​We can't wait to see you back in Oconomowoc for our 33rd year, May 18 - 21, 2025!​​

If you cannot attend this year but would like to support our work with songleaders of all ages, please click here.

We have put together an amazing faculty, and while a few parts of the programmatic flow might change,  we invite you to take a look at the program from Hava Nashira 2024 to get a sense of the schedule, the courses offered in 2024, and what our program looked like at Greene Family Camp in Bruceville, Texas.

 

The program is nearly identical at OSRUI in Wisconsin—different atmosphere, weather (!) and facilities, but the same wonderful learning and people. Of course, there is nothing like singing together on camp!
 

Please make sure to join our Hava Nashira Facebook page to stay connected and meet newcomers. This is a great place for you to find a roommate, arrange group transportation, and crowdsource resources.

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Limited scholarship dollars are available to offset costs, particularly for first timers and for songleaders and musicians who do not have professional development or congregational dollars.

 

*Unique scholarship dollars are set aside to help any Camp Songleader attend. Please read here for more information.

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Hava Nashira 2025 Camp Songleaders Track
 

Sing Unto God is offering  a 2-day songleader intensive track for those 18 & older who will be working in Jewish camps in overnight or day camps for Summer 2025. The registration fee is $630 and includes attendance at all of the Hava Nashira Jewish Songleaders Conference, PLUS the special dedicated camp songleader track for 2-days prior to the Conference.  
 

Participants will learn repertoire and skills, be part of a supportive cohort, and experience the joy of singing together, led by three experts in camp songleading: Jacob "Spike" Kraus, Deb Winter, and Eric Hunker. And, they'll have a chance to network with Jewish communal professionals from across North America.
 

The full experience runs May 16 - 21. Camps/songleaders will be responsible for their own transportation. If you have questions, you can email Rosalie.
 

Scholarship is available to ensure that any camp songleader who wants to come, can. Please see the scholarship page.

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More About Hava Nashira

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Hava Nashira, the first professional gathering dedicated to Jewish songleading when launched in 1992, was built by Olin-Sang-Ruby Union Institute (OSRUI) and URJ Camping, led by the visionaries Debbie Friedman (z"l) and Cantor Jeff Klepper. The Union for Reform Judaism maintains its historic commitment to Hava Nashira, and supports it through a lead sponsorship.

 

The conference has evolved over its 30+ years. From about 20 people in 1992 to more than 130 in 2024, and from a focus solely on camp songleading in the Reform Movement to the addition of music for children and families, deep spiritual worship and percussion, chant and new sounds in Jewish life, the program always grows to meet the current and future vision of singing in Jewish spaces. 

 

Hava Nashira now sits at an intersection of movements and denominations, of expressions of Jewish living, and gathers teachers from across the Jewish world, along with participants who value gathering to share the best thinking about where worship and communal singing can take us together. The conference is always held at a summer camp site, giving participants the space and the setting to recharge, connect with nature, and dream big. 

 

Hava Nashira invites its community to become translators of the powerful repertoire, learning, and worship styles presented during the conference. The program and teaching staff is committed to not only nourishing the souls of those who attend with joyful and uplifting prayer and song sessions, but also to giving you skills, resources, and best principles to bring home to your teams, so you can move your sacred communities along on their unique journey toward more meaningful worship and richer communal singing.

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At its heart, Sing Unto God and all of our events and programs are about building Jewish community and supporting those who lead communities of their own. We look forward to building it with you at Hava Nashira and all year around!