The Magic of Camp by Cantor Aviva Marer

I could hear the cheering and shouting from at least two football fields away. The campers in the chadar ochel (dining hall) had just finished their lunch and were jumping up and down, screaming with joy! Surely, it was because the power had finally been restored! After 52 hours of darkness and relentless humidity, I decided that the kids must have been cheering because the lights had finally come back on. I raced up the hill and into the chadar ochel and came face to face with two hundred elated campers who were cheering and jumping…in the dark. It was not the power. The power was still out. So what was all the excitement about? Popsicles. They were cheering as loud as they could because they had just been handed ice-cold popsicles!

For the final, all-camp shiur, we had the campers create a Torah of GUCI. This Tree of Life became the backdrop to our final services, as we looked at each camper’s leaves that told the story of their weeks at camp this year.

As a faculty member at Goldman Union Camp Institute (GUCI), I have the opportunity every summer to spend two full weeks participating in the magic of camp. This summer I had a front row seat to every song session, program, chug, (elective) and shiur (lesson). Being at camp is always a thrilling experience because I not only get to see my own child thrive, but also over 70 of our kids from the Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation at their home-away-from-home. This summer was the most spectacular yet. The campers were engaged and excited and welcomed every activity the same way they welcomed every person on camp – with open arms and gratitude. While the staff members at GUCI always amaze me, perhaps the most humbling moment for me was when I heard the infamous popsicle cheering. On June 29th at around 4:00pm, GUCI and the surrounding town suffered a massive power outage. The entire grid went down and it would be a long two and a half days before it came back. It was in those 52 hours that I saw the real magic of camp unfold. Counselors and unit heads seamlessly pivoted programming despite herculean efforts to plan what had already been decided. We rallied together to charge all necessary devices, and took home laundry to help bunks who needed it. Campers went about their days, never complaining about heat or exhaustion, but rather cheering in response to the extra pool time. It became clear to me that even with the power out, the spark of magic that exists within Goldman Union Camp simply cannot be extinguished. Our camp has faced the same challenges as every other camp over the last three years, and yet our kids and our staff have never once questioned their ability or desire to change course and move forward. For me, this is the most humbling part of being at camp. I leave my two-week session in awe of what is possible when we come together as a Kehillah Kedoshah. May the strength and perseverance we learn from our time at camp carry us through the year ahead.

Cantor Aviva Marer ’13, is an alum of the Debbie Friedman School of Music. She is the cantor at Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation.