Educational Visions
Each year at Gilboa, the chinuch (educational director) prepares their educational vision in advance of the summer. Months before chanichimot (campers) even step on Gilboa soil, the chinuch gathers resources, thinks up methods, and outlines their goals in a tik — a written guide meant to assist madrichimot (counselors) in planning peulot (educational activities) for their kids.
Each summer has its own unique and overarching theme; whether it’s “hope,” “Jewish resistance,” or “accepting the stranger,” the summer theme is meant to inspire and challenge both chanichimot and madrichimot alike to consider the ways in which our learning at camp can make our communities and our world a better place.
This summer’s chinuch, Ronnie Hecht, drew from Jewish folklore to come up with this summer’s theme: The Golem.
Each summer has its own unique and overarching theme; whether it’s “hope,” “Jewish resistance,” or “accepting the stranger,” the summer theme is meant to inspire and challenge both chanichimot and madrichimot alike to consider the ways in which our learning at camp can make our communities and our world a better place.
This summer’s chinuch, Ronnie Hecht, drew from Jewish folklore to come up with this summer’s theme: The Golem.
The Golem
In Jewish folklore, a golem is an animated and anthropomorphic being that is magically created entirely from inanimate matter.The most famous golem narrative involves Judah Loew Ben Bezalel, the late-16th-century rabbi of Prague. There are many tales differing on how the golem was brought to life and afterward controlled. According to Moment Magazine, "the golem is a highly mutable metaphor with seemingly limitless symbolism. It can be victim or villain, Jew or non-Jew, man or woman—or sometimes both. Over the centuries it has been used to connote war, community, isolation, hope and despair."
From the Tik:
Golem is a representation of every Jewish person’s soul and their ability to embody their identities as a form of rebellion. What we understand from this and what we would like to offer you is the power and tools to create a summer of — Creative Resistance: the ability to take ownership over our experiences and find creative solutions to present-day challenges.We see the golem as someone who is both perfect and imperfect; neither the hero nor the villain. Just like all of us, the golem is a complex being and we hope to employ shivyon erech ha’adam (the equality of human value) as a way to see her and our chanichimot in all of their intricate and whole selves. Everyone has different barriers they fight against, and different dreams they fight for, and so the Golem takes on different forms for different people.
This summer, we want the golem to be a tool for each kvutza to create an identity for themselves. What are the golems of today? What is their personal golem of the summer? How can the golem give a kvutza and the individuals within it the motivation to build a creative and just society?
We would like to offer Jewish folklore as an alternative way of connecting to your own Jewish identities and your chanichimot’s. It is an often underutilized Jewish tradition found throughout a variety of Jewish cultures with valuable themes. We think the lessons are just as relevant today.
Legend has it that the Golem didn’t exist on Shabbat. Even activists in the form of monsters need a break. This story reminds us how important Jewish tradition and Creative Resistance are to each other. Did you know that Golem is the Hebrew word for “something unfinished or incomplete.” May we continue to shape this legend together.
The Golem, in Pictures:
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