Diller Youth Congress - here we are!!

Today we arrived at the Diller Congress!! We met the other delegations and watched some videos on Israel and the projects of some of the teens from other cities. Then we were split up into groups and played tons of ice breakers and get-to-know-others games. Don’t worry mom and dad—we’ll teach you how to play them when we get home… So far we’ve met tons of new people (mostly from within our groups but the number of new facebook friends will only increase as the week continues!)

*beware: some teens are steadily approaching 1000!

The next few days will be full of meeting new friends, not only from North America but from Israel too! Who knows, maybe by Friday we’ll even gain an extra few friend requests from the Israeli soldiers on campus (of course we won’t accept until after Shabbos!!). Until next time…………..

-Danielle Gelber

getting pumped for our hike up Masada!!!!

Meeting the Israeli!

wake up was at 3:30AM!

Israel has been an unforgettable experience so far and it is crazy that just about half of the trip is already over. Our latest experience was climbing Masada and spending the night in the desert without luxuries such as a bathroom or a comfortable bed to sleep in. Even thought we had to wake up at 3:30 in the morning to start climbing Masada it was completely worth it because once we reached the top and saw the sunrise all of the hard work and tiring journey was worth it. It was incredible to see how history has been preserved in Masada and I think I speak for all of us when I say that I felt so lucky to be there. When we first arrived at the desert we would be sleeping at, we were told that we would be making our own dinner. The staff told us we were making a dish called poyke which is basically a big pot that you put anything in like vegetables, meat, and anything else. At first I was a little worried about how a meal that 40 teens made would turn out but it ended up being delicious. What was even better though was the process of preparing the meal. It was a great bonding experience to work together and cut vegetables, make salad, and prepare all of the ingredients of the dish. After dinner and our nightly night circle we went stargazing. Stargazing was by far my favorite experience so far because it was just outstanding to stand in a desert looking up at the open sky and just not have to worry about anything. Later, when we had to go to sleep we all just stayed up talking because we only have so much time to spend time with the Israelis and it was a great way to end the night. I am so glad that we are not only Baltimore and Ashkelon, but Ashkemore and I am excited to see how much more connected we will all be by the end of this trip.

-Lishai Purrio

Dead Sea fun!

Shabbat in Jerusalem... meeting up with the Israelis.. having a blast!

Our Israel experience thus far has been one to remember. While in Jerusalem, we had the opportunity to experience Shabbat in the holiest city in the world. To start off the morning, the twenty of us separated into three groups to attend different synagogues. Being a lifelong member of Beth Tfiloh myself, I decided to go to the Reform synagogue in order to have a new experience. May it be the strumming of the guitar, the joyful tone in the congregants’ voices, or the delicious Kiddush the service was followed by, my visit to the Reform synagogue of Jerusalem was definitely memorable. Following this service, the twenty Dillers got a tour around the old city by our knowledgeable tour guide, Pauline. Pauline explained each site in depth and even intertwined some fun activities into the tour. This excursion was not only informative, but entertaining too! After some down time in the hotel, the group met for havdallah to conclude the Sabbath. Together we sang and played an enjoyable game of high-low. By each fellow elaborating on both their favorite part of the trip and their least favorite part, this game turned into a great reminiscing session. Upon concluding Havdallah, the twenty of us were given free time on Ben Yehudah Street to shop, eat and meet up with family or friends. Personally, I met up with one of my best friends and her family with Rachel Safferman and Gabe Zuckerberg. Excitedly expounding on our summer, we realized just how many quality stories we had compiled in just one week. The next morning we woke up ready to embrace the day we had been anxiously anticipating ever since we had arrived; the day we would finally reunite with our beloved Israeli counterparts. In a matter of moments, the twenty members of the Baltimore group became a group of forty to collectively form Ashkemore.

-Erin Miller

Just a few pictures... more posts and pictures will be up later!