Camp Chaverim is in full swing at the UJC with our largest summer to date. The smiling faces and sounds of laughter have been a joy to experience and we are so thankful for all the hard work Naioki and her team have put into crafting an incredible summer experience for our youth.  

My son's highlight from his first week was the camping challenge his group participated in. Looking at the tents throughout the gym, I couldn't help but see the correlation with this week's Torah reading, which describes the efforts of Bilam to curse the wandering Israelites on behalf of the Moabite king. The plan backfires when Bilam sees the people and instead blesses them with the famous words "Ma Tovu, How beautiful are your tents, Jacob! Your dwelling places, Israel."  

What was it about the tents that led him to reverse course?  

One answer can be found by looking at the previous verse for the moment he had his change of heart, where the text uses the Hebrew word שכן to describe the Israelites dwelling together. But we can look closer at this word and others words that share its letters to see it means more than simply living together. Dwelling together is also... 

שכינה  - a place where holy presence resides. 

שכונה - a neighborhood where no one is a stranger. 

ש-כונה  a place filled with intention and purpose. 

 ש-כן  - a place where we say yes to each other.  

If Bilam had come to our Camp Chaverim tents this week, he would have seen these values on full display as our campers cheered one another on, built new friendships and made lasting memories.  ​​​​​​​

Ultimately, we are all blessed when we commit to live according to our values and work towards building a community where everyone is included and where we strive to be intentional in our decisions. When we do this, we are able to transform something ordinary into something holy.  ​​​​​​​

Ma Tovu - How beautiful are our tents.  

Shabbat Shalom,
Eric Maurer
Executive Director 
emaurer@ujcvp.org