Shabbat-O-Gram 7/24/2026

Dear Kingswood Families and Friends,

If you receive a letter in the next few days from your camper saying they fasted for Tisha B’Av, it’s not from the wrong kid – it’s really them!

From Wednesday at sundown until Thursday night, 60 campers chose to fast under the supervision of our staff, who made sure their activities were modified, they stayed hydrated as appropriate, and they kept out of the heat.

Which got me wondering…

How does a camp that uses microphones, campfires, and cars on Shabbat end up with 60 kids voluntarily observing one of the strictest traditions of the Jewish calendar, commemorating the saddest day of the year?

Most of our campers don’t come from homes where Tisha B’Av is observed, and for many of our new campers, yesterday was the first time they’d ever heard of the holiday. During lunch on Thursday, I wandered up to the Health Center tent, where the fasters spent mealtime hanging out together with board games, cards, books, and art projects. I was curious why they chose to fast, and their answers told a story about Kingswood’s uniqueness that I wanted to share.

“Why are you fasting?”

“Today I feel like I am a part of something bigger than myself,” one camper said.

“It makes me feel proud to be Jewish,” said another.

A couple campers wanted to know if they could do something that sounded hard, and saw it as a challenge. Another said he wanted to experience, in some small way, what our ancestors experienced. Others were continuing a tradition they had started at their own b’nai mitzvah.

One camper even said, “I’m not Jewish, but I love that I go to a Jewish camp and I’m fasting to support my friends.”

There wasn’t one right answer. There also wasn’t one “right” way to fast. Some campers skipped breakfast and lunch. Some drank water and some didn’t. The day before, I had introduced the holiday and gathered everyone who wanted to fast for a meeting. I reminded them of something we talk about a lot at Kingswood, that we make space for people to ‘do camp’ as they choose. Our mission statement even says “camp at each camper’s own pace,” and we honor that in every way. No two campers have the exact same schedule, with so much choice in a day, and that philosophy extends to how campers choose to interpret Jewish customs and traditions at camp too. Campers can choose how they want to be Jewish at Kingswood, and it doesn’t need to be as someone else tells them it should be.

As I’ve been thinking about their “whys,” I found myself thinking about all the negative narratives about kids and young adults.

If you listen to adults long enough, you’d think this generation is doomed. They’re glued to their phones. They don’t want to work hard. They only know what they read on Tik Tok. Their attention span is less than eight seconds. They’re disengaged. They’re entitled and self-absorbed.

This week, 60 campers challenged those assumptions.

Not one camper talked about obligation. They talked about belonging. About understanding history. About challenging themselves. About being part of something bigger than themself.

Maybe the question isn’t whether young people care about substance, but whether we’re giving them enough opportunities to find it. I don’t think young people today are avoiding meaning. I think they’re hungry for it.

We’re not a “religious” camp, and as I often describe to new parents, we’re not the kind of camp that has to make every program into a Jewish moment. Not every scavenger hunt has to be turned into ‘Escape from Egypt,’ so there’s a Jewish connection. Religion is not the primary conversation for most of our camp families at home, and it’s not the primary conversation for us at camp. We describe Kingswood like Tel Aviv. Shops and restaurants are open on Shabbat, but you still feel as though you’re in Jewish time and space.

Here, campers experience Jewish life not as an obligation, but as part of the fabric of our culture, and as an opportunity, to connect to history, to community, and to something bigger than themselves. The more ownership they can take over what being Jewish means in their own lives, the more likely it is to matter to them when no one else is around.

That feels especially important right now.

Our children are growing up in a world where being Jewish feels increasingly complicated. They’re encountering anti-Semitism earlier and more openly than many of us ever imagined they would. If that’s the world they’re inheriting, then I want them to have a Jewish identity rooted in meaning, not fear. One that fills them with pride instead of hesitation. One that gives them community instead of isolation. One that builds resilience instead of anxiety. One that helps them see being Jewish as something that enriches their lives rather than something they just have to defend.

On Thursday, 60 campers chose to fast.

Give kids the chance to be part of something meaningful, and they’ll often surprise us.

Thank you for trusting us with the privilege of creating those moments at Kingswood. It’s one of the greatest responsibilities, and Tisha B’Av reminded me why I believe so deeply in the power of Jewish camp.

Wishing you and your family a peaceful Shabbat,

Jodi