Ruah at the Table

Hello again, dear Chevrei friends, from sunny Lakewood, PA! 

First, I want to thank those of you who reached out to share your personal stories in response to my email last week! It has been a true joy to read your reflections and continue the conversation through email. Please feel free to keep writing! It might take me a little longer than normal to respond from here at camp, but I do love hearing from you, and will do my best to respond to every message I receive. 

Just a few hours after sending that message, I experienced my first Shabbat here at camp. Every camp has their own culture, and Ramah in the Poconos is especially proud of their ruah, their spirit and liveliness, especially when it comes to singing on Shabbat. 

In our parashah this week, Eikev, we begin with a rather long description of the blessings that will come to the people when they settle in the Land of Israel. As this section nears its conclusion, we read: וְאָכַלְתָּ֖ וְשָׂבָ֑עְתָּ וּבֵֽרַכְתָּ֙ אֶת־ה׳ אֱ׳לֹהֶ֔יךָ עַל־הָאָ֥רֶץ הַטֹּבָ֖ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר נָֽתַן־לָֽךְ׃ - "When you have eaten your fill, give thanks to Adonai your God for the good land given to you." (Deuteronomy 8:10)

This verse is the source for the mitzvah of reciting Birkat Hamazon, the blessing after meals. In fact, the second blessing of the 4 that comprise Birkat Hamazon quotes this verse in its entirety, making the explicit point that giving thanks to God for the good land given to us (and the food produced by that land) is accomplished by saying this set of blessings and connected additional prayers. 

Birkat Hamazon can be said in a number of ways. We can say it individually, communally, to ourselves, sing it all out loud, some combination of the above, or in a number of different ways. And then there's the way we say it at camp on Shabbat. 

It's noteworthy that Birkat Hamazon is led by campers - these children somehow manage to capture the attention of several hundred of their peers to lead them in reciting the ancient words. As soon as the leaders begin, the hadar okhel (dining hall) erupts with sound. Hands keeping the beat on tabletops, feet tapping on the floors underneath, tables of campers competing with each other to see who can sing the loudest; the room vibrates with the energy everyone brings to the experience. The ruah is amazing, with special melodies, hand motions, and flourishes added in to make it even more fun.

After Birkat Hamazon, everyone sticks around to sing zemirot (Shabbat table songs), also led by campers. One of the treasured traditions here is that each Edah (unit of campers) learns and leads their own verse to the Shabbat song Mipi El. What a wonderful way to build familiarity with Shabbat zemirot and to honor each camper's contribution to the community. The song travels around the room, with each Edah taking the lead for their verse, and the whole camp chiming in for the response lines. 

Gavi was ready for bed shortly after the singing began, so we made our way back to our cabin with the beautiful ruah of the rest of the camp accompanying us on our walk home. I'm hoping we'll make it through more of the singing this week - it's one of the things that makes Shabbat here at camp so special. While we can't quite achieve the same kind of ruah in our home and shul lives (unless you regularly have 300+ very excited young people at your table each week!), we can be inspired to infuse our blessing and our singing with joy, excitement, and gratitude. 

Shabbat shalom!
Rabbi Marci Jacobs

Pronouns: she/her/hers