Winner of the 2020 National Jewish Book Award in Education and Jewish Identity Each summer, tens of thousands of American Jews attend residential camps, where they may see Hebrew signs, sing and dance to Hebrew songs, and hear a camp-specific hybrid language register called Camp Hebraized English, as in: “Let’s hear some ruach (spirit) in this chadar ochel (dining hall)!” Using historical and sociolinguistic methods, this book explains how camp directors and staff came to infuse Hebrew in creative ways and how their rationales and practices have evolved from the early 20th century to today. Some Jewish leaders worry that Camp Hebraized English impedes Hebrew acquisition, while others recognize its power to strengthen campers’ bonds with Israel, Judaism, and the Jewish people. Hebrew Infusion explores these conflicting ideologies, showing how hybrid language can serve a formative role in fostering religious, diasporic communities. The insightful analysis and engaging descriptions of camp life will appeal to anyone interested in language, education, or American Jewish culture.
SARAH BUNIN BENOR is Professor of Contemporary Jewish Studies at Hebrew Union College and courtesy Professor of Linguistics at the University of Southern California. Her books include Becoming Frum: How Newcomers Learn the Language and Culture of Orthodox Judaism, published by Rutgers University Press and winner of the Sami Rohr Choice Award for Jewish Literature. JONATHAN KRASNER is the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Associate Professor of Jewish Education Research at Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts. He is the author of The Benderly Boys and American Jewish Education, winner of the National Jewish Book Award in American Jewish Studies. SHARON AVNI is Professor of Literacy and Linguistics at Borough of Manhattan Community College, City University of New York, and a Research Associate at the Research Institute for the Study of Language in Urban Society at the CUNY Graduate Center.
Table of Contents
Introduction 1
Part I Past
1 Hebrew Infusion in American Jewish Summer Camps, 1900-1990 19
2 Camp Massad in the Poconos and the Rise and Fall of Hebrew Immersion Camping 50
3 Camp Ramah: A Transition from Immersion to Infusion 82
Part II Present
4 A Flexible Signifier: Diversity in Hebrew Infusion and Ideology 113
5 The Building Blocks of Infusion 142
6 "Sign" Language: Visual Displays of Hebrew and Jewish Space 172
7 Bringing Israel to Camp: Israeli Emissaries and Hebrew 198
