By Jill Komm

I take my dog out every evening before I go to bed. It’s always quiet, still, and dark. This time of year, the warm summer air hits me and I immediately think: it smells like camp! Every year at this time I get nostalgic about the 11 summers from 1993 – 2003 I spent at Camp Lakeland.  Lakeland was our Buffalo JCC’s overnight Jewish camp, and sadly shut down after the 2008 camp season.

There are countless memories that come to mind when I think about camp, but Shabbat always holds a special place. Lakeland was unique in that the makeup of campers ran the gamut of all affiliations of Judaism including those who were Jew adjacent. It didn’t matter if you had grown up attending synagogue or if camp was the only place, you observed Shabbat, everyone fell into a magical rhythm that welcomed a day of prayer, reflection, and rest.

It started at lunch on Friday afternoons. After the meal was over and camp erupted in a rowdy rendition of Birkat Hamazon (the blessing after a meal), it was time for announcements which included everyone’s assigned Shabbat rotation. These ranged from picking up garbage around camp, setting the dining hall tables, prepping for services, and the coveted flower picking. Inevitably every table would chant “we want flower picking we want flower picking” in hopes to be selected for the easiest “chore.”

When the afternoon activities and rotations were over, the entire camp transformed into the cleanest and nicest dressed versions of themselves. We’d walk arm in arm singing Bim Bam to gather as a full camp behind the back of the Rec Hall. There, every counselor and staff member would stand on the steps of the porch, face the campers, and sing The Sabbath Prayer to give a blessing over “their” children. We would then make our way into the amphitheater, where we sat on wooden benches surrounded by the beauty of nature (and occasionally an annoying bee).

Services were filled with fun songs, meaningful reflections, a skit about the week’s Torah portion, and other special surprises introduced by the group chosen to lead that week.  There was a deep respect for services and letting those who were more observant follow their customs.  If one person needed to stand for Mourner’s Kadish, the whole camp stood.  If one person needed extra time to daven during the Amida, the entire camp remained silent for them.  And of course, it was always a mystery which version of Adon Olam we would be singing at the end (my personal favorite was to the tune of “Rock Around the Clock”).

After services, we’d enjoy a traditional Shabbat meal and gather for singing and Israeli dancing, which lasted well into the dark night. There were often surprise guests in attendance, like the incredible African Drum Band, Joe Wagner (a folk singer who performed in Ellicottville and covered our favorite songs like “Brown Eyed Girl” and “American Pie”), and random Jewish Buffalo celebrities.

A lazy Saturday morning followed with a delicious spread of coffee cakes, bagels, and other goodies in the dining hall for anyone awake and ready to start their day. Another creative camper led service followed, although the feeling was more relaxed as many campers and staff showed up in their pajamas. Saturday afternoon was always Open Waterfront. The entire camp would gather at the grassy hill above the lake and participate in games of ultimate frisbee, tetherball and volleyball, swim, sunbathe on a canoe in the middle of the lake, sit under a tree making boondoggle, or laying in the grass to watch the clouds float by. It was during that time – the unstructured period of the week – that the most meaningful conversations and interactions occurred as we contemplated our lives as children.

On Saturday evening, the camp gathered on the basketball court, sitting in one big circle for Havdalah under the stars. We crossed our arms and held hands with each other as we gently rocked side to side to Debbie Friedman’s Havdalah blessings. It gave everyone that warm and fuzzy feeling, when you know you are part of something bigger than yourself.

Shabbat at camp created a beautiful connection of Judaism to nature. The simplest sound from the wind blowing or the smell of a warm summer rain, nature fills my senses and gives me an invisible embrace that always brings me back to those 11 summers and continues to fill my Neshama (soul).

So, please turn to the person on your left and right and wish them a Shabbat Shalom!

Jill Komm is the Chief Creative Officer at the Buffalo Jewish Federation.