First Diller Shabbaton.... AMAZING!!

To say that the 2011-2012 Diller Baltimore Teen Fellows first Shabbaton was amazing is an understatement... please read a summary below written by Leah Gold. Please also scroll down to see lots of amazing pictures (they are not in chronological order.... I am still learning how to post on this blog!) taken by Sophia Goldman.   

If you were to ask any of my Diller peers I think we would all agree that we could write an entire book about this weekend's Shabbaton. Yet I think we would also all agree that we would like to finish reading this blog sometime before our next retreat. Our adventures began when we all met at the Pearlstone Retreat Center at 4:00pm on Friday afternoon. We soon learned that we all had a mutual feeling that the past week of school work was tough and junior year is proving itself to be very stressful and overwhelming. However we did distinguish, that our Diller group is a place where we can leave all of our stress at the door, be ourselves, and have fun.

            Our evening was filled with too many activities to name. We started off with learning how to give the proper greeting, with the help of a fellow CSI alumna, Sam Kahan. We learned about good eye contact and a sturdy hand shake. We all explained to each other the importance of first impressions and good reputations and how we do not only represent ourselves but we represent our program. In addition to our lesson, we played a game in which we matched a funny fact to the roommate we were assigned. Everyone received a piece of paper with a different fact and it was up to us to find our roommate and settle in our rooms. After our delicious Shabbat dinner, Miriam led us all in a beautiful Shabbat service. As the night continued, eyes became drowsy as everyone was exhausted from all the excitement, but our tired faces were easy to fix with a little sugar. When we returned back to our rooms, we all talked, played ping-pong, and our unique version of foosball in a designated lounge area, candy and soda abound. Once midnight rolled around, we were tucked into bed by our fellow Junior Counselors, only to be awakened in a few hours.

            Our time to sleep was not long enough as our Junior Counselors woke us up at 8:15 with way too much excitement. Once we ate breakfast, we performed our Saturday morning service in the form of Yoga. Downward dog and other poses proved to be difficult and sometimes painful, but meditation served as a nice prayer. Following yoga, our Junior Counselors, Justin and Danielle, led the group in many fun improve activities. The rest of the day was filled with down time where girls challenged boys in a game of football, some people painted nails, and others did homework. Around 3:00 we all headed outside to do some outdoor activities with Lily Blake and ropes course activities in which we all learned how to work together.

            After our second delicious night of Pearlstone dinner, Megan had us do an activity about what certain types of Jewish values mean to  each one of us. This activity created great discussions and heated debates and taught us how to respect each other's views and opinions, even if they are different from our own. But to be honest, we were all truly anxious for the last activity of the night, the bonfire. We had our very own musical entertainment for the night, the great musician Ben Miller, and the great Diller Choir that accompanied him. Of course it couldn't have been such an amazing night without the talent of our fire-builder, Morgan Plant, and of course the company of graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate. It was a pretty perfect night, if I do say so myself, and almost magical how close we had all become in such a short amount of time.

            Luckily for Megan, we never wanted to part, and we never wanted to go to sleep either. Eventually, we returned to our beds, ready for the Israeli Advocacy Day the next morning. Wake up was early once again, as we left Pearlstone and headed to the JCC. The whole morning we learned about the history of Israel and especially Baltimore's relationship with Ashkelon. This event was a great chance to represent Diller for the amazing program it is, and it is the least to say that everyone was very impressed with our attendance and interest in Israel.

            Over all, I guess I can summarize the weekend and what we learned with these last few words. We truly came together this weekend and now we are all extremely excited for this upcoming year together. We all know it is going to be challenging, and a lot of work, but it is incredibly comforting to know that now we have each other. 

Reflection about the retreat from Robert Monfred!

This weekend, we participated in many enriching and fun activities that helped the group bond. These activities ranged from improv to just playing some pickup football. We all bonded as a group and learned about how to work together. This weekend set a high standard for what the rest of the year will bring. Everyone definitely seemed to have a very good time and brought a good attitude in everything we did. 

More photos!

More pictures from the Shabbaton

Pictures from our first Shabbaton....

Diller Baltimore 2nd Seminar!

The 2nd Diller Seminar Summary... written by Morgan Plant!

On this wonderful Sunday, the Diller Teen Fellows met at Eva Cohen's house for our second seminar. The goal of this seminar was to begin easing into our service projects. We arrived at 4:30 and began with an icebreaker in which we described an aspect of ourselves through our cell phones. We met Justin Hayet, one of our Junior Counselors, and began our first activity, a self-evaluation. I found it very impressive how focused we were and how quickly we got the evaluation done, you may not think the same. After completing the evaluation, we had dinner, in which we ate falafel pizza, and formally met Danielle Gelber, the other Junior Counselor. We then split up into groups to put together a puzzle. Discovering that there was one piece missing from all the puzzles, we discussed the challenges we have to face and that in order to succeed we must deal with that we are given and make the most out of every situation. We also discussed how this is related to our service projects and how we are helping to better the world. Upon the arrival of Cara Mazor and Neta Shwartz, two Diller alumni, we again split up into groups to discuss our service projects. We talked about each other's prospective projects, how to attract volunteers, how to overcome the troublesome time, and the grant process. In order to take a little break, we played the compliment game (please ask about what the game is all about- it's a lot of fun!). After getting off to a slow start, Leah and Reid proved to be the most worthy competitors, but Danielle lived up to expectations and was our champion. We ended the night by briefly discussing the upcoming Shabbaton and the Israeli seminar following it.

Diller Baltimore Teen Fellows 2011-2012 First Seminar!

First seminar update written by Eva Cohen!

On September 11th, we had our first Diller seminar (hosted by the Gold family)! We opened up the meeting on a sad note when we discussed 9/11 and our memories of that day. After, we played some fun mixers (such as The Way the Wind Blows) to get to know each other and make up for missing our opening retreat. During our dinner break, we did a quick community service project:  decorating cards to accompany hand made knit hats and gloves for future donations in the winter (the cards will be part of winter care packages that will be put together by community members on Mitzvah Day – on December 25th). We then listened and spoke with our guest speaker, Kathy Shapiro, who shared with us her story of community service, helping someone, and overcoming her fear. She taught us to "not always do the easy thing". After her moving story, we met with the Diller fellows from last year. We had a chance to talk to each one of them about different specific aspects of Diller. They all had great advice about what to do for this upcoming year and got us excited about everything that we get to look forward to (especially Israel!).

Update from Alex Kadish

After our first full day of action during the community week
yesterday, it's safe to say that just about everyone was ready for a
good night's sleep. The schedule for the day, meticulously planned by
three of our Israeli counterparts, was jam packed with a variety of
activities. Though many of us had stayed up late hanging out with each
other at the Ashqelon "Marina" the night before, our morning started
at eight sharp with teambuilding activities followed by an exclusive
informational meeting at the city municipality led by Ashqelon's
deputy mayor. A quick tour of the city's volunteer center, funded
primarily by Baltimoreans, gave way to truly the most eye opening and
rewarding experience of the trip that I've had so far. The emotional
experiences of the Kotel and Yad Vashem paled in comparison to the
connection I felt when we visited Beit Canada, an immigration
absorption center geared towards Ethiopian Jews. I felt as though I
had stepped into another world when we entered the gates of the
complex and came to a courtyard where dozens, maybe seventy kids were
waiting for us to play games with them or paint their faces. Able to
speak a pretty solid amount of Hebrew, I made an attempt at conversing
with the kids, ranging in age from 3 to around 15 or 16. I found that,
much to my amazement, many of the Ethiopians living in Beit Canada had
only been there for a few months, some only a few weeks. Their level
of adjustment to the unfamiliar surroundings and language that faced
them was enough to convince even the most skeptical of the sense of
belonging that Israel inspires. Falling into a rhythm of painting
hearts, flowers, and sad excuses of butterflies, I was taken aback
when the kids starting requesting that I brand them with such slogans
as "I love Ethiopia" across their arms. Alongside this tribute to the
homeland they so recently abandoned, many of the kids asked that we
draw Jewish stars as an obvious nod to their new home. Hopefully, our
afternoon in Beit Canada educated us all in the power and importance
of perseverance and positivity.

Update from Rebecca Abbott

After a meaningful, fun, energy-filled past week, our Diller Congress
ended yesterday. Our whole group really enjoyed meeting the other
North American and Israeli Diller Teen Fellows and participating in
discussions relevant to us as international young Jewish leaders. In
addition, we learned about opportunities to extend our leadership and
actually utilize our skills after Diller in being a Junior Counselor
for a future Diller Baltimore cohort. Furthermore, speakers from the
umbrella organization Masa Israel Programs and Aardvark Israel
Programs spoke to us about the opportunity to do a gap year or
semester in Israel.

Finally saying good-bye to all of our fellow delegations, Ashkemore
hopped on the bus and headed to Ashkelon! Many of us took this
opportunity to nap as we had gone to sleep late after Teen Zula and
woken up early. We were all so excited to arrive in Ashkelon, our
sister city, and the home of our matches.

First, we visited a really nice playground and park that we soon
learned was actually sponsored by the Associated. After seeing the
familiar ASSOCIATED insignia on the playground sign, the
Baltimore-Ashkelon partnership became real to me. No longer were we
Israelis visiting America and vice versa, but two communities with an
active, mutually beneficial relationship.

Next, we arrived to the Ifergan household, where Bar's family (Taylor
Miller's match) welcomed us with a delicious meal. A little more
rested, Ashkemore gathered in a circle to play a few games and then
headed out to our host families' houses. The Israelis also gave us
welcome bags full of food and other goodies to enjoy. After a shower
and a quick visit to the Marina (the pier), Ashkemore finally returned
to our respective houses for a good night's sleep.

Though our Community Week remains our last week of the Israel Summer
Seminar, I feel so grateful and appreciative to stay here and
experience Ashkelon. After visiting the "highlights" of Israel, the
glamorous surface of the country, I now feel as though I am truly
learning about Israeli culture. Baltimore Teen Fellows are
experiencing the reality and everyday life of Israelis through the
Ashkelon teens; we see how Israelis eat, sleep, walk around, hang out
with friends, practice Judaism, and participate in community service
in their hometown. For me, the Community Week has finally brought the
Baltimore-Ashkelon partnership Diller experience full circle.
~ Rebecca Abbott

Ashkelon update from Michael Ginsburg

After arriving to the Ifergan household for a lovely dinner, Baltimore teens were off with their families to begin the homestays. That same night, everyone met at the marina where we spent time enjoying all kinds of foods, beaches and immersing ourselves into Israeli culture. Now, it’s about 3 o’clock in the afternoon and we are at the teen youth center making tables and chairs out of recycled items. Everyone loves their families, and the general consensus is that Israeli parents trump American ones- thus, we are never coming home. Just kidding. But we all do indeed love our families, and they have been very accommodating. Earlier in the day, Ashkemore went to BEIT Canada where Ethiopian children stay and learn English (or Hebrew?). We played soccer, bowling and other little activities with the kids that also included face painting. Community week has certainly started off well, and we are looking forward to making an impact on the greater Ashkelon community!

More Pictures of Pre- and Post-Shabbat