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Miryam Seid S2 Ep1
32 Plays1 year ago
Join us as we interview our very own Miryam Seid, who serves as the Executive Director of Camp Ramah in the Poconos. We do a deep dive into all things Miryam -- getting the dirt on what makes her family's gefilte fish so unique -- as well as serving up the tea on the magic of a summer at Ramah.
This is the first of our new series focused on Adath Israel members who work in the Jewish community.
Kibbitzing without Kiddush is a podcast of Adath Israel on the Main Line.
Transcript
Introduction and Series Announcement
00:00:00
Speaker
We can converse without the coffee, or debate without the bagel, or a little juicy gossip, but no juice could we finagle. In English, in Hebrew, in abyssal, a Yiddish, we're missing you, come listen to, kibitzing without kiddish. Greetings and welcome to Kibitzing Without Kiddish Redux.
00:00:26
Speaker
We are bringing you a special series of interviews that we've conducted with members of the Aditha Israel congregation who also happen to work in the Jewish world.
Miriam Said's Journey and Origins
00:00:38
Speaker
So our first interview is with our very own Miriam Said, Executive Director of Camp Ramon the Poconos. Enjoy! Miriam!
00:00:51
Speaker
We are so happy to have you on our Adith Israel podcast, which was formerly named Kibitzing Without Kiddush. This was a product of the COVID era in which we attempted to reach people in their homes, but we want to bring it back. And we are starting off our series on congregants who just happen to be in the field of Jewish education or Jewish nonprofit work.
00:01:21
Speaker
And who better to start within our very own Miriam Said, who is the executive director of Camperma in the Poconos, a place near and dear to my heart, near and dear to Rabbi Yanov's heart. And I know for sure, near and dear to your heart and of course, your children's hearts. So welcome to the podcast.
Significance of Shekhiyanu Blessing and Family Background
00:01:42
Speaker
Well, thank you for having me. This is so exciting. Always thrilled to be able to talk to my rabbis, but also to be on a podcast for the first time. So big shakakiyanu for me, and I'm really excited to chat.
00:01:59
Speaker
Amazing. I mean, we should definitely say Shekhiano at some point over the course of the podcast because it wouldn't be a Rama moment without a Shekhiano. You know, you can't, you have to sort of actualize it. But, so why don't we do that? Why don't we say Shekhiano? Baruch ata Adonai, Elohinama khalam Shekhiano, v'kiyamana, v'kiyana, lassman, hazeh. Amen. Amen, Selah. So, Miriam, why don't you just start off and introduce yourself to our loyal base of listeners, you know, all five of them.
00:02:29
Speaker
And where you're from, how did you end up in the Philly area? Tell us about your family. You know, just the five minute sort of elevator pitch on who is Miriam's side.
00:02:41
Speaker
Wow, who is Miriam Side? So yes, my name is Miriam Side. I'm not a native Philadelphian, which is strange for me to say because I do really feel part of Philadelphia. I root for the Eagles, huge Flyers fan.
00:03:02
Speaker
I love that my son says water instead of water. So I really feel a part of the Philadelphia community, but my roots actually are I was born in Mexico City to Fannie and Ruben Rosenthal. They are Mexican Jews. They were born in Mexico City. And I started the first five years of my life being part of a thriving
00:03:29
Speaker
Jewish community in Mexico City. And for those of you that don't know about the community there, it is very close-knit. They have thriving Jewish day schools and a Jewish community center.
00:03:45
Speaker
and I grew up with parents very involved in the community. Not specifically in the synagogue, I will say, because they belonged to an Orthodox synagogue, not necessarily a conservative one. When they were there, they followed their family that belonged to an Orthodox synagogue, but they were very involved in the day school, which was called the Tarbut.
00:04:08
Speaker
And my dad and my mom both had leadership roles there. And at the age of five, my parents decided to move to San Diego
First Camp Ramah Experience and Educational Path
00:04:18
Speaker
with many, many other Mexican Jewish families. And we landed there, not really knowing or having family there, but quickly created another tight-knit Mexican Jewish community there.
00:04:34
Speaker
My parents were involved in starting a synagogue where they were able to recruit a rabbi from Argentina. So many times a lot of the conversations that took place at synagogue were in Spanish. And I belonged to a Jewish youth group called the Ken, where I was surrounded by other Mexican Jews. But it was a conservative synagogue that my parents decided
00:05:02
Speaker
To be a part of creating you know when i turned nine years old my parents ask the rabbi we'd love to send her to a jewish overnight camp where should we send her and the rabbi said.
00:05:19
Speaker
So, Camp Ramay in California. And I went there my first summer of 1989, and I then went on to stay there until 1997, both being a Chanicha and then going on to being on Sevet. Just for our loyal listeners, what is a Chanicha and what is Sevet?
00:05:41
Speaker
Sorry, I should know that and be better at that as a romantic, but that is a camper and being on staff. And so, Ramah was incredibly important to me in my younger years and throughout my life, actually. Even after I finished being on staff there, I had many mentors that encouraged me for college to go to LIS College.
00:06:08
Speaker
And that was a joint program between Columbia and JTS. And I will say that Rama played a huge part in that decision, as well as many of the subsequent decisions in my life. I like to refer to Rama.
00:06:26
Speaker
a guiding light and I then decided to become a Jewish professional and started my career as a fundraiser at JTS in their Department of Institutional Advancement and many of the rabbis that I know today were students when I was working at JTS and so I
00:06:49
Speaker
I've always loved being a Jewish professional. I've worked at other nonprofits from JTS to Penn Hill L, but my dream, to be honest with you, and I used to say this to my husband all the time, our family would go back to Ramon, California for the Passover experience, and I would say, man, I wish I could work at camp. And my husband would say, what are you gonna be, an art teacher? Like, what are you gonna do at camp?
00:07:15
Speaker
I said, you know, I don't know, but hopefully one day an opportunity will present
Impact of Addath Israel and Cultural Influences
00:07:20
Speaker
itself. And our family ended up for many reasons of following careers, including my husband, Adam, also an Addath member, obviously. We landed in Philly, in Center City, actually. Lived there for 10 years and then moved out to the mainline about two years ago. And we have two amazing kids.
00:07:45
Speaker
Daniel and Georgie. Daniel's at Pearlman Jewish Day School of fourth grade. And Georgie's at Barrick and she's in seventh grade. And here we are in Philadelphia. I mean, not to mention the fact that she's also the star of every antithetical production.
00:08:01
Speaker
I have to say I'm very indebted to the experience of the plays at Addith Israel. It has given my daughter this really unique community of both kids and adults that adore her, that encourage her, that give her a place on the stage. And I have to say that is a major perk of being an Addith Israel member that she has found
00:08:31
Speaker
this place within the synagogue? Well, we're grateful for her sharing her talents with the show. She was the best of the best. Two years running, she's had leads in the show. So we're grateful for your whole family being here, clearly. There's so many things that you just mentioned, right? So thank you for sharing that, I guess, the summary of your life story in five minutes. So thank you for actually accomplishing the task.
00:09:00
Speaker
But there's so much there to ask. You spoke about the Mexican Jewish community. Do you still have family there? Do you still go back ever?
00:09:08
Speaker
Or is there still a community in Mexico City? There's still a huge community in Mexico City. And yes, only my immediate family moved to America. So my parents' siblings still live there and are very much a part of that community. My mom's sister is actually part of a very orthodox community that lives in Mexico City.
00:09:33
Speaker
And my dad's brother is also part of a conservative and community aspect of being Jewish in Mexico City. So it really is quite diverse. We have Ashkenazi Jews and Sephardic Jews, and I say that because they're actually very two different communities in Mexico City.
00:09:57
Speaker
It's very rich in different types of culture within that community. And we have gone back, but funny enough, they obviously like to go visit my parents in San Diego more often than we end up in Mexico City. But I've obviously brought Adam, my husband, there to see my roots. My mom actually majored in cultural anthropology.
00:10:23
Speaker
She knows a lot about the many aspects of the history of Mexico. We've been able to tour Mexico City from her eyes. I look forward to the day of bringing the kids there for them to see what it was that I started with. That's so interesting. How has your roots impacted your Judaism, specifically your parenting? I would imagine that
00:10:52
Speaker
Is there Spanish in your house? You talk about Ashkenazi and Sephardi foods, but as a gastro Jew personally, are there Mexican Jewish foods? Is there like a Mexican take on Kugel, for example, or something like that? Is there some way in which Mexican culture has impacted your Judaism and the way that you personally practice?
00:11:14
Speaker
100% and in my house, I only speak in Spanish to my parents. And even though I married what we call a green go, an American, he also is part of that and has to sort of jump into it. And I think what defines the Mexican Jew is actually community.
00:11:43
Speaker
It's very connected to community, and I would say family. And so I think that's been the core of my Judaism also, wanting to be a part of something, which we can go into afterwards, a big reason why I joined ADIF, and also
00:12:04
Speaker
a connection to a commitment to community. So what does it mean to be a part of community? It means not only being present, but contributing. And I learned that from seeing the Mexican Jewish community in action.
Cultural Fusion and Language Transition
00:12:20
Speaker
They have this way of never leaving anyone behind. No matter what struggle a family is going through in the Mexican Jewish community, it will never be fought alone. And I talk about
00:12:33
Speaker
how I say casually, seeing it in action, but I really mean that. Early on in my life, in my 20s, I lost my brother and the Mexican Jewish community showed up in ways that
00:12:50
Speaker
are really incredible. They stood by my family. They were present from the minute they heard the news through many years afterwards in supporting us and making sure that we had what we need in that moment of need. And also, you know, when my daughter was born in San Diego,
00:13:12
Speaker
there's this custom of people coming to the hospital, which my husband, being American, was like, excuse me, when there was lines out the door. And my mom spent weeks leading up to the birth preparing gifts to give people that had the name of the baby when they came to greet me. And it's a very special, I would say, maybe some people would call overbearing,
00:13:37
Speaker
community that always is there and is present and takes action in both bad times and good times. So of course there's been an influence of Mexican food in our Jewish and Ashkenazi food in my household. And one of the most quintessential dishes I would say is gefilte mex.
00:14:00
Speaker
And gefilte mex is gefilte fish cooked in a spicy tomato sauce that has chili peppers and olives and capers and the styles from Vera Cruz, which is a place in Mexico.
00:14:17
Speaker
and it appears every Passover at our table. And it is really an experience for those that have never seen the combination. I know a lot of people associate gefilte fish with a jar and jelly and, but this is really truly spectacular. And many people that we've shared this recipe with have been turned on to gefilte fish for the first time. Wow, so you have unlocked the secret
00:14:46
Speaker
to making gefilte fish palatable and appealing. And my mother, yes, that is correct. Your mom. Is this a family recipe? You know, it's a family recipe, but ironically, I've now seen it in some cookbooks. You know, I saw Adina did a version of this in a salsa verde. So it's, you know, the Latino Jews have found a way to make Ashkenazi food a bit more exciting. That's a fact.
00:15:16
Speaker
No, it's true. Ashkenazi food is, you know, it's soul food for those of us that grew up with it and it's questionable as to whether or not it is food for those that didn't.
00:15:26
Speaker
Yes. And even in holidays like Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving, for example, which isn't a Jewish holiday, but we, instead of serving any form of gravy, my mom makes mole. Really? Yes. Yes. So we serve mole with our turkey. And though that's not the Jewish combo there. Could you explain what mole is to our uninitiated? Because I'm not sure everyone watches Food Network like I do.
00:15:55
Speaker
So mole is very hard to describe, but the best word for it is a gravy that has a chocolate and many spices mixture. There's over, I think, 15 ingredients in a mole. And so there's a dark brown mole, a green mole. We grew up with the dark brown one. And so my mom, when she goes to Mexico City,
00:16:22
Speaker
The kosher butcher sells the base of it, which eliminates a huge amount of the process of making mole, but we always want it on hand. It really is a staple and a delicious, delicious sauce that is used in Mexican cuisine.
Professional Skills and Camp Experiences
00:16:39
Speaker
So your mother goes down to Mexico to get the whole mole. I'm sorry, I had to. You had to. I had to. Of course. Low hanging fruit.
00:16:48
Speaker
Uh, okay. So growing up in San Diego, uh, how old were you when you moved to San Diego? So I was five years old when I moved to San Diego. Okay. And did you know a lick of English at the time? No, I did not know a lick of English. Uh, again, I, as I mentioned, we only spoke Spanish at home. Of course we had gone to vacations in America and sure there was television that I was exposed to, but I only spoke exclusively Spanish to my family.
00:17:16
Speaker
And it wasn't until my parents attended the Hanukkah show at school that they realized that I had become fluent in English to the song, I Am Alaka, of course, which I said in perfect English with no accent. And they realized, you know, you can speak Spanish at home.
00:17:38
Speaker
and also become fluent in English. And that's when they realized that was well under way to becoming somewhat of a gringa as well. Do they call you that? When I can't handle certain levels of spice, they do, yes. But they like to harp on Adam being the gringa more. Okay. You know, it's a mixed marriage. That's exactly it, yes.
00:18:07
Speaker
You talked about Rama, so you were a camper there from the age of nine to like 15? That's right, yeah. And then you went, did you go on seminar? I actually went on Poland Pilgrimage. It was, yes. So let me tell you a little bit about why that was a decision actually for quite a few people in my age group.
00:18:29
Speaker
because at the time seminar did not have the offering of Poland. And so it came, I think, two years later. And so I went and did Poland Pilgrimage because I wanted to both be in Poland and then arrive in Israel and stay in Beit Nativ and that whole experience.
00:18:49
Speaker
That's awesome. So you went on pilgrimage and then you started working at camp. And it sounds like you spent a long time working at camp. What roles did you serve prior to your professional career, your summer career?
00:19:05
Speaker
So I was a counselor for two years, and I always got placed in the youngest age group, ADA. I think it has something to do with my height and not wanting my campers to be taller than me, though that proved to not be a science since many kids are taller than me at this point.
00:19:27
Speaker
But i didn't go back for my third year as a counselor and actually have a lot of regrets about that i decided to do an internship in new york which was really incredible and incredible internship at the adl the national headquarters it was
00:19:46
Speaker
a really incredible experience. But for some reason, I thought in my head I had to do that to get on a certain professional path. And looking back on it, I can't think of a better professional training than actually working at camp. And so I do have some regrets about not staying longer and working at camp to develop some serious additional skills.
00:20:12
Speaker
So I actually agree with you wholeheartedly that camp is one of the best training grounds for professional skills. Can you put on your Ramah Director Kepa for a second and make that pitch? Why do you say that?
00:20:27
Speaker
Because I agree. And I think people don't make that assumption, that false assumption that, no, getting an internship or doing these other things is actually better for your professional growth than working at a summer camp. So why is working at camp, in your opinion, the bees' knees for professional growth? So I'll wear my Ramah hat. But I will also wear the hat of someone that has spent time in corporate America and say that the camp environment
00:20:55
Speaker
is very intense. It has a lot of requirements, expectations of staff members to multitask, to be creative, to time manage.
00:21:09
Speaker
to work with others on projects, whether it's two people or a whole group of people, you are in the most immersive work experience you could ever explain. And I really do feel that your day is so diverse and changes, and you need to know how to pivot with both what comes up and what you thought would go one way or another way. And if I were running,
00:21:37
Speaker
a corporate company right now, I can't think of better skill sets that I would want to see on a resume than that. That really creates a solid employee in my opinion. Then you went to Liz College. That is true. What did you major in?
00:21:57
Speaker
I majored in modern Jewish studies and history at Columbia, and it was a wonderful experience, I have to say. I'm a huge advocate for List College. Go to the seminary. Hooray, the seminary. 100%. And then what was your first job right out of school?
00:22:17
Speaker
I actually started working my freshman year in a work study program in the Department of Institutional Advancement. At the time of Chancellor Shorsch, I was assigned there. I didn't pick there. I just got assigned there. And I started helping out, stuffing envelopes for their gala at the Pierre Hotel.
00:22:42
Speaker
and helping set up various different types of lists for campaigns. And then the position evolved where I became an ambassador for JTS at parlor meetings. And I started to talk about not only the
00:23:01
Speaker
the impact that JTS had on my life as a student, but where I thought it was taking me in the future. And at that time it was important to speak about going to JTS and not necessarily picking a path as a rabbi or a Jewish educator, but as a Jewish professional.
00:23:21
Speaker
And so I obviously had a lot of mentors at that time there in that department, including Rabbi Carol Davidson, who was the Vice Chancellor of Institutional Advancement at the time. And I said to her, I'd love to work here. This is what I want to do. I'm a product of the product. Let me come here and work. And she said, I agree. You are a product of the product. And you need some outside experience as well.
00:23:49
Speaker
And it was a great, great suggestion.
Return to Jewish Community Work
00:23:52
Speaker
I worked at a consulting firm called Perry Davis Associates.
00:23:56
Speaker
And I helped and worked on a variety of different clients, ones that needed digital campaigns, ones that needed support for actual gala events, ones that were just creating boards. And so it gave me a really diverse work experience in working with nonprofits in the development world. And about three years into that job, JTS had an opening.
00:24:25
Speaker
as the assistant director of the New York region and I luckily got a call to interview for that position and I got it and so I got to go back to JTS and again represent the product that I was and had made an impact on my life and I really enjoyed the years working there and being able to sell is the word I would like to use, sell JTS and raise a lot of money.
00:24:53
Speaker
Wow, wow, wow. So how long were you in that position? I was there for about four years, and I worked with many, like I said, many of the people that are currently rabbis of amazing congregations. Many of them were in rabbinical school at that time, and I was asking them to be ambassadors at parlor meetings and come and speak to the experience, including Rabbi Joel Seltzer and Eric and a variety of people just to represent JTS.
00:25:22
Speaker
That's interesting. And then where did you go from there? So after that I had what a typical 20 year old decides that they want to try something new. And I decided I wanted to try my hand in working
00:25:38
Speaker
for a company that did event design and on a corporate level and it was a really it was talk about trying something totally new i became an account executive for this event design company.
00:25:54
Speaker
If you've ever seen the movie The Devil Wears Prada, in a lot of ways it was stepping into this world of design and events and traveling the world. It was incredibly demanding, but I had a chance to travel to Japan.
00:26:13
Speaker
to France, to Italy. I did events all over the country and they were about securing these events and executing them. And while I was there and it was an incredible experience, my heart was always in the Jewish community and I always wanted to sort of find my way back and
00:26:34
Speaker
find the CV impact of my work. I did spend some time after that job working at Mount Sinai Hospital because they were in the midst of a capital project for their PICU and I thought that would be an interesting opportunity and I got to work there working
00:26:54
Speaker
for their pediatric department raising funds for their new PICU and NICU and then around that time or before that time I met my husband Adam and Yeah, he came into the picture at that
Family and Community Connections in Philadelphia
00:27:08
Speaker
point. So how did you guys meet?
00:27:09
Speaker
We met at one of those classic Jewish New York events, the matzah ball, on Christmas Eve. I was not attending it. I was actually working the event.
00:27:25
Speaker
with my friend Sam Levy who owned a company that did event promotion and Sam and Adam had gone to college together and he sort of introduced us and the rest is history. We got engaged in New York City and actually decided to move back to San Diego.
00:27:46
Speaker
And we started out our lives as a new married couple there, living a few blocks from my parents. I was working at the Agency for Jewish Education at the time as a director of development and started to find my way back into that Jewish community, which was a community I grew up in. And it was wonderful to be able to give back to it as well. So how long were you in San Diego?
00:28:12
Speaker
We were in San Diego for about six years until Adam got a call from the company he was working for.
00:28:19
Speaker
to pursue an opportunity back on the East Coast, which weren't, wasn't necessarily in the plans, but life in America. And you sometimes have to pursue some opportunities. And we were given a choice, actually, of anywhere we wanted to live in the Mid-Atlantic. And we went down to Bethesda, we explored North Jersey, and we actually fell in love with Center City, Philadelphia.
00:28:46
Speaker
We felt it was an opportunity to live back in a city and raise our young kids in a city. We actually joined BZBI at the time where my daughter went to the preschool and I found my way into teaching at the Hebrew school there. And we started our Philadelphia journey that way. So I have to ask, like what about Center City Philly in particular? I mean, what's the difference between that and Baltimore or Bethesda or something like that? Like what drew you to Philly?
00:29:13
Speaker
It's an awesome town, and I say the word town because it does feel small in a lot of ways, obviously, compared to New York, but immediately we felt we had a community around us. We loved the energy of the city. We got to live through some really exciting times there, from when the Pope visited, to the Eagles, Super Bowl win, to the many other parades and moments in Philadelphia history.
00:29:41
Speaker
It was incredible to live through that. It was amazing that we could still send our kids to Pearlman Jewish Day School while living in the city and being able to walk around and enjoy written house. And I just, we have to say, we love Philly. That's amazing. And where's Adam from originally?
00:30:03
Speaker
Adam is from New York. He grew up in Valley Stream, Long Island, which is on the border of Queens. Actually, fun fact, he did not go to Ramah or overnight camp. He was a day camp kid. And here we are, still very happily married. It really is a mixed marriage on so many levels. Yes, yes. Okay, so when did you start working for Ramah Poconos?
00:30:27
Speaker
And so when I moved to Philly, I then started actually working at Penn Hillel. I spent four years there working as the director.
00:30:35
Speaker
of institutional advancement.
Leadership Role at Camp Ramah
00:30:36
Speaker
While I was there, as I had mentioned earlier on in our conversation, the idea of working for camp was always, always a dream of mine. Really, when you think back to a dream that you made a reality, it really has to be this for me. And I saw an opportunity come up and I decided to pursue it. And so I started working for Camp Ramon the Poconos in 2019.
00:31:00
Speaker
I was hired as the Director of Institutional Advancement. As you all know, what happened in 2020, we closed camp. That must have been really, really difficult. And especially on your shoulders, when so many institutions were questioning their viability in future, one that is directly like fee for service in so many ways like camp is, that must have been a tremendous weight on your shoulders as the Director of Institutional Advancement.
00:31:25
Speaker
That is correct. It felt overwhelming in the initial moments of it, how and what we would do. But it became very evident and clear to me within weeks of the pandemic that the Ramah community was going to rally behind this moment and make sure that Ramah landed on its feet
00:31:51
Speaker
despite a $2.6 million deficit of a closed summer season, the first in history. We raised more money at Camp Rama in the Poconos at that time in its history because alumni, parents, parents donated tuition at that time, tuition that they had paid, they rolled into a donation. A lot of the conversations I've had start with, what is your Rama story?
00:32:18
Speaker
like I've said and shared throughout our conversation, it's a guiding light in my life. And though I didn't grow up at Poconos, I grew up at California, you see the connection between the two experiences and our alumni, our stakeholders, our parents are so deeply committed to our mission that they really could not see any other choice but getting through this and successful.
COVID Challenges and Ramah's Role in Jewish Leadership
00:32:48
Speaker
That's inspiring. That's absolutely inspiring. So you were the director of institutional advancement during that time. But it's not obvious that you would then become the director. How did that process work for you? How did that transition occur?
00:33:06
Speaker
So when we returned from the summer, when after Rabbi Joel Seltzer announced that he would be leaving Camp Vermont in the Poconos, we actually worked in a really wonderful partnership to work with raising money and also enhancing the alumni experience and growing camp in the sense of capital improvements.
00:33:36
Speaker
scholarship funds and also the summer of summer of 21 was our lockdown summer where we stayed at camp and we did not leave camp because we were trying to keep COVID out. We were running camp in an effort to not expose kids or staff to COVID and
00:33:58
Speaker
You know, when one thinks why would the director of development be at camp if you're not having visitors, but it was a matter of.
00:34:07
Speaker
the staff being needed, everyone all hands on deck, roll up your sleeves. It went from the director of institutional advancement, serving lunch, helping out where it was needed and really integrating myself into the community. It was an incredibly difficult summer for many reasons, but for me, it was the summer that
00:34:32
Speaker
solidified my passion and wanting to not just be a fundraiser. However, I never saw the opportunity coming up. In my opinion, I think Joel could have stayed on for many, many years. And when he announced, it was sad for me. We had worked very well together for many years. And the board sort of turned to me
00:34:57
Speaker
and asked what kind of a job description, who we should be hiring, and what are the skill sets that we need in the new executive director. And in that moment, actually on a Zoom call with some of the members of the board that were trying to find the right job description for this person, it kind of had an aha moment.
00:35:26
Speaker
And I said to them, you know, I'm actually realizing in this call that I would like to put my hat in the race. And so I think it's only appropriate for me to excuse myself from this call. And I did. And I said to them that I would like to be considered like every other candidate. I would like to interview like every other candidate. And I would like to state my case as to why I believe
00:35:56
Speaker
I should be the executive director of Camp Ramon the Poconos. And so that began a journey of interviewing, just like the many other candidates that applied. And the core of it all for me was a marriage of passion and profession. And that's what really landed me, I think, in this role, that I know the impact of Ramon. I know the impact of overnight camp.
00:36:27
Speaker
I know its potential, and for me, as a committed member of the Jewish community, I think it's a strong part of that puzzle. And so I'm very committed to giving that experience to as many Jewish families as possible. So we've been sort of talking around this this entire time. You talked about the impact Rama had on your life. You just mentioned the impact that you feel that Rama can have in the Jewish community at large.
00:36:55
Speaker
What is it that Ramah does differently as opposed to any other Jewish camp? What makes Ramah and in particular Ramah Poconos set itself apart as opposed to other, you know, there's lots of camps out there.
00:37:07
Speaker
Yes. There are a lot of great camps out there. That is for sure. And we are in an area that's dense with them. And many of the colleagues are my friends. And, you know, Rama may not be for everybody. Again, I will advocate for the overnight Jewish camp and the day camp experience. Tremendous value wherever a family lands in that.
00:37:30
Speaker
Ramah is a deeply immersive Jewish experience that creates future Jewish leaders. And not only, you know, leaders that move on in positions in the Jewish community, but leaders within the community. I think that someone that comes out of Ramah is able to travel the world and when a minion is needed, they're able to step into that minion and be part of it.
00:37:59
Speaker
They're able to lead Birkat Hamazon. They are able to say what it means to live a Jewish life. They've experienced Shabbat in a very unique and immersive way where they may not have that at home. It creates committed Jewish citizens that know what it means to be Jewish in the world. And, you know, going into the summer,
00:38:27
Speaker
I know that to be a fact that we need this summer to give our young Jewish adults that have been on college campuses the opportunity to express joyful Judaism
00:38:41
Speaker
to be surrounded by a community that supports their Jewish identity and celebrates that. And, you know, the experience of Ramah, it has many adults there, as you know, Andy, that make impacts on their life and show them a model of Jewish living. And we have our Mishlachat, our Israeli emissaries that come.
00:39:06
Speaker
to camp and work there. At the overnight camp, we have between 40 and 50. And at the day camp, we have between 15 and 20 that become a part of the community. They interact with Israelis. And so there are many values to all kinds of Jewish camps, but Ramah does provide that unique, immersive Jewish life experience. It's powerful, powerful stuff.
Ramah's Influence on Identity and Vision for Future
00:39:32
Speaker
What's interesting about what you said is that you
00:39:36
Speaker
you know, when you think about camp so often, we think about camp as a place for children, right? But what you described was actually, not only is it a place for the campers, the hanikim, but also a real place for the tsevet, the staff, to sort of work on their Jewish identity as well. Can you speak to how the experience of being a madri, or a madricha, for an 1890-year-old might impact their Jewish identity in ways that, you know,
00:40:03
Speaker
we might take for granted as people who don't necessarily know anything about Ramon, how it works. So I think a very interesting thing happens when our campers then become staff members. And we talk a lot about this at Staff Week. They're now responsible for delivering the content, for delivering the experience. And a big part of that is defining it for themselves.
00:40:28
Speaker
So the many customs and traditions that Ramah Poconos, having been one that didn't grow up there, you learn them and our staff are responsible for then sharing it with them. It's this beautiful pay it forward of
00:40:44
Speaker
the Jewish experience they had and the songs that they learned, the memories of doing their first mahazit, their play, all in Yvrit, all in Hebrew. I mean, I had that experience at Ramah, California, West Side Story. I could still sing the parts of the play that I did fully in Hebrew.
00:41:05
Speaker
And, you know, that stays with you. And then they get to work with campers on their first experience of doing a play, all in Hebrew, and learning it in a week, which is wild. By learning how to deliver that content, we create Jewish leaders that own the content, and then go into their communities, in their Hillel's, when they study abroad, when they move on to become young Jewish professionals. What does that mean? What do they want to go to?
00:41:33
Speaker
Do they want to go to a Shabbat dinner? Do they want to go to a mingling thing at a bar? What is it that their Jewish priorities are? And I think a lot of that comes from their experience on staff, what they then want to carry for them throughout their lives. And it goes so far beyond that. It goes from when they decide where they want their kids to go to school and what Shabbat looks like in their homes.
00:42:00
Speaker
when their kids are young and as they're growing up and the decisions they make about kashrut or whatever it is about that they carried from their Jewish experience at Ramah, it then is part of their lives moving forward. That's beautiful. Wow. That sounds like some sort of utopian ideal. Well, we do talk about the jutopia quite a bit at Ramah for sure.
00:42:25
Speaker
With your work at Irma and with your work in the Jewish community, clearly it makes sense that you would also want to have a community for yourself and your family. You mentioned that when you originally moved to Philadelphia, you joined BCBI. What brought you to Addath?
00:42:40
Speaker
So as we started talking about, the core of being a Mexican Jew is family and community. And we had family members that decided to join Addith, the Packers, Rachel, Mikey, and their kids, the Packers. And we celebrated most of the Chagim, the holidays, together. And we quickly realized we want to be together for the full experience.
00:43:04
Speaker
And they were at Addith. It just made sense for us all to be together and then, you know, head home to have the festive meals together. And also being a part of Pearlman Jewish Day School at the time.
00:43:19
Speaker
When they were elementary age, my kids, so many of our Perlman families were there. Growing up, I was a shul kid. I went to shul. I felt comfortable at shul. It was a place that my parents didn't drag me to. Okay, maybe in my teen years, there was some dragging.
00:43:37
Speaker
You know as a kid i loved being at shul i ran around i got on the bima for i don't know i am eventually led it was just it was a happy place for me that when we went to add if i saw that. I saw that it was a place where my kids could.
00:43:55
Speaker
interact with their friends in a joyful way and be a part of the service and Connect to the rabbis. I mean that I'm not just saying that to you. I feel that our rabbis are very approachable and they understand what it means to have a family in shul and It it was a it was the right fit for us. It's what I dreamt of in terms of creating shul kids and also
00:44:24
Speaker
a place where I would enjoy davening and I would gain a lot from the community aspects. Well, thank you for the plug. I mean, I appreciate it, but we're lucky to have you and your family here. Speaking of that, you spoke about Perlman, you spoke about your kids. I believe that you have a Simcha coming out.
00:44:46
Speaker
That is right, yes. All the details coming quickly on March 30th. My God willing, my daughter is going to become a bat mitzvah and we are very excited for many reasons, mainly because this is yet another step in our family's Jewish journey.
00:45:09
Speaker
and to see our daughter own this experience really truly and take it on and want to to to learn all the things that she's learning and do them and you know interact with her tutor and and then you know say okay can we do this melody by the way because it's what we do at camp it's just it's a great moment of pride and
00:45:34
Speaker
I'm also really looking forward to having a lot of my family that has not seen our our shul community and my friends from growing up in San Diego. So many of them are coming and for them to see what it is that what our Jewish community looks like here in Philadelphia. Amazing, amazing, amazing.
00:46:00
Speaker
I guess you spoke to how Ramah has impacted even your daughter's Georgie Spatmitzvah, but how else has Ramah impacted your family life writ large? Well, obviously in so, so many ways, it's hard to list them all. We are a Ramah family, and I think my kids feel... It could have gone any way, but they feel so...
00:46:25
Speaker
deeply in love with the place that they count it down. It's constantly a part of our conversations at home, the friends that they've made at camp. Daniel is just barely on his journey, but
00:46:42
Speaker
Georgie and her bunk, it's just, you know, the friends that she's made, I think will be her forever friends. They, you know, they've been on this bar and bat mitzvah, you know, circuit now. And, you know, where they don't necessarily see each other that much during the year, they've seen each other almost every month.
00:47:02
Speaker
And it's been for Jewish experiences. And that's what we do. We create Rama families. It's not just the summer. It's year-round. And they get to be at Shul together in their different congregations. They get to see the different rabbis. They get to hear their divre Torah. It's just, it's everything. It's a full cycle, Rama,
00:47:26
Speaker
a family and we get to interact with the parents and yeah, and we are just like everybody else, a Ramah family committed to the experience. So it's so interesting. You use the word Ramah family in two very different ways in that response, right? There's the fact that you, besides, are a Ramah family.
00:47:48
Speaker
but also sort of the family by choice that your children are building as part of their experience at Ramah. Those two ideas are clearly related, but they're not the same thing. Do you have a Ramah family from when you were growing up?
00:48:05
Speaker
So, you know, I do have my Ramah family and, you know, whether we see or speak to each other all that often is not the
Future Plans for Ramah
00:48:14
Speaker
case. Although, you know, having moved to Philadelphia and, you know, Roseanne Lisek, Marshall's wife, is someone I grew up at Ramah, California with.
00:48:24
Speaker
And I have to say, when we ran into each other at Tosh League many years ago, it was like that instant connection and bond. We lived that experience together, and that will bond us forever. And that is really what Ramad does whenever you run into people, even if you haven't spoken to them. So let's think future, right?
00:48:49
Speaker
What do you see changing, staying the same about Ramah moving forward? I mean, you're about to enter your second summer as director, right? Are there changes that you want to make? Are there things that you want to keep the same? What moves are you going to make as director?
00:49:08
Speaker
Great question. My staff, if they ever hear this, will laugh because I talked about the first year and specifically the first summer being a summer of intake and evaluation.
00:49:22
Speaker
Even though I had been a part of the organization, I've been a part for five years. I wasn't in this role. And so I wanted to give myself the opportunity to see what we do and how we do and see where we want to go from there. And we also started a strategic plan in the fall. And we partnered with Jay Camp 180 with the Harold Grinspoon Foundation through their accelerated
00:49:50
Speaker
strategic planning process and are now at the point of having it approved by the board. And I will say what I see for the future is an enhancement. It's, you know, getting more scholarship funds, keep making camp remain affordable. Having it be a place where we attract Jewish professionals to come and work and, you know, influence and impact our Jewish youth. It's a place where
00:50:20
Speaker
It's an aging campus, and it has a lot of capital needs that need to be addressed, and that involves raising money, and it will have a tremendous impact when we're able to replace some of those things. As you know, we broke ground on the largest capital project in the history of Ramah with our Mehrkaz, the Hebrew word meaning the center, a huge building that was 100 years old,
00:50:47
Speaker
went down at the end of the summer and is well underway to being open for this summer. And I think that for me, I want to continue to enhance the Jewish content, the immersive Jewish experience, the Ahavat Yisrael, the love of Israel and commitment to Jewish community. And that involves investing in the right professionals and
00:51:13
Speaker
the right members of the year-round team to address the needs of campers today and camper families. I think camp, the people that come to camp, it's different than it was, you know, when we were campers or when I was a camper. And we want to be the team that's able to meet families where they are and be a place for not just some Jewish families, but for all Jewish families.
00:51:39
Speaker
That's a beautiful mission. It's a beautiful mission. If you could make one pitch to somebody who's thinking about trying Rama out for their family, what would your pitch be? Rama is not just a summer camp. It will change the trajectory of your child's life. It will instill them with values, with a connection to community,
00:52:09
Speaker
It will make them well-rounded and active and positive members of society. It's not just about becoming swimmers or taking the leap on the ropes course or learning what it is to be part of a bunk and a community. We create Jewish citizens at Ramah. It will have the most positive effect, not only on your child, but on your family. Can you speak to what that impact on the family would look like?
00:52:39
Speaker
campers will come home and, you know, whether a family celebrates Shabbat to all the halakhah expectations, it doesn't really matter necessarily. Their child will come home with a desire to sing Mirot songs, to say Bierkat, Hamazom, all of those things. They will learn those skill sets and they will bring them home.
00:53:02
Speaker
and they will model Jewish community when they get home and they will want to see their camp friends and they will want to say to their parents, you know, I'm proud to be
Impact on Family and Closing Remarks
00:53:13
Speaker
Jewish. I love being Jewish because they have experienced joyful Judaism for eight weeks, four weeks, one week. They have had a taste of the magic and that magic I do believe transcends to the family and
00:53:30
Speaker
You know, even if the parents did not go to the to Rama, I hear this very often. Many of my donors, they never went to Rama and they understand the gift that is Rama and it is truly a gift. And this is why I advocate your kids don't need junk at camp. You don't need to send them anything. Camp is the greatest gift you can give them. OK, most important question that I have to ask you, you ready? OK, I'm ready.
00:53:58
Speaker
When you go to Kiddush on a Saturday morning, what is the first thing you go for on the buffet? I mean, I have to say, sometimes I lag a little getting there because, again, you run into a million people, you know, at Shul, and it's a time to see the community. But I will say, my eye is towards that sesame bagel, 100%,
00:54:25
Speaker
And I have to say, I'm really thrilled with whoever came up with the idea of the bagels somehow warming. It has elevated the kidish experience 100%. And listen, I'm married to a New Yorker. We are pretty snobby about bagels. I do feel that Philly, especially New York bagels, definitely represents. But I'm a sesame bagel gal, and that's kind of what I'll go for first.
00:54:55
Speaker
Okay, sesame bagel. It's respectable. Very respectable. Also the fact that you came to show for people, not food. Also, I respect it. I don't understand it, but I respect it. Yes. The kids like the petite fours, you know? So they run for those. They run for those. If you want to know their item, that's what that is.
00:55:17
Speaker
Well, thank you. Thank you, Miriam. This has been a wonderful exploration of you and your connection not just to the Adith Israel community, but also the larger Jewish community. And I want to thank you for your commitment to helping build a community that fosters leadership and Jewish commitment for tomorrow. We need people doing the work that you're doing, creating spaces for young people to
00:55:45
Speaker
try on Jewish identity, try out Jewish identity, and to flex those Jewish muscles so that then when they go out in the world, they will, you know, make those Jewish decisions later on. So, like, you're really doing holy, holy work at Ramah. And I don't just say that as someone who is also a product of the system. I say that as someone who truly believes in the mission of the organization that you work for and grateful for the work that you do. So, thank you.
00:56:09
Speaker
Thank you for having me and for being my rabbi and for giving us a place with open arms in the Adith community. We are really, truly blessed to be a part of the Kehila, the community. So thank you for my first podcast experience and hopefully I didn't disappoint and look forward to seeing everyone at Kiddush.
00:56:32
Speaker
Absolutely. And you know, I'm going to ask you for that recipe for that spicy gefilte fish. I got it. I got it. That is interesting to me, even though I'm Ashkenazi and scared of spice, but that's interesting. Thank you. Absolutely. It's coming your way.
00:56:47
Speaker
can converse without the coffee, or debate without the bagel, or a little juicy gossip, but no juice could we finagle. In English, in Hebrew, in abyssal, a yiddish, we're missing you, come listen to kibitzin without kiddish.