Three Memorable Moments

By Greg Kellner I can’t remember in great detail my time as a NFTYite or back 16 years ago when I was a camper at Eisner, but the moments I do remember are the ones that shaped who I am today and how I approach my life’s work: raising the next generation of Jewish youth. Moment 1: Empowerment Eisner Camp, Olim Hill, 1998 A few days into my last Olim (tenth grade) summer, chomping away on my orange Ovation Standard Baladeer, I was trying to perfect bar chords to play “Shalom Rav” and other Jewish tunes that didn’t contain either G, C, or D chords. My counselors and song leaders, Noam and Ben, came in to ask if I would fill in for them and lead worship services that were scheduled to start in two hours. Of course, I agreed. I had only picked up the guitar a few years prior and had participated in a handful of services in NFTY, a Havdalah service in youth group, and a Tot Shabbat service at temple. So I didn’t waste a minute, and began to practice for my upcoming debut. I admit it: I don’t remember how that service went. What I do remember is that Noam and Ben gave me an opportunity to take a healthy risk. This led me to take on the role of songleader for the rest of that summer . . . and the following summers as our group of Olim travelled to Israel, and I became a Machon (institute) counselor-in-training, counselor, and leader on our NFTY regional board. You would never see me at camp or at NFTY without my orange guitar. I eventually taught classes, empowering new young song leaders to shine, and develop a love for Jewish music and Jewish community. Moment 2: Creativity Eisner Camp, Maccabiah Games Breakout, 2005 It was the biggest night of the summer, the Maccabiah Break. Campers split into four teams to compete for four days―in the arts, sports, music, trivia and lots of other wacky camp stuff. Along with being tasked with the honor of running these four days of organized chaos came a creative freedom I had never been allowed. How would Maccabiah start? As a lead-in to the evening, the campers would create their own set of personal commandments and unbeknownst to them, Maccabiah would break. I planned to show a sequence of clips from Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark before the campers would storm in, adorned as legions of red, blue, green, and gold to proclaim the beginning of Maccabiah. We’d guide the campers to the lake front for a fireworks display. I had even convinced the fireworks company that it would be a good idea to blow up some canoes in the middle of the lake using bricks of gunpowder. Indiana Jones, (actor: Louis Bordman, Eisner Camp Director), would appear with a replica of the ark and tablets built by our facilities crew. Louis, accompanied by the high priest (my brother), would declare the start of Maccabiah. That night we made Indiana Jones come to life, and in some bizarre way taught campers about the ark and the commandments. I look back on that experience and smile, not just remembering my brother dressed in high priest’s robes, but because I had happily jumped at the opportunity to think big―bigger than I ever had before. Successfully creating and orchestrating an imaginary world where well-known movie characters came to life on a large scale, and melding pop culture with Jewish concepts, cemented my understanding that no idea was too big. Moment 3: Returning a Favor Songleading at NFTY’s Mid-Atlantic Region In college, I was a youth advisor and songleader for NFTY’s Mid-Atlantic Region (MAR). For five years, I led song sessions and services, and mentored young songleaders as they took the lead in creating their own worship and musical experiences. I loved the energy that our NFTY-MARites exuded as they took to the bimah with a new mash-up or pushed the envelope on what defined prayer, shaping the future of Reform Jewish music right before my eyes. I was simply returning the favor I’d received from Ben and Noam ten years prior, shepherding younger NFTYites along, though I was only slightly older than them, with a few more years of wisdom under my belt. At the last NFTY regional board meeting I attended in Washington, Rabbi Sue Shankman-Namath, a fellow Eisner alum, told me I was needed in the NFTY boardroom. When I entered, the regional board presented me with a resolution: the creation of a music award in my honor. The framed resolution hangs in my office today as a daily reminder that at every point along the way, I am returning a favor. Greg Kellner is the director of 6 Points Sci-Tech Academy. Greg has been part of the URJ Camps and NFTY family for more than 20 years.