And…we’re back! After a brief hiatus from the blog-iverse, the promised “What has that rabbi been telling my kid?” post has at long last arrived.
But first, a quick note is necessary:
It’s not exactly possible to capture Un-Camp classes in words. Or photos. Or paintings, or sculptures, or slam poetry.
How exactly can you show someone who wasn’t there what it looked like at the exact moment that a light bulb turned on in someone’s mind, on a lamp she didn’t even realize existed inside of her?
In brief, it’s beautiful.
And yet, not quite transmittable.
As always, however, we have to feel bad for you poor souls on the outside. In fact, we still don’t know how you’re managing anywhere else but here.
Soooooo…here’s what’s been happening when the notebooks come out and the pens get uncapped:
If a person could wonder it, it’s been covered in class with Rabbi Friedman. The topics of conversation have included–
– Religion, and how Judaism isn’t one.
“Religion is about what you want from G-d. Truth is about what G-d needs from you. And that’s what we care about– serving G-d– not getting things from Him.”
– How to get a broken heart, and why you even want one in the first place.
“You start becoming someone the first time your heart breaks. You learn from the pain, and you grow. And now, the cracks in your heart let the feelings in, and you feel more deeply. It’s called maturity.”
– Intimacy, and the path to perfect babies.
“You shouldn’t ever have sex with your husband. Sex is false; only intimacy is real. It’s saying to your husband, ‘I don’t want anything from you, just be in my life.’ And that’s how you bring children into this world. Happy, wholesome, perfect children.”
– And our favorite topic: Women, and how we’re just plain amazing.
“A woman doesn’t have to become anything because she was created perfect, no corrections necessary. All she has to do is be herself.”
Sounds pretty good, right? And that’s only the tip of the iceberg.
Between Tanya in the morning, Q&A sessions at night, graphology classes, Shabbos classes, and chavrusa learning, our brains are being transformed into sponges, soaking up the mind-boggling things our teachers, counselors, and fellow Un-Campers have been sharing with us. Judaism has never looked so fresh, nor has it ever felt so real.
Tzippy K. from Denver, CO put it best when we chatted this evening. “Before I came to camp, I didn’t know if my questions would really be answered. Honestly, I didn’t even think anyone would care about my questions. But in class, the answers are so much better than what I imagined, plus the other girls have the same questions. I’m not weird, I’m not different…and that’s kinda cool.”
How cool indeed.
And that’s really what Un-Camp is all about– getting answers to the questions we never even knew we had.