Crystal Hill (she/her/hers) is a copy writer/editor for the Union for Reform Judaism. She holds an M.A. in Rhetoric, Composition, and Literature from Northern Illinois University, with a Certificate of Graduate Study in Professional Writing. She lives with her husband, son, and cat in the Greater Chicagoland Area.
Camp is generally a great experience for kids. They deepen their Jewish identities, broaden their communities, and learn new life skills. However, these benefits can also mean your camper needs some time to process their experience on their own while readjusting to life at home.
The Reform Jewish Community of Canada (RJCC) is working to bring Canadian Reform Jews together by fostering new connections between communities and hosting gatherings that allow people to reconnect after two years of quarantine.
On Shavuot, many of us study the Book of Ruth. Lauded by Rabbinic tradition as a righteous convert, Ruth’s story continues to resonate with the experiences of many Jews-by-choice today.
When we began writing this piece, we realized just how similar our experiences were as women who became first-time mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic. We gave birth a week apart, both via C-section, and both of our sons were premature.