Camp Ramah
in the Poconos:

1800s: Tannery in Wayne County

Isaiah Scudder was born in New York on March 26^th 1808.

Scudder apprenticed with veteran tanner Col. Zadoc Pratt of Prattsville, Greene County, New York. He succeeded Col. Pratt's business in 1844, and his brother Daniel C. Scudder joined him. In 1847 he and his brother purchased approximately 2,000 acres of land in Equinunk, Wayne County, Pennsylvania, and built the Equinunk Tannery, employing approximately 100 men. In 1849 they built the "High Lake Tannery" at an area known as High Lake, which was previously known as Brownsville.

1850s: Madden & Roark

On November 12^th, 1855, Michael Madden purchased land from Scudder. The deed included the earliest known mention of Fork Mountain Pond. The land was sold just a few months later, on March 14^th, 1856, to Martin Roark. Roark was born in Ireland in 1826 and immigrated to America. Scudder and his heirs may have retained the rights to dam and draw water from Fork Mountain Pond.

In 1859, the town of Lake Como in Wayne County, Pennsylvania was named. A group of people purchased about 800 acres of land for $4,500 and began building a tannery. One of those people, Leonard Allison, had recently returned from Europe. He had fond memories of Lake Como, Italy and they named the lake and town in Wayne County after it.

On October 12^th, 1859, Timothy Roark was born on his family's Fork Mountain property. The son of Martin Roark and May Madden, Timothy worked a farm and operated a boarding house.

Around Fork Mountain Pond, and the nearby Crooked Creek, lived a few Irish families in addition to the Roarks, including the McGarys, McKennas, Connelys, Flannigans, and Kennedys.

As a rule, they came with little but their muscle ; but by patient industry and economy, they now possess good, comfortable homes, many being in affluent circumstances, and are good, law-abiding citizens,— constant in their attachment to their Church, and in their undying love for the Green Isle of Erin, yet ardent in their attachment to the country of their adoption. The chance sojourner among them will long remember their open-handed hospitality.

— Alfred Mathews, History of Wayne, Pike and Monroe Counties, Pennsylvania, 1886, p. 523

Lakewood, Pennsylvania — a town, and the current postal address of Ramah — was once Winwood, Pennsylvania. The name was changed in 1911 because there was a similarly-named postal address in Pennsylvania — maybe Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, a community many Ramahniks are from.

1920s – 1940s: Camp Tabor

Founding

In 1922, Dr. Reuben W. Warner and Charles C. Reubens purchased the Roark farm from Timothy Roark. The purchase, which cost $35,000, included 236 acres of land and 90 acres of pond. These two men started Camp Tioga. In 1925, Rabbi Jacob (known as Robby short for Rabbi?) Grossman and his wife Pauline (known as Kitty?) purchased 86 acres of land from Camp Tioga and started Camp Tabor. The two camps neighbored each other and shared the pond. After selling the land, Roark moved nearby and worked a smaller farm. He still has descendants in the area.

Camp Tabor (pronounced "tay-BOAR", not "tah-boar" as the mountain in Israel) started as a Jewish camp for girls with the slogan "A Girl's Camp of Unsurpassed Standards". It had activities such as land and water sports, nature study, Jewish educational and cultural programs, dancing, dramatics, and study.

For decades, legend at camp has been that Ramah was formed from Tioga, and that Tioga was the land of both Lavi and Ramah. At least in the 21^st century, few have heard of Tabor. However, Ramah was founded from Tabor, and Lavi from Tioga. Tioga and Tabor shared a border for 25 summers, Tioga and Ramah for 27, and Lavi and Ramah for 46, but all are separate camps.

Libbie Braverman, Head Counselor at Camp Tabor for a few summers who was known as "Bravy", wrote about how Camp Tabor was named:

Historically, Mt. Tabor is the scene of a chapter in Israel's early history. A leader was needed to save the people of Israel from the oppression by a foreign foe. None could be found until Deborah arose, a Mother in Israel, who led her people to victory on Mt. Tabor. When peace was restored to the land, she retired to her fig tree, to judge her people and sing a paean of praise to G-d Who had saved them. Even now, Mt. Tabor plays its role. From every part of Emek Israel one can see the rounded top of Mt. Tabor. Tourists often climb the mountain to view the rich valley below.

Braverman writes that campers and counselors from Tabor and Tioga would socialize — Tioga campers were often invited to Tabor for events such as the "Tabor Carnival" and "Gilbert and Sullivan extravaganzas", and counselors from the camps spent time together at a nearby bar and restaurant.

Pauline Grossman was most involved in running the camp. Braverman writes that "Mrs. Grossman, the administrator, was a very strong person. Rabbi Grossman was a true rabbi, quiet, helpful, lending himself to the Sabbath Services, but other than that, it was Pauline Grossman who was at the helm".

Athletics

In the 1927 Year Book, Irma Z. Glantz wrote, "the qualities emphasized in Camp Tabor athletics were training in sportsmanship; fairness in judgment; fair play; poise and accurate form. We worked hard; we accomplished results, but always the same emphatic demand was made. Loser or winner must lose or win with grace and graciousness. Such was the spirit of Tabor's 'men of mighty prowess.'"

Glantz continued, "Is it any wonder then, that when we played opposing teams from other camps our Tabor spirit carried on — and our girls fought hard; fought squarely; fought well; and brought back glory to Tabor? We were victorious, but our opponents unanimously declared the many contests fairly won and squarely played."

Tabor had a competition with two teams: Green and Buff. Quoting from "Taborite-Ups", Glantz wrote:

"For one week, Camp Tabor was a camp divided against itself. Sister fought sister; family ties were temporarily severed. Few realized the seriousness of the situation, the intensity of the struggle, for every nerve vibrated to the call of its team. But only the advisory board, the impartial referees, the responsible captains and Bravie felt how intense the tussle was. Green and Buff week this year was one of the most thrilling, the most spirited and enthusiastic in the history of Tabor.

The hatchet was buried at camp fire on Monday night amid due ceremonies, and now camp breathes free of team antagonism. True the Buff team was the conquerer, but the Green team was more than a runner-up. In spirit, in gallantry and good team work, they were equal."

Tabor had a rivalry with Tioga. Dr. Daniel Drachman was a camper at Camp Tabor, and remembers that to get a "senior life saver award", you had to swim from Tabor to Tioga.

Typhoid Outbreak

Things were going swimmingly. The camp had a great reputation. Applications had to be turned down. The camp was a huge success. Nationally, we were recognized as the "Camp with a Jewish Soul".

However, a tragedy struck a few years later and our euphoria ended abruptly. We had planned a phenomenal weekend. Everyone was involved in one activity or another. The entire camp was completely transformed.

A Gilbert and Sullivan show involved the camp's actors. It was to be the greatest.

A carnival on camp grounds occupied the rest of the campers. Many parents showed up. Most had reservations but a few came unexpectedly.

— Libbie Braverman, Libbie, page 66

On August 14^th 1929, the New York Times reported that there was an epidemic at Camp Tabor. Two campers were being cared for at St. Joseph's Hospital in Carbondale, and at least twenty others were treated at the camp. Blood test results had not yet come back, and several doctors expected it was infantile paralysis, another term for polio. The Times reported that some physicians "who have children at the camp do not agree with this diagnosis and say the ailment is some sort of stomach complaint". Staff at the camp "insisted today that there was nothing wrong at the camp except that a few of the children were 'a bit sick'".

On the 16^th, the Franklin Repository and The Scranton Times reported that Tabor and Tioga both closed. In addition, doctors determined that the cause was not infantile paralysis. Pauline Grossman said "because of many false reports spread about conditions at the camp, we are closing it today, a couple weeks ahead of the time scheduled. Also we are closing Camp Tioga today." She suggested that some of the campers may have gotten sick because they ate hot dogs at the centennial celebration in Honesdale, or that they ate green apples that "are plentiful on the ground near the camp", and that some doctors thought typhoid fever might be the cause. Dr. George C. Merriman, who had been helping at the camp, said "I have been practicing medicine for thirty years and I have never heard of typhoid fever starting out with the patient running temperature of 103 to 105". Many of the campers' parents insisted on taking their children home.

Three days later, The Evening News reported that state health department officials believe typhoid fever was the cause, and that 29 of the 250 campers were sick. When officials went to the camp to investigate, it was empty except for the Grossmans. An examination of campers in the Carbondale Hospital suggested typhoid fever, and officials suggested that an employee at the camp may have been a carrier. The article stated that "[t]he reports on the situation from a disease standpoint have been exaggerated."

On September 4^th, the Brooklyn Daily Times reported the eighth death and fiftieth typhoid case traceable to the camp. A cook at the camp was believed to be a typhoid carrier, and refused to be examined. There was also a report that there was a typhoid outbreak at the camp two years before. The next day the New York Times reported that Health Commissioner Dr. Shirley W. Wynne announced the infection was under control. In addition, Dr. Wynne sent and publicly published a letter to the Camp Directors' Association of America "reviewing the situation and suggesting measures to prevent a recurrence of the disease in Summer camps." The cook and her helper were being examined — the cook had typhoid fever when she was 12, and was at the camp during the previous smaller sickness.

On the 7^th, the Scranton Republican reported eight additional cases of typhoid fever, bringing the total to 59, and two deaths. This is inconsistent with the Brooklyn Daily Times article, so it is . Pauline Grossman "denied that there had been anything in the nature of typhoid fever at the camp two years ago", that there was only one reported case of typhoid, and that two others got typhoid after they visited the camp. On the 11th the New York Times reported that a fourth person died. On the 15^th the New York Times reported that Dr. J. Moore Campbell, chief of the Bureau of Communicable Diseases, stated in a final report of an investigation that a typhoid carrier "among the kitchen and dining room employees" was the cause of the outbreak. Tests of the water and milk determined that they were not the source of the outbreak, and that the sanitary condition of the camp was "above reproach". It also reported a fifth death of the outbreak. The reason for the discrepancy regarding the number of reported deaths is not known.

Despite the article stating Dr. Campbell's "final report" determined the cause of the outbreak was a camp employee, a letter from Dr. Campbell to Dr. McCreary on October 5^th states otherwise. He laid out possible causes of the sickness, and reasons why they were ruled out:

• the camp's water supply was safe "both from physical and bacteriological standpoints"
• camp sanitation was "on the whole satisfactory"
• the number of cases was too high for the lake to have been the cause, but "as a matter of information and thoroughness" sampling of the water "has shown it to be free from gross pollution"
• the cook who has a history of typhoid fever was negative as a carrier

Dr. Campbell writes that the cause of the epidemic was a farmer who was a carrier of typhoid who supplied milk to the creamery that Camp Tabor used.

In an autobiography, Braverman gives a first-hand account of the outbreak.

We needed more milk. Extra milk was ordered from our usual dairyman. He probably was short in supply and some milk turned out to be unpasteurized. None of the adults was affected, ubt a number of our campers became ill. One camper had a high fever and was sent to the infirmary. then another, and still another. The weather was extremely hot. I began to curtail activities. We resorted to quiet games, song-fests, and story-telling to keep the children as inactive as possible. We called in the doctor from Honesdale. Our own doctor was suspicious but did not want to take responsibility for the diagnosis. he thought it was para-typhoid. The Honesdale doctor called it typhoid. What a denouement to a glorious weekend!

Braverman writes that the infirmary began filling up, calling it a "stark tragedy". The camp let parents know of the situation, and ambulances from New York arrived to pick up campers. The Board of Health came and recommended sending campers home.

Braverman writes, "[Mrs. Grossman] opened the camp again. She induced parents to send their children. Many came without paying. Others were offered reduced rates. She managed to keep the camp open".

1930s

Tabor initially prospered, having around 250 campers in 1929. However, following the typhoid outbreak, the stock market crash of 1929 (the "Great Crash"), and the Great Depression, Tabor had troubles attracting campers. It was "rescued" financially by a loan from a Philadelphia businessman, which was repaid by the late 1930s. Tabor's fee for 1932 was $325.

Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan

Seminary rabbis, including Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, visited Camp Tabor. On August 20, 1939, Kaplan wrote in his journal that Rabbi Grossman had been asking Kaplan to visit Tabor for years. Kaplan decided to go because he "wanted to meet the rabbis who usually spend their vacation there", writing that "[i]f I really want Reconstructionism to make head-way, I must make friends among the rabbis and break down their antagonism". A few days later, Kaplan wrote of Germany's entrance into Poland, and on September 4^th, wrote "On Friday, Sept. 1, the supreme madman of the world started the great conflagration. God knows what the outcome will be. The mind simply refuses to contemplate the dread possibilities." Kaplan again visited Tabor in 1943.

1940s

At some point around the 1930s, Tabor began admitting boys. Initially, there were many more girls than boys, and the boys got to know each other very well because there were so few of them. The slogan of Tabor became "A Jewish camp with a Jewish soul", perhaps after it began admitting boys.

Below are photos taken from around the same spot facing Fork Mountain Pond from both Camp Tabor and Camp Ramah. The left photo was taken around 1939, and the right photo 2022. The slider can be moved back and forth to compare.

Occasionally postcards from Tioga, Tabor, and Ramah are sold on eBay and postcard websites. Most of these are from "Artvue Post Card Co.".

Drachman recalls Victory over Japan Day (V-J Day) in 1945 at Tabor, saying that "everybody was thrilled and celebrated" and "that's what we'd been waiting for, for years". He has fond memories of Tabor, sharing that it was "quite a place" and that "we considered it ... sort of a summer home, a second home, for a long time".

1947 – 1950: Rumblings of a new Ramah

Ramah Maine

In 1947, the first Ramah camp opened in Wisconsin. The success of this camp led to the opening of a second in Maine in 1948.

The Maine camp's owner managed the business aspect, while Ramah managed the educational aspect. This led to conflict between the camper's owner and Ramah. In addition, there were concerns about the layout of the camp, with campers regularly being driven to athletic fields due to a steep incline. In an essay about the history of Camp Ramah, "The Most Important Venture Ever Undertaken by the Seminary: Ramah in its First Four Decades", Rabbi Michael Brown writes the camp had "less careful planning than had taken place the summer before in Wisconsin and without as strong a staff, without the backing of a reliable local lay committee, and in unsuitable rented quarters", and closed after two summers.

Following the issues with Ramah Maine, it became clear to those interested in starting another Ramah camp that for the next camp, the land must be either purchased, or leased with a plan to purchase at some point. Many of Ramah Wisconsin's first campers were from the Philadelphia area, in large part due to Rabbi David Goldstein of Har Zion Temple's strong support of Ramah. The Philadelphia branch of the United Synagogue had been discussing opening a camp, and Rabbi Jerome Labovitz, the director of the branch, formed a committee chaired by David W. Nisenbaum.

The Birenbaums

Rabbi David Goldstein was also involved on this committee. The process of starting the camp was moving slowly, and Goldstein contacted Abraham Birenbaum for help. Birenbaum asked for the assistance of two men, and Rabbi Bernard Mandelbaum and Rabbi Bernard Segal joined the team. The committee began the process of finding a proper location for the camp, and learned that the Grossmans were planning to sell their camp. The Seminary Field Director, and later Vice-Chancellor, Max Arzt, as well as Goldstein, and other people involved in the Seminary, sometimes summered at Camp Tabor.

Speaking at the 25^th anniversary of the founding of the camp, Birenbaum stated that the United Synagogue could not purchase Camp Tabor's land because of legal matters — the Grossmans had two corporations, one that ran the camp and one that owned the real estate. Birenbaum talked to the committee and told them to go through with the purchase, but Rabbi Grossman said he wouldn't said the camp to a seminary. Because of this, Birenbaum personally bought the camp. At the same event, Goldstein said that they needed money to buy the camp from the Grossmans, but that the Seminary wasn't interested.

"So we talked to Abe Birenbaum, and if it hadn't been for Abe then, we would not have a Camp Ramah today.

I recall only that when he put his name on the paper, Mr. Hyman Bomze said to him, 'Abe, you're a fool, before you know it, it will be left in your hands.' And Abe said, 'Well, Hyman, then I'll own a camp.'"

— Rabbi David A. Goldstein, Speech at the 25^th Anniversary of Camp Ramah in the Poconos?

In an essay "Camp Ramah: The Early Years, 1947-1952", Shuly Rubin Schwartz wrote that United Synagogue Philadelphia planned on purchasing the camp, but did not have sufficient funds.

Poconos had strengths in multiple areas Maine did not, including the grounds, a local committee, and the financial support of Birenbaum. Camp Ramah in the Poconos opened for its first summer in 1950.

Birenbaum and his wife, Fannie, personally bought the camp for $125,000 at a 4% mortgage, and leased it to the Philadelphia branch of the United Synagogue, who operated it with the Teachers Institute of the Seminary. Following the purchase, Rabbi Segal wrote a letter in which he outlined the structure of the camp and made suggestions on which positions should be hired. He also wrote, "I want to ask your forgiveness for my little outburst on the telephone. I am sure you understand that I was not angry at you, or at anyone in particular. I was simply distressed over the manner in which the Philadelphia Branch of the United Synagogue was prepared to let the whole project go by the wayside". This letter is posted in Bet Mogilner.

The Birenbaums were involved in the founding of a number of other Jewish institutions in the Philadelphia area, including Solomon Schechter Day School (now Perelman Jewish Day School) and Akiba Hebrew Academy (now Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy).

1950s: Early Years

Ramah's first director was Dr. Shlomo Feffer. The tuition its first summer was $375, and later during the 1950s rose to $425, with an additional $10 for laundry and $5 for health insurance.

In Ramah's first few years, it strongly embraced a culture of pacifism. Scores were not kept in competitions, there was not a "color war", and games against Camp Tioga were cancelled.

Israel

A major world event around this time that was of importance to Ramah, and Jews in America in general, was the declaration of the state of Israel in 1948. Schwartz writes:

One major issue during this period was the attitude of Ramah toward Zionism. The State had been declared and Zionism took on new meaning. American Jewry was largely pro-Zionist, and the question became: To what extent would Ramah reflect this outlook? Since Ramah was to be an American camp and not an Israel-oriented one, many staff members felt that there was no reason to raise the Israeli flag at the morning ceremony. Yet several Zionists among the staff strongly wished to do so. Some people at the Seminary were ambivalent about Zionism; this ambivalence, too, was mirrored in the camps. Different solutions were attempted, but it is difficult today to determine what actually occurred in the camps. One interesting compromise was reached in the Poconos in 1950. According to Feffer, older campers raised the question of dual loyalty; they felt that the raising of the Israeli flag was un-American and perhaps illegal. Finally, a silhouette of the ten commandments was superimposed on an Israeli flag, forming a "Jewish people flag" rather than the flag of the Israeli nation.

— Shuly Rubin Schwartz in Camp Ramah: The Early Years, 1947-1952, essay in Conservative Judaism, Vol. 40(1), Fall 1987, p. 32

Camp Massad, a nearby Jewish summer camp whose campers and staff spoke almost entirely in Hebrew, had a reaction to this:

When news reached Camp Massad during the summer of 1950 that the newly established Camp Ramah Poconos was flying a flag with an emblem of the Ten Commandments alongside the Stars and Stripes, rather than the national flag of Israel, senior staff members were irate. The first camp in what became the Ramah camping network was established in 1947, in Conover, Wisconsin, as a Hebrew- speaking camp under Conservative movement auspices, but the expressed motivation for its commitment to Hebraism was knotty. On the one hand, its overseers at the Jewish Theological Seminary's (JTS) Teachers Institute, Sylvia Ettenberg and Moshe Davis, were avowed cultural Zionists who were involved in the same Hebrew youth organization that spawned Massad. Yet the seminary itself, under Chancellor Louis Finkelstein, tiptoed gingerly around the controversial issue of political Zionism, even after the creation of the state of Israel. Ramah's founders articulated the camp's commitment to Hebrew as instrumental to its ultimate goal of raising a generation of textually and culturally literate Conservative American Jewish leaders.

For Massad's leaders striving to create a microcosm of Israel at camp, Ramah's failure to overtly embrace an ideology that linked Hebrew to the Zionist project and its apotheosis in the establishment of Israel seemed inexplicable. Even more infuriating to them was the prevalence of Massad alumni among Ramah's founders, senior staff, and counselor force. Ramah's ideological deviation felt like an act of betrayal because former Massad insiders had perpetrated it. Exceedingly riled, a cadre of Massad counselors and staff informally known as the "Massad mafia" raised money from their coworkers and rented a light aircraft and a pilot. Three members of their group—Abie Kraushar, Ray Arzt, and Rabbi Louis Bernstein—flew over the Ramah camp and "bombed" it with 500 leaflets excoriating Ramah for its alleged anti-Zionism. Arzt, who could recognize Ramah from the air, acted as the spotter, while Kraushar threw the leaflets out the window. As for Bernstein, the most anxious of the three, his job was to sit in the back of the plane and recite tehilim (psalms). Unfortunately for the Massad mafia, the wind carried all of the leaflets into the woods, and few if any at Ramah actually witnessed the strafing because it occurred while lunch was being served in the dining hall. In fact, the incident only came to their attention a few days later when a counselor came upon a few leaflets while hiking in the woods with his campers. Years later, Ettenberg was still holding onto a letter of apology for the incident from Shulsinger.

— Drs. Sarah Bunin Benor, Jonathan Krasner, and Sharon Avni in Hebrew Infusion: Language and Community at American Jewish Summer Camps, pp. 150–152

1960s – 1970s: The Age of Aquarius

In 1965, Rabbi David Mogilner began a program that brought Israelis, known as mishlachat (Hebrew: "משלחת", lit. "delegation"), to Ramah Poconos every summer. Israeli staff have traditional jobs in camp, such as swim instructors, teachers, and sports staff, and also organize programming related to Israel. Brown writes that "[a]s accessible models, they were expected to improve the level of Hebrew in camp and to communicate the reality of Israel better than any classroom discussion could". The mishlachat program has been implemented at other Ramah camps and is thriving today.

Hurricane Agnes in 1972 caused major damage to the Wilkes-Barre area. For Yom Daled (Hebrew: "יומ ד", lit. "Wednesday") activities, edot traveled to the area to help clean up.

The Big Cheese

The Mercaz (Hebrew: "מרכז", lit. "Center"), likely the oldest building still standing in camp today, was the camp dining hall for years. Today it is used for a variety of activities including radio, singing and dancing, and nature.

The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair was a major event with over 50,000,000 attendees. At the fair nations, states, and companies presented exhibits and demonstrated new technology. Wisconsin presented what they billed as the "World's Largest Cheese", weighing 34,591 pounds (over 17¹⁄₄ tons).

After the fair, Ramah purchased the structure that held the cheese and other attractions. This structure became the camp's combined dining hall, known as the Chadar O'chel (Hebrew: "חדר אוכל"), kitchen, and drama studio in 1968, and is still used today. This has led to two legends: that the structure was purchased for $1, and that the smell of cheese still permeates the structure. While there is no known evidence on paper of the former, many Ramahniks believe it may be true that Ramah paid $1 for the building and for the transportation costs.

For over forty years now, nearly a quarter million campers, counselors, and staff have used these buildings to eat, pray, put on camp shows, and too many other activities to mention. At age nine, I watched the lunar landing on a single small B&W TV (with crummy reception, of course) that had been placed on the stage for the entire camp to watch. Between being at the World's Fair and then recycled for extensive memory-rich usage at Camp, those wood walls and metal girders have hosted more happy people than most of the world's structures.

— email from David Bruskin to nywf64.com, January 10, 2009

The cheese was purchased by The Borden Company. Another part of the structure, the Rotunda of the Wisconsin Pavilion, was moved to Neillsville, Wisconsin, and is currently used as a broadcasting booth. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. A film about the legacy of the fair which mentions Ramah's role in it, After The Fair: The Legacy of the 1964-65 NY World's Fair, is available on YouTube.

Rabbi Mogilner

Rabbi Mogilner was director of camp from 1960-1967, and again in 1975, and National Ramah Director from 1968-?. Brown writes:

...Mogilner earned a reputation as a tough, efficient, thorough, and innovative educator and administrator. A rather brusque person easily embarrassed by PDA ("public displays of affection", a commonly used camp expression in those days), he was, in fact, extraordinarily caring and supportive, "a closet mensch," as one staff member characterized him. In the Poconos he had been one of the pioneers of the Mador and of a senior counsellor training (madrich bachir) program. Professor Joe Lukinsky considers Mogilner's greatness to have been the ability to see the educational possibilities in all activities from everyday routine to the one-time extravaganza. Rabbi Sheldon Dorph, later himself to become National Ramah Director, studied with Mogilner at the Poconos. As a teacher, Dorph has said, he "modeled for us the art and passion of Jewish education."

In 1972 Rabbi Mogilner wrote an essay, or more accurately a letter, "Ramah Is My Pulpit...", addressed "to my (or any Jewish) mother". It begins:

Immediately upon being ordained by the seminary, I accepted an appointment as a Ramah Director. My mother was upset; what could tell her friends when they asked about me and the pulpit I didn't accept. She found it difficult to say that I was a camp director. After all those years of study and preparation, it didn't sound like a "job for a nice Jewish Rabbi". She didn't think to say I was a Jewish educator—there was no formal school building involved. She chose rather to say, "He works with youth."

She really was right; Ramah was my pulpit and my constituency was young people. As sons will, I never did get around to telling here "what I did in the winter time" and more important, why I chose Ramah as a career (it's fifteen years now). I write them (now) for "my folks," and for all folks.

and ends:

Next time they ask you, Ma, tell them what I do, tell them why I do it. Tell them I have a job that befits a "nice Jewish Rabbi". Tell them I wouldn't have done it differently if I had to start over again. But, most important of all, Ma, tell them "Ramah makes Jews".

Mogilner died at camp during Summer 1975.

Rabbi Steven M. Brown wrote an essay "'I Make Jews': The Role of Rabbi David Mogilner, z"l, and His Influence on Ramah" about Mogilner.

Stories From the 1960s and 70s

Larry Fox has uploaded YouTube videos from the 1960s at Camp Tioga. Ramah is in the background of a few shots on Fork Mountain Pond. YouTube user waveman100 has also uploaded a few videos of Camp Tioga in 1968 and 1970. Camp Tioga's last summer was in 1976 — it was sold and became Camp Lavi, which had its first summer in 1977.

In the 1970s?, David Goldstein (not the same person as Rabbi David Goldstein), who would later become president of Ramah Poconos' board, was the camp bus driver. On the first day of camp, Goldstein was driving campers to camp when the bus failed to get up "Mile Hill", the hill leading up to the camp. To reduce weight, campers got off the bus and walked the rest of the way — and the bus trudged up the hill. Upon his arrival, Goldstein was told to drive the bus to the edge of the camp's property across the woods, where it sat until its "rediscovery" decades later.

For decades, Ramah has had a morning paper for staff members called Kol B'Ramah (Hebrew: "קול ברמה", lit. "Voice of Ramah"). This paper contains the schedule for the day and various announcements. Below are two Kolim B'Ramah, one from 1978 and one from 2022. The 1978 edition includes a note asking if any staff members are interested in teaching a Tanach (Hebrew: "תנ״ך", lit. "Bible") class at Akiba.

Many Ramah camps had financial issues in the 1970s. Each individual camp was to pay an assessment to the National Ramah Commission. In 1976 Poconos stated that it would pay part, but not all, of its assessment, a decision which was criticized as being irresponsible to the other Ramah camps as well as the Seminary. The National Ramah Commission (NRC) considered removing the Poconos Commission from office. Poconos gave in in 1977 when the NRC threatened to revoke Poconos' right of camp ownership.

A valuable resource of the history of camp is the videos created by Norman Einhorn, a few of which are posted on YouTube. An incredible window into the 80s is "We Write Stuff With Fire", written and performed by Einhorn, based on "We Didn't Start The Fire" by Billy Joel. The song is played on a video of footage from the the 80s, 90s, and 2000s. It references many well-known people within camp, including Jean Blum, the Birenbaums, and the Mayos — in addition to buildings and events at camp.

Other videos include "Ramah Idol" and "You Got It", a music video by Gesher 1989. Einhorn's YouTube channel has other videos.

In 197?, due to a staff shortage, camp leadership implemented a policy requiring counselors to take on second jobs such as sports staff. Frustrated by this policy, a group of counselors left camp and went to the house of a camper who lived near camp, where they were welcomed by the camper's family. The staff stayed at the house and refused to return to camp until the policy was changed, negotiating with camp leadership over the phone. Eventually camp leadership conceded, and the boycotting staff returned to camp.

Resources from the 70s

Ramah has historically had a very strong Teva (Hebrew: "טבע", lit. "Nature") program. The "Teva room" in the Mercaz is the current home of Teva, although it was previously in a building near the Chadar O'chel, today known as Bet Shemesh, and previously as Bet Teva.

In 2022, multiple books written by Ehud Kalfon, who led the Teva program for years were re-discovered. The Teva room, which had long housed fossils, had itself become a fossil.

These books provide information about the area's plants and animals, and include documents and photographs from camp — the Kol B'Ramah from 1978 is from this book.

Some of Kalfon's books and a few pages in them:

Similarly, Susan Rand-Lakritz, Program Director, has historical documents in her office. One of these is a list of questions for a "College Bowl" trivia contest from 1980.

• How many trees are in the middle of boys campus? 2
• What is D.J.'s first name? Dominick
• What is Don Dyer's middle name? Donald, his first initial is H
• What is Archie's real 1st name? Arthur
• What is Moishe Saks real first name? Maurice
• What is Soco's real name — first and last? Shari Socolof
• What county are we in? Wayne County
• What are the six Ramah camps in U.S.? Nyack, Berkshires, Poconos, Palmer, California, Wisconsin
• Where was the old library, and why is it not there? Where they're building the Birnbaum library — it was struck by lightning and burnt down
• When and why did they convert 14 and 15 into separate bunks with separate bathrooms? 1978 — Havurah boys and girls were in that bunk together
• Name one of the streets the J.T.S is on. 122nd and Bdwy
• What team color won the Maccabiah last summer? Red
• What was Archie's first year as Rosh Machaneh? 1976
• What was Don Dyers dog's name before Fido? Dawg
• What is Dave the Baker's last name? Hollis
• Who was Rosh Sport before Amy? Paul Messinger
• Who is Amy Cohen engaged to? Barry Blum
• How many Saks brothers are in camp — who are they and what are their jobs? Alan — Rosh Nitzanim, Mosh — Tsorchanio, Joe — Camp Driver
• What is the full name of the camp mother? Jean Blum
• Who was steward last year? Glenda Wolff
• What is Miriam Ruberg's maiden name? Glenda Wolff
• Who was the founder of this Ramah in the Poconos? Rabbi Goldstein
• Who was the first male counselor of a female bunk? Bruce Lipton — 2 years ago — Jill Golub went home with stomach trouble
• Name five people on staff whose initials are the same letters Mike Monson, Mike Miller, Karen Karsiff, Sarah Steinberg, Barry Blum, Reuben Romirowsky, Don Dyer, Sue Stein, Dr. Ted Tapper
• How many trees are in right center field of the upper baseball field near the chadar? 3
• How many tennis courts were on the upper courts last year? 3, this year there are 2
• What two new things are different about the upper basketball courts? They painted Camp Ramah in the middle - and new nets
• Where was the old canteen? Nature room
• What's the name of the lake? Fork Mountain Pond
• What was the name of Lavi before Lavi? Tioga

The following are from a different sheet with an unknown year:

• What is Bubbie's real name? Eva Leibowitz
• Name the last 3 business managers before Ernie Simon? Breswow (spelling?), Don Dyer, Gerry Polin
• What purpose did the present main office serve during the 70's? Don Dyer's house
• Sheva (spelling?) has been Rosh Hinuch (spelling?) for the past two years. Give the 5 Roshei Hinuch before her. Bob Brown, Sheron Yipsly (spelling?), Rela Monson, Danny Margolis, Joe Lubeinsky (spelling?)
• What is Pat The Baker's middle name? The
• Give 5 names for the oldest edah in this camp. Gesher, Hovura (Tzibu (spelling?)), Machon, Etgar, Kvutzat Yonaton
• Name the area code
  • Hancock 607
  • Monbello (spelling?) 914
  • Manhattan 212
  • Brooklyn 718
  • Lake Como 717

The gallery below contains photographs from Ramah throughout its entire history. Most of the images are from the Camp Ramah in the Poconos Alumni Facebook group.

Detour: The Campus

We will now take a detour from a chronological history of the camp, and explore some history of the campus and nearby places.

Ice Cream

In August 1916, actress Anita Stewart was filming a movie, likely The Girl Philippa, in Lake Como. Unfortunately, this film is considered lost. A reporter, "Tiff" Sullivan, invited Stewart for an ice cream soda at Woodmansee's village grocery.

Walt and Mary's was an ice cream store owned by Walter Griffith. It was located near where Jericho's is today. Griffith, a carpenter, built a new church for the Lake Como United Methodist Church on the property with his ice cream store; in return, he was given the Church's land. The land he received from the Church is the same land Jericho's is located on today.

The land was sold to Dominic Joseph, who started an ice cream store called DJ's. One summer, Joseph visited Ramah and said "anee ohev Ramah" (Hebrew: "אני אוהב רמה", lit. "I love Ramah") at the dining hall. Many Ramahniks still refer to Jericho's as DJ's.

Fay Woodmansee, related to the aforementioned Woodmansee, wanted to open an ice cream store. Her aunt owned an ice cream store in Lake Como called Alice's Cow Palace but would not sell it to Fay. Woodmansee bought DJ's from Joseph, and the building was inspected. Woodmansee jokes, "they said 'you need new ceilings, walls, and floors'. I said, 'oh, so the windows are good'". They did a controlled burn, knocked down the building, and built a new one based on Woodmansee's design. Jericho Dairy Bar opened in 1988?.

Woodmansee, now a retired teacher, is currently selling Jericho's. She planned to retire in 2019, but the COVID-19 pandemic changed her plans. She now plans to retire after the 2022 season. Jericho Dairy Bar is currently available for sale.

For decades campers would hike to get ice cream: 4.5 miles across Lakewood and Lake Como, crossing through Camp Morasha. This tradition fizzled out, likely due to safety concerns, but the 2017 Shoafim boys made the first hike in years. Counselors Mike Zlotnick, Josh Jutcovich, and Zach Hahn lobbied upper camp staff, and enlisted the help of Aliza Avital, who led the hike. The boys did the hike again the next summer when they were Gesherniks.

The Flannigans

The Flannigans have been in the area since the 1800s. Like the Roarks, they are farmers. Today many tell stories, most fictional, of "Farmer Flannigan". A descendent of the Flannigans said they have had a few issues with campers from Ramah and Lavi trespassing on their property. They recalled an incident in which one of the camps released confetti from an airplane to mark the start of color war; some of the confetti missed the camp and landed on their farm, which frustrated them. They noted that recently there have been fewer incidents of trespassing.

Property

Ramah leases its property from the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS). There is a rumor that Ramah pays $1 per year for its lease, but this has not been confirmed.

The camp community spends almost the entirety of its time on its main campus, which contains every building in the camp, except for a few maintenance sheds, the Mayo family home, the sanitation area, and staff parking. However, the property owned by JTS also includes land across from the pond and across the road.

Bunks

The first bunks built were built for Camp Tabor. These bunks formed a semi-circle facing the lake, a formation that is still in place today. Based on photographs, it seems that in the 1920s and 30s Tabor had 11 bunks. Today Migrash Harim (Hebrew: "מגרש הרים", lit. "Mountain Field") has 15 bunks (Boy's Campus was renamed to Migrash Harim in 2021).

Below are photos taken from around the same spot from both Camp Tabor and Camp Ramah. The left photo was taken around 1939, and the right photo 2022.

The bunks from Tabor may have been knocked down and rebuilt at some point, potentially during the 1950s or 60s. The bunks have been renovated in almost every aspect, but the foundations have remained the same for decades. Whether the bunks on Migrash Etzim (Hebrew: "מגרש עצים", lit. "Tree Field") (previously Girl's Campus) were built for Tabor (perhaps when it began accepting boys) or for Ramah is not clear, and further research is needed.

Bunks 26 & 27, 28 & 29, and 30 & 31, each pairings, were built around the 1970s. Below is a drawing of schematics of new bunks — likely 26 & 27 based on the drawings.

These were the newest bunks until Bet Yedidim was built in 2016, and 32 & 33, replacing Bet Shoafim, were built in 2018.

Camping Across The Pond

Because the property surrounding the land across the pond is owned by "Farmer Flannigan" and Camp Lavi, the only legal method of travel to the property is through the pond, either by swimming or vessel. This land was a common camping ground for decades, with campers from both Tabor and Ramah camping across the pond until the mid 2000s. Recent plans and efforts are in progress made to revitalize this land as a camping ground but as yet have not been fruitful.

Bowling Alley Under Bet Mogilner

The bowling alley under Bet Mogilner was [REDACTED] . It [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] since [REDACTED]. Considering [REDACTED] , it [REDACTED] .

Frog Island

Next to the camp's main campus is an area known as Frog Island — despite not having many frogs or being an island. This is a commonly visited spot, and previously was a common camping spot, though interest has waned in recent years. A short trail to the island has blueberry bushes, and the island has a barbed-wire fence demarcating the border with Farmer Flannigan.

A photograph from Camp Tabor's 1929 Year Book suggests that at one point, Frog Island did not have many trees — today, it is a forest.

Explorations Across The Road

Although almost all camp buildings and activities are on the eastern side of Upper Woods Road, camp has more property on the western side. Until recently, the road was rarely crossed by campers and staff alike.

In 2001, camp started a chugim (Hebrew: "חוגים", lit. "Classes") program where bunks worked on projects during the summer. The Bogrim boys of Bunk 4 (G2K4) began clearing out an area across from the road as a camping ground. Throughout the summer they traveled to the spot, a few minutes' walk from the main campus, and built a campsite. They cleared out a path to it, lined it with branches, and found stones for a firepit. While they made significant progress, there have been few if any overnights at the camping grounds due to safety concerns. The area is known today as "Bunk 4" and is a common spot for hiking.

Interest in these woods led to the creation of a trail in Summer 2021, Shvili Tabor (Hebrew: "שבלי טבור", lit. "Trail Tabor"), which snakes throughout the woods. In Summer 2022 there were efforts to more thoroughly clear and mark the trail, but little progress was made.

The bus from the aforementioned story is also across the road. The bus was a well-kept secret until its "rediscovery" in Summer 2021 during a survey of the area by members of upper camp staff. Perhaps itching to explore following quarantines due to COVID-19, campers and staff made regular journeys to the bus. The area surrounding the bus is named K'far Goldstein (Hebrew: "כפר גולדסטיין", lit. "Village Goldstein") after the driver of the bus, David Goldstein, and is a stop on Shvili Tabor.

Fork Mountain Pond

Fork Mountain Pond is also known as Fork Mountain Lake,, Forked Mountain Pond, Forked Mountain Lake, Butterfly Lake,, Lake Tioga, and Lake Ramah. Fork Mountain Pond is so named because it is on a forked mountain.

It has long been legend that Fork Mountain Pond was created by humans. While this is possible, there is no definitive evidence. The earliest known mention of the pond is in a deed sale from 1885, so the pond would need to have been made before that time. There is, however, some evidence that humans may have played a role in the formation of the pond. In Ramah's property across the pond, there are a number of crevices that could be natural, but are positioned in a way that suggests they were created by humans. One theory is that these crevices were created as borders, with plans to expand the pond up to these points, but that these plans were not realized. Further research is needed to more accurately determine the history of the pond.

Bet Kenesset

The camp used to have Kabbalat Shabbat services at the bottom of Migrash Banim (Hebrew: "מגרש בנים", English: "Boy's Campus", lit. "Boy's Field"). Benches were brought from around the camp to the bottom of the hill, then returned after services. In 1996? the Harry & Martha Stern Outdoor Synagogue, also known as the Bet Kenesset (Hebrew: "בית כנםת", English: "Synagogue", lit. "House of Assembly") hebrew was built. Below is a drawing of schematics.

Architectural plans from 1984 show that two locations were considered: "Location A", at the bottom of Girl's Campus, and "Location B", at the bottom of Boy's Campus. If Location B had been chosen, services would have taken place at the same location as they had been for years, but with benches affixed rather than transported. Location A was chosen, and the Bet Kenesset is still in use today.

2000s – 2010s

Camp Songs

At camp, three Ramah songs are regularly sung.

The first two are not Poconos-specific: Tov Li B'Machaneh Ramah (Hebrew: "טוב לי במחנה רמה", lit. "How Good It Is To Be In Camp Ramah") by Rabbi Moshe Re'em, and Himnon Ramah (Hebrew: "המנון רמה", lit. "Ramah Anthem") by Rabbi Moshe Greenberg to music composed by Gladys Gewirtz Hedaya. Poconos has a tradition in which campers shout "Tioga" during the song. It's not clear when this tradition started, or the reason it's shouted, but one theory is that it was shouted toward Tioga when the two camps were neighbors. An article by Ramah Wisconsin explores the history of Himnon Ramah.

Harold Messinger was a staff kid who spent 23 summers at camp during the 1970s, 80s, and 90s. In 2005, he returned with his family, working at camp for the first time in years. Being at camp with his family was moving for him. During staff week Messinger was at the Mercaz and drew inspiration from the afternoon sun coming into the building. He started playing a riff and singing "Chozrim Habayta" (Hebrew: "חוזרים הביתה", lit. "Returning Home"). He hadn't planned to write a song, but liked it and shared it with other members of music staff, including Yoni Avital. He continued playing with it during first session, writing more words and focusing on writing Hebrew that campers would understand.

At the staff meeting before Visiting Day, Messinger shared it with the director at the time, Rabbi Todd Zeff, who loved it, and then with the staff at the meeting, who shared Zeff's excitement. Second session, the music staff taught the song to the camp. The following summer, people continued to sing the song, and it is still sung regularly today. To many it's considered "The Camp Song".

2020s

The 2020 season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic — the first time in the camp's history a camping season was cancelled. The following summers, 2021 and 2022, proceeded mostly as traditional summers, albeit with new masking and testing protocols and a changed meal structure in the Chadar O'chel.

Next summer, 2023, will be Ramah's 74^th. This will be Miryam Seid's first as director, and

Camp Legends

A common discussion at camp is who is considered a "Camp Legend". This is far from a definitive list; if you think it is missing someone, please share.

Michael Levin

Michael Levin z"l was a camper at Ramah. He had the nickname "Termite" because, according to his counselor and current director Rabbi Joel Seltzer, "he was very small and could do a lot of damage, including some broken fluorescent bulbs in our bunks through the years". Levin had wanted to make Aliya since he was 10. A story often told at camp is that Levin traveled to Israel and had been waiting for weeks for documents required to enlist in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Frustrated, he visited an admissions office, and was turned away for missing the documents. Rather than give up, Levin went around the building, pushed a dumpster against it, and climbed in through a second-story window. Impressed by his determination, office staff gave Levin the documents he had come for.

Levin joined the IDF as a paratrooper and was known as a "Lone Soldier", meaning he had no family in Israel. He was killed in battle on August 1, 2006. He is buried on Har Herzl and his funeral was attended by thousands. For more information on Levin's story, read this article about him in Tablet Magazine.

References

Notes

The history on this website is based on newspaper articles, books, interviews, deeds, and other documents. It is possible that things are misleading, misstated, or plain wrong. In particular, the history of the land before the purchase by the Roarks is especially unclear.

In addition, this website indubitably leaves out hundreds of people, events, and stories that are important to the history of Camp Ramah in the Poconos. Anyone is welcome to contribute to this website — please email jonathansaewitz@gmail.com. The code is open source on GitHub.

Here are known areas that should be written about or expanded upon:

• The Mayo family and their camp history
• The Mador program at camp

Thank You

• Mary Silverstein, Archivist at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, for her help obtaining Rabbi Jacob Grossman's Tabor documents
• Susan Rand-Lakritz for providing documents, including a Camp Tabor post card, Kolim B'Ramah, and Ramah trivia, and sharing stories and information about Ramah
• Michael Dweck and Jack at Cornell University for taking pictures of Camp Tabor Year Books
• Michael Saewitz for sharing a copy of In Honor of the 25^th Anniversary of Camp Ramah in the Poconos, and sharing stories and information about Ramah
• officialdata.org for inflation numbers
• Pearl Graub for sharing her copy of Forward From 50, and Graub Goldstein and her mother, Evelyn, for photographs of Camp Tabor; and The Camera Shop in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania for digitizing them
• Bruce Lipton, Benjy Goldberg, Remi Sitko, Dina Relles, and Deb Srulevich for sharing their office and schematics of buildings
• Meryl Sussman, Elhanan Brown, Benjy Goldberg, Aliza Avital, Ian Schachter, Sue Schwartzman, and Judah Rand-Lakritz for sharing stories and information about Ramah
• Rabbi Eric Yanoff and Rabbi David Ackerman for translating Hebrew and helping with contextualizing history
• Shuly Rubin Schwartz, Michael Brown, and Sandra Fox for their thorough research into Ramah's history
• Seth Fein for taking pictures of the letters from Rabbis Segal and Grossman in Bet Mogilner
• Aviva Weinstein for sharing a brochure about camp from the 1950s from her class
• Drs. Sarah Bunin Benor, Jonathan Krasner, and Sharon Avni for permission to include an excerpt from their book
• Members of the Facebook groups Camp Ramah in the Poconos Alumni, Camp Tioga Alumni, and Wayne County, PA, Things that aren't there anymore...... for sharing stories, photographs, documents, and information
• Tzevet Ma'yim 2022 for the boat ride to take a picture of camp
• Fay, Rose, and Kevin, Lake Como locals, for sharing stories and information about Lake Como
• Dr. Michael Schatz for sharing information and resources about camp history
• Dr. Sol Heckelman and Dr. Daniel Drachman for sharing stories about being campers at Camp Tabor
• Ethan and Daniel Grossman for sharing stories about Camp Tabor, and Joe Grossman for connecting me with them
• vivus.js for drawing schematics

Footnotes

Citations

Bibliography & Further Reading

todo

• more from interviews with campers at tabor
• check with fae about jericho interview
• more about national ramah commission
• alt attributes
• mador
• boaz kalfon teva information
• camp legends
• history of camp songs
• bug with clicking footnote superscript
• counselor strike