This summer at J Camps, we are learning values through many ways. One way to see Jewish values in practice is to look at our Jewish heroes and mentors. We know that “we are standing on the shoulders of the ones who came before us.” We must learn the lessons from those who came before us and then strive to be the ones who will shoulder the next generation.
How do we make Maimonides or Albert Einstein or Hannah Senesh come alive to our children? By making them come alive to us as parents and then introducing them to our children as “family” because these heroes are indeed part of our Jewish family. Just as we know the history of our favorite aunt, we should learn the story of “Aunt Ruth Bader Ginsburg.” We realize that our entire Jewish family makes us who we are and who we will become.
The information for this summer’s weekly columns comes from “Jewish Heroes Jewish Values — Living Mitzvot in Today’s World” by Barry L. Schwartz.
Please feel free to contact me to learn more and to find ways to share these lessons with your children. JCC camps will share and teach mitzvot throughout the summer, focusing on lots of great heroes as well as practicing being heroes for the future. The hope is that campers will come home this summer with positive role models, present and past.
Laura Seymour is director of camping services at the Aaron Family Jewish Community Center.