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Camp Massad (Montreal)
Encyclopedia
Camp Massad is a Canadian
Hebrew
-speaking Jewish
and Zionist
summer camp
for campers aged 7 to 16 located in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec
in the Laurentian Mountains
. It was founded in 1947, with the creation of Massad Alef on Lac Quenouille, Quebec. The original founding group consisted of some who did not preach the possibilities of Jewish survival in America. It was part of the Massad movement.
Camp Massad has a kosher kitchen (under the supervision of the Montreal Va'ad Ha'ir) and has a long tradition of Hebrew language immersion. The camp is also Shomer Shabbat
. It runs during the summer, starting in late June, and finishing in mid-August. It attracts campers of various Jewish backgrounds from Montreal
and other parts of Canada, various cities in the United States
, Israel
, and many other places throughout the world. Camp Massad is a member camp of the Ontario Camps Association http://www.ontariocamps.ca.
Camp Massad is a great indicator of the Zionist, religious, and cultural values of the Montreal Jewish community. It places Jewish summer camping as an important part of the community's youth development, with Camp Massad playing a strong role in Jewish and social upbringing.
The camp was larger in the 70s
and 80s
, but the camp has run a smaller program since then.
The current Camp Director is .
, in the Laurentian mountains
of Quebec, Canada. The camp is surrounded by Lac Quenouille, Lac Maxime, and Lac Pierre.
The Agam activities are the water activities by Lac Quenouille, including Swim Instruction, Canoe
ing and Kayak
ing, Water skiing
, Boogie boarding
and Tubing. Creative Arts activities include Arts & Crafts
(Omanut), Dance
(Rikud), Song
(Shira), Music
(Musica), and Drama
/Performance
. Sports include Baseball
(Kaddur Basis), Basketball
(Kaddur Sal), Floor Hockey
, Soccer (Kaddur Reggel), Tennis
, and Volleyball
/Newcomb
(Kaddur Aff). Teva includes Science
/Nature
Study and Outdoor Adventure/Tripping (Hiking
, Canoe Trips
, Camping
/Cookouts, and Overnight Trips).
Massad is divided into two sections. They are:
(prayers), and every night, before dinner. This is when the entire camp gathers together to sing Himnon HaMachaneh (the camp anthem) and Hatikvah
. Around it are the Office, the Ulam (where tefillah, plays and other performances, as well as indoor activities take place), the Chadar Ochel, and a road leading to the Emek bunks.
(or Shekem), where canteen/snacks are given out to campers and staff each day.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
-speaking Jewish
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
and Zionist
Zionism
Zionism is a Jewish political movement that, in its broadest sense, has supported the self-determination of the Jewish people in a sovereign Jewish national homeland. Since the establishment of the State of Israel, the Zionist movement continues primarily to advocate on behalf of the Jewish state...
summer camp
Summer camp
Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....
for campers aged 7 to 16 located in Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts, Quebec
Sainte-Agathe-des-Monts is a town in the province of Quebec in the regional county municipality of Les Laurentides, in the administrative region of Laurentides, also known as the "Laurentians" or the Laurentian Mountains...
in the Laurentian Mountains
Laurentian mountains
The Laurentian Mountains are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of 1166 metres at Mont Raoul Blanchard, north east of Quebec City in the Reserve Faunique des Laurentides. The Gatineau, L'Assomption, Lièvre,...
. It was founded in 1947, with the creation of Massad Alef on Lac Quenouille, Quebec. The original founding group consisted of some who did not preach the possibilities of Jewish survival in America. It was part of the Massad movement.
Camp Massad has a kosher kitchen (under the supervision of the Montreal Va'ad Ha'ir) and has a long tradition of Hebrew language immersion. The camp is also Shomer Shabbat
Shomer Shabbat
A shomer Shabbat or shomer Shabbos is a person who observes the mitzvot associated with Judaism's Shabbat...
. It runs during the summer, starting in late June, and finishing in mid-August. It attracts campers of various Jewish backgrounds from Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
and other parts of Canada, various cities in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, and many other places throughout the world. Camp Massad is a member camp of the Ontario Camps Association http://www.ontariocamps.ca.
Camp Massad is a great indicator of the Zionist, religious, and cultural values of the Montreal Jewish community. It places Jewish summer camping as an important part of the community's youth development, with Camp Massad playing a strong role in Jewish and social upbringing.
History
Camp Massad was founded in 1947 by Rabbi Aron Horowitz, along with Isaac Gold, the first President of the Camp. Leon Kronitz, who later served as its director, and Chaim Maizel also helped found the camp. Having more than 80,000 Jews living in Montreal, and an increasing number of Jews in Canada, the Jewish community felt a need to create a Jewish summer camp, which were very rare at the time.The camp was larger in the 70s
1970s
File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...
and 80s
1980s
File:1980s decade montage.png|thumb|400px|From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, lifted off in 1981; American President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev eased tensions between the two superpowers, leading to the end of the Cold War; The Fall of the Berlin Wall in...
, but the camp has run a smaller program since then.
The current Camp Director is .
Location
Camp Massad is situated on Lac Quenouille, approximately 100 kilometres north of MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, in the Laurentian mountains
Laurentian mountains
The Laurentian Mountains are a mountain range in southern Quebec, Canada, north of the St. Lawrence River and Ottawa River, rising to a highest point of 1166 metres at Mont Raoul Blanchard, north east of Quebec City in the Reserve Faunique des Laurentides. The Gatineau, L'Assomption, Lièvre,...
of Quebec, Canada. The camp is surrounded by Lac Quenouille, Lac Maxime, and Lac Pierre.
Program
Activities in Camp Massad's program are divided up into four general sections: Agam, Creative Arts, Sports, and Teva.The Agam activities are the water activities by Lac Quenouille, including Swim Instruction, Canoe
Canoe
A canoe or Canadian canoe is a small narrow boat, typically human-powered, though it may also be powered by sails or small electric or gas motors. Canoes are usually pointed at both bow and stern and are normally open on top, but can be decked over A canoe (North American English) or Canadian...
ing and Kayak
Kayak
A kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle.The traditional kayak has a covered deck and one or more cockpits, each seating one paddler...
ing, Water skiing
Water skiing
thumb|right|A slalom skier making a turn on a slalom waterski.Waterskiing is a sport where an individual is pulled behind a boat or a cable ski installation on a body of water, skimming the surface.-History:...
, Boogie boarding
Bodyboarding
Bodyboarding is a surface water sport . The average board consists of a small, rectangular piece of hydrodynamic foam, sometimes containing a ridged spine called a 'stringer'...
and Tubing. Creative Arts activities include Arts & Crafts
Arts and crafts
Arts and crafts comprise a whole host of activities and hobbies that are related to making things with one's hands and skill. These can be sub-divided into handicrafts or "traditional crafts" and "the rest"...
(Omanut), Dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
(Rikud), Song
Singing
Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
(Shira), Music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
(Musica), and Drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
/Performance
Performance
A performance, in performing arts, generally comprises an event in which a performer or group of performers behave in a particular way for another group of people, the audience. Choral music and ballet are examples. Usually the performers participate in rehearsals beforehand. Afterwards audience...
. Sports include Baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
(Kaddur Basis), Basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
(Kaddur Sal), Floor Hockey
Floorball
Floorball, a type of floor hockey, is an indoor team sport which was developed in the 1970s in Sweden. Floorball is most popular in areas where the sport has developed the longest, such as the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland. The game is played...
, Soccer (Kaddur Reggel), Tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, and Volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
/Newcomb
Newcomb ball
Newcomb ball 1 is a ball game played as a variation of volleyball....
(Kaddur Aff). Teva includes Science
Science
Science is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe...
/Nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
Study and Outdoor Adventure/Tripping (Hiking
Hiking
Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...
, Canoe Trips
Canoe camping
Canoe camping is a combination of canoeing and camping. It is similar to backpacking, but canoe campers travel by canoes or kayaks...
, Camping
Camping
Camping is an outdoor recreational activity. The participants leave urban areas, their home region, or civilization and enjoy nature while spending one or several nights outdoors, usually at a campsite. Camping may involve the use of a tent, caravan, motorhome, cabin, a primitive structure, or no...
/Cookouts, and Overnight Trips).
Age groups
The age groups at Camp Massad are named after various parts of the tree in the Hebrew language. In each age group, there is a Banim (boys) and Banot (girls) section.Shoresh
Shoresh (שורש), Hebrew for root (of a tree), is the youngest possible age group at Camp Massad. It is not always present; it is only there when there is a great amount of children under the normal age of the normally lowest age-group. It usually consists of children having finished Grades 1 and 2 (going into the 2nd or 3rd grade). They are part of the Emek (junior) section of Massad.Geza Alef and Bet
Geza (גזע), Hebrew for trunk (of a tree), is the name of the two youngest age groups following Shoresh. It consists of Geza Alef ('A') and Bet ('B'). Geza Alef, for children having finished Grade 3 (going into the 4th grade), and Geza Bet, for children having finished Grade 4 (going into the 5th grade), are part of the Emek (Junior) section of Massad.Anaf Alef and Bet
Anaf (ענף), Hebrew for Branch, is the name of the age groups following Geza, and the two oldest age groups in the Emek (junior) section. It consists of Anaf Alef ('A'), for children having finished Grade 5 (going into the 6th grade), and Anaf Bet ('B'), for children having finished Grade 6 (going into the 7th grade).Tzameret Alef, Bet, and Gimmel
Tzameret (צמרת), Hebrew for treetop, is the name of the age groups in the Galil (Senior) section (which is on top of a hill). It consists of Tzameret Alef ('A'), for children having finished Grade 7 (going into the 8th grade), Tzameret Bet ('B'), for children having finished Grade 8 (going into the 9th grade), and Tzameret Gimmel ('C'), for children having finished Grade 9 (going into the 10th grade).Malam
Malam (מלם) stands for Machon Le’Madrichim, or Counselors in Training (CIT's). It comes right after finishing Tzemeret Gimel, and is the year right before becoming a staff member (or Tzevet), for children having finished Grade 10 (going into 11th grade). Malam is one of the most anticipated age groups at camp.Sections
Emek
Emek (עמק), meaning 'Valley' in Hebrew, is the main section of Camp Massad. It includes the Main Field, the Chadar Ochel (Dining Hall), the Camp Office, the Agam (Waterfront) and many bunks (cabins). It is where the Emek (Junior) section of the camp resides.Galil
Galil (גליל) is the other section of Massad. It is on a hill across the road from the Emek section. It includes the Sports field (or Migrash Sport), the Marpeah ('Marp'/ infirmary), and many bunks (cabins). It is where the Galili (Senior) section of the camp resides.The Kikar
The Kikar (the Main Field) is in the Emek section. It is the center of Emek, as it is where Mifkad (Flagpole) happens every morning, following morning tefillahJewish services
Jewish prayer are the prayer recitations that form part of the observance of Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, the traditional Jewish prayer book....
(prayers), and every night, before dinner. This is when the entire camp gathers together to sing Himnon HaMachaneh (the camp anthem) and Hatikvah
Hatikvah
"Hatikvah" is the national anthem of Israel. The anthem was written by Naphtali Herz Imber, a secular Galician Jew from Zolochiv , who moved to the Land of Israel in the early 1880s....
. Around it are the Office, the Ulam (where tefillah, plays and other performances, as well as indoor activities take place), the Chadar Ochel, and a road leading to the Emek bunks.
The Chadar Ochel
More commonly known as simply the Chadar, this is the Camp dining hall where the camp eats their meals.The Ulam
The Ulam is a gymnasium situated in the Emek section adjacent to the Kikar. It is where the prayers, Camp plays and performances, and sports take place. It is a gymnasium with a stage at one side. Below the Ulam are the staff lounge and the Tuck shopTuck shop
A tuck shop is a small, food-selling retailer. It is a term principally used in the UK, Grenada, South Africa, New Zealand, the Australian states of Queensland, Victoria and New South Wales, and occasionally in other parts of the former British Empire. In New South Wales, the term is...
(or Shekem), where canteen/snacks are given out to campers and staff each day.
The Migrash Zerah and Gan area
The Migrash Zerah is a small field at the front of the Emek area. This was an earlier location for mifkad/flagpole, and is now used for various outdoor activities. The Gan/park is right next to it, and camp BBQs are held here. There is also a bonfire pit, picnic tables, a swing set, and 'see-saws' in the park. Near these places is a small field where there are several ping-pong tables and a volleyball court.