By Rabbi Brigitte Rosenberg, Faculty

I have found myself thinking about that show, “are you smarter than a fifth grader?”  Why?  I have had a fantastic two weeks as one of the rabbis in Shoresh, and these incredible 5th and 6th graders have blown me away with their discussions during shiur.  They are incredibly insightful, thoughtful, and many of them are very articulate and sure about what it is they believe.

Our shiur theme for this summer, “Ani Ma’amin, I Believe. . .” is a pretty challenging one.  The counselors have been charged with creating thoughtful, exciting, and interesting lessons to help the campers consider what it is they believe, and the faculty; the rabbis, cantors, and educators on camp, have the honor of guiding and helping with this awesome task.  In Shoresh, we have talked about God – from names for God, how to connect with God,  to discussing mitzvot, obligation vs. autonomy, and even what we believe with regard to the Messianic Age and a Messiah.  None of these are easy topics!!

These campers know their Torah stories; they have shared and discussed their thoughts and feelings with regard to God.  They’ve held their own during our discussions of whether God is omniscient, omnipresent, and omnipotent – yes, very big words, but they got it.  I was struck by the camper who was able to articulate that he believes God is definitely omnipresent, as he explained that God put a little of God’s self into everything that was created, therefore God is everywhere.  And. . . I did chuckle when another camper countered that comment and stated very matter of factly that God is not everywhere, as God is not in a plate of nachos.  All silliness aside, the Jewish knowledge that many of these Shoresh campers have is incredible and their willingness to share their thoughts and ideas about what they believe has been amazing.  They are so open to learning and to hearing from others.  They are not afraid to ask questions and to challenge, and this is truly part of the magic of GUCI – being a place where our kids can explore Judaism and learn more about, experience, and explore their own Jewishness.

I feel blessed to have been challenged by these campers and to have learned from them as they share their thoughts and beliefs about God and what it means to be a Jew in our world.  They have given me a lot to consider, and I thank them for allowing me to be a part of their incredible summer experience.