Special edition of the Weekly Verse
while Rabbi Rotenberg is at Camp Ramah Darom
A wet slab of concrete in front of Ramah Darom’s new Programming Center
The moment I saw the workers smooth the new slab of concrete, the countdown began. I know that campers are not always the best behaved. With hundreds of kids walking by this high traffic area, it was only a matter of time before someone wrote something in the concrete, or stepped in it, or you name it. This would be a test. Sure, campers misbehave. But do they respect this space enough to leave this wet, very enticing slab of concrete alone.
I was nervous the whole day. Camper after camper passed this wet concrete slab. Many curious enough to stand around it, and imagine what they might do. But after a whole day, to my surprise, nobody touched it. Not a single camper stepped in it, wrote in it, pressed a leaf into it; the slab dried without anybody ruining it’s smoothed surface.
This wet concrete was a test for our camp community measuring how much we respect this space. But the truth is we are always facing life’s tests, big and small. How will we approach the day? Do we start our day with mindfulness, or go straight to our phone? Do we scarf down meals, or eat with intention? Are we kind? Do we help those in need? The sheer number of little tests can feel overwhelming, but the sense of self one builds when making choices we’re proud of can carry us through the hardest times. We can’t change the past, so nobody can take away the good choices we’ve made. When it comes to camp, I’ll look at this concrete slab every year and know that no matter how frustrated I get when campers misbehave, deep down they love and respect this community. We all passed the test; the kids passed the test, and it’s now set in stone.