Camp Barney Alumni Meet for Shabbat at College

Mya Artzi has attended Camp Barney Medintz as a camper and as a counselor for the past 10 years, her mom tells the AJT. This year, the Sandy Springs student is a freshman at the University of Wisconsin. She and several other CBM alumni have gathered a few times over the semester for what they call “Camp Shabbat,” mom Lea Artzi said.

Mya Artzi, Emma Gottsegan, Eric Cordover, Alex Effron and Bess Rosenthal share a Shabbat dinner recently.

“They cook together all of the camp Shabbat favorites – schnitzel, green beans, potatoes, and they even bake their own challah. My daughter says that these camp friends are her family at school.

In addition to Mya, the students who join for Shabbat are: Alex Effron, also a freshman from Sandy Springs; Emma Gottsegan, a senior from New York; and sophomores Bess Rosenthal and Eric Cordover from Mountain Brook, Ala.
“Even though these kids are not even the same age and range from freshmen to seniors, they really look out for each other on campus,” Lea Artzi said. “The bond that CBM has created is incredible!”

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She adds that she hopes the idea catches on. “I think if other kids their age hear about this, maybe they could start their own campus camp Shabbats.”