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Friday August 16, 2002

Camp Newman's mortgage paid off by L.A. benefactors

ALEXANDRA J. WALLBulletin Staff

Well, actually it was only a copy. And as we all know, debts do not disappear simply by throwing documentation into a fire.

But campers and staff of UAHC Camp Newman celebrated the symbolic burning of the mortgage recently, which was paid off with a gift from a Los Angeles-area family, on the anniversary of the camp's dedication six years ago.

The Reform movement's camp in Santa Rosa has slowly been paying off its $4 million mortgage.

Ruben Arquilevich, director of Camp Newman and Camp Swig in Saratoga -- both run by the Union of American Hebrew Congregations -- thought it would take up to 10 years to pay off the Newman mortgage.

"I'm absolutely thrilled," he said. "Now our real focus for fund-raising and development can be for new capital projects and for scholarships."

Those new projects include a central program plaza, a new perimeter road and an expanded dining hall.

The gift to Camp Newman was part of a $7 million donation to Reform movement camps in the West from Mark and Peachy Levy of Los Angeles and Peachy's mother, Lee Kalsman, and the estate of her late father, Irving Kalsman.

"They've been part of the UAHC family for a number of years, and have been making significant gifts," said Arquilevich. "They really stepped forward, knowing it would make a huge difference."

In addition to the $1 million that paid off the Newman mortgage, $1 to $1.5 million went to Camp Swig to build new housing, another $1 million will go toward capital development at Newman, and the remainder will go toward scholarships and to build a new UAHC camp in Washington. The new camp will be named Camp Kalsman.

Mark Levy, who together with his late father-in-law was in real estate, and his wife, Peachy, a textile artist, have made Jewish camping the focus of their philanthropy.

"We have always known that Jewish camps are very high on the list for keeping kids Jewish and developing wonderful friendships," he said. "We believe the future of the Reform Jewish movement in America is in those camps."

While their grandchildren have attended Newman and Swig, the Levys themselves never went to Jewish summer camp. Their first exposure was as adults, when Peachy Levy was an artist-in-residence at the Brandeis-Bardin Institute's camp for young adults in Southern California, called Brandeis Collegiate Institute, or BCI. They attended for three summers.

"[Peachy] had her duties as teacher, and I did a bit of teaching about Jewish genealogy, but other than that, we were campers," Mark Levy recalled. "We did everything the kids did and more, and we saw for ourselves what Jewish camping can do."

At the ceremony earlier this month, a hiking trail was dedicated in the Levys' honor.

"It really touched us because the path is so much of what Judaism is all about," he said. "Halachah is the path, the way, and they tied those things together."

Describing the trail as one that ends in a beautiful glade with benches for shmoozing, meditating or whatever else, Levy said, "It's perfect."

Later that evening during a Havdallah service, a few counselors-in-training related the components of the service to camp: The wine symbolizes the sweetness of camp; the spices, breathing in camp experiences; the candle light, the illumination of Judaism provided at camp. The CITs also compared the specialness of Shabbat to the distinction between life at camp and the rest of the year.

"Camp Newman has become a place where the future of the Jewish community can find not only themselves, but a shelter where they feel comfortable to experience a Jewish life," said Steve Shafir, who directs the CITs.

"It was so touching," said Levy. "I had tears in my eyes and so did my wife for a good part of the day."

In addition, some kids who received scholarships were able to personally thank the Levys for making it possible for them to attend.

"These kids told us 'you don't know what this has meant to us, to be able to go to camp, and how you've affected our feelings toward Judaism,'" he said. "It was very celebratory and moving and we just feel blessed."

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