Chapter 10

CFSa

Inventing Jewish Identity in : Shlomo Bardin, Zionism, and the Brandeis Camp Institute

Deborah Dash Moore

This chapter employs a case study to explore educational inno- vation explicitly designed to change the Jewish identities of its par- ticipants. Through its focus on a charismatic figure in and the camp he created in the Simi Valley, the chapter approaches central issues of individual initiative and communal organization to test the claims of theory Close attention to local history not only al- lows us to reclaim the past in its rich detail to see how ideas and dreams were translated into actual institutions, but it also provides a solid ground for subsequent generalizations. Shlomo Bardin and the Brandeis Camp Institute, the subjects of this chapter, were part of a larger American movement in adult Jewish education that flourished after World War 11. Such mass membership Jewish orga- nizations as Hadassah and B'nai B'rith embarked on ambitious ef- forts to educate their members; to train a new generation of leaders; and to foster basic Jewish literacy, ritual competence, and ideologi- cal commitment (Moore 1981: 231-40; 1997). Yet Bardin's decision to locate the Brandeis Camp Institute just outside of Los Angeles took him on a different path from that of adult Jewish education. Responding to the character of Los Angeles Jewry and in partner- ship with local leaders, Bardin developed a form of spiritual recre- ation specifically tailored to address the needs of uprooted Jews of 202 Deborah Dash Moore Inventing Jewish Identity in California 203

Los Angeles. These Jews retained only faint memories of Jewish life ring. The high mobility of American society guarantees that each in the Northeast and Midwest, their home towns. Most had received generation is encouraged to make its own way physically removed a minimal Jewish education and few knew how to practice any from their parents. Only a minority of Jews live in the same city as forms of Jewish ritual observance. Yet, because of World War I1 and their parents and grandparents, and even mobility from one neigh- the Holocaust, they were not ready to abandon Jewish life and a borhood to another causes some dislocation. Jews who moved to connection with the Jewish people. Entrepreneurs like Bardin, who California after World War 11 left behind a Jewish cultural world set out to reach these Jews, recognized that they would be future that many of them actually rejected. They did not seek to replicate leaders of American Jewry, and, therefore, of Diaspora Jews. Thus the world of their parents in Los Angeles, one of the reasons why he tried to develop educational institutions to inspire Jews to be they were open to the innovation and personal charisma of Bardin. Jews, to link them with Jewish peoplehood, to whet their appetite So if a disrupted culture characterizes Jewish life, identity forma- for more learning, and to encourage them to bring up their children tion will resemble Len-Straus's bricoleur more than any organic, as Jews. holistic process of intergenerational transmission. I need not add I characterize these innovative methods as spiritual recreation that Bardin was a bricoleur, scavenging bits and pieces of his own because this approach to Jewish education integrated it into the pastperhaps in a way analogous to Harvey E. Goldberg's persua- leisure pattern of living typical of Los Angeles. Indeed, the city's as- sive account--to produce a formula that worked (Goldberg 1998). sociations with leisure, epitomized in the tall palm trees lining the Second, I think that Daniel Elazar's substantivists and experi- streets, attracted thousands of Jewish newcomers each month after entialists are valuable categories of analysis as long as we recognize the end of the war. Yet Jewish recreation differed from other, popu- them as gendered terms (Elazar 1998). Thus the split between the lar forms: it was spiritual. It inspired, uplifted, transformed. From two involves a gendered division. Substantivists are male, that is, an easterner's perspective, it often appeared shallow and superfi- the educational ideals they subscribe to come close to masculine cial, with a touch of Hollywood dramatics. From our contemporary Jewish traditions of education-traditions that are now increas- perspective, it might appear typically Californian: eclectic, experi- ingly open to women. The experientialists are female, trying, in ential, experimental, and popular. I argue that it was remarkably Elazar's words "to give people a good feeling about feeling Jewish." effective. Whether it is exportable or serviceable as a model of Jew- That is exactly what many Jews took away from their homes, where ish education depends, in part, on how one assesses the condition of women traditionally were educated. Recognizing this gendered American Jewry today. If most now resemble those reading of the educational debate might be productive because it postwar pioneers who moved to Los Angeles, then spiritual recre- might encourage us to look at how Jews behaved in their homes, ation may indeed point to the future. Bardin certainly thought of points made by Riv-Ellen Prell (Prell 1998). Bardin chose to focus himself as a pathfinder. Perhaps he was right. His one unfinished upon Shabbat because he believed in it deeply, because it provided dream was to build a model Jewish preparatory school, as good as that specific point of Jewish spirituality and peoplehood that was Choate or Exeter, which would attract and train the cream of the potentially transformative, and because one could enjoy it with all of crop, the future leaders of the American and Jewish world. In 1970 one's senses. Not only did Bardin want people to feel good about such dreams could not be realized; now the idea seems far from im- feeling Jewish, he also wanted them to feel good. possible and thus may be implemented by figures who don't recog- This brings us to Prell's two narratives of mobility and intimacy, nize that they are following Bardin's footsteps. both gendered accounts. Mobility produced leisure time, a mark of Before turning to Bardin and the Brandeis Camp Institute, middle-class status in postwar America, a desired goal of not having some theoretical reflections are useful. First, I think it is important to constantly work. One of the attractions of a city like Los Angeles to emphasize the disrupted character of Jewish culture throughout to American Jews was its leisurely atmosphere: the climate, patterns the world (Elazar 1998). Even when we think we see continuity, as of work intermixed with recreation, casual clothing styles, and so- in the United States where the majority Jewish population is at cialization opportunities out-of-doors, all pointed to the breakdown of least two and often three or four generations removed from the dis- rigid categories associated with work and urban life in the Northeast locations of immigration, an ongoing process of disruption is occur- and Midwest. There "going out" involved getting "dressed up" to 204 Deborah Dash Moore Inventing Jewish Identity in California 205 engage in leisure activities in places that were special, an utter con- experimental religious rituals. Bardin deliberately set out to arouse trast to the situation in Los Angeles (Nasaw 1993). Ultimately the emotions: to awaken interest in the Jewish people, to stimulate a two narratives propel Jews to L.A. where Judaism and Jewishness desire to pursue Jewish knowledge, and to instill a sense of respon- can both become leisure-time pursuits. If Judaism and Jewishness sibility for the Jewish future. "Above all," he explained, the institute are leisure-time activities, they will change. They will become part of "attempts to create an atmosphere which enables the young Jew to a Jew's identity, but a special part, providing certain rewards and gain new insight into himself, . . . " (Bardin 1946: 27). The institute satisfactions tailored to each individual. tapped the talents of Jews working in the motion picture industry. Finally, Arnold Eisen spells out some of the rewards, including Bardin enlisted them to create the "atmosphere," to write scripts meaning, community, and religious experience, which can be ac- and stage pageants, to compose music and design rituals, and to in- quired as a leisure-time activity Bardin recognized the value of all spire the art of Jewish living in their own lives and in the lives of three and tried to provide these to young adults who came on others. Bardin grasped the manifold possibilities of Jewish spiritual "" to Brandeis. He explicitly used drama-theatrics, is another recreation. name--and music to reach people quickly because he had to work his The future BCI began as an experimental summer leadership magic in four weeks with young people and in the space of a week- training program initiated by the recently established American end with adults. Bardin produced Judaism-he staged it-so that Zionist Youth Commission and run by its energetic director, Shlomo those watching were simultaneously participants and observers. Bardin. The camp institute intended to demonstrate to campers the To summarize the relevant theory for this case study of Bardin compatibility of their Jewish and American identities. It intention- and the Brandeis Camp Institute: the Brandeis Camp directed its ally catered to young adults, aged eighteen to twenty-five, whose attention to Jews whose culture was disrupted, which meant most Jewish ties were most vulnerable. This vision owed something to L.A. Jews who were migrants to the city, and created an experien- Louis Brandeis's version of Zionism. The goal was "to give the young tial female-gendered program that spoke to young Jewish women, a feeling of belonging; . . . to make him feel at ease as a Jew in an future homemakers, helping them to feel good about feeling Jewish. American environment" (Bardin 1958a). Bardin later credited Bran- The Brandeis Camp Institute implicitly understood Judaism and deis with an enduring concern for American Jewish youths and in- Jewishness to be leisure-time activities; it blended drama and mu- sisted that Bardin's own involvement with the youth commission sic, because of their ability to transform observers into participants, and camp institute resulted from Brandeis's efforts on his behalf to produce Shabbat. Judaism and Jewishness were experienced (Bardin 1958c, 3:7). In the early years every camper received a copy through Shabbat, necessarily a distinctive form of Shabbat that pro- of Brandeis's essay, "True Americanism." So when Brandeis died af- vided meaning, community and religious experience. ter the successful first summer institute in 1941 held in Amherst, Now to the case study of Bardin and the Brandeis Camp Insti- New Hampshire, Bardin asked for the use of the justice's name tute, often abbreviated as BCI. Its story is suggestive and provoca- (California Jewish Voice, 1947~).Renamed the Brandeis Camp In- tive, for it reveals not only what happens to intentions and ideology stitute, the one-month summer program carefully blended aspects in California but also what possibilities exist for ambitious leaders of Bardin's own education: his memories of growing up in Zhitomir, in such virgin territory as postwar L.A. The history has a subtext Ukraine; his adult years in Eretz Yisrael, marked by the values of worth pondering: the significance of women and Jewish women's the kibbutz; his doctoral studies at Columbia University's Teachers modes of learning for Jewish education. The BCI educated mostly College where his Ph.D. dissertation studied the experiential edu- women, thus contributing to women's changing status within the cational methods of the Danish folk high schools (especially the Jewish world. importance of music); and his admiration for the informal give-and- The camp, started in the East and transplanted to the West, take of American discourse (BCI Masterbooks 1947, 1952; Bardin eluded denominational and ideological definition. Under Shlomo 1946: 27). Bardin's charismatic leadership, the institute synthesized its inno- Born and raised in Zhitomir, Bardin left Russia after World vations into an eclectic package of summer camping, adult educa- War I for Palestine. He briefly attended and taught at the Reali tion, holiday workshops, programs in Jewish creative arts, and even School in Haifa before leaving Palestine for Berlin. After several 206 Deborah Dash Moore Inventing Jewish Identity in California 207

years of study in Berlin, Bardin went to London to further his edu- be a tie with the homeland" (Hancock Herald 194313). He fostered cation. Eventually he landed in where he was accepted as this connection through an extensive reading list on Zionism, study a graduate student at Columbia University's Teachers College. of Hebrew, and cultivation of elements of Palestinian Jewish culture, Bardin studied under the impressive group of educators gathered at "because of the normalizing character of [its] Jewish community" Columbia in the early 1930s, especially George Counts, who encour- (Bardin 1958b,1958d, 3:lO). As one contemporary put it, Bardin was aged him to examine the Danish Folk High School. While in New a small "z" Zionist (Kelman 1988). York, Bardin married Ruth Jonas, the daughter of a wealthy Brook- Bardin's approach turned Brandeis into a surrogate homeland lyn lawyer. He returned to Haifa with a wife, an advanced degree, a and Jewish home rolled into one, letting campers taste previously book on Pioneer Youth in Palestine, and the determination to start a unfamiliar experiences. His program made campers responsible for school modeled on Brooklyn Technical High School. Ameeting with the camp's physical needs (except its food) and included a healthy Frieda Warburg, who had read his book, prompted her to provide dose of gardening. Bardin thought doing menial work acted 'like a the funds. Bardin established Haifa Technical High School in 1936 tonic" inside the campers'souls by giving them the feeling that Ju- and a special nautical school two years later. In 1939 he returned to daism was rooted in real life. It counteracted the tendency of young the United States for financial reasons and remained when the war Jews "to associate Judaism with wealth" (Bardin 1958d, 3: 9-10). It began. Bardin's manner and accomplishments impressed American also linked camp life to the kibbutz's notion of physical work as a cre- Zionist leaders who considered him a model of the new Jew created ative and redeeming enterprise. The program ran on a rigorous in Palestine. He can also he seen as the prototypical yored, the schedule. Before breakfast there was a dual flag-raising ceremony Palestinian (and later Israeli) who leaves the homeland to seek his honoring the American and Zionist symbols. Then came lectures, fortune in the diaspora. Bardin's credentials as a pedagogue made study, work, and singing in the morning, followed by rest, recreation, him the perfect choice to direct the new American Zionist Youth and workshops in the afternoon. The evenings, except for Shabbat, Commission (Bardin 1958b, 19588. and Thursday nights that were reserved for the campers' campfire By the middle of the second summer Bardin knew that he had program, consisted of informal but structured gab sessions, Hebrew the formula guaranteeing success. In a letter to Judith Epstein, lessons, discussions with lecturers, and singing and dancing (BCI vice-chair of the commission and president of Hadassah, Bardin Masterbooks 1952a). Michael Meyer recalled that Bardin allowed for wrote that the group was typical of the rank and file members of Ju- no deviation. Attempting to organize fellow campers to decide what nior Hadassah as well as the leadership. "[Wlithout hesitation we evening programs they would produce--the type of leadership he may say that whatever has been achieved with this group could be was accustomed to exerting-Meyer encountered Bardin's resistance achieved with any similar group:' he told her. Bardin reiterated his to what might have been praised as initiative in a different type of conviction that now "we have a very effective instrument for our camp. Bardin disarmed Meyer's planned revolt (Meyer 1994). Zionist youth education" (Bardin 1942). His success was recognized The Sabbath was the focal point of the week. Bardin used his by Abraham Goodman, a wealthy New York businessperson, a Zion- considerable dramatic skills to evoke a sense of reverence, spiritual- ist, Reconstructionist, and supporter of Jewish creative arts. Good- ity, and beauty among the campers. During the week they learned man arranged to purchase a camp in the Poconos for Brandeis. In Shabbat melodies so that the Friday night and Saturday morning 1943 Bardin transferred his entire program to the new site, even re- rituals could be participatory. To close the Sabbath Bardin developed naming the lake, Kinneret, the Sea of Galilee in the Poconos (The a Habdulah ceremony whose emotional stagecrafl regularly brought Hancock Herald 1943a). campers to tears. Standing in a circle, with arms on each other's Each session, meticulously planned no less as an emotional than shoulders, Bardin's Habdalah became "a symbol of a great cama- as an educational experience, was designated an aliyah, clearly an raderie" (Bardin 1958b, 1958d, 3:13). He even orchestrated the light- unorthodox use of the Zionist term. Bardin subscribed to the Zionist ing to produce the desired emotional effect. Irma Lee Ettinger, girls doctrine that "there is only one homeland for the Jew, and that is the head counselor from 1948 to 1955, recalled how exacting Bardin was ancient homeland in Palestine." He also admitted that although 'ke in regard to raising and lowering lights and how upset he would get don't expect our young people to return to Palestine, . . . there should if she missed a cue (Ettinger 1989). 208 Deborah Dash Moore Inventing Jewish Identity in California 209

Bardin wanted a national constituency. He expanded his re- in the Simi Valley that included tennis courts, riding stables, and cruitment efforts to reach the local Zionist Youth commissions scat- the hunting lodge of a former beer baron. Rapidly, the land was tered in over 100 cities throughout the United States and Canada. readied for the first session in the summer of 1947 (California Jew- In 1943 only 20 percent of the 150 campers came from the New York ish Voice 1947~).The local Ventura county paper, its interest piqued metropolitan area. Among the first campers recruited from Los An- by the arrival of a Jewish camp, interviewed Uri Ariav, a twenty- geles was the daughter of Julius and Mollie Fligelman, active Zion- six-year-old Sabra and agriculture student hired as the gardener. ists and members of the L.A. Commission (The Hancock Herald, The reporter discovered that Ariav hoped to 'Isring some American 1943a). The Fligelmans were so impressed with the program's im- boys and girls to Palestine" because they were desperately needed. pact on their daughter that they sponsored scholarships for other "Now, when we need men to perform some act of sabotage in the young people. Julius also began to correspond with Bardin. Buoyed city," Ariav explained, "we have to get them from the farms and that by success, Bardin envisioned a network of half a dozen camps leaves them short-handed there." Young American Jews could help around the United States. By 1946, he was ready to bring the BCI facilitate plans for sabotage (Star-Free Press 1947). The newspaper to the West Coast. Moshe Davis, a member of the Youth Commis- story threatened the entire enterprise. Bardin worked furiously to sion, recalled that at the meeting "the vote was even--on the line, repair the damage, firing Ariav, giving a talk before the local Rotary an absolutely neutral vote. As a matter of fact, a neutral vote meant club, cultivating area churches, and even inviting an area folk a negative vote, and Bardin was not going to get his camp on the dance group to use the camp facilities. Eventually, he quieted the west coast. At that point,'he continued, '1said to them rather for- outcry and the first "aliyah" received good press. mally, 'Ladies and Gentlemen, before you reach a final decision I Bardin transported not only his program but most of his staff want you to know that the Seminary has just decided to establish from the Poconos to the Simi Valley. Max Helfman, appointed music the West Coast branch. . . . We believe that Los Angeles is going to director of the Hebrew Arts Commission of the Zionist Youth Com- be the second largest city of Jews in the United States." Davis's per- mission in 1944, brought his considerable talents to the West Coast. suasion worked. A second vote was called for, and this time the He shared Bardin's assessment that young Jews "are atrophied meeting was completely in favor of the West Coast camp (Davis: 7). emotionally. They have lost their will for passionate living as Jews" Bardin arrived in November for a series of parlor meetings with (California Jewish Voice 1947d). Helfman brought this passion, potential supporters organized by the indefatigable Mollie Fligel- combined with a love of music, Palestine, and philosophy, to the man. He told all who would listen about his plan to establish an all- campers. One camper from Winnipeg called him "the soul" of the year-round camp, the 'largest Jewish camp of its kind in the United camp. Even onlookers, watching him rehearse a choral group, States and the first of its kind in the West" on the outskirts of Los sensed the enormous enthusiasm he evoked (Sokolov 1949a). "If the Angeles. At Sinai Temple, at Hadassah and Zionist meetings, in the Brandeis Institute would have done nothing more than present Fligelman's home, to Max Laemmle and other Jews in Hollywood, Helfman to the West Coast, it would have been 'dayenu'!" (enough!) Bardin brought his message of youth redemption and education for exclaimed an excited local-fund raiser. But Bardin did more. He leadership (California Jewish Voice 1946).By February, he had gen- brought the dancer Katya Delakova and the well-known philoso- erated enough support for a gala "Stars for Youth" dinner in the Am- pher, Horace KaIlen. In addition, he started to nurture his own stafF bassador Hotel, hosted by the comedian Phil Silvers, with such from among the most promising campers, sending a select hand- well-known stars as Danny Thomas and Chico Marx, and with a ful-among them, Irma Lee Ettinger-to Palestine for a year to rare appearance by A1 Jolson. The goal was to raise two hundred soak up its culture (Ettinger 1989). fifty thousand dollars to purchase a camp site (California Jewish Yet even while he looked to Palestine for its rich Jewish culture, Voice 1947a, 1947b). Bardin started to reinterpret Zionist categories. Chava Scheltzer, The enthusiasm of local leaders and the enormous untapped whom Bardin recruited as a representative of the Yishuv in 1945, wealth of Los Angeles Jews soon tnrned Bardin's vision into reality. struggled to introduce halutziut, or "preparation for pioneering" in After many weekends of driving around hunting for a site, the local Palestine, into the camp. Bardin opposed such efforts although he committee purchased Oak Park Ranch, a two-thousand-acre estate "claims that he is for halutziut. In truth, he is not for it," she 210 Deborah Dash Moore Inventing Jewish Identity in California 211

observed, but sees the pioneer as standing for a halutziut that exists turned to college. "I was born again," she affirmed (Zigmond 1948). in all areas of life (Scheltzer 1946). Scheltzer understood Bardin. As An articulate young man, Sokolov wrote: 'We lived like . . . Sabras representative shalichim, Bardin specifically requested "young men . . . to whom the meaning of anti-Semitism has to be explained. Al- from rural settlements or colonies who, in their very appearance, though our atmosphere is completely Jewish, paradoxically, we do personify the new Palestine. . . ."For Bardin, "the ability to sing and not think as Jews here the way we do in the 'outside world.' We dance, and particularly to convey the spirit via singing and dancing," think as human beings, not colored by particular pressures" was "essential. With all this," he astutely noted, "they cannot be par- (Sokolov 1949a). Bardin used to say to campers, "let's strike a con- tisans in a political party sense. They must be broad enough to in- tract. You give me twenty-eight days and I'll give you an experience clude all Palestine, with all its groups andfactions" (Bardin 1945). In that will last a lifetime" (Ettinger 1989). Indeed, one woman later his mind, Bardin had reconstructed Zionism in American terms. reported that "Brandeis was the turning point of my life . . . ." Her The potential of the California camp excited Bardin; he wanted message confirmed Bardin's bargain and the power of an institute to develop it into a year-round institute. But members of the Zionist experience. "Brandeis charted the way for me," she explained. "Be- Youth Commission balked at the prospect. So Bardin talked several cause of it I still attend school, I feel relatively secure as a Jew, and of the major supporters, including Abe Goodman and Judith Ep- my family has enjoyed a Brandeis 'feeling' about religion, Shabbat, stein, into establishing a separate Brandeis Youth Foundation to and festivals. They have learned a positive Judaism," she con- run the camps and related programs (Brandeis Youth Foundation). cluded. "I believe your scholarship to me paid off in producing four By the summer of 1948, as the State of fought its war of in- positive Jewish children and our home has provided an example for dependence, Bardin severed the remaining Zionist connections (Et- many of our friends" (quoted in Levine 1971: 25-26). tinger 1989). Even the rhetoric of the camp changed, as did the Brandeis attracted a majority of women, partly a result of the reading lists. "The orientation of the camp is definitely towards Is- draft (both for World War I1 and the Korean War), partly due to re- rael, but it is not a Zionist camp," wrote a camper, David Sokolov. cruitment through Junior Hadassah and alumni, and partly stem- "The accent is on Hebrew culture, not because Yiddish is inferior, ming from the character of its program. According to a 1971 survey but because [ofl an unfortunate and almost unshakable association women represented 68% of the institute's enrollment and men only . . . with the call of the ghetto, with persecution, and shame. . . ." 32% over the course of three decades. However, in the early years (Sokolov 1949b). during the Second World War there were as many as 190 women to Bardin evidenced a remarkable ability to respond to the needs, 10 men (Levine 1971: 9). In many respects, Bardin's experientially styles, and tastes ofAmerican Jews. His starting point was his au- based and emotionally structured education consciously articulated dience, his potential campers and supporters. Zionism, in its classi- the unarticulated mode of traditional learning for Jewish women. cal European and even American form, served Bardin as a resource For a month the camp became home to campers who learned by do- to be winnowed and transformed. Thus Bardin took the language of ing and living. Bardin and his staff turned themselves into the ideal Zionism-of halutziut, of aliyah-and used it to promote individual Jewish parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents who growth and self-knowledge with a Jewish flavor. Bruce Powell, a transmitted a love for Jewishness in all of its rich variety as much former camper and counselor at Brandeis wrote that Bardin "inter- through example as through specific didactic instruction. Bardin preted Zion as the spiritual center of one's mind; Zionism was sim- mandated that his staff memorize the name and face of every ply a return to that center." Powell thought that "Bardin created a camper before an institute began so that campers were addressed 'Jewish Zionism,'a yearning to return to one's own personal center on a first-name, intimate basis from the moment they arrived (Et- of Judaism and Jewish vitality" (Powell 1979: 174). tinger 1989). Aware of the institute's transformative impact on young people, "It would not be an exaggeration to say," wrote one observer, Bardin solicited testimonials. These letters spoke in moving terms that Bardin "induces his young people to surrender themselves to of a profound change in Jewish identity produced by the institute, him for one month and during this period he and his staff replace akin to a conversion experience. One woman even used such reli- feelings of estrangement with a love for Judaism. . . ." Brandeis nur- gious language in an article she wrote on the institute when she re- tured as it taught, inspired as it educated. "Charisma and seduction 212 Deborah Dash Moore Inventing Jewish Identity in California 213 are hard to resist and most of those who experience this combination tion of different types of Jews united in one enterprise and under at Brandeis succumb," the eastern observer concluded (Berger 1968). one roof. In 1953 he recommended selling the eastern camp and Bardin wanted to reach the hearts of his American-born campers suggested, in a compliment to Bardin's accomplishment, that a site even more than their minds, one reason why he chose to work with be found an hour from to duplicate the Los Angeles youths at what he called "the plastic age," the "age when the young program (Brandeis Youth Foundation 1953a). person makes his great decisions" (Bardin 1958b, 1958d 2:5). Bardin, however, was concentrating on developing and extend- Graenum Berger, an eastern executive in Jewish communal ing the Los Angeles program. Hollywood provided a congenial mi- recreation, visited Brandeis in the 1960s and astutely observed how lieu for his own showmanship. He diligently recruited supporters Bardin linked the centrality of the Sabbath-with traditional who could contribute their creative talents as well as finances and women's learning. "One prepares for it all week, but officially it be- particularly courted Jews working in the movie industry. These gins on Friday morning just like it used to in the traditional home," wealthy men would drive out to the Simi Valley in their limousines he noted. "Brandeis changes its bed sheets and laundry on Friday. and Bardin would make them send their chauffeurs home. Then, he Not on Tuesday or Thursday or any other day. Along with clean would have them dig in the garden. "They loved it!" Wolfe Kelman sheets, clean clothes, the buildings and grounds are all cleaned up recalled (Kelman 1988). Los Angeles offered opportunities for indi- in preparation for the Sabbath." Berger understood the importance vidual entrepreneurship that Bardin, a natural entrepreneur, could of such a routine. "These are so-called mundane things which most hardly resist. In 1952 he introduced a tree-planting ceremony for of the youngsters never did," he wrote. "It wasn't done in their own families that combined Tu B'Shevat with Lag B'omer, the holiday of homes, unless a traditional grandmother lived with them. It is trees with the scholars'holiday (Brandeis Camp Institute of the something which they had to experience as part of the Jewish Sab- West 1952). Michael Blankfort, a left-wing screenwriter, came to the bath." The result was a sense of the Sabbath's sacredness, its sanc- camp, fell under Bardin's spell, and started to contribute scripts for tification of time. "No vehicles scurry within the campgrounds on various pageants, including one on Maimonides. "The first five that day. There is a festive air and there is a Sabbath quiet. Food is hours I spent with Shlomo Bardin were apocalyptic," Blankfort re- different too." Berger concluded that this spiritual recreation "is re- called (Blankfort 1956: 4-6). He responded by spreading the mes- ligious in the traditional sense, despite all disclaimers" (Berger sage, recruiting Dore Schary and the writer , as 1968). Bardin also extended the traditional education for women. well as the writers Fay and Michael Kanin. Schary and Convin de- With girls over half of the campers, he quickly discovered that they veloped a ceremony for the tree-planting ritual; Blankfort also had nothing to do during Friday night and Saturday morning ser- wrote programs for Purim and Hanukkah and other holidays and vices. So he included them in the Sabbath services. Female campers contributed his services to the camp over the summer (Brandeis read Torah (in English) and joined in the singing of Hebrew prayers Youth Foundation 1953b). (Bardin 1958b, 3:12; BCI Masterbooks 1952a). With weekend institutes for couples inaugurated in 1952, By 1951 with his marriage disintegrating, Bardin was eager to Bardin could reach effectively into the Hollywood community. To move to Los Angeles from New York. Only the L.A. camp had the cultivate supporters he worked with the lawyer Joseph Rifkind, year-round potential he sought to exploit and a circle of men and and especially his wife Betty, a wealthy Beverly Hills couple whose women dedicated to him. At the fall meeting of the Board of Gover- son Robert attended Brandeis in 1948 and served as a staff mem- nors, Goodman recommended accepting Bardin's proposal to move ber in 1949. The mdswould recruit a prospect to a weekend in- himself and the national office to Los Angeles and to introduce a stitute. Then on Sunday after the institute had ended, Bardin, who year-round program in 1952. As Goodman reiterated, Bardin in- loved to cook, would invite the selected couple up to his private tended not to create a local institution for southern California and apartment (Ettinger 1989). There, in rooms decorated with Navaho the West, but a national one (Brandeis Youth Foundation 1951). rugs and other items of Western Americana, Bardin would converse Without Bardin's presence, the eastern supporters found it difficult over a nonkosher dinner (in contrast to the institute's meals) to raise funds, though Goodman remained enthusiastic. He was par- (Elazar 1994). If the couple were moved by the Shabbat experience ticularly impressed with what he considered the unusual coopera- and by Bardin's charisma, he would ask them for just one favor-to 2 14 Deborah Dash Moore Inventing Jewish Identity in California 215

introduce one friend to Brandeis. Bardin could "inspire people. He Zionist ideological thrust though it retained a Zionist reputation. In was a Pied Piper," Fay Kanin recalled. The camp "really celebrated the midsixties the non-Zionist lawyer and communal leader, Walter all the cultural richness of being Jewish, and that kind of appealed Hilborn, went to a weekend institute "with my tongue in my cheek, to us. Through it we were exposed to some of the ritual that I had because I thought that he [Bardin] was going to try to make me a had a little of in my home-the Friday night candle-lighting and all Zionist." But Hilborn discovered that Bardin "didn't try to do that. that," she remembered. "We enjoyed them again, and we brought What he did was to make me feel much more interested in why I them home and did them for a while with our children, . . . " was a Jew, and what it meant to be a Jew, and he got me reading (Kanin: 57-58). history about it." Not only did Hilborn read, but he also was in- An ardent supporter, Fligelman recruited the old-timer, Max spired to study regularly for several years with Rabbi Max Nuss- Bay "I went most reluctantly," the physician recalled. "I was not baum on the Sabbath (Hilborn 1974: 216). particularly dedicated." Then, in 1954 'a stag weekend at Brandeis, In Los Angeles, Brandeis became a vehicle for Bardin's individ- turned me around completely" The stag weekends melded Shabbat ual entrepreneurship. Its eclectic, inspirational programs led by a celebration and learning with male camaraderie; it introduced Jew- charismatic figure made Jews with minimal Jewish knowledge feel ish men to the warm fellowship of a Jewish world their fathers good about being Jews, offered a heterogeneous clientele a wide might have known in the synagogue. Max Bay dated his Jewish ed- range of ways to be Jewish, and affirmed through drama, dance, ucation from his first weekend at Brandeis. Bay subsequently and especially music, the spiritual values of Judaism. One reporter brought his wife to a couples weekend at Brandeis and that trans- recognized that the institute fostered "an appetite for things Jew- formed her and she became involved in the Jewish community "Ex- ish-music, literature, traditions. . . ." (Sun Francisco Jewish Tri- periencing a Shabbat at Brandeis is what it is-it also gave you a bune 1947). A supporter considered the transformation wrought by sense of pride in your heritage," he explained. "[Olne of the feelings Brandeis to be "a miracle." Participants became "real Jews, many of I had from my weekend was a sense of remorse for the lack of edu- them for the first time in their lives" (Meltzer 1948). As one old- cation that we had given our son. As a result, when I came home, timer observed, 'You come, you get the inspiration and the thrill of and told the family about it, I sounded like a holy roller, because I real total Jewish living, without interruption and without influ- suddenly had gotten religion, born again, born again before Carter!" ences being brought to bear" (Broidy 1979: 2-3). Bardin's status as (Bay 1979: 4, 8). Not everyone was touched by Bardin's charisma a secular lay leader-he was not a rabbi-enhanced the power of his and showmanship. Ted Thomas, a writer and director, and friend of spiritual message. the Kanins, visited the camp but left unimpressed. Thomas remem- Eventually easterners interested in programmatic efforts to fos- bered Bardin as "an arrogant son-of-a-bitch Israeli." The son of the ter Jewish identity and to revitalize American Jewish life found famous Yiddish theater couple, Boris and Bessie Thomashevsky, their way to Brandeis. Berger's visit was not unusual. In the 1960s Thomas had his own vibrant memories and didn't care for Bardin's several other eastern Jewish leaders came to Brandeis to learn from spiritual re-creation of the Sabbath (Thomas 1989). the camp experience. One astute observer examined the Institute By the midfifties, a decade after moving to Los Angeles, Bardin for the American Jewish Committee. He summarized succindly the completed the transplantation. Brandeis contained all of the year- assumptions of its educational program: "1. To understand Judaism, round components he originally had envisioned: weekend institutes you must experience it. 2. Judaism is not primarily a creed or theol- for adults-couples, stag weekends, and sorority weekends; a sum- ogy; it is concerned, mainly, with the art of living with one's fellow mer camp for children; special holiday-related events and work- men." He went on to point out that Brandeis tried to restore two lost shops for families; and the original leadership program for youths. Jewish traditions: a lay leadership and a Jewish home culture re- Financial support came from individuals loyal to Bardin; the lead- volving around Shabbat and the festivals. To revitalize the home, ership consisted largely of West Coast figures (Brandeis Youth and thus all of Jewish life in America, one had to start with the Sab- Foundation 1953~). bath (Hnrvitz: 11-12). "I definitely feel that we should make a very Despite the remarkable continuity of program and personnel, serious effort to introduce the Sabbath into our own lives," Bardin the Brandeis Camp Institute, in its migration westward, lost its affirmed, "and, maybe, through us, it will spread to the whole of 216 Deborah Dash Moore Inventing Jewish Identity in California 217

his central focus as a common denominator. It was the Jewish mo- America, for it is not merely the Jews who need it" (Bardin 1958d, ment when the joy of Jewish living could be grasped, when passion VI:l). This meant, of course, that women and their home domain might be evoked, when beauty and truth coalesced. Yet Bardin now occupied a crucial, central place in American Judaism. At the knew better than merely to reproduce Sabbath rituals; rather, he heart of Bardin's program lay the conviction that women held the key to the Jewish future. Only women really possessed sufficient produced them using his own melodies, his own ceremonies-espe- leisure time to be Jewish now that Judaism had become a form of cially in haudala. He aimed to create a sense of longing, cama- spiritual recreation. raderie, and beauty through special music and lighting effects. The An American Jewish folk religion developed in Los Angeles. Pop- candles and the gradual dimming of lights evoked a palpable sense ular. eclectic. and exneriential. this new Judaism-drew upon spiri- of loss, sustained by all of the campers standing in a circle with tual modes traditionally associated with women. Such modes their arms on each other's shoulders. Yet each participant was here a creator as well as an observer. The effects of haudala bounced emphasized the centrality of experience to knowing. Without experi- back to one. Recently, the emergence of haudala rituals at federa- encing Judaism-be it the joy of the Sabbath or the thrill of hearing tion meetings aims for similar effects. American Jewish organiza- an inspiring lecture or the pleasure of singing Jewish songs-it tional culture appears to be recognizing the experiential power that would be impossible to be Jewish. Since such experiences with their attendant emotions of solidarity and feeling good about being Jewish Bardin employed at the institute. did not fill the homes of L. A. Jews, institutions like the Brandeis Several observations are in order. When Bardin struck his bar- Camp Institute sought to convey them. In Los Angeles, Judaism gain with his campers, he wanted to control the dynamics of the camp as much as possible. He even demanded no coupling for the gradually lost much of its elite, male, theological, and halakic form four weeks, although this requirement was honored more in the and substance. At the time, the difference between Judaism in the breach than in observance. Given the ages of campers, it indicates City of Angels and Judaism back home appeared to be a difference Bardin's desire for control rather than for any realistic expectations. between East and West, center and periphery, even, perhaps, be- Bardin also freely criticized his lecturers, telling them when they tween parent and child. Only later would observers realize that as were effective and when he thought they were ineffective. He tried Jews pursued their spiritual recreation, they also were changing the to make them entertaining or inspiring; merely to be knowledgeable character of Judaism (Liebman 1990; Hammond 1988). and competent was inadequate. Although Bardin continually in- In Los Angeles the delicate balance that usually animated vited new people to the camp, he clearly had his favorites-effective, American Judaism-between the claims of tradition to transform the Jew and the demands of the individual Jew to modify tradi- persuasive, moving, witty, engaging, dynamic speakers-and these would regularly return. tion-shifted decisively in favor of the latter. As Bruce Powell noted enthusiastically, Bardin enjoyed "the freedom to 'select' from the Bardin was a pedagogue, but he was also an entrepreneur. It best in Jewish culture instead of having to take it all, ." (Powell was a compelling combination. He knew how to use the national or- . . ganizational machinery ofAmerican Jews for his own personal ends 1979: 120). And what guided Bardin's choices was the audience those uprooted Jews living in a Jewish desert on the edge of par- and he could also reach individuals who became his loyal supporters and followers. Perhaps we need more such educational entrepre- adise. He devised programs that would reach them, move them, inspire them, transform them. If the process also transformed Zion- neurs devoted to reaching young Jews aged eighteen to twenty-five. ism-this was one of the unexpected outcomes. Zionism was a re- Bardin wanted to create a lay leadership, an elite. He designed the source to be exploited, not a constraint. Brandeis Camp Institute to nourish lay leadership, not as universal Jewish education. In the early years, all of the students who came If there was a measure of chutzpah in these experimental en- on "aliyah" received a scholarship raised by hometown leaders or deavors, it fit comfortably into the L. A. milieu where anything ap- Hadassah, and this undoubtedly increased their sense of commit- peared possible, even the reimagination of such an ancient religion ment. The Jewish community had invested in them and expected as Judaism. Unencumbered by tradition, Los Angeles Jews proved them to do some community service on their return. Finally, Bardin receptive to an innovative eclecticism that crossed denominational welcomed-indeed, sought ouMews who were successful in other and ideological boundaries. Bardin deliberately chose Shabbat as 218 Deborah Dash Moore Inventing Jewish Identity in California 219 cultural fields. As already noted, he particularly appealed to Holly- (1958d) Intemiew by Jack Diamond, 20 May, House of the Book, wood Jews, those who were unaffiliated, and he asked them to write Brandeis-Bardin Institute. pageants, to stage ceremonies, and to develop dramatic ways of Bay, Max William. (1979) Oral History Interview, 25 July, Oral History of telling Jewish stories. That a Michael Blankfort or Dore Schary or the United Jewish Appeal, Oral History Archives, Institute of Con- Norman Codknew nothing to speak of about Judaism didn't de- temporary Jewry, Hebrew University. ter Bardin. They knew how to write or produce popular movies that BCI Masterbooks. (1947) Brandeis-Bardin Institute. grabbed an audience. Bardin was confident that he would inspire them to learn enough to create the products he needed. His embrace -. Masterbooks. (1952) Brandeis-Bardin Institute. of successful "secular" Jews engaged in cultural production was a -. Masterbooks. (1952a). BCI West, Brandeis-Bardin Institute. central epmponeut of his entrepreneurial and pedagogical strategy. Bardin deliberately worked to undo stereotypes of American Jews. Berger, Ramon F. (1968) "An Aliyah to the Brandeis Camp Institute," ed. If Jews were thought of as rich, then he had campers work in the Graenum Berger, Santa Susana. garden to get their hands dirty. If Jews were thought of as cowardly, Berger, Graenum. (1968) "An Aliyah to the Brandeis Camp Institute," he had campers read about Jewish heroes to feel proud and free. Santa Susana. Bardin's experiment in spiritual recreation invites reflection on Blankfort, Michael. (1956) The Strong Hand. Boston: Little, Brown. the Jewish condition of exile, and on its meaning for personal iden- tity and reinterpretation. I think Bardin imagined American Jews Brandeis Camp Institute of the West. (1952) Minutes of Meeting, 7 June, as permanent tourists, an oxymoron. Like all tourists, Jews in Los House of the Book, Brandeis-Bardin Institute. Angeles temporarily bracketed a portion of their identity in order to Brandeis Youth Foundation. (n.d.) Summary of Activities, House of the be open to new experiences, to discover new worlds. Often, the piece Book. of identity bracketed was their Jewishness-left behind in the -. (1951) Minutes of Meeting of the Board of Governors, 26 September, hometown of their youth. Bardin invited these permanent tourists House of the Book, Brandeis-Bardin Institute. to reclaim that Jewish part of their identity by reinventing it as something intriguing, inspiring, and even compelling. -. (1953a) Minutes of Meeting of National Board, 23 February, House of the Book, Brandeis-Bardin Institute. -. (1953b) Minutes of Meeting of Members in Los Angeles, 15 April, References House of the Book, Brandeis-Bardin Institute. -. (1953~)Minutes of Meeting of the Executive Committee, 7 June, Bardin, Shlomo. (1942) Letter to Mrs. Moses Epstein, 31 July, House of the Members of Board of Directors, 1954, House of the Book, Brandeis- Book, Brandeis Bardin Institute. Bardin Institute. -(1945) Letter to Abe Herman, 1September, S321536, Central Zion- Broidy, Steve. (1979) Oral History Interview, 27 July, Oral History of the ist Archives. United Jewish Appeal, Oral History Archives, Institute of Contempo- rary Jewry, Hebrew University. -(1946) 'The Brandeis Camp Institute." Jewish Education 17, no. 3 (June): 2627. California Jewish Voice. (1946) 22 November. -(1958a) Interview by Jack Diamond, 2 February, House of the Book, -. (1947a) 28 February. Brandeis-Bardin Camp Institute. -. (1947b) 7 March. - (195813) Interview by Jack Diamond, 11 February, House of the Book, Brandeis-Bardin Institute. -. (1947~)8 August. -. (1947d) 29 August. - (1958~)Interview by Jack Diamond, 10 May, House of the Book, Brandeis-Bardin Camp Institute. Davis, Moshe. (n.d.) Oral History Interview. 220 Deborah Dash Moore Inventing Jewish Identity in California 221

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