Road show visits camp

ILAN SARAGOSTI SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN

Jewish outreach is the name of the game for the Ohel Ya'akov Community Kollel and they are willing to travel any distance in British Columbia to fulfil that goal. Camp Hatikvah, western Canada's only Jewish sleep-away camp, located just outside of Kelowna, was the latest stop for the Kollel's Jewish education road show.

While Camp Hatikvah does have a small religious component, the camp focuses more on Zionist education.

"We have Shabbat services every week and do the prayers before and after meals," said program director Joanna Murray. "But we concentrate more on teaching the kids about Israel in a fun way. So when the opportunity came to have the Kollel come up and organize activities with a more religious focus we jumped at the opportunity."

Earlier this month, Kollel rabbis Avraham Feigelstock, Shmulie Yeshayahu and Avi Berman, along with Toronto lawyer and former Camp Hatikvah counsellor Richard Rapkin, made the trip to the Okanagan for two days of Jewish education. During the day, Berman and Rapkin allowed Camp Hatikvah's 200 campers a short respite from the scorching sun, using multi-media presentations to discuss topics ranging from Jewish heroes to the importance of Jewish continuity. At night, Camp Hatikvah's 76-strong staff converged upon Feigelstock and Yeshayahu for a symposium on love and relationships.

"I was amazed at the turnout," said Murray. "None of the staff was forced to attend, but almost all came by both nights and participated in the discussions."
The Kollel also seemed pleased with the results.

"This was really just a trial run to see if a camp was the right environment for our outreach programs," said Yeshayahu. "We saw from the enthusiasm of the campers and staff that it works very well."

The Kollel now hopes to make the trip an annual event.

For more information, contact the Community Kollel, Monday-Thursday, 10 a.m.-2 p.m., at 604-267-7060; fax 604-264-6133; e-mail [email protected]; or visit www.communitykollel.org.

Ilan Saragosti is a freelance writer living in Vancouver.

^TOP