Second day of Kennes

Blog written by: Erin Sullivan and Danny Offermann

Today was our second day at the North American Kennes. We started the day with our tribe groups wrapping up and synthesizing yesterday's discussion on the journey of the Jews. We spoke about our connection to North American Jewry and the values encompassed within it. We attempted to determine the five defining values of North American Jews. Finding this challenging, we learned that even within the North American communities, Judaism has no exact definition. This realization was further extrapolated on by our keynote speaker Avraham Infeld, who spoke to us about his own journey as a Jew and presented us with a fresh perspective on what it means to be Jewish. Mr. Infeld captivated us with his enthusiasm and wit, but importantly, he challenged each of us to expound on our personal definition of Judaism. Following the lecture, we had lunch and a lengthy break. It was really nice to relax and enjoy our time together. The pool here at Givat Haviva was open and many of us scampered to the watering hole for some fun in the sun. Others took the time to catch up on some much needed sleep. Regardless, we all returned to programming feeling well rested and rejuvenated. After dinner we had the unique experience of attending a performance by singer/story teller Robby Greengrass.  He told us of his own experiences in Israel and succeeded in opening our eyes to the reality of being an Israeli. We also had a great time dancing to his catchy and inspirational songs! We then returned to our tribes and spent the evening discussing what makes Israel special to us personally and us as a people. We finished the night with our Baltimore Maagal Lilah, in which we talked about our family histories in the city as well as our connections to our hometown. Now we taking advantage of the "teen hangout time" at regal white tent, complete with snacks and music. Can't wait to see the Israelis tomorrow!! 

North American Kennes presentation

You must check out this YouTube video of their amazing presentation. Edgar Allan Poe has nothing on us!

http://youtu.be/hp-Fw_wuXs8

Pictures from our last day in Ashkelon

North American Kennes

Written by: Elise Shanholtz

This morning was a sad one for the Baltimore kids. As many of you know, today we left Ashkelon to embark on our short journey to Givat Haviva for the North American Kennes. I know for many of the Baltimore kids, the morning was filled with sad goodbyes to many of the parents as we packed our bags and checked our rooms one last time for our belongings. We then headed over to the volunteer center for one last Community Week program led by Megan, which discussed the difficulties of translating ancient Jewish text to English, and how many important concepts can be lost in translation. After, we loaded the bus and said our goodbyes to our Israelis, though we would only be without them for a couple days. 

Halfway to Givat Haviva we picked up the Los Angeles cohort which kicked off the amazing experience of meeting other Diller teens. When we arrived at the campus, we had a short tour of the beautiful grounds and received our room assignments. Later in the afternoon, we had our Kennes opening ceremonies, in which each cohort had the opportunity to make a 90 second presentation. I may be biased, but our cohort's presentation was stellar. 

The Baltimore teens were then split up into 13 different groups, or tribes, consisting of teens from several other cohorts. These tribes are the groups of people that we will be spending most of our time with in seminars and discussions over the next 7 days. 

At night, the teens have the option to either go to rooms and relax, or go to the "White Tent", which holds activities, food, and of course, other teens! White Tent gives us the chance to talk to the other Diller Fellows in a more relaxed and casual environment. Overall, today's experience was overwhelming, yet extremely fun and spirited.

Reflection of the Community Week

Home Hospitality Week

Written By: Sara Sefret 

These past seven days were full of endless laughter, sleepless nights, and unforgettable moments.  As we arrived in Ashkelon, some were nervous and anxious while others were incredibly excited and ready to jump off the bus into the arms of their matches.  Seeing them for the first time in four months made us feel like they never left Baltimore.  We felt as though we had truly arrived back home to our parents and siblings that were about to become our own.  This entire week flew by in the blink of an eye and these past 192 hours of community service, volunteering, seminars, and irreplaceable memories with lifelong friends accumulated into what seems to be one LONG day.  I feel as though we can all agree that our host families took us in as one of their own.  They fed us endless amounts of food, resupplied us with any toiletries or items we left at home, and loved us as if we had lived there for the past 17 years. Being able to connect on so many different levels with all of the Israelis and then refocusing that energy into each and every one of our activities made this week worthwhile.  Whether we were helping those less fortunate by packaging food for Shabbat meals or coloring with precious Ethiopian immigrants, we were able to bond with one another in ways we would have never been able to experience if it weren't for this program.

Last day of community week....

Last day in Ashkelon

Written by: Maddie Terrill

Our last day in Ashkelon began with volunteering at the local community center. We were able to expose children of all ages to English songs, games, and numerous other activities. The kids expressed amazement in the fact that each and everyone of us was able to speak English. After finishing our activities, the community center director, Carol, gave us a tour of the center and described the different types of people they aim to direct their services to. Luckily, we were able to watch another group of children perform their dance piece that they have been working on in summer camp. Shortly after leaving the community center we arrived at the marina where a yacht awaited us. Much of the time on the yacht was spent enjoying each others company and observing the unforgettable scenery. During our boat rid we had a chance to reflect on our community week and discuss the relationship that we have been able to maintain with the Israelis since the North American seminar. Following the yacht ride, we took part in a sand castle competition that served as a fun and exciting part of our day. Hours later we returned to Anat's house, an Israeli Diller fellow, and celebrated an amazing and successful week planned by all of the Diller teens! Although saying goodbye was not easy, we found comfort in the fact that it would not be long until we saw our Israeli friends at Congress! 

A short note from Megan...

Tonight was our closing dinner for the community week. We will be boarding the bus at 11:30am tomorrow to head North to Givat Haviva to begin the Diller North American Kennes. 

I wanted to leave a short note to say that I have been completely blown away by ALL your teens. Their talent, energy, passion and enthusiasm has been incredible. It has been so inspiring to work with them and to be a part of their journey. I can only imagine what our future holds with them being the leaders of our community. 

Everyone is happy and healthy and I know that we are all having life changing movements (including myself).

We will update the blog with our last day in Ashkelon sometime tomorrow.

Lilah Tov (goodnight) from Ashkelon! 

Megan 

Sunday Funday in Ashkelon!!!

Sunday July 28, 2013

Blog written by: Danny Offermann

Our Sunday morning began with a group discussion on the immigration to Israel and the United State's involvement with the major Ethiopian migration. We were at Beit Canada, a special center for Ethiopian immigrants to assimilate into Israel. After being seperated into groups we were each matched with children for fun activities. My group made oragami swans and boats! The children only spoke Hebrew which at first made it difficult to bond with them, but after I made my swan a cow-swan and my boat into a rocketship we started to bond more. 

We then went outside and ran around with the kids, playing tag and soccer, carrying them on our backs and enjoying the summer day. It was hard to say goodbye to them because they were so adorable! We then heard from one of the employees at Beit Canada about all of the great things that the center does.

After lunch we went back to the community center amd had a discussion about immigration to Israel and our thoughts on the matter. Finally after a long week of thought provoking activities we were given a bit of a break and spent the afternoon at the mall! It was very cool to see how their mall differed from the ones we have back home and we all had a great time walking around shopping. For a bit of fun I walked around to each shoe store with Gilad and had him ask if they had my size, 49.5 cm (or 15 if you prefer american sizes) and watched with glee as the employee's eyes would widen in wonder and jump over the counter to see if it was true.

We then went home for a bit and got ready for the International Dinner. Each member in our group brought a dish represantative of their own culture for all other to try. Needless to say it was delicious and I had no choice but to use two plates. We then watched two wonderful dance preformances, one two elegant ballerinas and the other a more so "edgy" hip-hop group. It was a great way to end a wonderful day in our sister city.