mensches by Rachel Chancellor, Bonim Dalet Rosh A long time ago ... well, not that long ago, just this summer... in a galaxy far, far away ... on Porter Creek Road ... our Bonim campers began their Camp Newman journey. For many of...

Etzim Discovers Jewish Ecology

Etzim Discovers Jewish Ecology

Potentially termed as ‘Jewish Ecology,’ Etzim’s sojourn into the complimentary worlds of science and cosmology shifted the focus of our learning not only to understanding the natural systems of our biosphere but also contributed to basic cosmological understandings of, how not only our world, but how our entire universe may have come into existence. Campers had the unique opportunity to participate in cross-cultural learning to better understand how another ancient tradition - Buddhism – understands the world in which we live. 

Hevrah is leading the way!

Hevrah is leading the way!

Implementing this composting system has been an incredibly rewarding experience for the Hevrah community. Historically, Hevrah has always been externally focused, that is, centering lobbying for bills as the primary means of making change. While this is an important way to fight for social justice, by focusing inward we’ve made much more concrete and visible change.

Blessing our Home: Chanukat HaBayit

Blessing our Home: Chanukat HaBayit

by Rabbi Allie Fischman, Camp Director Last Shabbat, we celebrated joyously with a full house and full hearts. We prayed, ate, danced, and sang our hearts out! Adding to our Shabbat joy, we took a moment to rededicate our space by affixing our new beautiful mezuzah to...