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Shalom! We hope you are having a wonderful fall. Here in the camp office we are already busy getting ready for next summer. Camper applications are coming in, staff is being hired and we are planning some really exciting programming. With all of this planning, we have also been reflecting on last summer. What an incredible journey! Together we built a holy community and created that special camp magic, the memory of which is hopefully carrying your camper through to next year. We are so very thankful for each and every one of you, and we hope to see your family again this coming summer. Please enjoy this first installment of our family newsletter, which includes a spotlight on one of our staff members, a word from Rabbi Eshel and recipes from John Bard. As the year moves on, we will have more news about camp, our staff, information to get ready for camp and more. Don’t forget to share it with your children/campers!
Campers, this is your moment. We know you all like wearing the camp swag, but what if, just what if, YOU could have a hand in designing it?! From now until February 1, we will collect entries for our first ever “Wilshire Boulevard Temple Camps T-shirt Contest.” Give us your very best designs. If your design is chosen, you will bask in the satisfaction of a job well done and will proudly view your finished product on the shirts of your fellow campers. So get moving and send us your very best work—we can’t wait! For questions or to submit an entry, email jen@wbtcamps.org.
Gwenne Pagarigan has been the art director at Camp Hess Kramer for the last five summers and has made such a beautiful impact on our community. During the year she teaches art at a public high school in San Diego. Read on to learn more about Gwenne…
Q: What made you decide to work for Wilshire Boulevard Temple camps?
A: Camp combines some of the best things in life—making things beautiful (art), hanging out and exchanging life views with quirky, sweet, weird, fun kids of all ages, surfing county line in the early mornings, John Bard's food.
Q: What do you do during the year?
A: During the year I am an art educator at a public high school in San Diego. I teach sculpture and ceramics and metalsmithing. I surf and box and garden too.
Q: What is your favorite thing about camp?
A: I love the creativity of the community. They make amazing costumes out of whatever they can get their hands on—gorgeous themed banquets out of nothing but paper and paint. Basically, it’s a place where you can make magic happen all day.
Q: If you could spend one day at camp doing anything, what would your day look like?
A: Surf in the early morning, drink a bunch of coffee, have kids tell jokes to get lanyard string, do a group project, maybe some circle painting or broken tile mosaic, drink some mint tea from the CHK garden, hike the fire trail at sunset. Siyum.
Q: What is your favorite camp memory?
A: Watching a group of L-ship kids pull together in a last ditch effort to finish their project—they showed some real dedication. Any Shabbat song session.
Every morning at camp we start the day together as one big community. We gather at the flagpole and our first communal words are “Thank You!” We sing Modeh Ani, thanking God for this new day and the opportunity to live it to its fullest. It is Jewish to say thank you, and if you think about it, as a communal people this makes perfect sense. Deceptively simple, these are two little words with big implications.
When we say thank you, we acknowledge we are part of something greater than ourselves, that we must rely on others to make our way through this world, and we appreciate it. When we receive the thank you, it lets us know that what we do has meaning and purpose and we are appreciated. It gives us strength to keep on doing for others rather than just for ourselves.
These Jewish words connect us to each other—to loved ones and strangers alike. It shows others and ourselves that we are human and vulnerable and that we are not alone. In our relationship with God, when we say thank you for each new day, for the bread we eat, for the miracles that surround us, it humbles us—we are not totally in control and life is fragile. So as we enter this holiday season, often sharing moments with friends and family, let us do so with the intention and understanding of actually giving thanks, knowing we are bringing a piece of camp into our homes in a very Jewish way.
Ingredients:
2 oz. Fresh Yeast (1/2 brick)
2.5 cups Water, Warm (110-120 degrees)
1 tsp Egg Shade Food Color
1/2 cup Honey
1 TB Salt
6 oz. Salad Oil
4 ea. Whole Eggs
2 Qts. High Gluten Flour
Instructions:
Set up tabletop mixer with dough hook. Dissolve yeast, honey, food color and warm water in mixing bowl. Let stand for five minutes until it forms foam on top similar to a head of beer. Add salt, oil and eggs and stir to combine. With mixer on speed #2, slowly add flour until the dough cleans the sides of the mixing bowl. Knead dough on speed #2 for seven minutes. Remove dough from bowl and place in a large greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place for 30 minutes. The dough should double in size. Punch down dough and place on floured worktable. Cut into desired portions and roll portions into dough balls. Place balls onto papered sheet pans, ready for braiding.
Materials needed for braiding:
Dough Cutters
Bowls of Flour
Egg Wash (50/50 eggs and water) with pastry brush
Garnishes: poppy seeds, raisins, and sesame seeds
After challah is braided, bake in a 325-degree convection oven for 30 - 35 minutes until challah is golden brown and hollow sounding when tapped on. Remove from oven and cool on rack.
