Camp Massad (Poconos)

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Camp Massad (Machaneh Massad/מחנה מסד in Hebrew) was a Jewish summer camp, which originated as a day camp in 1941 and eventually grew to three sleep-away camps in the Pennsylvania Poconos. Massad's creator, Shlomo Shulsinger, emphasized Hebrew language as a key value in a multi-denominational Jewish Zionist environment.

Here's a picture of the staff in 1941: [1]. Shlomo and Rivka Shulsinger are at the right of the picture.

Given the goal of an immersive Hebrew-language environment, Massad became the locus for a good amount of new Hebrew vocabulary, e.g. to describe American sports. Massad's focus on spoken and written Hebrew extended to publishing a literary periodical and a hardback Hebrew-English dictionary.

Like many Jewish summer camps founded in the 20th century, Massad offered parents the opportunity to put their children in a bucolic setting, an appealing alternative to the sweltering cities, where Polio was a concern.

Massad's influence on other major Jewish camps was significant. The founder of Ramah attended, and Camp Morasha and Moshava both modeled themselves after it.

The camp shut down in 1981. The Tannersville grounds are used during the winter for snow tubing, but you can still see the remains of many of the bunks and the dining room there.

The Massad movement also created four camps in Canada, two of which (Camp Massad of Manitoba and Camp Massad of Montreal) still exist.


[edit] Notable Alumni

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