Camp Nehirim
$345 and up
at Easton Mountain
Greenwich, NY
More Info / Registration
Jay will be on the faculty of the ‘Camp Nehirim’ program this summer in upstate New York. Â Celebrating its eighth year, Camp Nehirim brings the best elements of summer camp into Easton’s unique affirming community of men loving men.
Camp Nehirim, running Wednesday through Sunday, is five days of swimming, hiking, frisbee, river tubing, campfires, hot tubbing, cookouts, delicious food, inspiring workshops, and a special Jewish ruach (spirit) of community and spirituality.  Learning in the Lodge, hiking through nature on one of Easton’s many trails around the mountain, or relaxing by the pool. Every evening gather for a circle of community, delicious food, and creative programming. On Friday night welcome Shabbat with traditional prayer and exhilarating music. Shabbat, the Sabbath, was described by Abraham Joshua Heschel as “a palace in time,” and at Camp Nehirim, we luxuriate in the palace (complete with hot tub and sauna), feeling the blessing of shalom, of peace, in ways you can’t experience anywhere else.
The Camp Nehirim atmosphere is light and warm. We build supportive community with one another, and provide a wide range of indoor and outdoor activities, Shabbat services, and free time to play in the pool or relax in a hammock. We observe a non-Orthodox Judaism in which the centuries of Jewish learning and practice fit magically into the gay and spiritual environment unique to Easton Mountain.
It’s a Jewish retreat, so food is a very important component to our experience. We bake our own challah on Friday afternoon and every menu is designed as an homage to Jewish culinary culture. Oh, yes, and there’s a kosher barbecue on Thursday night (well, it’s summer camp, for crying out loud). Easton’s kitchen is not kosher, but all our meals are kosher by ingredient, with parve, vegan, options at all times.