Camp Yavneh

{{Short description|Jewish summer camp in New Hampshire, US}}

{{Infobox campground

| name = Camp Yavneh

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| pushpin_map = New Hampshire

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| pushpin_label = Camp Yavneh

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| coordinates = {{coord|43|10|57|N|71|9|57|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}}

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| pushpin_map_caption = Location within New Hampshire

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| location = Northwood, New Hampshire

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| campus_size = 65 acres

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| established = {{Start date and age|1944|07|05}}{{cite book | last=Margolis | first=I. | title=Jewish Teacher Training Schools in the United States | publisher=National Council for Torah Education of Hapoel Hamizrachi | year=1964 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M7jg59YHz4oC| page=231}}

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| website = {{URL|campyavneh.org}}

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Camp Yavneh ({{Langx|he|מחנה יבנה}}) is a 65-acre residential Jewish summer camp in Northwood, New Hampshire.{{Cite web |title=Campus |url=https://www.campyavneh.org/prospective-families/campus/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=Camp Yavneh |language=en-US}}It was established in 1944 by the Boston Hebrew Teacher College under the leadership of Louis and Leah Hurwich, initially as a Hebrew study camp.{{cite book | last=Benor | first=S. B. | last2=Krasner | first2=J. | last3=Avni | first3=S. | title=Hebrew Infusion: Language and Community at American Jewish Summer Camps | publisher=Rutgers University Press | year=2020 | isbn=978-0-8135-8875-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=edfkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT69 }}{{cite book|chapter=The Roah to Chalutzim: Reform Judaism's Hebrew-Speaking Program|first=H.|last=Gamoran | editor1-last=Lorge | editor1-first=M. M.|editor2-first=G. P.|editor2-last=Zola | title=A Place of Our Own: The Rise of Reform Jewish Camping | publisher=University of Alabama Press| year=2006 | isbn=978-0-8173-5293-6 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ubZvJPO8naEC&pg=PA131| pages=131–132}}

Yavneh is accredited by the American Camp Association. It offers children aged 8–17 a camp environment where Jewish values and activities are emphasized. The camp is not affiliated with one religious movement, considering itself K'lal Yisrael ({{lit|all Jews are one}}).

History

Dean Louis Hurwich (1887-1968), a co-founder of the Hebrew Teachers College, became the third dean of the institution in 1932. He promoted Hebrew education for youth and sprouted the idea of a Jewish summer camp.{{Cite web |title=Past Leadership |url=https://hebrewcollege.edu/past-leadership/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=Hebrew College |language=en-US}}

Dean Louis Hurwich and Leah Hurwich first conceived Yavneh in the early 1940s. Originally, it was intended as an all-Hebrew summer school program. In late 1943, Dean Hurwich gained approval for his summer school camp from the Board of Trustees of Hebrew Teachers College. He formed a group of 37 founders, each donating $1000 (about $18,236.59 in 2025) towards the founding of Camp Yavneh.{{Cite web |title=Yavneh History |url=https://www.campyavneh.org/alumni/yavneh-history/ |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=Camp Yavneh |language=en-US}}

Hurwich purchased Camp Hickory in New Hampshire for $18,000 ($328,258.61 in 2025). He renamed the camp to "Yavneh" after the region in east Israel.{{Cite web |title=Yavneh |url=https://library.biblicalarchaeology.org/book/the-new-encyclopedia-of-archaeological-excavations-in-the-holy-land/yavneh/#:~:text=Yavneh%20became%20the%20seat%20of,Zakkai. |access-date=2025-01-12 |website=The BAS Library |language=en-US}}

References

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