Walk into the living room of Dr. Mark and Mrs. Chana Singer’s apartment in Baltimore, MD, and you know this is the home of a couple who are artists by profession. Brightly colored, framed paintings line the wall behind the red love seat; there is a collection of papier mâché puppets on a table on the left side, and to the right of the window above a red couch is a black baby grand piano. But also prominent are leather bound Hebrew texts and books on Jewish thought, law, and custom that fill the tall bookshelves. It was in this room that Judaism and the arts were fused to create Tizmoret Shoshana, a two week creative arts summer program for Jewish girls in middle and high school.
“It began when I invited girls in the neighborhood who played string instruments to come over on Sundays and make a string quartet,” said Dr. Singer, a violinist with a PhD in music. “Before I knew it, we were a string ensemble of twelve. As summer approached, I thought, ‘Why not bring this group to some scenic place to just focus on music for a week?’ An acquaintance told us about the new Pearlstone Retreat Center, a Star-K certified facility that was being built in Reisterstown, MD. When we visited the location, it was still under construction – mud all over, wires everywhere –” he added, illustrating with his hands, “but they said it would be open in three weeks and assured us it would be ready, and it was. We had a chamber music program with the twelve girls for a week, as well three of Mrs. Singer’s art students. The girls all loved it so much they wanted to do it again.”
“We didn’t intend to start a whole camp, we just wanted concentrate on the arts,” said Mrs. Singer. “I was the one who would say as summer approached, ‘We can’t do it, it’s just a shoe-string operation, it’s too hard,’ but then Mark would say, ‘Okay, that’s fine, but you have to tell the girls that.’”
It was not only the girls who had a vested interest in seeing Tizmoret grow into a full-fledged camp. Rebbetzin Shoshana Feldman z”l and her husband, Rabbi Yoel Feldman, both educators in the Jewish community, considered the creation of a creative arts camp for Jewish girls to be of paramount importance. At such a camp, the girls would not only be studying an art form and honing their skills; they would be able to do so in an environment that shares their religious values and is conducive to religious growth. For Rabbi Aptowitzer, who had been forced to send his daughters Racheli and Rivka to non-Jewish creative arts camps in order to provide for their needs, the creation of Tizmoret was of vital importance.
“When we wavered about where we would do the program again, Rebbetzin Feldman and her husband were the ones who said, ‘Oh, yes you are!’” said Mrs. Singer.
“Our creative writing program started because of Shoshana Feldman,” added Dr. Singer. “She suggested it and was planning on teaching it. Unfortunately, she was unable to do so because of her illness and she passed on not that long afterward. Tizmoret was then renamed Tizmoret Shoshana in her memory.”
Fast forward twelve years, and what began as an ensemble has become a flourishing overnight camp, attracting Jewish girls from across the U.S. as well as Canada and Israel. The program has expanded from chamber music and visual arts to include vocal music, creative writing, dramatics, dance, and guitar. These majors, as they are called, are taught by staff members who have degrees in their respective fields. Campers select a major, and sometimes a minor as well, for the duration of the two weeks of camp. A typical schedule has allotments for study in each art form, daily prayers, classes on Torah topics, independent study, collaboration between the majors, recreation, and three healthy meals a day. Also featured are master classes, special guest artists, and workshops geared to greater exploration into the arts. Camp culminates with a performance by the drama, music, dance, and writing divisions and an art exhibition by the art majors and minors.
Though the program is designed to provide learning opportunities and promote self-expression, it is the campers themselves who truly create Tizmoret’s unique environment.
“Tizmoret for me is what a spa weekend or trip to the Bahamas is for most other people,” said Chana Chava Perton, Tizmoret’s creative writing coach, in an email. “For two weeks I have the privilege of being surrounded by young women who love art in its different forms and are willing to learn from others. As a teacher, this is a true gift. Most of the students I come in contact with over the course of the school year are there because “they have to be”. No one “has to be” in Tizmoret–they come because they want to be there, and they learn because they realize that all the talent in the world means nothing without the proper direction. Sort of like how a fire, if not directed to a specific task or shape, will run rampant, devouring all in its path. I usually come away from the summer inspired to be a better writer, teacher, and person.”
“In Tizmoret you can do the impossible, since everyone is there with you doing the same,” explained Adina Edelman, who attended Tizmoret last summer.
“Expression is a vital part in every person’s development,” wrote Suri Levin, a high school junior and long-time camper at Tizmoret, in an email. “And as an orthodox teenage girl, expression isn’t always easy…Writing and singing, music and acting, they have always been channels through which I was able to articulate my innermost thoughts and feelings. But I wasn’t always comfortable doing so. And that’s where Tizmoret Shoshana comes in. Tizmoret is a dream world. Not unlike the Garden of Eden, the very air is conducive to spiritual growth. The real kicker is that everyone there is growing spiritually by expressing ourselves artistically. Two unbelievable weeks in the summer, doing all the things I love, and benefitting more than I ever could have imagined? I was intrigued as soon as I saw the ad. So far, I have spent four incredible summers at Tizmoret Shoshana. Over the course of my time there, I have learned a tremendous amount about the arts, Judaism, and myself. More than that, Tizmoret also gave me access to fabulous instructors, mentors, and friends.”
“Tizmoret for me is an opportunity to discover, explore, and immerse yourself in your work as an artist while infusing that work with Torah values,” wrote dramatics coach Jessica Schechter in an email. “I love how the setting of camp gives me the opportunity to experiment with different modes of drama and innovate new forms of expression. I learn so much from the girls that go there and I think that I grow just as much in my artistry as they do in the two week span of camp. I only wish that it were longer! I think that it is such an important place for artists to come together and dedicate their time to the creation of something bigger than themselves and share that with each other. It solidifies for me my artistic voice and gives me the strength to continue the creative process throughout the year.”
This year, Tizmoret will be located at Capital Camps in Waynesboro, PA. Though campers will miss the Pearlstone, excitement is high for the new opportunities that this summer will bring. After all, as veteran camper Elisheva Kiewe put it, “Tizmoret is not a place; it’s a state of mind.”