Closing Remarks by Reid Danels

As I sit here watching the Olympics just a couple hours after getting home, I can’t help but think about our time in Israel and how I wish I could be there right now. We created so many close bonds, made exciting memories, learned about our Jewish identities, grew to love Israel and gained a sense of self-confidence. The first week of touring we really became close as a group while getting to see Israel at it’s finest. I will never forget the Kotel on Friday night when I was surrounded by hundreds of Orthodox men as I prayed and put a note in the wall. It was like an obstacle course trying to weave my way out of the crowd of Orthodox men all dressed in black suits and top-hats. Along with this, the view of all of Jerusalem from afar after being blindfolded for 15 minutes was extremely powerful.  Tel Aviv, The Dead Sea and Yad Vashem were three other places we went to that gave me the feeling of why Israel is so important to me. It was such a pleasure to not only see, but experience Israel with 19 other incredible teens from Baltimore. Then as an added bonus, we were able to tour with our friends from Ashkelon, strengthening the partnership formed this past winter even further. Overall, this week of touring really made us all feel a part of Israel and it’s now like a second home to us.

            The second week was Congress, and despite the lack of quality food, it was an incredible experience. Here we learned a lot about leadership and also about ourselves. If I had to pick the most valuable lesson that I learned at Congress, I would say it’s what I learned about myself. Through many interactions with teens from other cities in the U.S. and other cities in Israel, I realized that we all are different, but our differences is what makes us the Jewish people as Avraham Infeld pointed out in his speech. We were able to make close connections with teens from other cities who I plan to keep in touch with. In fact, it was extremely sad to say good-bye to the friends we made from other cities. Coming into the trip I had no idea that we would become so close with teens from other cities, and I am very happy that we did. Overall, Congress gave us the opportunity to meet new people and create close bonds, see different perspectives and learn a lot about ourselves as Jews and as leaders.

            The third week was community week, and here is where Baltimore and Ashkelon really became Ashkemore (or Baltilon). Together, we participated in many community service activities and had many other experiences that really brought us together as a group. This includes going to each others houses at night and going to the Ashkelon beach which was beautiful, especially at night. One experience that really had an impact on me was Shabbat dinner at my host families’ house. The food was incredible, and even though the family didn’t speak great English, we were still able to have dinner table conversations as if I had been part of the family forever. It was sad to say good-bye to my match, my host family and the rest of the Israelis, but I know we will keep in touch. Some tears were shed, and it was sad to say good-bye but that moment really signified our partnership as Ashkemore, and assured me that the partnership will last forever.

            Overall, this trip was simply incredible. For all the reasons I have presented above, it was not only a lot of fun but extremely valuable in creating close bonds, enhancing our sense of belonging to Israel, teaching us a lot about leadership and also teaching us about ourselves as Jews. All of this plays into giving everyone of us a new sense of self-confidence that will be evident in everything we do, especially in giving back to this incredible Jewish community. None of this would have been possible without Megan, Danielle, Justin, Renee, everyone at the Associated and of course the other teens on the trip. To everyone I just mentioned, thank you for everything.

            

Beit Canada is always a highlight!

When we first arrived at Beit Canada, our excitement was at a minimum because of the language barrier; but similar to many of our experiences, it ended up being fantastic. We walked in the door we divided into 5 groups, each to play a different game for ten minutes of the hour rotation. As we went to the area where we would spend the rest of our time, our plan quickly changed as we moved from 5 groups to 1. The area quickly became a hair salon/playground. The guys were running around with kids on their backs and shoulders who were stealing sun glasses from the Americans while the girls were having their hair braided and tugged at by the excited Ethiopian girls. Our slow day immediately turned into a meaningful experience that none of us wanted to leave. It exceeded all expectations, and set us up for a meaningful Shabbat with our families.

-Morgan Plant and Sam Sugarman

Shabbat in Ashkelon by Rob Monfred

The whole community week in Ashkelon has been unbelievable, but Shabbat was even more special. Some went to the famous chocolate bar restaurant in Tel Aviv called Max Brenner, others went to Cinema City in Rishon Letzion, while the majority spent Friday night at their host homes for huge buffet of food from schnitzel to cous cous and Saturday on the pretty beaches. The city of Ashkelon lights up on Shabbat. Most places close down and people either stay at home with their friends and family or hit the Marina for some fun time swimming and relaxing. As the trip winds down, everyone seems to cherish every last moment with their Ashkelonian counterparts. Personally after hanging on the beach all day and eating one pound burgers with all my friends, I realized how important the Ashkemore connection is and how much I will miss being here.

Ben's morning update from Thursday August 2, 2012

In accordance with today’s theme (Israel: Past, Present, and Future), we began with a recounting of Israel’s declaration of independence. In honor of the young people who danced in the street to celebrate their new state, we woke up through a 90 minute lesson in Hora theory and practice. Our instructor, a fortysomething virile-gray type, seemed like one of those aquatic aerobics instructors who works for country club communities in Boca but was so overjoyed to be dealing with reasonably spry pupils sans-arthritis that he completely overrode any sort of dance-instructor protocols and had us execute several highly involved and creative maneuvers that forged lasting and often gymnastic connections between ourselves and our partners from Ashkelon. 

Update from Alex Green

When we first arrived in Givat Haviva for the North American Kenness, everyone was excited to make friends with 150 new people. While unfortunately this goal was unrealistic, everyone did make friends with people from all across the U.S. as well as teens from Montreal. It was strange to make friends with people from North America in a country half way around the world. We got to make deep connections with our fellow Dillers through discussions in the color groups that we were assigned to (go light green!). Although it was amazing getting to spend time with just North Americans it was great when the Israeli Dillers got to join us. This addition of 150 people was a little crazy at first, but everyone was so excited to meet new people that it was and easy adjustment. While some of the conversations that we had in our color groups were intellectually stimulating, if polled, the majority of Diller teens, if not all, would say that the best part about Congress was the opportunity we had to make connections with people our age from across North America and Israel. Because of this, we were upset to leave Givat Haviva: a place we called home for 6 days, however, no one was sad to leave the food. After we boarded the bus, two hours was what separated the Baltimore teens from entering our sister city, Ashkelon, for the first time as a group. Coming to a place we had been learning about and connecting with for a year was surreal. We went directly to a national park where we got to eat lunch at get to spend some one-on-one time with our Ashkelon friends. A few teens from Ashkelon led us in conversations on various topics. Although we loved spending time with the group, everyone was happy to have an early night and get to their match’s homes. It was so exciting getting to meet their families and finally being able to give them their presents (it lightened my bag by 7 pounds!). Everyone was happy to be with a family but in the end, I think people were just as excited to have a bed and a working air conditioner.