1. Name of Session:
Man up! (for men)
Woman Power! Finding your Voice (for
women)
Name of Instructor: Jonah Canner and Abby Gondek
Session Type:
(Pillar, L’shma,
Subcommittee)
ConTEXT pillar/Intensive
Website
Description---Skills,
Knowledge and
Experience to be
acquired: (Who, What,
Why?)
Woman Power: Explore your identity as a woman. Discover powerful
female role models in the Jewish tradition. Learn to lead activities with teens
and other counselors utilizing biblical texts, theater techniques, Jewish
comedy skits, and partner conversations. Gain experience in raising
awareness with men about your experiences: this is your chance to make a
real change at your camp for girls and boys. Session is for women only.
Man Up: Boys will be boys…But what kind of men will they become? In this
session, through sport, conversation, learning and listening, we will explore
what it means to “man up” at a Jewish summer camp. Session is for men
only.
Program Type:
Is this a Staff Training or
Jewish Program?
Jewish program (but can also be used for Staff Training)
Staff Training
Outcomes:
What counseling
moments can Fellows
utilize to highlight their
leadership skills?
Jewish Program
Outcomes:
What Jewish programs
will Fellows bring back to
camp?
Participants will explore gender roles within Jewish stories, history and
summer camp.
Age Group:
What age group was this
originally designed for?
Teens
Modifications:
How could this be
modified for other age
groups/audiences?

2. Jewish Texts and/or
Contexts:
Monday 5-5:45
Texts on wrestling with G-d, women/men fighting each other/working
together
Handout 1: [Jacob & Esau]
Handout 2: Sarah and Hagar: Genesis 16 and 21
Handout 3: Ruth Chapter 1
Handout 4: Active Listening
Tuesday 10-11:15
Handout 5: Boy Meets Girl
Handout 6: Settings, Dialogue, Prop, and Genre Hand-out
Materials Needed: Monday 5-5:45
12 copies of Handout 1
12 copies of Handout 3
2 sets of 12 copies of Handout 4 (one set will go to male facilitator, one to
female)
Mats to wrestle, 75 index cards, pens
Tuesday 10-11:15
at least 10 different colors of crayons/markers
masking tape, 2 sets of speakers, 2 cds of Boy Meets Girl
2 sets of 12 copies of Handout 5
10 copies of Handout 6
Tuesday 5-5:45
Art supplies – paper, pens, markers, crayons, glue, tape, etc
Space Needs: Monday 5-5:45
Two smaller rooms, each one must fit 25 with enough room to wrestle
Tuesday 10-11:15
Need large space for 50 as well as 2 smaller spaces for 25 each
Tuesday 5-5:45
2 smaller spaces, with potential for two groups to split into four (four spaces)
Wednesday 5-5:45
Two spaces for 25 each
Maximum Number of
Participants:
In this write-up there are 50 participants, but you could have a larger group
(the whole camp) as long as you broke the campers into smaller groups (by
bunk, for example.)
Monday 5-5:45
The first session will happen in two separate rooms. The fellows will be divided by gender.
Opening Activity Time: 10 minutes wrestling
with 5 minutes debrief
Man Up: Wrestling in partners. Fellows partner up, and one fellow is in the middle. Each pair is given a
number. The goal of the game: The back person in the pair must prevent the front person from touching
the middle person on the shoulder. The middle person calls out 2 numbers. The front people in those

3. pairs desperately try to reach the center to tap the middle person’s shoulder. The back people
desperately try to restrain them. If the front person succeeds s/he becomes the new center person and
the back person in that pair becomes the new front. The center person takes the back person’s place.
Game continues for ten minutes. (This game can be played for any amount of time. It can go on for an
hour if counselors or campers are having fun with it.)
After ten minutes of play, facilitator asks fellows to sit down in a circle to debrief. Facilitator presents
biblical stories relating to competition between men. Facilitator will emphasize the importance of helping
men/boys feel physically comfortable with each other.
Woman Power: You can do the same wrestling activity. An alternate choice (if you want to model the
importance for women and girls of working together) is the “Connected Community Challenge.” In the first
round, divide the 25 person group into four smaller groups (of 6 or 7). In the next stage there are 2
groups (of 12 and 13). And finally all 25 people should be part of the connected community. The group’s
task is to create a connected community that (1) sings a song and (2) moves from one side of the room
to the other with only a specified number of feet and hands touching the ground. The number of feet is
1/3 the total number of feet in the group. And the number of hands is 1/3 the total number of hands in
the group. In the first round, each group can have 2 feet and 2 hands touching the ground. In the next
stage, each group can have 4 feet and 4 hands touching the ground. And in the final round, 8 feet and 8
hands will touch the ground. The group members must decide together on the song. But it must have a
Jewish theme and relate to their experiences as women. Everyone in the group must sing the song the
entire time the group is moving. The group members must stay connected to each other the entire time
they are moving. If they detach, they must reattach and go back to the original side of the room.
If the wrestling activity is used, the debrief time can be used to discuss competition among girls at camp
and also girls’ physical interactions with each other (girls sleeping in bunks with each other, for example).
The stories of Sarah and Hagar (Genesis 16 and 21), or Rachel and Leah (Genesis 29 and 30) could be
used to discuss competition. The story of Sarah and Hagar is included here in Text Handout 2.
For the “Connected Community Challenge,” the story of Ruth and Naomi can be used. (especially Ruth
1:16) The group can discuss how counselors can model women working together and encourage girls to
see each other as friends rather than competition for boys.
What is it like to be a man/woman at camp?
20 minutes
• Discuss active listening. Divide into pairs. Take turns answering the question: “What is it like to
be a man/woman at your camp?” Each partner has 2 minutes. Total for partner discussion: 4
minutes
• Form 2 groups of 12 or 13. Within these groups, each person introduces their partner to the
group by sharing something from their partner discussion. Each person has one minute to
introduce their partner. 12 minutes
• Debrief: 4 minutes
Closing Activity
5 minutes
Distribute index cards. Give directions. “Write down your Jewish role model on one side of this card and
on the other side give a detailed explanation of who this person is, what you admire about them, what
they’ve taught you, etc.” Collect cards. Let fellows know that the following day they will be in a co-ed
group.
In preparation for the next session, the facilitators should look through all the index cards and
organize them into “casts” of five role models. There will be 10 casts in total. Facilitators should also

4. check to make sure the role model information is clearly written and there is substantial information for
each role model. They may need to add to the index cards if information is lacking. Fellows will be acting
out scenes with these characters, so they should be grouped in interesting ways. Each cast should have
2-3 male and 2-3 female characters. Facilitators will color code the casts and then sort the index cards
into “male characters” and “female characters” piles. The female facilitator will take half of each of these
piles and the male facilitator will take the other half.
Also in preparation, facilitators should highlight different settings and genres on the copies of Handout 6
for each of the 10 groups.
Tuesday 10-11:15
The second session will be held with both genders together in the same large room.
Opening Activity
5 minutes
In the large group of 50 fellows (both genders), ask fellows to form a tight circle facing in. They will go
around the circle and say, “A situation at camp when you’ve felt empowered or disempowered” using a
few words. While fellows are doing this, the male and female facilitators will be taping index cards to
each fellow’s back. Female facilitator will tape index cards to female fellows’ backs and male facilitator
will tape index cards to male fellows’ backs. (One index card per back.) The index card should show the
side with the name of the role model. (The description should be facing in).
Mingling – Guess Your Role Model 10
minutes
After all index cards have been taped to backs, fellows will be able to mingle and ask questions or give
clues to figure out who they are (which index card they have on their back.)
Lines – Thinking about trends 10
minutes
Once fellows have figured out who they are, they should start lining up in chronological order. Once all
fellows are in order (the facilitator can check to make sure they are in order by asking each person to say
who they are and where they are in history), ask women characters to step forward, turn and look back at
the line. Then ask male characters to step forward, turn and look back. Follow this same pattern with
these prompts: alive, dead, biblical, not biblical, religious leader, secular leader. Finally have fellows
divide into geographic locations. Designate different parts of the room for different parts of the world. If
role model is from Africa go to x location in room. If they are from Europe, go to y location, etc.
Scenes and Share 25
minutes
• At this point, fellows should find their cast, based on the color coding on their index cards. They
will receive a hand-out detailing a setting, dialogue lines, prop, and genre. They must create a
scene with their 5 characters in that particular setting, using those dialogue lines, that prop and
genre. 15 minutes
• Once they’ve come up with a scene, they should share with one other cast. Casts can pair up to
share their scenes with each other. 10 minutes
Debrief 10
minutes
Break into two co-ed groups. Will need two rooms for this. Male facilitator will take half of the women and
half of the men. And female facilitator will take the other half of the women and men. In these groups of
25, facilitator will play the sound recording “Boy Meets Girl” from Free to Be You and Me. The lines of
dialogue in the scene came from this recording. This will lead into a discussion of: Who said which lines
and why? What was it like to play a character of the other gender? Who spoke more in the scene, the

5. male or female characters? What were the gender roles that were played out in the scene? How could
you use this activity to talk to fellow counselors or campers about gender at camp? How could you teach
them about Jewish role models they might not already know about?
Closing
10 minutes
Fellows should choose a partner of the other gender to discuss “What was it like to be a woman/man
today?” Explain to fellows that they should remember this information because during their next session
they will be working with their gender to create an activity for the other gender to explain what it is like to
be a man/woman at camp.
Tuesday 5-5:45
This session will be in two different rooms, with the possibility to split into four rooms. We will be divided
by gender.
Opening Activity
10 minutes
Open discussion about all the activities in the morning and how they could be brought back to camp.
Brainstorm
10 minutes
This will lead into a brainstorm session to compile a list of ideas of “What is most important to
communicate to the other group about what it means to be a woman/man at camp or what issues come
up the most, and how can we best convey that in a camp setting?”
Plan activity
20 minutes
At this point fellows will break into two groups of 12-13 each. (So there will be two female groups and two
male groups.) Each of these small groups will come up with a 10 minute activity that they will facilitate
the next day with a co-ed group. They will need to decide the content and form that the activity will take.
They can use parts of what has been presented as part of the ConTEXT pillar. The guiding question is the
same as listed above in the “Brainstorm” section.
Closing Activity 5
minutes
Each of the two groups will briefly share their plans for the next day.
Wednesday 5-5:45
Two mixed gender groups, one facilitated by female, one by male
Opening Activity 5
minutes
Partner discussion with person of other gender – What’s expected of you based on your gender at camp?
Activity Share 30
minutes
Group 1 (either women or men) presents (10 min) and debriefs (5 min)
Group 2 presents (10 min) and debriefs (5 min)
Closing
10 minutes
Go around and say one thing you will take back to your camp from everything you’ve learned in this
pillar/intensive (may need to split into two mixed gender groups of 12-13 each)

6. Recommended
Follow-Up: post
session
Fellows should find one way they can incorporate an element of this pillar at
their camp. It could be in their bunk, with their unit or with the entire camp.
Liaisons should make sure it is included in the action plan. Faculty can touch
base about this when they visit camps in the summer.

7. Man Up
Text Handout 1
Abraham was the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he took
to wife Rebekah, the daughter of Bethu'el the Aramean of Paddan-aram, the
sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 And Isaac prayed to the LORD for his wife,
because she was barren; and the LORD granted his prayer, and Rebekah his wife
conceived. 22 The children struggled together within her; and she said, "If it is
thus, why do I live?" So she went to inquire of the LORD. 23 And the LORD said to
her, "Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples, born of you, shall be
divided; the one shall be stronger than the other, the elder shall serve the
younger." 24 When her days to be delivered were fulfilled, behold, there were
twins in her womb. 25 The first came forth red, all his body like a hairy mantle;
so they called his name Esau. 26 Afterward his brother came forth, and his hand
had taken hold of Esau's heel; so his name was called Jacob. Isaac was sixty
years old when she bore them. 27 When the boys grew up, Esau was a skilful
hunter, a man of the field, while Jacob was a quiet man, dwelling in tents. 28
Isaac loved Esau, because he ate of his game; but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 Once
when Jacob was boiling pottage, Esau came in from the field, and he was
famished. 30 And Esau said to Jacob, "Let me eat some of that red pottage, for I
am famished!" (Therefore his name was called Edom.) 31 Jacob said, "First sell
me your birthright." 32 Esau said, "I am about to die; of what use is a birthright to
me?" 33 Jacob said, "Swear to me first." So he swore to him, and sold his
birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils, and he
ate and drank, and rose and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright
Genesis 27
1 When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called
Esau his older son, and said to him, "My son"; and he answered, "Here I am." 2
He said, "Behold, I am old; I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now then, take
your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field, and hunt game
for me, 4 and prepare for me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I
may eat; that I may bless you before I die." 5 Now Rebekah was listening when
Isaac spoke to his son Esau. So when Esau went to the field to hunt for game and
bring it, 6 Rebekah said to her son Jacob, "I heard your father speak to your
brother Esau, 7 'Bring me game, and prepare for me savory food, that I may eat
it, and bless you before the LORD before I die.' 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my
word as I command you. 9 Go to the flock, and fetch me two good kids, that I may
prepare from them savory food for your father, such as he loves; 10 and you shall
bring it to your father to eat, so that he may bless you before he dies." 11 But
Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, "Behold, my brother Esau is a hairy man, and I
am a smooth man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be
mocking him, and bring a curse upon myself and not a blessing." 13 His mother
said to him, "Upon me be your curse, my son; only obey my word, and go, fetch
them to me." 14 So he went and took them and brought them to his mother; and
his mother prepared savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took
the best garments of Esau her older son, which were with her in the house, and
put them on Jacob her younger son; 16 and the skins of the kids she put upon his
hands and upon the smooth part of his neck; 17 and she gave the savory food
and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 18 So he
went in to his father, and said, "My father"; and he said, "Here I am; who are you,
my son?" 19 Jacob said to his father, "I am Esau your first-born. I have done as

8. you told me; now sit up and eat of my game, that you may bless me." 20 But
Isaac said to his son, "How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?" He
answered, "Because the LORD your God granted me success." 21 Then Isaac said
to Jacob, "Come near, that I may feel you, my son, to know whether you are really
my son Esau or not." 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, who felt him and
said, "The voice is Jacob's voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau." 23 And he
did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau's
hands; so he blessed him. 24 He said, "Are you really my son Esau?" He
answered, "I am." 25 Then he said, "Bring it to me, that I may eat of my son's
game and bless you." So he brought it to him, and he ate; and he brought him
wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, "Come near and kiss
me, my son." 27 So he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his
garments, and blessed him, and said, "See, the smell of my son is as the smell of
a field which the LORD has blessed! 28 May God give you of the dew of heaven,
and of the fatness of the earth, and plenty of grain and wine. 29 Let peoples
serve you, and nations bow down to you. Be lord over your brothers, and may your
mother's sons bow down to you. Cursed be every one who curses you, and
blessed be every one who blesses you!" 30 As soon as Isaac had finished
blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his
father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also prepared savory
food, and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, "Let my father arise,
and eat of his son's game, that you may bless me." 32 His father Isaac said to
him, "Who are you?" He answered, "I am your son, your first-born, Esau." 33 Then
Isaac trembled violently, and said, "Who was it then that hunted game and
brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? --yes,
and he shall be blessed." 34 When Esau heard the words of his father, he cried
out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, "Bless me,
even me also, O my father!" 35 But he said, "Your brother came with guile, and he
has taken away your blessing." 36 Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For
he has supplanted me these two times. He took away my birthright; and behold,
now he has taken away my blessing." Then he said, "Have you not reserved a
blessing for me?" 37 Isaac answered Esau, "Behold, I have made him your lord,
and all his brothers I have given to him for servants, and with grain and wine I
have sustained him. What then can I do for you, my son?" 38 Esau said to his
father, "Have you but one blessing, my father? Bless me, even me also, O my
father." And Esau lifted up his voice and wept. 39 Then Isaac his father answered
him: "Behold, away from the fatness of the earth shall your dwelling be, and away
from the dew of heaven on high. 40 By your sword you shall live, and you shall
serve your brother; but when you break loose you shall break his yoke from your
neck." 41 Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father
had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father
are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob." 42 But the words of Esau her
older son were told to Rebekah; so she sent and called Jacob her younger son,
and said to him, "Behold, your brother Esau comforts himself by planning to kill
you. 43 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice; arise, flee to Laban my brother in
Haran, 44 and stay with him a while, until your brother's fury turns away; 45 until
your brother's anger turns away, and he forgets what you have done to him; then I
will send, and fetch you from there. Why should I be bereft of you both in one
day?" 46 Then Rebekah said to Isaac, "I am weary of my life because of the
Hittite women. If Jacob marries one of the Hittite women such as these, one of
the women of the land, what good will my life be to me?"

9. Woman Power!
Text Handout 2
Sarah and Hagar: Genesis 16 and 21
To be used with the female wrestling game
Genesis 16: Sarah mistreats Hagar, Hagar speaks to God in the wilderness
1
Now Sarai, Abram's wife, had borne him no children. But she had an Egyptian maidservant
named Hagar;
2
so she said to Abram, "The LORD has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my
maidservant; perhaps I can build a family through her." Abram agreed to what Sarai said.
3
So after Abram had been living in Canaan ten years, Sarai his wife took her Egyptian
maidservant Hagar and gave her to her husband to be his wife.
4
He slept with Hagar, and she conceived. When she knew she was pregnant, she began to
despise her mistress.
5
Then Sarai said to Abram, "You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my servant in
your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me. May the LORD judge
between you and me."
6
"Your servant is in your hands," Abram said. "Do with her whatever you think best." Then Sarai
mistreated Hagar; so she fled from her.
7
The angel of the LORD found Hagar near a spring in the desert; it was the spring that is beside
the road to Shur.
8
And he said, "Hagar, servant of Sarai, where have you come from, and where are you going?"1
"I'm running away from my mistress Sarai," she answered.
9
Then the angel of the LORD told her, "Go back to your mistress and submit to her."
10
The angel added, "I will so increase your descendants that they will be too numerous to count."
11
The angel of the LORD also said to her: "You are now with child and you will have a son. You
shall name him Ishmael2
, for the LORD has heard of your misery.
12
He will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand
against him, and he will live in hostility toward3
all his brothers."
13
She gave this name to the LORD who spoke to her: "You are the God who sees me," for she
said, "I have now seen4
the One who sees me."5
14
That is why the well was called Beer Lahai Roi6
; it is still there, between Kadesh and Bered.
15
So Hagar bore Abram a son, and Abram gave the name Ishmael to the son she had borne.7
16
Abram was eighty-six years old when Hagar bore him Ishmael.
1
This is the first time in the Torah that God speaks to a woman (and a non-Israelite woman) p. 87 Etz Hayim
bottom commentary
2
Ishmael means God hears
3
Or live to the east / of
4
Or seen the back of
5
Hagar is the only individual in the Bible (male or female) who gives God a name (El-roi) p. 88 Etz Hayim middle
commentary
6
Beer Lahai Roi means well of the Living One who sees me
7
Abby Gondek commentary: Hagar names God but not her own son.
How is internalized sexism at play in the way Sarai treats Hagar? Why does the angel tell
Hagar to go back to the abuse? Was this the right advice? “El Roi” can mean many things: God
of seeing, all seeing God, God of my seeing, God who sees me. What does it mean to really
see other women and truly be seen on a deep and true level as a woman? How often are we
seen for who we really are? How often do we feel truly understood? How can we help other
women and girls feel listened to?

10. Genesis 21: 8-20 Hagar and Ishmael Sent Away
8
The child [Isaac] grew and was weaned, and on the day Isaac was weaned Abraham held a great
feast.
9
But Sarah saw that the son whom Hagar the Egyptian had borne to Abraham was mocking,8
10
and she said to Abraham, "Get rid of that slave woman and her son, for that slave woman's son
will never share in the inheritance with my son Isaac."
11
The matter distressed Abraham greatly because it concerned his son.
12
But God said to him, "Do not be so distressed about the boy and your maidservant. Listen to
whatever Sarah tells you, because it is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.9
13
I will make the son of the maidservant into a nation also, because he is your offspring."
14
Early the next morning Abraham took some food and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar.
He set them on her shoulders and then sent her off with the boy. She went on her way and
wandered in the desert of Beersheba.
15
When the water in the skin was gone, she put the boy under one of the bushes.
16
Then she went off and sat down nearby, about a bowshot away, for she thought, "I cannot
watch the boy die." And as she sat there nearby, she began to sob.10
17
God heard the boy crying, and the angel of God called to Hagar from heaven and said to her,
"What is the matter, Hagar? Do not be afraid; God has heard the boy crying as he lies there.
18
Lift the boy up and take him by the hand, for I will make him into a great nation."
19
Then God opened her eyes and she saw a well of water. So she went and filled the skin with
water and gave the boy a drink.
20
God was with the boy as he grew up. He lived in the desert and became an archer.
8
“Mocking” or “playing” in some interpretations of the Bible, is a pun on Isaac’s name (Isaac’s name means “he
laughs”). Ishmael was “Isaacing” or “taking Isaac’s place,” according to The Jewish Study Bible (p. 44). Another
explanation is that Ishmael was being cruel and lewd, perhaps even sexually molesting Isaac (Gen. R. 53:11).
From Etz Chayim bottom commentary p. 114)
9
According to The Jewish Study Bible, it is Sarah’s protection of Isaac’s rights, rather than Abraham’s solicitude
for Ishmael, that mediates God’s will in this situation. In the Talmud, this is cited as evidence that Sarah was a
prophet (b. meg. 14a). God’s command to Abraham to “do as she says,” uses the same term with which God
rebuked Adam for obeying Eve in Genesis 3:17 – but with the opposite intent (p. 21).
10
According to The Jewish Study Bible, the narrator presupposes a child small enough to be carried by his mother.
However Ishmael was 13 before Isaac was even conceived and Isaac was already weaned (3 years old) by the
time Abraham evicts Hagar and Ishmael. This makes Ishmael at least 16 years old. Source criticism explains that
the narrative and chronology were written by two different people. A Rabbinical commentary (Gen. Rab. 53.12)
states that Sarah cast the evil eye on Ishmael to make him sick, so he was unable to walk. (pp. 44-45) Another
explanation is that the Hebrew word translated here as “child” (yeled) can be used for a youth and is
interchangeable with na-ar which can also refer both to a baby and to a young man (Etz Chayim middle
commentary, pp.114-115)
Why would Sarah act this way toward Hagar? Was she justified? How do girls exclude others or
play favorites at camp? Why did God tell Abraham to listen to Sarah? Was this the right thing
to do? Who holds the blame for exiling Hagar and Isaac? In the wrestling game, which
character does each person represent (center, partner in front trying to reach center, partner
in back trying to hold back)? What is the significance of wandering in the desert? (Hagar has
to endure it twice.) What is the significance of water? (In Chapter 16, Hagar was near a
spring.) How could you use water to bring girls together?

11. Woman Power!
Text Handout 3
Ruth Chapter 1
To be used with “Connected Community Challenge”
1
In the days when the judges ruled, there was a famine in the land, and a man from Bethlehem in
Judah, together with his wife and two sons, went to live for a while in the country of Moab.
2
The man's name was Elimelech, his wife's name Naomi, and the names of his two sons were Mahlon
and Kilion. They were Ephrathites from Bethlehem, Judah. And they went to Moab and lived there.
3
Now Elimelech, Naomi's husband, died, and she was left with her two sons. 4
They married Moabite
women, one named Orpah and the other Ruth. After they had lived there about ten years,
5
both Mahlon and Kilion also died, and Naomi was left without her two sons and her husband.
6
When she heard in Moab that the LORD had come to the aid of his people by providing food for them,
Naomi and her daughters-in-law prepared to return home from there.
7
With her two daughters-in-law she left the place where she had been living and set out on the road
that would take them back to the land of Judah.
8
Then Naomi said to her two daughters-in-law, “Go back, each of you, to your mother’s home. May the
LORD show kindness to you, as you have shown to your dead and to me.
9
May the LORD grant that each of you will find rest in the home of another husband.” Then she kissed
them and they wept aloud 10
and said to her, “We will go back with you to your people.”
11
But Naomi said, “Return home, my daughters. Why would you come with me? Am I going to have any
more sons, who could become your husbands?
12
Return home, my daughters; I am too old to have another husband. Even if I thought there was still
hope for me—even if I had a husband tonight and then gave birth to sons-
13
would you wait until they grew up? Would you remain unmarried for them? No, my daughters. It is
more bitter for me than for you, because the LORD’s hand has gone out against me!”
14
At this they wept again. Then Orpah kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her.
15
“Look,” said Naomi, “your sister-in-law is going back to her people and her gods. Go back with her.”
16
But Ruth replied, “Don’t urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, and
where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God.
17
Where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the LORD deal with me, be it ever so
severely, if anything but death separates you and me.”
18
When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her.
19
So the two women went on until they came to Bethlehem. When they arrived in Bethlehem, the
whole town was stirred because of them, and the women exclaimed, “Can this be Naomi?”
20
“Don’t call me Naomi,” she told them. “Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very
bitter.
21
I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has
afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me.”
22
So Naomi returned from Moab accompanied by Ruth the Moabitess, her daughter-in-law, arriving in
Bethlehem as the barley harvest was beginning.
Ruth and Naomi take a journey together. How was this like/unlike the process of getting your group across the
floor? How do your female campers work together? Where do you see their closeness? How could you improve
their relationships with each other? Why does Ruth stay with Naomi, but Orpah chooses to go back? Why does
Naomi feel empty when she has Ruth by her side? How can girls over-value relationships with men and under-
value relationships with women? How can this biblical relationship apply to romantic relationships between
girls? How is this approached at your camp?

12. Man Up and Woman Power
Text Handout 4
Active Listening Skills
To be used to introduce partner discussions
A good listener…
1. is non-judgmental and non-critical.
2. is aware of the nonverbal cues of the talker as well as her/his own nonverbal clues.
3. understands the main ideas of the talker.
4. listens for and is aware of the feelings of the talker.
5. uses good communication skills to encourage continued communication. These good
communication skills include reflecting back feelings, reflecting back content, open questions
that avoid yes or no response, clarifying, understanding and summarizing.

13. Man Up and Woman Power
Text Handout 5
Boy Meets Girl
Voices: Marlo Thomas and Mel Brooks
From Free to Be You and Me
Deep Voice: Hi!
High Voice: Hi.
DV: I’m a baby.
HV: What do you think I am, a loaf of bread?
DV: You could be – what do I know? I’m just born. I’m a baby. I don’t even know if I’m under a tree or
in a hospital or what. I’m just so glad to be here.
HV: Well, I’m a baby too.
DV: Have it your own way. I don’t want to fight about it.
HV: What are you, scared?
DV: Yes, I am. I’m a little scared. I’ll tell you why. See I don’t know if I’m a boy or a girl yet.
HV: What’s that got to do with it?
DV: Well, if you’re a boy and I’m a girl you can beat me up. Do you think I want to lose a tooth my first
day alive?
HV: What’s a tooth?
DV: Search me. I’m just born. I’m a baby. I don’t know nothing yet.
HV: Do you think you’re a girl?
DV: I don’t know. I’ve never been anything before. Let me see. Let me talk a little look around. Hmm.
Cute feet. Small, dainty. Yup, yup, I’m a girl. That’s it. Girltime.
HV: What do you think I am?
DV: You? That’s easy – you’re a boy.
HV: Are you sure?
DV: Of course Im sure. I’m alive already for, five minutes and I haven’t been wrong yet.
HV: Gee, I don’t feel like a boy.
DV: That’s because you can’t see yourself.
HV: Why? What do I look like?
DV: Bald. You’re bald fellow. Bald, bald, bald. You’re bald as a ping-pong ball. Are you bald?

14. HV: So?
DV: So, boys are bald and girls have hair.
HV: Are you sure?
DV: Of course, I’m sure. Who’s bald, your mother or your father?
HV: My father.
DV: I rest my case.
HV: Hmm. You’re bald too.
DV: You’re kidding.
HV: No, I’m not.
DV: Don’t look!
HV: Why?
DV: A bald girl – blech! – disgusting!
HV: Maybe you’re a boy and I’m a girl.
DV: There you go again. I told you – I’m a girl. I know it. I know it, I’m a girl, and you’re a boy.
HV: I think you’re wrong.
DV: I am never wrong! What about shaving?
HV: What about it?
DV: You just shaved right?
HV: Wrong.
DV: Exactly! Any you know why? Because everyone’s born with a clean shave. It’s just that girls keep
theirs and boys don’t.
HV: So, what does that prove?
DV: Tomorrow morning, the one that needs a shave, he’s a boy.
HV: I can’t wait until tomorrow morning.
DV: See? That proves it. Girls are patient, boys are impatient
HV: Yeah? What else?
DV: Can you keep a secret?
HV: Absolutely.
DV: There you go – boys keep secrets, girls don’t.

15. HV: Go on.
DV: Are you afraid of mice?
HV: No.
DV: I am. I’m terrified of them. I hate them. squeak. Squeak. Squeak. What do you want to be when
you grow up?
HV: A fireman.
DV: What’d I tell you?
HV: How about you?
DV: A cocktail waitress. Does that prove anything to you?
HV: You must be right.
DV: I told you – I’m always right. You’re a boy and I’m the girl.
HV: I guess so. Oh, wait – here comes the nurse to change our diapers.
DV: About time, too – I have never been so uncomfortable in my life.
HV: Hey – look at that!
DV: What?
HV: You see that? I am a girl – and you’re a boy!
DV: Hey – it sure looks like it.
HV: What do you think of that?
DV: I can’t understand it.
HV: Well it sure goes to show you.
DV: What?
HV: You can’t judge a book by its cover.
DV: Ha. Ha. Ha. What does that mean?
HV: How should I know? I’m only a baby.
DV: So am I. Goo.
HV: Goo.

16. Man Up and Woman Power
Text Handout 6
Settings, dialogue, prop, genre
For scenes/share
Each cast will be assigned to one of these settings:
• Outside bathroom
• In bunk
• In dining hall
• In kitchen
• On trail
• Low/high ropes course
• Amphitheater
• Lake
• Pool
• Camp director’s office
Each cast must use each of these lines of dialogue at least once :
• “Have it your own way! I don’t want to fight about it!”
• “Gee, I don’t feel like a boy.”
• “I can’t wait until tomorrow morning.”
• “Why? Are you scared?”
• “That’s it, girl time!”
Prop for all casts: imaginary piece of matzah.
Each cast will be assigned to one genre:
• Romantic comedy
• Family drama
• Horror
• Sci fi
• Fantasy
• Western
• Documentary
• Mocumentary
• Political satire
• Thriller/suspense