I have a challenge for you: Ask someone you know to describe what it was like spending their summer in the West Virginia woods with a couple hundred kids. While that someone might have a lot to say, I’d be willing to bet many would sum it up something like this:

“It was the best experience of my life.”

You might say that camp is in the business of experiences. From campfires to color war, boat rides to volleyball, there’s something about camp that gives every moment the chance to be more meaningful and concentrated. Much like Shabbat is an island in time during our hectic weeks, experiences at camp create an island in our year when campers can reunite and recharge around traditions that make camp…well…camp.

But we are a Jewish camp, so I can’t help but offer you a slight complication; a second helping, if you prefer to think of it that way. At EKC we believe that camp experiences are not just experiences; they are experiential experiences. I know that might sound redundant, but follow me here…you brush your teeth, right? That’s an experience. Walk down the street? Ditto. Life is constantly being experienced. When campers write letters home, though, I don’t think anyone is mentioning a successful experience flossing. What they talk about is the experiential: challenges that have pushed them to new levels of independence, reflections about what makes them happy to be at EKC, connections they have made with others through compromise and working together in their bunks. At camp, we have the tradition of ending our days with sikkumim—activities and discussions that bring the community closer and help campers answer the question: what about this place makes me say “WOW.” If that sounds dangerously close to learning: you’re right. Camp is the ultimate classroom.

When we are talking about experiential education, we are talking about two things: action and reflection. Over the past few years, EKC has taken a whole new approach to exploring Jewish experience at camp and has committed to action being more than just Shabbat. We believe campers should be able to express their Jewishness uniquely and authentically. We believe that there is such a thing as Jewish fun. We believe in a Judaism that runs around, gets dirty, can ride a horse, and paddle across a lake. We believe that Jewish at EKC is part of what makes it “the best (experiential) experience.”