CSL is a vibrantly Jewish place. Shabbat is celebrated as a community, with Friday evening and Saturday morning services held overlooking Seneca Lake. Each summer includes several special Jewish programs and events, such as a Jewish themed all-camp programs, Challah and Torah workshops, concerts, and guest presentations.
Judaism is infused into daily CSL life. Campers recite blessings both before and after meals, sing Jewish songs, participate in Shabbat and Havdallah, and so much more. Camp Seneca Lake's kitchen provides delicious, kid-friendly meals and snacks using Kosher ingredients. Dairy, meat, and parve dishes are prepared separately in accordance with Kashrut standards and our kitchen staff is trained in kosher cooking. Camp Seneca Lake's kitchen is not supervised by a Mashgiach.
(Download the CSL Siddur and Songbook and the Chord-Book-Official-CSL-2018).
The CSL Judaic curriculum is designed to ensure that if a camper came to camp all summer every summer, from youngest Onondaga or Cayuga through Tuscarora, s/he would never do the same program twice. Programs are age-appropriate and camper-focused, and typically based on the experiential-learning model. Sample topics include Shabbat, environmental responsibility, dating and relationships, identity, ethics, spirituality and belief, prayer, modern Jewish living, and community.
The curriculum also includes a handful of flagship programs that address pressing contemporary concerns. In recent summers campers learned how to respond to anti-Semitism, and explored Jewish ideas of ethical behavior and privacy with a focus on Facebook. Senior Campers (Tuscarora) participate in a special curriculum focused on American Jewish identity and camper relationships with Israel.