Clues from Camp About Jewish Leadership

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[34] JEWISH LEADERSHIP הידיעון • HaYidion about Jewish Leadership Jewish about Clues from Camp Where Consciousness Meets Community: Meets Consciousness Where sector. ply theirconclusionstothedayschool heavy intellectualworkisneededtoap dollar businessesandorganizations, challenges ofleadershipinmultimillion the shelf too;butbecausetheyaddress onmybook- ences. Thosebooksare refer nizations havebecomeprimary Boleman andDeal’sReframingOrga is not school, but given that Jewish models ofleadership.Iknowthat camp ity. toJewishsummer campfor Iturn I wouldliketosuggestanother possibil- the twenty rstcentury. to leadershipofaJewishdayschoolin thelivesofMosesandKingDavid from theBabylonianTalmudlessons from or to derive imaginative leapisstillrequired pointisclosertohome,butan starting principles forJewishleadership.Her Jewish textssoastosuggestsomecore totraditional tack.Sheturns different spired JewishLeadership , she takes a bookIn- important In EricaBrown’s there. ofJewish leadershipasapplied ciples record incultivating Jewish leaders,- tothe prin explore Campson looks Stone, at whichhasaremarkabletrack the winter HaYidion in the articles , Pom upon Building Pomson¿ byAlex lins’s seems thatJimCol of ce bookshelves, it of ce what I’veseenoftheir of leadership? From of leadership?From standing ofthetasks form theirunder form to enrichandin Good toGreat and look formodels school heads Jewish day might here ------shared mission. shared another inpursuitofa one from camp andschoolmightlearn ing whattheeducationaluniversesof ask- populate Jewishschools,it’sworth who manyofthechildren camps serve bring in to view the processes and expe- bring intoview theprocesses soasto yond thecampers,asitwere, study To clarify:Iwasnotaskedtoconducta tolead. learning were young campstaff CHAI Foundationwithuncovering how many summers,IwastaskedbytheAVI tocampforthe rsttimein Returning qualities. of impressive as emergent leadersexhibitingallmanner agencies,NGOsandsynagogues) welfare of communitysettings(indayschools, inallkinds call themselves—havesurfaced –“Stoners”they staff-members former Jewish leadership.Overthelastfewyears, asanincubatorof a nationalreputation Jewisheducator,remarkable hasgained level ofanorganization canbeleaders. they occupy.the position not People every at they do, andwhat Leadership ishow peopleact of Yehuda Rothner, a under theguidance ish summercampthat Camp Stone,aJew vited tospendtimeat Recently, Iwasin of summercamp,buttolookbe - - - - tion. In these terms, Jewish tion. Inthese terms, anorganiza- ship canoccurthroughout mension totheexpectationthat leader At CampStoneIfoundasubjective di- level ofanorganization canbeleaders. Understood in this way, people at every do; itisnotthepositiontheyoccupy. noun. Itishowpeopleactandwhatthey have put it, leadership is a verb not a As anumberofwritersonleadership stance leadership asasubjective Leadership asaverb; Jewish Jewish dayschools. might andperhapsshouldlooklikein al assumptionsaboutwhatleadership intent ofchallengingsomeconvention- framedwiththespecial conclusions are These rather onwhatthesequalitiesare. but ership qualitiescometobelearned lead- isnotonhowcertain focus here about Jewishleadershipinparticular. My camp aboutleadershipingeneraland at vethingsIlearned then,are Here, in thisspecialsetting. riences thatenableleadershiptoblossom [email protected]. [email protected]. in Jerusalem. He canbereached at Educationthe Hebrew University at the Melton Centreat for Jewish Dr. Alex Pomson isaseniorlecturer leadership - involves not only acting in certain ways but also acting with certain kinds of self-awareness, whatever one’s formal position. As will be seen below, this subjective stance—this consciousness—is derived in turn from particular assumptions about the nature of Jewish life and the sources of its vitality, assumptions that are rarely made explicit in Jewish institutions. William Davidson Davidson William IMPLICATIONS: Conceiving of Jewish leadership as acting with a certain kind of consciousness has profound reper- Graduate School of of School Graduate cussions for how future leaders are prepared. This is radically different from a conception of leadership focused on skills and capacities. Jewish Education Education Jewish

Deepen your knowledge knowledge your Deepen Being a rosh-gadol—conscious of what needs Enhance your credentials credentials your Enhance to get done Expand your network network your Expand Leadership at Camp Stone involves being a “rosh gadol.” Not to be confused with the “big headedness” of colloqui- al English, this Hebrew term captures a number of quali- Study with one of the most most the of one with Study ties. It means taking responsibility if something needs do- outstanding Jewish Education faculties faculties Education Jewish outstanding ing; acting with initiative; and, most fundamentally, being in North America. America. North in conscious of a bigger picture at camp beyond oneself and one’s speci c role. By contrast, the “rosh katan” prefers to take a back seat, and claims inexperience, insuf cient The Master’s Program in in Program Master’s The knowledge or a lack of familiarity with the broader context of camp. Jewish Education Education Jewish offers a variety of options: options: of variety a offers IMPLICATIONS: The attributes of the rosh gadol privi- • Day School Teaching Teaching School Day • lege the skills of the generalist over the specialist. The • Experiential Education Education Experiential • person who feels “I can do this” without special training • Synagogue Educational Leadership Leadership Educational Synagogue • takes responsibility for the situation, but in getting the • Distance Learning Program Program Learning Distance • job done may not do the best possible job. This attribute is profoundly at odds with the culture of schools, where people’s responsibilities are precisely delineated and where The Doctoral Program for aspiring scholars scholars aspiring for Program Doctoral The intruding in to someone else’s professional space is often and professionals working in the ﬁeld offers three three offers ﬁeld the in working professionals and disapproved. different schedules: schedules: different

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Thinking and acting creatively are, in general terms, valu- Full-tuition fellowships are available. available. are fellowships Full-tuition able leadership traits, but what if radical, genuinely diver- gent creativity is a necessary component of Jewish leadership? At Camp Stone, campers regularly re-enact historical events on an unimaginably epic scale. In a west Pennsylvania eld, the staff has recreated, for example, the invasion of an- For more information about about information more For cient Tyre by Alexander the Great, the dedication of the rst Temple in Jerusalem, and the illegal entry of immigrants The Davidson School, School, Davidson The in to Mandate Palestine. The planning phases of programs please contact Abby Eisenberg at at Eisenberg Abby contact please often involve nailing an idea and then saying “that’s good, (212) 678-8022 or edschool jtsa.edu. jtsa.edu. edschool or 678-8022 (212) but what if we…”. Interrupting the ow of program design, @ @ people are thus invited to think differently and to dream up new and creative ways to do things. As the camp’s promo- הידיעון tional literature indicates, there is an operating assumption at Camp Stone that “nothing is impossible.” • HaYidion

[continued on page 47] William Davidson Graduate School School Graduate Davidson William of Jewish Education Education Jewish of www.jtsa.edu/davidson www.jtsa.edu/davidson

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William Davidson Davidson William [continued from page 35] IMPLICATIONS: One wonders why last talk before camp starts, by suggest- IMPLICATIONS: At Camp Stone, there (this) camp demands a more expansive ing that the rst century rabbi Yohanan is an implicit message that Jewish leader- sense of self than that called upon in other Ben Zakkai would be looking down on ship and life is compromised by a lack of Jewish educational institutions. Ought their work smiling, surprised that the imagination. That’s a message profound- not all Jewish leaders feel a sense of shared Jewish people have survived so well. ly at odds with the world of schools (and identity with the wider Jewish community With an expanded sense of the context not just Jewish ones) where xed systems and not just a sense of professional obliga- for one’s acts, Jewish purposefulness has constrain conceptions of what is possible tion to their clients or congregants? an almost cosmic scope. and ultimately of what is desirable. What if Jewish leaders were required to think IMPLICATIONS: It is worth asking how Jewish purposefulness/yi’ud and act outside the box, so that Jews and leadership is changed by an expanded Judaism might thrive and not just sur- One last characteristic of Camp Stone sense of mission. Does this expanded sense vive? leaders is their sense of making a differ- change the quality and intensity of lead- ence to the Jewish future. The senior ers’ practice? staff (almost all of whom are only in their Beyond interpersonal intelligence early twenties) explain that they come to I submit that these ve qualities are not to areyvut (collective responsibility) camp because they’ve been encouraged peculiar features of the special circum- The rhythms and texture of camp life to think about the contribution they’re stances at camp. They are readily seen in create an emotionally intense environment at the heart of which is the relationship between camper and counselor. Jewish leadership means to be always in Leadership in this environment is pro- a self-aware and dynamic relationship with foundly interpersonal. But the interpersonal relationships between counselors the Jewish past, present and future. It occurs and campers are important not only be- where one’s Jewish inner world meets the cause the staff must act in loco parentis, taking care of other people’s children. Jewish world outside. These relationships are also rooted in a subjective sense that campers and coun- making to klal Yisrael. They see the po- the immersive environment of camp— selors, the whole camp, is connected as tential in their jobs to “change people’s and particularly at a special camp like Am Yisrael. The campers are not other lives.” Stone—but they can just as well com- people’s children. Literally, they and pose what to look for in Jewish leaders in their counselors share an identity as “the Being aware of making a contribution any number of institutions, not least in children of Israel”—a sense nurtured to the Jewish people seems a minimum contemporary Jewish day schools. within the incubator-like environment requirement for all Jewish leaders wher- inside the camp gate. ever located. But this same sense can Some of these characteristics are not become radically altered when one sees peculiarly Jewish. Their Jewish force, Nobody at the camp is moved more one’s contribution not only in relation I think, comes from the way that, to- powerfully by this sense of shared identi- to the present Jewish moment but also gether, they inform a way of being in the ty than Rothner, the camp director, who in relation to the ancient Jewish past or world. Jewish leadership in these terms regularly talks about the camp communi- at least to multiple generations of Jew- means having a special sense of one’s ty as our “am” and of the “sacred” rela- ish experience. In these terms the Jewish person, and also of one’s place in Jew- ish history and among the Jewish people today. Jewish leadership means to be Being aware of making a contribution always in a self-aware and dynamic re- to the Jewish people seems a minimum lationship with the Jewish past, present and future. It occurs where one’s Jew- requirement for all Jewish leaders ish inner world meets the Jewish world wherever located. outside. It is where consciousness meets community. ¿ tionship between camper and counselor. leader carries the burden of Jewish histo- This feeling of deep emotional connec- ry even when occupied by the seemingly To learn more tion to others comes from a powerful mundane task of taking care of young הידיעון awareness of the ties that connect Jews American Jews for four weeks of their Pomson, Alex. Summer Camp as an with one another and it seems founda- summer vacation, even if that only in- Incubator of Jewish Leadership: The Case tional to the ful llment of the tasks of volves cutting salad in the kitchen. Thus, of Camp Stone. New York: AVI CHAI • HaYidion Jewish leadership. the camp director startles the staff, in his Foundation.

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