The Jews of Summer: Summer Camp and Jewish Culture in Postwar America

306 Pages·2023·68.349 MB·English

by  Sandra Fox

T H E J E W S
O F S U M M E R
FFooxx__JJeewwss ooff SSuummmmeerr__ii--xxiivv__11--229900..iinndddd 11 1100//1122//2222 22::4433 PPMM
STANFORD STUDIES IN JEWISH HISTORY AND CULTURE
Edited by David Biale and Sarah Abrevaya Stein
FFooxx__JJeewwss ooff SSuummmmeerr__ii--xxiivv__11--229900..iinndddd 22 1100//1122//2222 22::4433 PPMM
T H E J E W S
O F S U M M E R
SUMMER CAMP AND JEWISH CULTURE
IN POSTWAR AMERICA
SANDR A FOX
STANFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS
Stanford, California
FFooxx__JJeewwss ooff SSuummmmeerr__ii--xxiivv__11--229900..iinndddd 33 1100//1122//2222 22::4433 PPMM
Stanford University Press
Stanford, California
© 2023 by Sandra Felicia Fox. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system
without the prior written permission of Stanford University Press.
Printed in the United States of America on acid- free, archival- quality paper
Library of Congress Cataloging- in- Publication Data
Names: Fox, Sandra, 1988- author.
Title: The Jews of summer : summer camp and Jewish culture in postwar America / Sandra Fox.
Other titles: Stanford studies in Jewish history and culture.
Description: Stanford, California : Stanford University Press, 2023. | Series: Stanford studies in
Jewish history and culture | Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2022019302 (print) | LCCN 2022019303 (ebook) | ISBN 9781503632936 (cloth) |
ISBN 9781503633889 (paperback) | ISBN 9781503633896 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Jewish camps—United States—History—20th century. | Jewish youth—
Recreation—United States—History—20th century. | Jews—United States—Social life and
customs—20th century. | United States—Social life and customs—1945-1970. | United States—
Social life and customs—1971-
Classification: LCC BM135 .F69 2023 (print) | LCC BM135 (ebook) | DDC 796.54/22—dc23/
eng/20220608
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022019302
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022019303
Typeset by Elliott Beard in Garamond Premier Pro 11/15
Cover design by Gia Giasullo
Cover photograph: Beth and Sharon, Camp Boiberik, 1973. Photographer unknown.
FFooxx__JJeewwss ooff SSuummmmeerr__ii--xxiivv__11--229900..iinndddd 44 1100//1122//2222 22::4433 PPMM
To Grandma, with love
FFooxx__JJeewwss ooff SSuummmmeerr__ii--xxiivv__11--229900..iinndddd 55 1100//1122//2222 22::4433 PPMM
FFooxx__JJeewwss ooff SSuummmmeerr__ii--xxiivv__11--229900..iinndddd 66 1100//1122//2222 22::4433 PPMM
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction
The Jewish Camp 1
Between Fantasy and Reality
1 “Under Optimum Conditions” 29
American Jews and the Rise of the Summer Camp
2 A Matter of Time 50
Constructing Time for “Creative Survival”
3 Jews Playing Games 76
Role- Play, Sociodrama, and Color War
4 “A Little Suffering Goes a Long Way” 103
Tisha B’Av, Ghetto Day, and the Shadow of the Holocaust
5 The Language Cure 122
Embracing and Evolving Yiddishism and Hebraism
FFooxx__JJeewwss ooff SSuummmmeerr__ii--xxiivv__11--229900..iinndddd 77 1100//1122//2222 22::4433 PPMM
viii Contents
6 “Is This What You Call Being Free?” 149
Power and Youth Culture in the Camper Republic
7 Summer Flings and Fuzzy Rings 173
Camper Romance, Erotic Zionism, and Intermarriage Anxiety
8 Jewish Camping Post- Postwar 203
Conclusion 227
Notes 235
Index 275
FFooxx__JJeewwss ooff SSuummmmeerr__ii--xxiivv__11--229900..iinndddd 88 1100//1122//2222 22::4433 PPMM
Acknowledgments
It is not lost on me, a historian who thinks a lot about age, that work-
ing on this project carried me through a period psychologists call “emerging
adulthood,” anchoring me through a number of big life moments. Over that
time, I have been honored to be in conversation with colleagues, mentors,
and friends of many generations, absorbing their wisdom and sustained by
their warmth and kindness. I am moved to have a formal opportunity to
acknowledge them.
I began to undertake the research on which this book is based at New
York University’s Skirball Department of Hebrew and Judaic Studies,
where I received support from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences,
the Goldstein- Goren Center for American Jewish History, the Taub Center
for Israel Studies, and the Graduate Research Initiative. Additional research
grants from the American Jewish Archives, the Association for Jewish Stud-
ies, and the Ben- Gurion Research Institute for the Study of Israel and Zi-
onism helped make my research possible during my graduate work and in
the year immediately after. Most significant, the Jim Joseph Postdoctoral
Fellowship at Stanford University ensured that I had the time and resources
to complete this book. I am forever grateful to all the committees and indi-
viduals who selected me and this project for these fellowships.
ix
FFooxx__JJeewwss ooff SSuummmmeerr__ii--xxiivv__11--229900..iinndddd 99 1100//1122//2222 22::4433 PPMM