This week, we concluded the Jewish holiday season, which starts with Rosh HaShanah, the Jewish new year, and ends with Simchat Torah, when we finish our annual reading of the Torah and begin it anew. We marked the end of Sukkot, during which we are commanded to be joyful and dwell in booths, or huts. These huts must be open on one side and with a covering through which you can see the stars at night. We eat meals and spend time in the sukkah, and sometimes even sleep there. Some folks choose to build their own sukkot (plural of sukkah) in their yard or apartment balcony. Others build or utilize a community sukkah.
This week, as we felt the joy of the return of the remaining living Israeli hostages back to their families in Israel, I would like to share with you some words from Anna Kislanski, CEO of the Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism, in her weekly newsletter.
“This week, as we fold away our sukkot and roll the Torah back to its beginning, our hearts hold many emotions at once:
“The joy of welcoming twenty living hostages home.
“The sorrow of receiving nine for burial with dignity.
“And the anxious hope as we await the return of nineteen more, together with the fragile prayer that this ceasefire will hold, and will become the first step toward ending this painful war, now more than two years long…
“This year, the prayer “Ufros aleinu sukkat shlomecha” (ופרוש עלינו סוכת שלומך) – “Spread over us Your shelter of peace” – carries a deeper resonance. As the ceasefire continues to hold and hostages return home, we dare to hope that this Sukkat Shalom will grow beyond our communities, to embrace all in need of safety, healing, and shelter.”
This phrase resonates not only when speaking of the ceasefire, but also because we say these words each night at camp when we say the Hashkiveinu prayer. The sukkat shalom (shelter of peace) is not a physical sukkah, but rather a feeling of safety and peace that we hope our community finds while we are together at camp. Each Friday night, our community sings this prayer as a whole camp. At the Beit Knesset (place of worship), counselors hold tallitot (prayer shawls) made by the campers above their heads, creating a physical shelter over them. We hope that while they are at camp, everyone finds a place of peace, love, and acceptance.
This idea also serves as the basis for our overarching theme of values at GFC, a sukkat shalom, a shelter of peace. A sukkah provides a peaceful shelter filled with love and warmth. This is our vision of what GFC is for our camp community. It is a place where our camp community feels welcome, cared for, and can be themselves.
Earlier this year, our Camp Committee took part in rethinking our mission and values. After introducing them to our camp community this summer, we had the opportunity to do even more refining and ensure that these values represent what is important to our campers, staff, and families at GFC.
Our GFC sukkat shalom is held up by 6 values:
Kehillah Kedosha (holy community) – we create a community that is grounded in Jewish values
Kavod (respect/honor) – we treat each other, camp, and ourselves with respect
Hineini (presence) – we allow ourselves to be fully present and in the moment while embracing the individuality and uniqueness of every person
Reut (friendship) – making meaningful and worthwhile relationships
Am Yisrael (people of Israel) – pride in being part of the People of Israel, feeling connected to Jews at camp, in our home cities, and around the world
B’tichut (safety) – caring for each person’s physical and emotional safety
Our mission is to create a kehillah kedosha (holy community) where Jews of Texas, Oklahoma, and beyond are inspired to love bring Jewish and form lifelong connections.
Whenever our community comes together, our mission and values come to life. Friendships are built at camp and sustained throughout the year, with friends not only talking but visiting each other for weekends and b’nei mitzvot (bar/bat mitzvahs). Campers tell us that they actually enjoy not having their devices at camp and form deep meaningful friendships because they can be fully present with each other. They connect to Jews from around Texas, Oklahoma, and throughout the world through relationships built with Israeli campers and counselors, and friends from outside their home community. Our American staff members visit friends in Israel that they met at camp. And GFC is their happy place not only because of their relationships, but because they know it is a safe place for them to be Jewish and express their Judaism.
This summer, our values and mission came to life for our campers, staff, families, and all those who joined us for our GFC50 Celebration. GFC is a magical place built on 50 years of love and Jewish values. I am excited for the next 50 years under the sukkat shalom that is GFC.
Every Friday night at camp, before we gather under our tallitot, our staff members bless our campers with the Priestly Blessing (Number 6:24-26), offering words of peace and comfort. At this time of peace and hope, both the Hebrew and our creative Camp translation feel equally appropriate.
יְבָרֶכְךָ יְהֹוָה וְיִשְׁמְרֶךָ׃
May God bless you and watch over you.
יָאֵר יְהֹוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וִיחֻנֶּךָּ׃
May God’s face shine upon you and be very good to you.
יִשָּׂא יְהֹוָה פָּנָיו אֵלֶיךָ וְיָשֵׂם לְךָ שָׁלוֹם׃
May God be with you always, and grant you, and me, and the whole camp, and the whole world, the blessing of peace.
Amen.
Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Erin