Jonah

Although our “Summer Camp” fundraiser is over, we’ve got one more bit of writing for you. Carolyn Minott was with Jonah through many a summer at Eisner Camp, at Kutz Camp, and at NFTY-NAR events. She and Jonah loved each other in the way that best of friends do so well. Here, she captures what it was that so many of us fell in love with about Jonah. It’s heartbreaking, but that’s how the best love works when someone is tragically taken from us.

Carolyn Minott remembers …

Carolyn is twenty-five years old. She currently attends Long Island University (LIU Post), where she works as a graduate assistant for the department of Fine Arts and will be receiving her Master’s in Art Education this coming May. In her very limited free time, Carolyn has been teaching herself to play the piano (in addition to playing the flute and guitar), painting intricate mandalas on rocks, and visiting her boyfriend in Portland, OR, as often as possible.

*     *     *

I am awake at 4:50 am, Pacific Standard Time, because of Jonah. It is 2015. He died six years ago. I don’t usually wake up with him on my mind anymore.

Sometimes I think I romanticized Jonah after his death.
Sometimes I can’t quite remember him.

Thinking back to Kutz, I realize that Jonah was the biggest, if not the only, reason I attended camp in Warwick for two of the best summers of my youth. I remember standing with him outside Eisner Camp’s Olim Beit Am one warm summer’s night in 2005, long after we should have been asleep. It was our Olim summer; our last summer as campers. The next year, we would become Machon CITs or move on from Eisner. Jonah had spent a session at Kutz earlier that same summer, and I remember him telling me how much Eisner sucked in comparison. Jonah was tired of Eisner, he had outgrown it and he thought that Kutz would be good for me. He was right.

That being said, I think that by the time we got to Kutz, Jonah was already slipping away from me. He stopped standing up during prayers. He stopped believing in God. I wasn’t yet ready for my drastic leap towards secular spiritualism; I was a few years behind the curve, and so for me, it was jarring. Probably because of how much I looked up to Jonah. Probably because of how into God I still was.

I always admired Jonah. Mostly because he didn’t give a fuck what other people thought of him, or at the very least, he didn’t let it stop him from living. He was brave. In many ways, braver than I, still. Jonah went against the grain, marching to the tune of his own drum. He had fun with the world around him, and sometimes, he let me be part of that.

I saw “A Night at the Roxbury” for the first time last week. It was a pretty bad film, but I did take something important away from it. At the beginning of the movie, the two protagonists are at a bar, and they approach an unsuspecting woman from opposite sides, and start dancing at – or more accurately, on – her. I realized that this was most probably the impetus for Jonah’s infamous dance attacks. He took the same concept – dancing on top of unsuspecting victims – and applied it to song sessions at Kutz. I was usually his counterpart in this activity. In stark contrast to the movie, our victims were always delighted by the intrusion and ended up dancing along with us. Jonah could do that. He could draw you into his world with just a smile and that mischievous twinkle in his eyes. When he included me in his plans, it was magic, because he was brilliant and daring and brave. In those moments, long before I realized that I too am brilliant, daring, and brave, I felt it, just for a second. He gave me a taste of the self-assuredness I would not possess for many years to come.

Jonah & Carolyn (NFTY-NAR Spring, April 2008)

I remember being in K’far Teva, the nature major at Kutz, with Jonah. I think I joined mostly because I wanted to spend more time with him, but also because I wanted to push myself outside of my comfort zone. For the most part, it was great fun. One weekend, we all went whitewater rafting and the two of us got scorched. I remember being back at camp and sitting next to him in the Beit Am, both of us the color of cooked lobsters … miserable. But together in our painful burning, I was soothed by camaraderie, clearly more than he. I remember feeling frustrated because Jonah wouldn’t talk to me. He just sat there and pouted; cranky, silent, and scarlet. I remember being okay with that because I was just happy sitting next to him.

Every session at Kutz, on the last night of camp, we would all not sleep, together, in the Beit Am, a big modern building where we had programs and services throughout the summer. On these nights, the stage was open to anybody who wanted it. I remember Jonah would always spontaneously combust. Sometimes he would perform his famous “Makin’ a Motzi” rap, which I always sort of hated, because I thought it was kind of stupid and that he could do better comedic work. Sometimes, he would ask me to join him in the bean skit. Usually I would decline. I still haven’t fully worked through my stage fright, even now, but I do remember performing the improv skit just once … maybe he was there with me onstage, but maybe not. Either way, it was exhilarating.

In the last ten years, Jonah has changed for me many times. He has gone from being a real, tangible friend to being gone in an instant, and has become almost more present to me in his passing than he was in life (and in reality). Jonah never stopped being my role model. In fact, I believe I thought to emulate him after his death even more than I did during the course of his life. For many years, Jonah was everpresent in my life and my mind. I still carry him with me, but these days, his presence takes a different role; I feel him in flashes of memory, the warmth of other’s camaraderie, when I perform, and at the core of what Judaism means to me: choice through knowledge, acts of loving kindness, repairing the world, fighting for what is right, and following my own path towards personal growth and enlightenment.

Carolyn

Thanks for joining us throughout “Summer Camp ‘15.” Whether you read or donated, we’re forever grateful to have you with us. The Dreskins

“Summer Camp” is The Jonah Maccabee Foundation’s summer fundraiser for 2015. Throughout June and July 2015, we’ll be remembering — through the writing of his friends as well as some who watched from the sidelines — experiences, both great and small, that were part of Jonah’s seventeen years (from age 1 to 18) at the URJ Kutz Camp in Warwick, NY. We’re hoping you’ll be inspired to help us help Kutz continue its wildly successful work of helping teens blaze a summer’s path to a whole, healthy life. Please consider making your tax-deductible gift at jonahmac.org. Thank you. You’re the best!

Kyleigh Banks remembers …

Hi! I’m Kyleigh Banks, and I attended Kutz Camp as a camper three times. The first year I majored in Song Leading and the next two years I participated in the Regional Board Track. I was extremely involved in NFTY following my first year at Kutz, and I am so blessed to have been a part of such a great movement of Jewish young adults. After graduating high school I participated in a Birthright trip to Israel. I fell in love with the country, and a boy, and have lived in Israel ever since!

*     *     *

Jonah Dreskin and I met at Kutz in 2007. Jonah was going to be a senior and I was just going to be a sophomore. It wasn’t merely our age difference that made me look up to Jonah; it was the way he carried himself. He was so witty and had this I’ll-do-what-I-want energy that I would just feed off of. He cared so much about other people, but really didn’t care what they thought about him.

Kyleigh and Jonah @ NFTY Convention (Dec 2007)

In the summer of 2007, our group of friends would often sit in the grass and play guitar. Every day, all day, you could find us there. Jonah and I both brought guitars with us that year, and even though I was a beginner, I really enjoyed trying to keep up with him.

Along with my cheap guitar I also brought a guitar capo. It was a very old, icky looking capo. Jonah had this new, fancy guitar capo, and for some reason he insisted that we trade. I thought he was crazy for requesting this – as his was much more expensive – but I handed mine over nonetheless.

The years went by, we remained very close friends and always joked about the trade we made that very first summer. No matter how horrible of a trade it was for him, I am forever grateful that I have something tangible to help me remember my first summer at camp. To remember the best summer of my life. To remember some of the greatest people I have ever met. To remember Jonah.

Kyleigh

Do you have a memory of Jonah at Kutz? Share it as a comment below. And please donate to our “Summer Camp ‘15″ campaign at jonahmac.org/donate. Thanks!

“Summer Camp” is The Jonah Maccabee Foundation’s summer fundraiser for 2015. Throughout June and July 2015, we’ll be remembering — through the writing of his friends as well as some who watched from the sidelines — experiences, both great and small, that were part of Jonah’s seventeen years (from age 1 to 18) at the URJ Kutz Camp in Warwick, NY. We’re hoping you’ll be inspired to help us help Kutz continue its wildly successful work of helping teens blaze a summer’s path to a whole, healthy life. Please consider making your tax-deductible gift at jonahmac.org. Thank you. You’re the best!

Laura Kaplan remembers …

Laura (on right) with adoring fan (Ellen) at the recent Kutz 50th Anniversary (Jul 2015)

It was the summer of 1977 that changed my life forever after attending Kutz Camp Academies 1 and 2. It was the summer of 1996 that changed my family’s life forever as I returned to camp as “Nurse Laura.” Having four children, I was housed in Cabin 42 and pleasantly sharing a wall with the Dreskin family. Katie was my son Joshua’s age, Jonah was the same age as Michael, and my two girls were both older and younger than Aiden. Not only was it a perfect match for the children, it was wonderful to have my old song leader, Ellen, as my neighbor. With the exception of one session, the Dreskins and Bernsteins spent the next ten summers as neighbors with only a wall to separate us.

It could not have been more than one week into my first session of camp, when the infirmary was a trailer home sitting behind Faculty Row, halfway up the path to the Hill cabins, that my first memory of Jonah Dreskin was carved into my consciousness forever. It was nighttime, and all the kids were tucked into their respective bunk beds. I too had fallen asleep when I heard this loud “thud” followed by the scream of a child and footsteps thumping through the cabin next door. The next thing I hear is, “Call Laura!” With that I jumped out of bed, opened our interior door to find Billy sitting on the floor holding Jonah as blood trickled down the little boy’s cheek. Jonah, not older than six at the time, had fallen from the top bunk hitting and cutting his forehead on the way down.

Jonah and the Bernstein kids

Jonah was now screaming as any six-year old would, but at the same time I noticed the color of Billy’s face turning from pink to green. Perhaps Jonah had sensed his dad’s queasy stomach because he agreed to let me hold him in my lap and apply ice to his forehead while Dad sat close by. It only took a few minutes to realize that Jonah was going to need more help than even Nurse Laura could provide, and the night ended with Billy and Ellen driving Jonah to the Warwick Hospital for stitches.

The next morning while on our way to breakfast, I had the chance to tell Jonah how brave he was and how cool he looked with his new stitches. Jonah’s responded, “No big deal!” and continued on his way. Jonah was not one to draw attention to himself, but that night changed the relationship between the Dreskins and Bernsteins forever!

Laura

[Editor’s note: Thank you, Nurse Laura, for taking care of Jonah on one of the scariest nights of my life. Billy]

Do you have a memory of Jonah at Kutz? Share it as a comment below. And please donate to our “Summer Camp ‘15″ campaign at jonahmac.org/donate. Thanks!

“Summer Camp” is The Jonah Maccabee Foundation’s summer fundraiser for 2015. Throughout June and July 2015, we’ll be remembering — through the writing of his friends as well as some who watched from the sidelines — experiences, both great and small, that were part of Jonah’s seventeen years (from age 1 to 18) at the URJ Kutz Camp in Warwick, NY. We’re hoping you’ll be inspired to help us help Kutz continue its wildly successful work of helping teens blaze a summer’s path to a whole, healthy life. Please consider making your tax-deductible gift at jonahmac.org. Thank you. You’re the best!

Danny Wender remembers …

Danny is currently finishing his bachelors degree in the science of education at SUNY Geneseo. In the fall he will be student teaching, which is the last step of the journey before “the job hunt” begins. In addition to his courses, Danny has been working with five-year olds at an afterschool program. Between enjoying children’s movies, his girlfriend and his lifelong love of video games and comics, he’s been able to connect with his students in ways he never expected. While having a classroom of his own is still nerve-wracking, Danny is excited for what this future holds and the lives he will be able to affect.

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Jonah Dreskin has been a huge influence on my life especially through Kutz Camp. As a young freshman just making my way into NFTY, Jonah was immediately open and welcoming, and made me feel like I belonged. He helped me establish a confidence in myself that has followed me to this day. Jonah was always a great time at Kutz, whether it was performing at the talent show or making jokes and just hanging out. Jonah helped to make my Kutz experience something that I will never forget.

I couldn’t find a photo of Jonah and Danny together, but I did find this one that Jonah took of Danny (Summer 2007)

Jonah was someone I always looked up to. I saw him as an influential leader in the Kutz community even though he did not hold an official position. People would look to him for advice and leadership, but one of the main reasons that I think people really looked up to him was that he knew how to have fun and to make things more enjoyable.

I remember a time when we were participating in a game show program and the answers that Jonah would call out were not only very funny but also correct. The one that sticks out in my mind, which I still laugh about to this day, is the idea of the chipmunks taking over the camp. Everyone in the Beit Am was laughing uproariously when he gave that answer.

Jonah always knew the right thing to do and say to make people laugh and have a good time. Anytime Jonah was around, no one was wearing a frown.

Danny

Do you have a memory of Jonah at Kutz? Share it as a comment below. And please donate to our “Summer Camp ‘15″ campaign at jonahmac.org/donate. Thanks!

“Summer Camp” is The Jonah Maccabee Foundation’s summer fundraiser for 2015. Throughout June and July 2015, we’ll be remembering — through the writing of his friends as well as some who watched from the sidelines — experiences, both great and small, that were part of Jonah’s seventeen years (from age 1 to 18) at the URJ Kutz Camp in Warwick, NY. We’re hoping you’ll be inspired to help us help Kutz continue its wildly successful work of helping teens blaze a summer’s path to a whole, healthy life. Please consider making your tax-deductible gift at jonahmac.org. Thank you. You’re the best!

Rabbi Darren Levine remembers …

Darren Levine is the founding rabbi of Tamid: The Downtown Synagogue (New York City). He holds Rabbinic ordination from HUC-JIR and has a Doctorate in Pastoral Psychology from the Post Graduate Center for Mental Health.

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In the summer of 1999, I held open interviews for the inaugural class of RA Associates at Kutz Camp. It was my first summer as Head Resident Advisor and I quickly noticed a gap in the overall leadership structure at this storied institution of the Reform Movement. Young men and women from across the acres were called, for serving as an RA Associate was indeed a calling. One sunny afternoon in my headquarters, I sat with the candidates and their parents. It was an historic moment for the Jewish People and we, or rather, they, were standing at the edge of a new frontier.

RA Associates Dan Ross, Michael Bernstein and Jonah Dreskin (Kutz 1998)

I described the role to the candidates in detail. It would require of them periodic check-ins with me or members of my staff on a daily basis. If selected, they would become a new and highly respected cadre of youngsters that would need to first and foremost represent me personally around the camp grounds but, secondly, to represent the office of the Head RA. I knew that I needed to choose wisely. It was time to make my selection and I did. The first class of RA Associates would be: Jonah Dreskin, Dan Ross and Michael Bernstein.

Darren presents an RA Associates t-shirt to proud cadet Jonah Dreskin (Kutz 1998)

Three candidates demonstrated obvious potential to fulfill the roles and responsibilities required: to be punctual, honest, thoughtful and, at times, silly with a streak of wild. These young cadets would define the role and, over the course of the summer, that is exactly what they did. At their initiation ceremony, I had them run sprints, respond to questions about their future, and be available to the camp community for questions. Each soul did well on that day which further reinforced my belief that the camp community – and perhaps, the future of the Jewish people – was safe in their hands.

These cadets had talent. Over the course of their tenure, they showed heart, they showed commitment, they showed maturity. I received letters from across the nation and Israel, recognizing and acknowledging their successes with pride. For the RA Office that summer and for the Associates themselves, this assignment became their summer. Finally, as the last day of summer arrived, we gathered to celebrate their achievements and my heart was full knowing that they had developed the skills and confidence to meet any challenge they faced, at home or abroad.

Darren

Do you have a memory of Jonah at Kutz? Share it as a comment below. And please donate to our “Summer Camp ‘15″ campaign at jonahmac.org/donate. Thanks!

“Summer Camp” is The Jonah Maccabee Foundation’s summer fundraiser for 2015. Throughout June and July 2015, we’ll be remembering — through the writing of his friends as well as some who watched from the sidelines — experiences, both great and small, that were part of Jonah’s seventeen years (from age 1 to 18) at the URJ Kutz Camp in Warwick, NY. We’re hoping you’ll be inspired to help us help Kutz continue its wildly successful work of helping teens blaze a summer’s path to a whole, healthy life. Please consider making your tax-deductible gift at jonahmac.org. Thank you. You’re the best!

David White remembers …

David White is from Roslyn, NY. He very recently graduated from Muhlenberg College and will begin working at the American Hebrew Academy in Greensboro, NC, this fall.

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My memories of Jonah at Kutz consist of his overall excitement and kindness. Whether it was during the major we had together, which was theatre, during song session or during chofesh, Jonah was always so kind and enthusiastic. There was not a single person at Kutz who did not enjoy Jonah’s presence. What I remember vividly was that in our theatre major at Kutz we had the opportunity to break into groups and create a scene for the entire camp. For extra parts in the play that each group needed to fill, Jonah was usually chosen. Everyone admired his passion and energy and therefore were eager to have him involved in every aspect we could. This admiration for Jonah is something I will always remember. I loved Jonah Dreskin and he will always continue to hold a very special place in my heart.

David

Do you have a memory of Jonah at Kutz? Share it as a comment below. And please donate to our “Summer Camp ‘15″ campaign at jonahmac.org/donate. Thanks!

“Summer Camp” is The Jonah Maccabee Foundation’s summer fundraiser for 2015. Throughout June and July 2015, we’ll be remembering — through the writing of his friends as well as some who watched from the sidelines — experiences, both great and small, that were part of Jonah’s seventeen years (from age 1 to 18) at the URJ Kutz Camp in Warwick, NY. We’re hoping you’ll be inspired to help us help Kutz continue its wildly successful work of helping teens blaze a summer’s path to a whole, healthy life. Please consider making your tax-deductible gift at jonahmac.org. Thank you. You’re the best!

Ben Tungland remembers …

Ben Tungland is 27 years old. He recently moved to Silver Spring, MD, where he now works for the National Council for Traditional Arts. Ben received a degree in Philosophy from Hartwick College in 2010 and was involved with Jewish Summer camping for about 16 years.

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From my experience, people have several core reactions working a summer camp job. The two biggest, for me, are that the work never ends and that you meet some of the greatest people during your time there. I don’t have too many memories of Jonah anymore since we worked in two different areas of camp, however there is one night that still stands tall as one of the happier memories that I have from Kutz.

It must have been at least halfway through the camp session at this point, but I remember being downstairs in Menucha with Jonah, Jade, Kayla and, of course, myself. It was after our work was done for the day and it was just free time until curfew. When free time had started, a group of us was hanging out, talking, playing games and what have you, but the best part of the night was after everyone else had gone to bed and it only the four of us remained.

Gaga Wall Complete! (Jul ’08)

We sat there by ourselves talking, swapping stories and just enjoying each other’s company until the Super Shmira came downstairs and told us that it was past curfew and we needed to go to bed. So of course we didn’t until they came back about 10 minutes later and told us to go.

At the time, I didn’t think too much of that night. But as the years have passed since Jonah’s death, that night keeps coming back to me. From what I learned from the rest of that summer and from talking to everyone about Jonah, that night became very special to me. That was the night that I got to experience the joy, passion and “good people” vibes that Jonah put out every single day of his life. That night, we got to be four people who worked at a camp together just being ourselves.

That night Jonah became a good friend of mine and I became one of his.

Ben

Do you have a memory of Jonah at Kutz? Share it as a comment below. And please donate to our “Summer Camp ‘15″ campaign at jonahmac.org/donate. Thanks!

“Summer Camp” is The Jonah Maccabee Foundation’s summer fundraiser for 2015. Throughout June and July 2015, we’ll be remembering — through the writing of his friends as well as some who watched from the sidelines — experiences, both great and small, that were part of Jonah’s seventeen years (from age 1 to 18) at the URJ Kutz Camp in Warwick, NY. We’re hoping you’ll be inspired to help us help Kutz continue its wildly successful work of helping teens blaze a summer’s path to a whole, healthy life. Please consider making your tax-deductible gift at jonahmac.org. Thank you. You’re the best!

Dan Nichols remembers …

Dan Nichols has been writing and performing Jewish music with Eighteen since 1995. He spent ten summers at the Goldman Union Camp in Zionsville, IN, and now spends his summers visiting as many camps as he possibly can.

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Jonah and I had an interesting relationship.

Maybe it was because I was already close with his mom and dad. Maybe not. I’ll never know for sure.

Nevertheless, Jonah always seemed to look down his nose at me a bit – always kept his distance – just out of my reach. At least that’s the way I felt when we talked. I asked him about it once while we were together at Kutz. I remember Jonah saying something like, “You know, everybody here thinks you’re like a rock star, or something, but I know you’re not.”

I think I said something like, “You know, you’re right. I’m not a rock star. I don’t want to be a rock star. Sometimes I struggle with how people put that on me. Over time, I have learned that I don’t have complete control over how folks perceive me. All I can do is be true to myself and good and sincere with others and then let it go – try to have faith that will be enough.”

That seemed to make an impression on Jonah. After that conversation, he seemed to be much more available when we talked. In fact, we talked a lot more. I doubt that what I said was the reason. I think Jonah needed to be heard. I think he needed to tell me, “I’m not like everybody else. I see through the BS. I’ve got you figured out and you need to know that.”

I appreciated that in Jonah. I needed to hear that. It felt like I was being held accountable. We all need to feel that.

Jonah approached me at Kutz one day and said, “You should have me play with you and your band at the concert you’re giving for camp.”

Jonah played ukulele. He had purchased it in Hawaii during a family vacation the previous year. I think I said, “You want to play with me. Let me think about that and I’ll get back to you.”

Later that day, I thought of the song that might be great. It was Harry Belafonte’s Turn The World Around. It’s a great song, but not a particularly easy song. One of challenging aspects of the song is the meter. It’s in 5/4 – five beats per measure, and the quarter note gets the beat. Not a deal-breaker, but not a walk in the park either.

Dan & Jonah (Kutz, July ’05)

Jonah and I practiced. He had a hard time with it. He didn’t pick it up right off the bat. This seemed to frustrate him too. I think it was because he assumed that any song I would pick would be easy for him. He may have been a little embarrassed. He was certainly red in the face. We took a break. We met later in the day and tried it again. It went better – still not perfect, though. I told him we’d figure it out at sound check. We met at sound check. Tried it again. Better, but still shaky. He was nervous. I could tell that this was important to him. I tried to reassure him that camp was a supportive place where he would be appreciated regardless of his performance level on stage. We left it at that.

Just before the show Jonah approached me. He was smiling. He said, “I have something for you. I noticed that a bunch of the Kutz participants have asked you to sign their guitar picks. I want you to have this.”

Jonah handed me one of his picks. He had signed it. He said, “Now you can remember me and our little talk.”

He gave me a nod of the head that said, “I got you. We’re good.”

That night, Jonah played Turn The World Around with me and the band. He nailed it. No surprise – Kutz loved him.

I loved Jonah. I loved his honesty. I loved his courage.

I love Kutz. Kutz gave us the space and time to figure ourselves out – even just a little bit.

Sometimes, that’s just enough.

Dan

Do you have a memory of Jonah at Kutz? Share it as a comment below. And please donate to our “Summer Camp ‘15″ campaign at jonahmac.org/donate. Thanks!

“Summer Camp” is The Jonah Maccabee Foundation’s summer fundraiser for 2015. Throughout June and July 2015, we’ll be remembering — through the writing of his friends as well as some who watched from the sidelines — experiences, both great and small, that were part of Jonah’s seventeen years (from age 1 to 18) at the URJ Kutz Camp in Warwick, NY. We’re hoping you’ll be inspired to help us help Kutz continue its wildly successful work of helping teens blaze a summer’s path to a whole, healthy life. Please consider making your tax-deductible gift at jonahmac.org. Thank you. You’re the best!

Joel Hoffman remembers …

Joel was at Kutz from 1973 to 1983 as a fac brat, in 1985 as a camper, and from 1986 to 2003 on staff or faculty. Dr. Joel M. Hoffman has written or contributed to over 20 non-fiction books, and is the author of the thriller series The Warwick Files, set in Kutz’s hometown of Warwick, NY.

*     *     *

I remember Jonah’s presence, of course, just as I remember what he did (and boy did he do some things).

Or at least, I think I do. Memory and time have always been fierce foes.

“Jonah ran away from day camp.” I remember that. His older sister Katie told me so in just so many words, right after she asked me if I knew where her brother was. I didn’t, but I was also curious why she herself didn’t know. I inquired. The answer was that, not uncharacteristically, Jonah’s plans had changed, and in this case they no longer included the prescribed day-camp activities. It’s possible he neglected to tell anyone of his revised agenda.

This particular day camp was run in the context of Kutz Camp’s flagship undertaking, a 25-day-long sleep-away session for Jewish teenagers from around the world. The day camp was originally tailored for the younger children of parents who were lucky enough to teach at Kutz. So even though Jonah was no longer with the day camp, he was – in all likelihood – still on campus, and was – again, in all likelihood – still supervised by an adult, or at least by a responsible 14-year old. It probably wasn’t an emergency.

Jonah also mentored younger children. I remember that as well. For him, adult direction in his own life was only one factor out of many that were worthy of consideration, but even as a child he could switch roles and become, if not the adult, the responsible and caregiving party. The faces of his mentees have blurred in my memory, but I know how lucky they were.

We’ve always considered Joel part of our family. ET too, but much more recently. (Disney World 1999)

I knew Jonah “at home” in Westchester, too. But in a real sense, Kutz was more of his home than Westchester, because Kutz promotes the kind of individuality that other environments stifle, and Jonah insisted on heading off in his own direction – like when he chose to play ukulele in a culture dominated by guitars.

I feel like I remember the day at Kutz when a teen-aged Jonah joined Dan Nichols on stage and brought up his iconoclastic ukulele instead of the too-pedestrian guitar. But it turns out I wasn’t there. I must be remembering stories. Memory and time are fierce foes.

In fact, the full sentences I once had – young Jonah bolted out of the communal dining room to prowl Kutz Camp with his friends in search of the intersection of imagination and wonder – have become fragments. Asense of wonder and fascination. Authentic laughter. Musicality. Impish impertinence. Frustration with ineptitude. Deep curiosity. Boldness unhindered by self-consciousness. Promise and potential.

I can’t help but miss the sentences, even as this fragmentary memory itself paints a surprisingly lucid picture: Jonah becoming Maccabee. A boy becoming a man, caring for others, discovering himself, finding his footing, plotting a path, and then setting out to explore it – an undertaking left barely begun.

Yet I feel like Jonah planted guideposts far ahead of his own meager progress down that path. When I think of a face he made or a song he sang, a puzzle he might have enjoyed or a joke he would have liked, I encounter such a guidepost, and recognize that from time to time my own path in life still crosses his largely untrod journey. And I smile.

Joel

Do you have a memory of Jonah at Kutz? Share it as a comment below. And please donate to our “Summer Camp ‘15″ campaign at jonahmac.org/donate. Thanks!

“Summer Camp” is The Jonah Maccabee Foundation’s summer fundraiser for 2015. Throughout June and July 2015, we’ll be remembering — through the writing of his friends as well as some who watched from the sidelines — experiences, both great and small, that were part of Jonah’s seventeen years (from age 1 to 18) at the URJ Kutz Camp in Warwick, NY. We’re hoping you’ll be inspired to help us help Kutz continue its wildly successful work of helping teens blaze a summer’s path to a whole, healthy life. Please consider making your tax-deductible gift at jonahmac.org. Thank you. You’re the best!

Julia Breskin remembers …

Julia and one of the Billys, her dad

Julia Breskin is living in Washington, DC, after five years in Greensboro, NC, where she graduated from Guilford College in 2014. After receiving a degree in Community Justice Studies and Art History, she is making steps toward working in the arts. Julia attended Kutz from 2007 to 2009, and has participated in URJ programs since. This summer, she is leading the Mitzvah Corps El Salvador trip after staffing other Mitzvah Corps trips the two summers prior.

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“The Breskin-Dreskin Connection”

It’s hard to think about Kutz and not think about Jonah. The impression he made on camp is permanent, just as it is on me and on those who knew him. Our friendship began in 2007 during my first (of three) summers at Kutz but, as we found out a few weeks into camp, our history goes back farther than that.

During the first few weeks of first session, I found myself making fast friends with a group of wonderful teens from all over the country. Jonah was one of them, and with me being the youngest of the group, we bonded in a different way. Like an older brother, he liked to push my buttons while simultaneously supporting me during my first summer at a new camp, a place he had spent his whole life. He had this particular talent for making me laugh when he could tell I was feeling nervous about a new experience. While camp friendships were forming quickly, none of us had learned each other’s last name. All of these new best friends, and we only knew first names! It wasn’t until roll call on Trip Day that we heard our last names for the first time. The counselors went down the list and called my name, “Julia Breskin.” Before I could yell “Here,” Jonah jumped up from the seat in front of me, spun around and said, “My last name is Dreskin! And I’m pretty sure I’ve heard your name before. Is your dad Billy Breskin?”

Julia snapped this shot of Jonah on the slackline (Kutz 2008)

In seconds, we were on the phone with our respective Billys, my dad and his, putting together the puzzle pieces. Back in 1975, Bill Breskin and Billy Dreskin had both stepped onto campus at the University of Michigan. They were housed in the same dormitory, on the same hallway, and their campus phone numbers were only one number different. They even had a few of the same classes together. Just as Jonah and I had done thirty-two years later, the Billys bonded quickly and really enjoyed each other’s company. In time, they each transferred to another school and, over the year, lost touch, But at the end of camp in 2007, they saw each other again for the first time in thirty years, and a friendship was renewed.

After that first summer, the Breskins and Dreskins always kicked off camp with lunch in Warwick before pulling up Bowen Road to Kutz. This is the time of year I think about Jonah the most, missing him at those lunches and around Kutz. I will never forget seeing him bounce around camp, bringing smiles everywhere he went. He taught me about our shared family history, but also so much more: how to walk on a slack line, what dance moves and lyrics came next during Shabbat song session, and how to love your camp friends deeply, even for a few weeks a year.

I got to know Jonah well those few summers we were together at camp, giving me memories that will last forever — memories that connect our families in a friendship that I hope lasts just as long.

Julia

Do you have a memory of Jonah at Kutz? Share it as a comment below. And please donate to our “Summer Camp ‘15″ campaign at jonahmac.org/donate. Thanks!