By Sarah, 6 Points Creative Arts Academy Media Specialist
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The excitement was tangible. Rabbi Rick Jacobs was coming to camp! We couldn’t wait to welcome the esteemed president of the Union for Reform Judaism to CAA.
From a full schedule of art to his session about ruach to Shabbat prep, Rabbi Jacobs not only inspired us with his wisdom, he also fully participated in all that CAA offered him. He played “Zip Zap Zop” in theatre, he cultivated his movement in dance, and he taught our camp how to breathe and use our spirit with intention.
In our camp discussion about ruach, we fused the concepts of ritual and movement–both within a Jewish context and an artistic one. “Can we just decide to be comfortable? That we’re all able to do this?” Rabbi Jacobs asked as we were practicing our “Baruch atah Adonai” movements as a collective, leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind the deep connection between our impulse to move as artists and our long-practiced tradition of movement in prayer. Overall, he created a sense of comfort coupled with empowerment in his time at camp. We discuss often at CAA about the tension between the arts and Judaism, between process and product. As Jewish artists in this inaugural summer, we had the unique opportunity to explore this tension on a daily basis.
Our core values are creativity, curiosity, grit, and craftsmanship. When we add comfort to the mix, we are nurturing a place of acceptance and exploration for our campers, faculty, and staff. Thank you to Rabbi Rick Jacobs for sharing your insight with us, and we can’t wait to see what next summer brings.