Yehuda Israel is deathly allergic to peanuts. His family has banned all peanut products from their home to protect the 14-year-old. His classmates at school stopped bringing peanut butter in their sandwiches so Yehuda could sit with them during lunch.
Though adjustments could be made to most of his life, overnight summer camp was not an option for Yehuda because of his risk of being exposed to peanuts. That is, until Rabbi Yosef Perlman came to town and brought with him his passion for camping and his compassion for his campers.
Perlman, a Hebrew studies teacher at Yeshiva Elementary School, runs two summer camps for boys — a day camp and an overnight camp. Yehuda attends both of them because Perlman has made them safe for children with peanut allergies.
“Rabbi Perlman is a tzaddik,” said Yehuda’s mother, Shelley Israel. “He has given Yehuda the opportunity to have a camp experience.”
Perlman’s day camp is BEST Camp, an acronym for Boys Enjoying Sports and Torah. In its fourth year, it took place on the campus of Mount Mary College from June 19 to July 30.
This year, 55 boys participated in its two sessions. They range in age from second- to ninth-graders and are split into four “bunks”: shalom, simcha (joy), hesed (acts of loving kindness) and kavod (respect). The boys come primarily from YES, though some are students at Hillel Academy and a few live out of town.
Campers swim daily, play indoor and outdoor sports, do arts and crafts, and woodworking, and even go on trips, such as to Miller Park for a Brewer’s game and to a lake house. An integral part of the daily schedule is an hour and a half of learning each morning.
Jewish values obviously run deep at the BEST camp. “One of the special things about the camp is that I have a lot of Keshet boys coming,” said Perlman, referring to special needs children who learn with the help of Keshet of Wisconsin, a program of Jewish Family Services.
“We make special accommodations for these boys…. The kids really learn an acceptance of the Keshet boys, cheering them on. When they’re playing basketball, they make sure [the Keshet boys] get the ball. They’re very protective. It’s really unbelievable,” Perlman said.
‘ Compete against yourself’
BEST camp had various incarnations before Perlman arrived in Milwaukee five years ago. “It was really more of a backyard camp, very off the fly,” said Perlman.
“I’ve been in camp pretty much my whole life,” said Perlman, 30, who grew up in upstate New York. “I’ve always loved camp — getting away from the city, the fresh air, and by nature I’m very competitive so I’ve always loved sports.”
Perlman ran a day camp in Baltimore and increased the number of campers from about 100 to 220 campers within his four years as head counselor. So when he arrived in Milwaukee and realized he couldn’t commute to summer camp, he decided to start his own.
He began working with Rabbi Daniel Meister, who was then running the camp, and aimed to make the program more professional and include daily swimming.
And when a group of boys who were rushing onto a sports field recently was asked what their favorite activity at camp was, almost all said, “Swimming!”
“I’ve been coming to this camp from the beginning and I like having it [at Mount Mary] because we swim every day,” said 11-year-old Levi Israel, Yehuda’s brother.
“I’m also looking forward to going to Rabbi Perlman’s sleep-away camp, Shavua Tov,” Levi added.
Next week, Levi will head to Loretta (west of Minocqua) in northern Wisconsin to spend three weeks at Shavua Tov with Perlman and some 60 other boys from Milwaukee, Chicago, Minneapolis and Cleveland.
Perlman started the overnight camp three years ago as a weeklong camp. This season is the first time that it offers a three-week session and is being held on the grounds of Camp Getschow in Loretta. The two preceding seasons were at Camp Timberlane and Camp Chi.
Perlman’s experience at Timberlane positively affected his philosophy of camping. “The director there explained his system and I really bought into it…. It’s exciting and competitive but you compete against yourself. So at the end of the day, you walk away feeling good about yourself,” said Perlman.
The camp kitchen, which will be kashered specially for Shavua Tov, will be glatt kosher and totally peanut-free. Most of the food is brought from the Kosher Meat Klub.
Camp activities include Judaic learning and a wide range of outdoor activities, both on land and in water, “just like any other great camp,” said Shelley Israel.
“We know and trust Rabbi Perlman in terms of making sure our children are safe and having a good time in a positive atmosphere,” said Suzanne Zigun, mother to four boys who are involved with the camps this summer.
Dovid, 16, is a counselor at both camps and will be the bike expert at Shavua Tov. “I’ve had different experiences. My mother put me in a camp at the zoo and in art camps, but I’d say this is one of the best experiences for kids from this community,” Dovid said.
“It’s been gratifying to see Dovid mature,” his mother said. “He has, this past year, gotten certified in first aid and CPR and lifeguarding. My son Akiva also worked as a lifeguard at BEST camp, and it’s nice that they’re able to have a means of earning some money and having positive activities as well.”
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