“As long as we all pull together,
Kadimah will grow more and more.
Our camp will be bigger and better,
than ever it has been before.”
Shirley Burnstein wrote these words, the Camp Kadimah song, with her cousin, Ralph Garson, in 1944 or ’45. Burnstein’s words will grab the attention of everyone who has attended Camp Kadimah since 1943, and so they should. Virtually every Maritime Jewish youngster has sung them since. In fact, the chorus now rings with voices across Canada, the United States and Israel.
The words evoke the joy of singing full out with your friends in the beautiful bubble of a Lake William summer. They call up the spirit of Maritime exceptionality, a community on fire with enthusiasm and unblemished confidence in a better future. As I sing them to myself, I realize they also encapsulate Shirley Burnstein.
Legends rise from the shores of Atlantic Canada. Some are even true, even as memories blur the awkwardness of small town Jewish living with the annual freedom of being all Jewish kids together at camp. We straggled in from Saint John’s, Halifax and Woodstock in our individual town personae – the kids from the Wharf in Sydney had a culture, as did the gang from Fredericton. Yet, every summer, we achieved so much together. We had limited resources but even fewer roadblocks.
People often ask me, “Where do you Maritimers get your spirit? Why do you all love each other so much?” I credit Shirley Burnstein with teaching Maritime Jewish children to know and love what collective achievement and community happiness look like. It’s probably why we began to love each other way back when.
At Camp Kadimah in the 1960s and ’70s Shirley would take 40 or so campers (whoever came to the audition) ages eight to 18, and she would mount musical theatre extravaganzas in a barn-like hall, the rec hall (the ulam). She produced and directed HMCS Pinafore, Fiddler on the Roof, The Sound of Music, Oliver and more. It was hard work for everyone, with many hours of rehearsal time, building sets from two-by-fours and rolls of paper, and a lot of quietly waiting your turn. But the result felt so shockingly professional that even the cast was astounded. And this was the secret win.
Shirley would draw resilience, commitment and exuberant performance out of kids who didn’t know if they could sing or dance, but “kinda” wanted to try. She was an artist herself, an opera singer by professional training. She respected the creative artist within each of her “protégés,” and this respect instilled in each member of her cast and crew a sense of personal specialness and mission. Each shone like a star. She would also remind the audience that it was their special privilege to be there watching. It worked so well – as long as we all pulled together.
These long-ago productions contributed content to the pride that Kadimah alumni still exude. As they say, nothing builds commitment like success. The Kadimah musicals fostered a sense of camp-wide accomplishment every summer that Shirley led her shows. Her passion for the creative spirit was so strong that, as soon as one curtain came down, she was already talking about the next summer. Her enthusiasm made cast members thrill at the prospect of doing it again.
She was camp mom and a model of perpetual renewable commitment. It was never over. Like the song, our camp will be bigger and better than ever it has been before.
Shirley B, who died in January, taught several generations of Maritimers to pitch in, collaborate and give it their all. Through Shirley, we learned the sheer joy of achievement. It is a tremendous legacy. May her memory be a blessing.
Pamela Medjuck Stein is from Halifax, N.S., and is a Camp Kadimah alumna. She sits on the board of directors of The Canadian Jewish News.
