With a simple wink and smile, Rick Recht can make you feel like you have been friends for years. It's that kind of comfort and intimacy that he wants Jewish youth and families to cultivate with Judaism. There are many paths toward Judaism, and Recht's happens to be rock music. The modern Jewish rocker spent the past week in residence at Ramah, culminating in a ruach-filled concert that coincided with July 4th. Over the course of the week, Recht worked in many different settings, including tefillot, jamming with the camp bands, harga'ot (evening activities to help kids wind down before bed) and small workshops. "I got a real birds' eye view of camp life," he says. "I see how engaged campers and staff are across the board, in different paradigms" around camp.
 
Recht's musical career began in college towns across the country, playing traditional rock tunes. Eventually, he made the switch to Jewish music and currently performs over 150 concerts per year, both in the US and abroad. He was last at Camp Ramah in California several summers ago. What's so unique about camp, and specifically Ramah, he says, is "how Ramah packages Judaism in informal settings, yet anchors the deepest aspects of Judaism in all these settings." This format "makes studying, worship, band practice, and just hanging out all meaningful." He remarks on the "consistent integration of staff and campers here" and marvels at how the tzevet (staff) is integrally involved in all activities. "No one told me this," he continues. "It's just obvious. And it makes for a happier staff."
 
A little over two years ago, Recht started a non-profit organization called Judaism Alive (www.judaismalive.org), whose mission is to "strengthen Jewish identity and connection in youth through their love of music, musical instruments, and online interaction," according to the website. "Music is integrated into our culture," says Recht. "Our youth is supercharged by music." Yet, continues Recht, "the Jewish world underutilizes music as a tool and underutilizes Jews who play instruments." The Christian world has used music as a springboard for religious involvement for years, Recht notes, with mainstream rock music delivering Christian values and bringing together young people. Furthermore, studies show that "music diagnostically creates the most impact on youth-more than family, religion, moral values or fashion." Since the inception of Judaism Alive, Recht has served as its professional fundraiser, raising hundreds of thousands of dollars.
 
Judaism Alive's flagship program is Jewish Rock Radio, "the first high-caliber, 24/7 national Jewish internet rock radio station available through free, online broadcast," set to launch in September 2010. Currently, Internet radio is the fastest growing form of media, with over 90 million American listeners, predominantly people in their late '30s. Over one million of these listeners are Jews, but until now there has been no Jewish portal into the fast-growing world of Internet radio.
 
Jewish Rock Radio will feature both American and Israeli artists, as well as new composers in rock, pop, hip hop and rap formats. The station will also broadcast "interviews with youth talking about cool ways of engaging in Jewish life." These mini-talk shows--three-minute segments broadcast approximately once per hour--will highlight opportunities for youth to engage in Jewish life, such as Israel trips, tikkun olam projects and Hillel campus programs. Recht conducted several such interviews this week while at Ramah, one of which with Rosh Nitzanim Rebecca Schatz about her experiences with a Jewish a cappella singing group on her college campus. Proprietary apps for iPhone and Android phones to access Jewish Rock Radio are also in the works. The end result of these efforts will be the first "global channel for Jewish youth to communicate" with each other.
 
Recht also recently launched Songleader Bootcamp in partnership with the St. Louis Jewish Community Center. The goal is to "teach people how to teach Judaism through music," says Recht. "We examine the psychology and physiology and strategy behind the powerful execution of songleading," he continues. "Participants walk out with a roadmap of the skills and resources they need to be effective songleaders." The first Bootcamp had  40 participants, and the next one will have 80, with 28 hours of workshops over 2� days of intense leadership training.
 
Made possible by generous donations from the Freeman, Monkarsh, Resnick and Rosen families, Recht's concert in Ramah's beautiful outdoor Jacoby amphitheater definitely brought star power to Ramah's fourth of July festivities. Recht was assisted onstage by drummer Dennis Stringfield and bass player Logan Deterling, and was joined on stage by groups of Ramahniks throughout the evening. "I consider myself an educator," Recht explains. "Music is my tool. The rock concert is the paradigm." Recht's tried-and-true formula medleys together original Jewish music, traditional Jewish music and American pop and rock. "I want to max people out on ruach," he says, using the Hebrew word for "spirit." Recht's goal is that, when people walk out of his concert, "they are permanently different, they have a stronger Jewish identity, a stronger sense of community, and that Judaism is exciting and cool."
 
Check out the July 5 section of our website photo album for photos of Rick Recht's concert.