Camp Massad (Poconos)
| מחנה מסד | |
Massad Logo, 1963
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| Formation | 1941 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Shlomo Shulsinger |
| Extinction | 1981 |
| Type | Jewish summer camp |
| Location | |
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Official language
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Hebrew |
Camp Massad (Hebrew: מחנה מסד; Machaneh Massad) was a Zionist Jewish summer camp in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, which closed in 1981. Massad was founded as a day camp in 1941 by the HaNoar Ha'Ivri with thirty campers, and eventually grew to three sleep-away camps, Massad Alef, Bet, and Gimmel, with over 1,100 campers. Massad's founder, Shlomo Shulsinger, emphasized Hebrew language as a key value in a multi-denominational Jewish Zionist environment.
It appears that no remains of the Tannersville grounds still exist, having been replaced by the Camelback water and sports park.
The HaNoar Ha’Ivri movement was established in 1937 to build a Jewish life in the U.S. that promoted Zionism and the revival of the Hebrew language. In September 1940, the HaNoar Ha'Ivri conference reached a unanimous decision to establish a Hebrew-speaking camp, an idea initiated by Shlomo Shulsinger, who was appointed camp director. The camp began in 1941.
In its first season, Massad operated as a day camp at Far Rockaway, Queens, and in its second season shared the facilities of Camp Machanaim, an Orthodox Jewish camp in the Catskill Mountains. In the summer of 1943, Massad was finally relocated to its own site in Tannersville, in the Pocono Mountains. In 1948, Massad opened a second camp, Massad Bet, in Dingmans Ferry, Pennsylvania. Massad Gimmel opened in nearby Effort, Pennsylvania in 1968.
In 1951, Massad launched its Machon Ma’ale program for the preparation of Hebrew-speaking counselors, with Professor Hillel Bavli serving as its first director. In 1960, Massad opened up a new division called Prozdor (a preparatory program for the Machon) for 15-year-old campers.
The Massad camps had their largest camper enrolment in the 1966-68 summers: in 1966, 914 campers; in 1967, 937; and in 1968, 925. From this point on there was a downward trend. In 1971, for the first time, campers were accepted for only a one-month session. In 1972, facing rapidly declining registration, Massad Gimmel was sold. After the Shulsingers retired in 1977, their successors attempted to orient the camp toward stricter religious observance in effort to address the changing realities of Jewish life in the United States and attract more Orthodox campers. However, Massad’s enrollment continued to decline. Massad Bet closed after the 1979 season, and Massad Alef closed in 1981.
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