Bnai Mitzvah Family Camp
A spiritual journey for the entire family enabling the Bnai Mitzvah preparatory experience to be an opportunity to grow individually and together.
August 18 - 24, 2008
Financial aid assistance is available for this program to cover up to 50% of Room and Board fees.
Treat your family to a unique retreat in preparation for your child's upcoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah. When a son or daughter officially begins the journey into adulthood it greatly impacts the whole family - parents, siblings, relatives and friends. We invite families of children becoming Bar/Bat Mitzvah between November 2008 and October 2009 to spend a week together before the school year begins to explore this significant rite of passage through creative arts, experiences in nature, Torah study and peer group discussions.
Educators and performers from Jewish Milestones and Storahtelling, two innovative organizations that celebrate Jewish life for new generations, will offer a dynamic and multi-faceted program geared towards adults, teens and their younger siblings. The core programmatic component is based on Storahtelling's trademarked methodology of dramatic translation and interpretation of Torah, in which families engage in a variety of creative modalities that culminate in a re-imagined, participant-driven Torah service on Shabbat.
- Engage your entire family in a meaningful experience of Jewish life with a particular emphasis on the teachings found in the Torah.
- Explore the Bar/Bat Mitzvah ritual in the context of your family's unique relationship to Judaism and Jewish values.
- Enable teens to establish a deeper personal connection to this rite of passage.
- Provide your family with strategies to address changing roles and responsibilities, and questions of moral and faith development that accompany the transition into adolescence.
- Explore issues of spirituality and identity that often emerge for the parents themselves when a child prepares for a bar or bat mitzvah.
- Connect with other families who are involved in the same process at the same time and with whom you can share strategies, stories and good times.
There will also be ample time to enjoy the outdoors and the facilities of the retreat center, including yoga classes, a ropes course, craft activities, nature programs and much more. Programmatic options specifically geared toward younger siblings are available.
The Bnai Mitzvah Family Camp is made possible through a grant from the the UJA-Federation of New York.
For more information about the content of the program contact Julie Batz at julie@jewishmilestones.org.
Program Fee: $150 per adult and $75 per child.
Register now:
Facilitators
Amichai Lau-Lavie is the Founder and Executive Director of Storahtelling. He is an Israeli-born teacher of Judaic Literature, described as "one of the most interesting thinkers in the Jewish world" by the NY Jewish Week. Amichai is a member of the Synagogue 3000 Leadership Network, a member of the advisory council for the Six Points Fellowship and a consultant to the Reboot Network.
Rachel Brodie, a Jewish educator who specializes in adult and family education, is the co-founder and Executive Director of Jewish Milestones. She teaches Jewish literature, history, and ethics at a wide variety of San Francisco Bay Area institutions, serves as a scholar-in-residence at synagogues and other Jewish organizations across the country and facilitates a wide range of Jewish lifecycle rituals including many bnai mitzvah.
Julie Batz, a co-founder and Director of Programs for Jewish Milestones, also serves as a cantorial soloist at the Coastside Jewish Community in Half Moon Bay, California. Julie helps to prepare both traditional-age and adult bnai mitzvah, and facilitates other Jewish lifecycle rituals. Before pursuing her cantorial work, Julie was a business consultant specializing in organization development.
Sarah Sokolic is Storahtelling's Associate Executive Director. A professional actress with credits Off-Broadway and in film and television, Sarah has spent more than 15 years as a corporate trainer and Jewish educator. She has worked as a Bnai Mitzvah tutor and ritual facilitator for more than 50 families and serves on the Board of Camp Ramah in the Berkshires.
Tehilah Eisenstadt is the Program Director for Raising the Bar, Storahtelling’s re-envisioning of B’nai Mitzvah preparation as a meaningful and explorative Jewish coming-of-age process. Tehilah has worked for The Covenant Foundation, served as the North American Director of Recruitment for Pardes, taught Hebrew School at Kane Street and Tribeca Hebrew, and was a curriculum writer for Ramah in Nyack and Hillel of Binghamton. She was the Synagogue educator at Kane Street and Anshe Chesed in NY and has been a scholar-in-residence and edu-actor for synagogues and JCC's across the US.
Registration Information
The program fee for this class has been reduced to $150 for each adult and $75 for each child. Fees are per person, and do not include the cost of Room and Board (below). Financial aid assistance is available for this program to cover up to 50% of Room and Board fees.
Please call (800) 398.2630 for more information.
Room and Board
Room and board includes housing, meals, evening activities, hot tub, yoga, meditation, and full use of our facility. All rooms are air-conditioned in the summer and heated in the winter. Adults fees apply to ages 18 and higher. Rates are per person, and include all meals. For double or triple occupancy, you may either request a roommate, or be matched with one by our staff.
Deluxe rooms
Deluxe rooms have private bathrooms. Single and double occupancy are provided with queen-sized beds, triple occupancy has twin beds. Handicap accessibility available, please call (800) 398-2630 x307.
| Deluxe Rooms |
Six
Nights |
| Single Occupancy |
1,500 |
| Double Occupancy |
810 |
| Triple Occupancy |
570 |
Plus rooms
Plus rooms have private bathrooms. A limited number of queen-sized beds are available for a $15/night surcharge, please call for availability.
| Plus Rooms |
Six
Nights |
| Single Occupancy |
1,230 |
| Double Occupancy |
750 |
| Triple Occupancy |
510 |
Standard rooms
Standard rooms share a bathroom with one other room. A limited number of queen-sized beds are available for a $15/night surcharge, please call for availability.
| Standard Rooms |
Six
Nights |
| Single Occupancy |
1,020 |
| Double Occupancy |
630 |
Economy rooms
Economy rooms have twin beds with the bathroom in the hall.
| Standard Rooms |
Six
Nights |
| Single Occupancy |
780 |
| Double Occupancy |
480 |
Dormitory rooms
Dormitory rooms are either triple or quadruple occupancy with bunk beds and bathrooms on the hall. Campers supply their own tents and equipment. The commuter fee includes all meals and snacks, use of the facility and its amenities, and participation in any open programming provided, such as prayer, meditation, or yoga.
| Dormitory Rooms |
Six
Nights |
| Dormitory |
420 |
| Camper |
360 |
| Commuter |
270 |
Children's Rates
Infants and toddlers under three are complimentary. Children aged 3-17 are welcome to share the room with at least one parent or guardian per room.
| Children's Rates |
Six
Nights |
| Children |
240 |
Financial Assistance
Financial Aid for Room and Board
We provide limited scholarship funding to reduce room and board fees for those in extreme financial need. Financial aid is only available for dormitory rooms with hall baths for single adults and economy rooms for couples and families. If you would like to request financial aid, please complete the financial aid form. Please note financial aid requests must be received at least three weeks prior to the retreat.
Student Aid Provided by The Lasko Foundations
Up to 50% scholarship is available for graduate students in rabbinical school, cantorial school or in Master’s degree programs in Jewish Studies. To apply for this scholarship, please complete the Lasko Scholarship form. Lasko awards may not be combined with any other financial aid provided through Isabella Freedman.
Financial Aid for the Jewish Arts Institute
A grant from the Mazer Family Fund of UJA-New York covers up to 50% of the program fee for the Jewish Arts Institute. To apply for this grant, please complete the financial aid form.
The Harold Grinspoon Foundation's
Jewish Experience Fund for Adults
Thanks to a generous grant from the Harold Grinspoon Foundation, adults 21 years of age or older who are residents of Western Massachusetts and want to participate in a program at Isabella Freedman are eligible to apply for up to a 50% subsidy of the total cost of the program to a maximum of $500 per program. This funding can be applied to Program Fees and Room and Board Fees. To apply for this grant, please contact The Harold Grinspoon Foundation directly.
Cancellation Policy
Payments made will be refunded in full (less a $75 processing fee) if you cancel more than 10 days prior to a retreat for which you are registered. If you cancel within 10 days or less, a non-refundable credit (less a $75 processing fee) will be held for one year from the date of issue. This credit is non-transferable. No credit or refund is available if you cancel less than 24 hours prior to or on the workshop’s arrival day, if you do not show up, or if you leave a retreat early for any reason.
Isabella Freedman reserves the right to cancel any program at any time. In the event of such cancellation, you will be given a complete refund. A full transportation refund is available if you cancel at least 3 days (72 hours) in advance. No transportation refund is available with less than 3 days notice.
If you are participating in a Training Institute and you miss or cancel one retreat session, your Room and Board Fee will be refunded according to the policy above, but the program fee for a missed or cancelled retreat session is still due. Withdrawal is permitted only after the first retreat session. If you withdraw from a Training Institute after the first retreat session, or if you are asked by faculty to leave the institute, you will receive a full Program Fee refund for any remaining pre-paid retreats.
