Shabbat is a special time at camp. Not only do we have festival and inclusive/interactive services, amazing Challah, soup and brisket for dinner, and a lively and meaningful Shira (song session), but also every Saturday, after services/before lunch and again after dinner, the campers are offered a one-hour low-key Shabbat elective (“shalective”) to help enhance the Shabbat feeling in camp. The shalectives are run by our visiting faculty, staff, and special guests. One of the shalectives offered this week was Jewish Dungeons and Dragons.
What is Jewish Dungeons & Dragons?
We 
sat down with Jeremy Arcus-Goldberg who came to Sci-Tech this Shabbat as a guest shalective instructor. Jeremy brought his original program of Jewish Dungeons & Dragons. The campers’ adventure, called “The Howl of Havdalah,” adapted a folk tale in which a mystical Rabbi encountered a werewolf. The players explored a shtetl for clues and searched for the items needed to perform the Havdalah ritual leading to important decisions on how to separate “the holy from the hairy”.
What made you combine Judaism and D&D?
I grew up in a home that celebrated Judaism with joy and community. But I found that my experiences in synagogues, religious school, and even college classrooms, were dry and uninspired. Meanwhile, I found that games such as D&D were fun activities and a time to be creative and build friendships. As I learned about Jewish legends and the many levels of interpretation of Jewish holidays, I found it more and more exciting and successful to bring these two worlds together. My games of Jewish D&D play out like an exercise of making modern midrash (rabbinic stories). They begin with interesting aspects of a Jewish text or cultural event and to add meaning and connection to expand the story.
You’ve run this program at lots of different places, how was your experience running it with the campers a Sci-Tech?
The campers in my groups at Sci-Tech ranged from first-time players to already experienced Dungeon Masters. The group showed a tremendous amount of respect and enthusiasm to include this wide variety of skill levels. Best of all, was the Jewish creativity shown by the campers. Who would have thought that the players would invent a way to attack the villain with a Matzo Ball thrown with the speed and accuracy of Sandy Koufax?!
How can campers continue playing Jewish D&D?
Campers can play Jewish D&D anytime, anywhere, because it is a game of creativity which Sci-Tech campers showed me they have plenty of! They all kept their character sheets, and I hope they are inspired by other Jewish parts of Sci-Tech like the Hebrew Word of the Day and lessons during Sci-Tech Torah Thursdays. Outside of the camp, I run a monthly group in White Plains where teens help to plan the JD&D adventures and then run them for groups of younger players. I have travelled to many communities to lead programs (and online programs too) so be in touch so we can keep playing!
Jeremy Arcus-Goldberg, has a Master of Arts in Teaching in Elementary Education from Brandeis University, a Master’s Degree in Jewish Studies and Spirituality from Siegal College of Cleveland, and a BA in Philosophy and Religion from Boston University. He enjoys teaching through hands-on experiences including leading backpacking trips in Connecticut, California, Israel, and other places. www.arcusgoldberg.yolasite.com