Somehow, over two months have passed since we welcomed our Israelis into New Jersey. With that said, only three weeks, (remain before our much anticipated trip to visit them. Between questions about packing, Kennes/Congress, the flight, the food, and basically any last detail you can think of, the Metrowest Diller 5 Cohort embarked on what would be our very last official meeting before Israel.
With school over with and summer just beginning, everyone was excited to begin the summer the best way possible: with a Diller event, of course! At four o’clock in the afternoon on Friday, Dillers began to arrive at our palace - the Sheraton Hotel in Parsippany, where we were greeted by Leah, Max, Aliza, and our newest honorary Diller member, Leah Weiss. Leah W., or “L-Dubbs”, will also be accompanying us to Israel.
To begin the weekend, Max led us off in a new game that he participated in at college orientation, and the game involved much more thinking then we had expected at first. First, Max made a list of different objects he could put under an umbrella, like "uggghhh a pool", "ugghhh some sunglasses", and "uhhh Harrison Angoff". We went around the room from Diller to Diller guessing as to what other objects could also fit under the umbrella. I won’t give away the answer to the game, but we had a lot of fun playing and we’re glad Max introduced us to it.
Afterwards, as promised, we had quite a while to ourselves for free time and to prepare for Shabbat. First, of course, we all went to put our things away in our hotel rooms, where we were lead to find some Israeli chocolate and chopsticks from Leah from her latest trip to Asia! Then, from the pool, to the weight room, to our hotel rooms, the Dillers wandered around the Sheraton until it was time for Kabbalat Shabbat led by Max and Aliza. We welcomed the Sabbath by learning about different parts of the service and relating it to our own lives by giving our own opinions on what we felt certain parts meant. In addition, we tried to think of popular songs that matched these opinions. It was extremely different from a typical Shabbat service, but that is what Diller is all about!
During dinner, we were joined by two guests, Rachel Lazar and Hilary Levine. Rachel and Hilary are mentores for our Tikkun Olam Projects. After dinner, we had some time to spend with Tikun Olam partners - and our mentor - to discuss the steps we need to take to follow through with our Tikkun Olam Projects. We’re all looking forward to having these projects completed so we can truly make steps to repairing the world.
On Saturday, after a wake up call and some breakfast, the Dillers took part in Shabbat Yoga with Alice. Alice has an amazing gift, and through it, we were able to truly center ourselves and focus on the day ahead of us by spending the time stretching and relaxing all while relating our meditation to Shabbat Shal(om). With that said, Meditation with Max is still one of our all time favorite Diller Shabbat activities.
After meditating with Alice, we continued our Shabbat discussion with a Parshat Hashavua Workshop. In the workshop, we
discussed the role of leadership between Moses, and Korach. Korach questioned why Moses should be leader, finding it unfair that Moses was not only the leader, but the one who spoke to G-d and whose brother was the Kohen Gadol/Highest Priest. Korach then gathered a group of followers and prepared to rebell Moses’ role as leader, but G-d had him and his followers swallowed up by the Earth for challenging Moses and Aaron’s positions as leaders. Together, we discussed what was wrong about Korach’s actions to become leader. The letter “Hey” in Hebrew is made up of three small lines that represent Thinking, Talking, and Doing; the three main characteristics that make up the best kind of a leader, someone who thinks and speaks before doing the action. The name “Korach” is made up of all letters that are similar to “Hey”, but they are not exactly the same, revealing another way in which Korach could not be a leader for the wandering Israelites. Each letter of “Korach” has something wrong with the process of Thinking, Talking, and then Doing, reflecting on the fact that Korach did not properly think and talk before taking action against Moses. Through this story, we discussed the importance of planning before making an action, in the hopes to improve our own leadership skills before our trip to Israel.
After lunch, we had "Israel Update" by the Israel Committee, Sarah Resnick and Nitay, which led directly into more discussion about the ever upcoming ISS. In Israel, we will each have the opportunity to be Leader of the Day. Being a leader of the day means that we will become a fifth member to the staff, making us be in charge of attendance, making sure everyone is drinking water, and having the opportunity to hold our very own activity. Leader of the Day allows us to execute an entire day where we can truly be leaders to the group. It’s extremely exciting, and everyone is working hard to make sure their day is special to everyone in the group.
Later in the afternoon, we were blessed to be joined by a guest speaker, Yaniv Jember. Yaniv is an Ethiopian Israeli, just like the kids who will take part in Masa Diller, the camp we are running in Israel. Yaniv told us all about his family’s journey to Israel, and his own journey in finding himself. This really opened our eyes to the struggles and hardships Ethiopian Jews have gone through. Although Yaniv has never been to Ethiopia, he has dedicated much of his time to research and study about Ethiopian Jews and the history of Ethopia. He knows just about anything you could ever think to ask, and it is extraordinarily evident that he has a connection and love for Ethopia, even though he has never been. While hearing Yaniv’s story, I felt I could directly relate. Although I have never been to Israel, after Diller, I definitely feel a connection. I can’t explain it, but I find myself constantly wanting to know things about Israel, Judaism, and Hebrew. I hope that I can have the same dedication Yaniv has to Ethiopia, with a connection to Israel. Yaniv worked extremely hard in regards to his education and he is an amazing example of a leader. We were truly honored to have him as a guest, as he taught us many new things that I’m so happy I now know.
After dinner, we were led in an activity by L-Dubs, called The Hunger Banquet: Israel Style. For some reason, when I first saw this on our itinerary, I wondered if it was going to be anything like The Hunger Games, the trilogy written by Suzanne Collins. Well, I was truly very wrong, but nonetheless, still extremely interested by the subject matter. In the workshop, we were split randomly into three types of groups: high income, middle income, and low income. Only three Dillers made up the high income group, a group that could afford enough food, medical care, and really any other non-necessity they desired. More Dillers were in the middle income group, where most non-necessities could not be had, but for the most part food was available. However, most Dillers were in the low income group, where money was scarce, making food, medical care, and anything else, ultimately unavailable. In addition, the children of these families couldn’t attend schools as they were needed to work for their families. These statistics in face represented Israel. 23.6% of Israel’s population lives in poverty, while 19.9% live with incomes below the national median. This means that over a million people, 35.9% being children, are living in impoverished conditions. In addition, about 700,000 people over the age of sixty-five live in Israel, with every fourth senior being under the poverty line. The facts that were brought up during the workshop were extremely surprising. No one really ever thinks of Israel being a place of poverty, but it was definitely interesting and eye opening to see the poverty issues Israel has.
Later, we had Havdallah outside on the grass. Havdallah is definitely my favorite service, and having it outside with all of the Dillers wrapped around each other makes it even better. Afterwards, we had a Ma’agal Laila/Night Circle led by the Enrichment Committee. Everyone’s name was written on a sheet of paper, and the paper travelled around the circle where everyone wrote anonymous compliments to whoever they received. At the end, the committee said aloud the compliments, and it was really great to hear how everyone is appreciated in Diller 5. 
When we came back inside, we participated in one of the most fun contests I have ever participated in - Map of Israel ice cream contest. With various ice creams, toppings, and creative ideas, we each created our own version of Israel. In my group, we put a big chocolate heart over Rishon Le’Zion, and big cherries for Jerusalem, Eilat, and Tel Aviv. Our map even included a whipped cream mountain to represent Mount Hermon, but I have to say, all of the Dillers had amazing Israeli ice cream maps, and it was extremely fun to take part in.
On Sunday, we worked for a little bit on our leader of the day packets, but soon we were off back home... to the Federation in Whippany, that is. Then, from about ten in the morning until about three in the afternoon, each committee presented it’s ideas about the activities each will do as part of the camp in Israel. We all had fun acting out the activities and making them even better. Seeing all the presentations truly made me realize what creativity we have in Diller. From the Logistics team creating a google document to keep everyone in line, to the Enrichment committee making a Sprite experiment, I truly learned a lot and had fun. However, I do have to mention our break for lunch, as we had Chinese food, and put thechopsticks that Leah’s brought back from Hong Kong to good use!
Finally, the very much anticipated arrival of our parents came! Well, the very much anticipated ISS Orientation arrived, but it was also nice that are parents joined us, (kidding Diller parents, you know we love you!) We even had the chance to ask some Diller 4 fellows, Arielle and Jason, (who had helped us out with NAS as well,) and our very own JC, Max, some questions about our upcoming trip to Israel. What’s extra important to bring? Should I bring extra of a particular article of clothing? Is there anything you regretted not bringing?
Although we’re all a little nervous for our upcoming trip to Israel, one thing I know for sure, is that it will be an experience unlike any other. I’m definitely ready to experience all the trip has to offer, and even more than that, I’m beyond excited that I’m going with Diller. Over the course of this year, I’ve definitely learned a lot about Judaism, the Jewish people, Hebrew, Israel, and most importantly, myself. I’m ready to be in Israel and have some fun, learn new things, and grow even closer to these people who have somehow become some of the most important people in my life. Despite the nerves, Metrowest is ready for ISS, with our new countoff and all. Get ready Israel, because we’re Diller, and we know it!
Before our last blog before Israel ends, I’d really like to give a huge thank you to Leah^2, Aliza, and Max for putting together the weekend. In addition, thanks to all the Dillers for contributing their amazing ideas and presentations. Also, congratulations to our honorary Diller member, Leah Weiss, (L-Dubs,) thank you so much for being willing to join us on our trip to Israel, we’re really glad we have you.
Lastly, just wanted to give a quick shout-out to my girls from room 247! Sara Rosen, Rachel Gordon, and Alex - you guys made this weekend the best! ;)
Check out our new countoff created by Noah Lisser!!!
