by Dr. Roberta Goodman, Tiferet Segel (Faculty)
Most units at camp have the opportunity to extend the OSRUI experience outside of the confines of 600 Lac La Belle Drive. These off-site experiences fit the goals of the unit and camp in terms of relationship and community building, the developmental challenges of the age group, and Jewish living and learning. Camp is a place to try out new things, discover who one is and learn how to live with and relate to others in a safe, dynamic, supportive and creative Jewish environment.
Yesterday, Tiferet, the arts unit for 7th – 10th graders where each camper picks a studio – visual arts, drama, music or dance – took a bus to the Milwaukee Art Museum on the shores of Lake Michigan. The art museum has an inspiring architectural addition that connects sky, water and landscape to human creations of paintings, sculpture, furniture and more. With sketch, music composition or writing notebooks in hand, Ohad Sha’altiel, the head of the art specialists, who serves as an arts educator at the Tel Aviv Museum, treated campers and staff to a tour of some significant pieces in the collection. He helped us think about how an artist sees a subject and communicates a perspective through different techniques and ways of thinking. The campers had an opportunity to roam through the different parts of the museum in small groups to further explore the vast range of exhibits and types of art the museum had to offer.
Of course, this time in the museum stimulated artistic expression among the campers. One camper skillfully sketched a copy of a compelling painting on the tour. The dance studio went through the art museum trying to find a picture that represented longing, a theme that has emerged from our exploration of Shir HaShirim, Song of Songs. This provoked thoughtful analysis of a Chihuly glass sculpture, posters by Toulouse Lautrec and other works. Then the group members created dances inspired by the visual art. All the campers had an opportunity to do a metaphor activity that connected ideas from Song of Songs with what they saw in the museum.
I spent some time with the counselor from Paris looking at a painting of Moses with the words of the Ten Commandments written in French. This precipitated a fascinating conversation as the 10 commandments did not match what is written in the Torah. We discussed the depiction of Moses with two rays, somewhat horn like and the Hebrew origins that led to that image.
The museum visit will continue to be part of the shared Tiferet Bet experience. It will influence the way that we see the world, the creative risks we take, how we interpret Song of Songs, experience prayer, how we relate to one another and think about our unit. What a gift a summer at OSRUI is for each person here, our families, the Reform movement and the Jewish people.
Dr. Roberta Goodman is the Education Director at North Shore Congregation Israel in Glencoe, Illinois and is serving as one of the faculty members in Tiferet Bet.