Camp Eisner | Teen Ink

Camp Eisner MAG

By Anonymous

   Last summer was my first summer at Camp Eisner in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. iAlthough many of the people in my age group had been going to the camp for many years, I've never received such a warm welcome in my entire life, anywhere! The very first day I felt completely comfortable with the forty-five other kids in my age group (going into grades ten and eleven). There are two one-month sessions. In my particular age group and session, it was a special time: we traveled to Montreal, Canada where we slept in a youth hostel, went sightseeing to many famous places (including the stadium where the '76 Olympics was held), and had a great time at the Mount St. Sauveur water park, and La Ronde (a huge amusement park). On the way back, we stopped at the Ben & Jerry's Factory in Vermont for free tastes of the finest ice cream, as well as a tour of the factory.

Even though Eisner is a Jewish camp (don't stop reading now, the best is yet to come), the approach to Judaism is different from any temple. I am not a big fan of being Jewish. I've done my best to avoid more Hebrew School, but at Eisner, the approach to religion is wonderful. The Friday night and Saturday morning services run under an hour and are written by the campers. A theme is chosen for each service (friendship, death, elders) and each cabin has a turn to write original pieces or choose a reading from a book, magazine or song. Judaism becomes more personal.

Putting all those things aside, there are sports, baseball, archery, tennis, basketball, volleyball, swimming (an Olympic-sized pool), arts and crafts, dancing (modern jazz, etc), photography, drama, and a camp radio station (found on your FM dial). The most memorable aspect of camp are all the friends. The people there are the nicest, friendliest, most open and most out-going I've ever met. We all keep in touch: everyone calls, writes, and visits regularly. I've traveled to New York three times this year to see my friends from camp.

Camp Eisner changed my life and many of my views about things. It made me take a closer look at people and inward at myself. It's no wonder all those people keep returning. I've never been to a place like Eisner, so I'll just have to go back every summer. n





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This article has 2 comments.


jewbear said...
on Jan. 25 2011 at 8:46 pm
jewbear, Overland Park, Kansas
0 articles 54 photos 28 comments

Favorite Quote:
"There are no rules for good photographs, just good photographs." -Ansel Adams

This made me smile :)  I go to GUCI(Goldman Union Camp Institute), another URJ camp based in Indiana.  I live in Kansas, pretty far away from camp, and pretty far from most of the kids who go there.  My best friend lives more than 8 hours away.  Thank you for writing this so I could escape

manewman said...
on May. 5 2009 at 11:25 pm
Rebecca...our family will have it's first...third generation camper at Eisner this summer...look for Cameron A. from Framingham! My wife was there the second year camp opened (1959) and all three of our kids were campers and counselors. I have been on the camp committee since 1986 and was the Chair in the late 90's. Yours is the story that really touches me...when we capture one jew who hadn't experienced what camp does to your Judaism, it is like the saying...that if you save one life, it is as if you have saved the world! Your story is the reason Eisner exists today...we have built our community one Jew at a time...making sure each one knows how important our history and community are...Thanks for sharing your story!