A Condition of Marriage…By Alumni Tobi Nathanson
It was a given in the summer of ’74 that 9 year old Tobi Nathanson would pack her trunk for a six week adventure at Camp Kadimah in beautiful Lunenburg Country, Nova Scotia. Growing up in the small Jewish community of St. John’s, Newfoundland, Tobi’s family recognized the importance of sending her to a Jewish summer camp. To meet and bond with other Jewish kids from the Atlantic Provinces was vital for Jewish children from small towns. Camp Kadimah was the internet of its time, linking all of the Maritime Jewish communities to one another. Many of the children who attended were the only Jewish kids in their schools, and Camp Kadimah was the bridge connecting them to one another.
Her mom, Helen Goldfarb, was one of the first campers to attend Kadimah more than thirty years earlier so when Tobi hit Gibbie age, it was an easy decision for her parents to send her across ‘the pond’ to Nova Scotia’s south shore. In fact, the Young Judaea system spanning Camp Kadimah followed by Camp Biluim became such an integral part of Tobi’s life that she would spend the next 13 years as a camper and counsellor. Any conversation with Tobi today about camp will lead you to understand what an essential role Kadimah has played in her life.
After moving to Toronto as an adult, she met and married Neil Liederman. Although not a “Kadimahnik” himself, he refers to his children attending Camp Kadimah as a “condition of marriage”, one he is completely in favor of because how important Kadimah is to his wife.
Well, the time has come! A third generation will carry on the Kadimah tradition this summer when the Liederman daughters - Shayli (9) and Lia (7) - leave the hustle and bustle of the GTA to head off to Barss Corner in just a few short weeks.
At a time when many parents choose to keep their kids closer to home at a young age, Tobi knew from the moment her kids were born they’d eventually go to Kadimah. Both Liederman girls attend Jewish day school , but their parents believe that their children will have an even greater appreciation for their Jewish heritage as well as their small town roots. “We’re both happy they will continue to have exposure to their Jewish roots during their summer and now they’ll get to learn about Judaism from a unique perspective - to learn what it means to grow up Jewish in a small town."
This won’t be the first time the Liederman kids will step on hallowed Kadimah grounds. Back in May, 2006 after a family simcha in Halifax, Tobi and Neal took a side trip to Kadimah, along the way driving past the famous Mader’s General Store and down the hill she once tried to sneak up as a Macharnik – unsuccessfully! “We had set aside some time when we booked our trip to drive down to Kadimah. I wanted to show Neil and the kids what I had been talking about!”. They walked the paths, crossed the bridge and explored all of Tobi’s old cabins as she shared stories and events that filled her summers. Spotting her signature on cabin walls turned into a treasure hunt and a highlight for the whole family. “If there was any doubt before that trip that my kids would attend Kadimah, our brief time on the grounds that day sealed their fate”.
Tobi’s hope for the summer is that her children will create memories and long lasting bonds of friendship as she herself did. That’s the magic of Camp Kadimah. “Every kid who attends any summer camp talks about special friendships. But the strength of the bond with my Kadimah friends is beyond description and it’s going on 30+ years. We all have a hard time explaining what that magic is to anyone going for the first time, but even if they’ve gone to other Jewish camps, after one summer they return home and say ‘Now I understand what you mean’. It’s what makes Kadimah so unique”.
Tobi added, “We are going to miss our kids a lot but we would never want to deprive them of this experience. I’m actually excited for Visiting Day when I get to see many of my old camp friends who are visiting their own children.”
|
