Camp Nehirim for Men
August 22–26, 2012
Easton Mountain, Greenwich NY
Register starting in May 2012.
It’s the gayest Jewish summer camp ever! Now in its second year, the Nehirim Summer Camp is five days of swimming, hiking, volleyball, river tubing, campfires, hot tubbing, cookouts, delicious food, inspiring workshops, and that special Nehirim ruach (spirit) of community and spirituality. Imagine the best of Jewish summer camp… but everyone’s gay!
The summer camp program takes place at the EastonMountain Retreat Center in upstate New York. Easton has a swimming pool, miles of hiking trails, sauna, hot tub, a gorgeous lakeside setting, and hotel-style accommodations. (Sure, it’s summer camp, but we’re not going to stay in bunks!) Â Camp Nehirim is a little “lighter” than the average Nehirim retreat — we’ll still be building warm & supportive community with one another, but we’ll have fewer workshops and more time outside, a little less organized spiritual practice and a little more sports, swimming, and free time. Last year’s schedule is below for reference.
The program runs from Wednesday afternoon through Sunday afternoon, with an optional trip in the Saratoga Springs area on Sunday afternoon after camp concludes. There is also the option to come only for Friday through Sunday for $100 less.
Registration and Pricing
Registration fees, including all room & board, are as follows:
| Accommodation | Wednesday to Sunday | Friday to Sunday |
| Camping /commuter | $300 | $175 |
| G. Cabin | $400 | $275 |
| Quad | $500 | $375 |
| Double | $625 | $525 |
| Single | $775 | $675 |
Register before July 10th to take advantage of our $50 off Early Bird Discount. All prices are automatically discounted on the registration page and will go up on July 11th. Don’t miss this great opportunity — register now!
There is a limited amount of financial aid available for this retreat — find out more and apply online at www.nehirim.org/aid. The financial aid application deadline for Camp Nehirim is July 22th, 2011.
Register starting in May 2012.
2011 Schedule (for Reference)
Retreat Directors
David Dunn Bauer
Rabbi David Dunn Bauer is the founder and coordinator of “The Jewish Queer Sexual Ethics Project” at the Center for Lesbian and Gay Studies in Religion and Ministry at Pacific School of Religion. With over 20 years of professional theatre experience, 9 years in the congregational rabbinate, and 20 years of yoga practice, and years of academic study on sexuality and spirituality, David is a unique pastoral counselor, ritual leader, community leader, scholar, artist, and writer who works comfortably with people of all faiths and ages.
He earned his BA in Theatre Studies and English Literature at Yale University, studied Talmud at the Conservative Yeshiva in Jerusalem, and received his rabbinical ordination from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. In 2011 he became the first Jew to earn the Certificate in Sexuality and Religion from Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, California. He interned at Congregation CBST in NYC, and served as a student rabbi at both congregations and nursing homes for three years of his rabbinical studies. From 2003 to 2010 he served as the rabbi and spiritual leader of the Jewish Community of Amherst, in Amherst Massachusetts.
With Michael Cohen he created Celebrating the Body Judaic – a Body Electric retreat for Gay and Bisexual Jewish men – and he has taught about eros and spirituality for Jewish, queer, and retirement communities around the United States, and at dozens of retreats and workshops. His essay “Man-Boy and Daddy-God: The SM Dynamic in Ezekiel’s Call and Commissioning” is being published this year in Queer Religion, Vol. 2, edited by Donald Boisvert and Jay Emerson Johnson. Based in San Francisco, he serves as the Bay Area Director of Programming for Nehirim in addition to maintaining his private practice in Queer Spiritual Counseling (www.queerspiritualcounseling.com).
Faculty
Jay Michaelson
Jay Michaelson is the founder of Nehirim. For the last ten years, Jay has been a leading advocate for the inclusion of sexual minorities in religious communities, and his work in this area has been featured on NPR, CNN, and the New York Times. Jay is also a contributing editor to the Forward, Associate Editor of Religion Dispatches magazine, and a regular contributor to the Huffington Post. In 2009, he was included on the “Forward 50” list of “the men and women leading the American Jewish community into the 21st century.” He is the author of four books, most recently God vs. Gay? The Religious Case for Equality.
Special Information
There are some new details that differ from past programs.
- The Easton Mountain kitchen is not kosher. At present, our plan is to provide vegetarian food most of the time, and a strictly kosher meat barbecue for two meals, with hechsher-kosher catered options available for all who request them in advance. However, if enough people request kosher food on their registration forms, we will kasher Easton’s kitchen (Orthodox mashgiach) and serve kosher food on new dishes. We will make this decision on July 1, so please register early if you’d like this option!
- Our current plan is to offer one set of services in the Renewal style. Please see our halachic information page for more detail about Nehirim’s halachic practice.
- Easton Mountain does not have an eruv, but if there is sufficient interest, we’ll have an eruv-building party on Friday morning.
- Massage and other healing services will be available for an additional fee.
- Easton Mountain’s swimming pool, hot tub, sauna, and outdoor showers are clothing-optional.
- We will be sharing space with Easton’s residential community, consisting of 15-20 residents and summer volunteers, all of whom are men who love other men. This is why our program is open to men only this year; next year, if there is sufficient demand, we will have either a co-ed camp or a women’s camp in addition.
Transportation. Easton is accessible by Amtrak train to Albany. Easton staff will arrange pickups at the train station Wednesday at 2:15pm (Depart New York Penn Station at 11:45am) and Friday at 3:15pm (Depart New York Penn Station at 12:45pm). Expensive taxis are available at other times. We will drop you off at the train station Sunday at 2:00pm (arrive NYC at 4:35pm). In our experience, there are always enough rides back to New York City, so we suggest buying one-way tickets only — but that’s up to you!
To offer or request rides to/from your area, please visit our rideboard at www.nehirim.org/board. Many people are coming from New York City — if you have space in your car, please do put your name on the ride board. It’s a mitzvah!
Questions? Ask us. (info[at]nehirim.org)
Register starting in May 2012.