by Rabbi Ariana Silverman, Moshavah Aleph Segel (Faculty)

Jennifer had never been backpacking before. The frame of her backpack nearly covered her whole body, but she did not cringe under the weight. These girls had learned about the importance of a positive attitude. While back at camp, we had studied about the twelve scouts, who, under Moses’ command, had explored the Promised Land. Only two, Joshua and Caleb, returned with an optimistic assessment. The others were afraid, and frightened everyone else. Their collective pessimism angered God so much that God determined they must wander in the desert for 40 years. These girls, as much as they loved the trip, wanted to get back to camp sooner than that.

We entered a field of wildflowers, which soaked up the sun and enjoyed the services of equally colorful butterflies.
“Jennifer,” I said, “remember when you asked me last night at the campsite about God?”
“Yes.”
“Well, it is in places like this that I feel closest to God.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It is in places like these where I can sense that God is everywhere.”
She paused. “Me too,” she whispered. “But sometimes I think that I am supposed to believe that God is only in heaven.”
“On a throne, with a beard?”
“Uh-huh.”
“Do you believe that?”
“No. Not really.”
“I don’t believe that either. I don’t believe God is a man. I don’t believe God looks like a human at all. And I don’t believe that God is only in heaven, waiting around to strike us with lightening.”
I could tell that she was smiling. “Really?”
“Really.”
“I think my Dad thinks like you. When he has a bad day, he sits outside and looks at the birds with his binoculars.”
“Have you ever asked him what he believes?”
“No. But maybe I will.”

I learned, and taught, a lot at camp. I led services, almost every morning, for eighty 13 year olds and learned what it takes to engage them at 6:15am. I learned, and taught, a lot of Hebrew. I taught about Jewish tradition and Jewish practice. I learned games and songs and stories. I tutored b’nai mitzvah kids and kids who wanted to chant Torah at camp. But most of all, I learned that my job at camp was to be accessible when a kid wanted to talk to a rabbi about God, about illness, about being a Jew. Their questions and insights were a gift to me, and I hope I was able to teach them. By allowing me to go to camp, you allowed me to learn from them, and them to have a rabbi when they needed one, and I, and they, thank you.

Rabbi Ariana Silverman is the Assistant Rabbi at Temple Kol Ami in West Bloomfield, Michigan and served as one of the faculty members in Moshavah Aleph. This piece originally appeared in the Temple Kol Ami bulletin.