Camp Ramah is a network of Jewish summer camp

Summer camp

Summer camp is a supervised program for children or teenagers conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as campers....

s affiliated with the Conservative Movement

Conservative Judaism

Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s.Conservative Judaism has its roots in the school of thought known as Positive-Historical Judaism,...

. The camps operate in the United States, Canada, and Israel

Israel

The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...

. Ramah camps serve kosher food and are Shabbat

Shabbat

Shabbat is the seventh day of the Jewish week and a day of rest in Judaism. Shabbat is observed from a few minutes before sunset on Friday evening until a few minutes after when one would expect to be able to see three stars in the sky on Saturday night. The exact times, therefore, differ from...

-observant.
During the 1940s, the Jewish Theological Seminary

Jewish Theological Seminary of America

The Jewish Theological Seminary of America is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism, and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies.JTS operates five schools: Albert A...

 established Camp Ramah as a tool for furthering Jewish education

Jewish education

Jewish education is the transmission of the tenets, principles and religious laws of Judaism. Due to its emphasis on Torah study, many have commented that Judaism is characterised by "lifelong learning" that extends to adults as much as it does to children.-History:The tradition of Jewish...

. The founders envisioned an informal camp setting where Jewish youth would reconnect with the synagogue

Synagogue

A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...

 and Jewish tradition, and a new cadre of American-born Jewish leadership could be cultivated.

The first camp opened in Conover, Wisconsin

Conover, Wisconsin

Conover is a town in Vilas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,137 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Conover is located in the town.- History :...

 in 1947.