A Message to the Interlaken Community
Dear Friends,
As we are approaching Shabbat this week in particular, I am comforted by the idea of taking a pause, taking a breath, and really figuring out how to separate the challenges of the week we’ve had from the holiness of Shabbat. I know that I talk a lot about sending campers (and staff) home from Camp at the end of the summer as a better version of themselves. While I am saddened that I don’t get to do that this summer, I am comforted that the lessons we teach each summer stick with our campers throughout their lives and help to influence the people that they are.
Camp Interlaken believes in our four core Jewish Values:
Kehillah – There is nothing more important than community, and we each have an important role in maintaining a positive and intentionally inclusive community.
B’tselem Elohim – We are all created in the image of G-d. We, therefore, deserve to be cared for as a precious and holy being. We are all fundamentally equal in value and rights. We each have a responsibility to conduct our lives in a manner that reflects well on G-d.
Tikkun Olam – It is so important that we each do our part to repair the world
Eretz Yisrael – We respect and honor the land of Israel.
Living by these values at Camp are what contributes to us sending our campers home a better version of themselves each summer, and I want to make sure that they’re fresh in our minds. We will continue to educate our campers and staff both in person and virtually using these values as our foundation. I am so proud of our values, and I am proud of the community that we’ve created with these values.
Earlier this week, Mark Shapiro, our JCC’s CEO shared this community message: https://www.jccmilwaukee.org/news/a-message-to-our-community/?fbclid=IwAR2-Bu8Aha-hKa_SvGEcHqV695y0h0Yujm2hFMUM9EzTTrcBlkjJY8PAO-8.
This is an everywhere problem. This is an everyone problem. Justice is everyone’s responsibility.
May the memory of George Floyd, and all those who have been victims of racial violence and inequity, be for a blessing.
Wishing you a Shabbat Shalom,
Toni Davison Levenberg
