Dear Parents and Readers,
We decided to keep a blog of all our experiences this year in Diller and share with you the learning we undergo. This blog is dedicated to discussing our activities and expressing our opinions on the latest news and events in Diller. Enjoy, discuss, and feel free to share with your other family and friends!
Sincerely,
Max, Rebecca C., Annabelle, and Josh (The Blog Committee!)
Friday, November 16, 2012:
When we were let out of school
early, we were filled with excitement. Partially because we got to skip our
last class, and partially because we were about to be reunited with the people
we would soon travel the globe with and refer to as our family. We boarded the
bus and had a ride filled with bad jokes and balloon throwing. After unpacking
our things and settling in at Fairview Lake, we set off to Shabbat dinner. We
all got all dress up and took the walk over to the lodge, just a short and cold
walk away from our cabin. Once there, we began discussing Shabbat rituals and
the ways our families practice. I have never been a part of a traditional
Shabbat dinner, but it was awesome seeing the different traditions that Jews
honored on this night of rest and reflection. We went through various different
colored cards, each with a different part of how Shabbat dinner was done. After
we ate and laughed, we dived into our first workshop of the Shabbaton, one that
I personally loved. We all sat in a circle, as we do at every workshop, and
were given a bag of jellybeans. But there was a twist. Under our chairs were
cups, each with a different topic on it. These topics ranged from favorite
snack to our views on attaching Iran. And on the cups, there were 3 colors,
each a different way to express our opinion on the topic. We would say the
topic, and then put a colored jellybean inside the cup that expressed our view.
When each fellow answered the questions with their Jelly Bean, we discussed.
Some topics provoked heated discussions, others provoked laughs. After our
workshop, we had our first Ma’agal Laila/Night Circle of the Shabbaton.
We each opened letters from Diller 5, the previous cohort of Dillers. This was
amazing because, there, in front of us was the written love for Diller from the
participants themselves. These letters were long, pages of how much the program
meant to them and how incredible of a time they had had in Israel. This only
made our hunger for Israel and this program grow. After Ma’agal went
back to our cabins, changed into our PJs, and huddled in the common room for
some down time. This gave us a chance to hang out as friends and really get to
know each other. We shared stories, jokes, and a lot of clementines. We laughed
and talked until the clock stroke 1, and then off to bed we went, excited for
what Saturday would bring.
Saturday, November 17, 2012:
On Saturday, the Wake-Up Committee
got us ready for our day by doing a shake-n-wake. We got the blood pumping and were
ready for what was ahead for our busy Saturday. Following that, we had
“Meditation with Meital”, which was a new way to reflect on our week and
Shabbat. We were all sprawled out on the floor, eyes shut, and as the title
says, we meditated with Meital.This wasn’t just any typical meditation; through
this experience, we really were able to look at our personal Shabbats and
reflect on ourselves individually and as a community. After that, we were
greeted by guest speakers for our next workshop. Zohar and Sivan, from an
organization called Hechalutz, were waiting with an AMAZING workshop about Yitzchak
Rabin, the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, the lessons of leadership from his
life, and how we can apply them to our own lives. Following that, we had a
delicious lunch to refuel for the second part of the day.
After lunch, Diller 6 met with
Tyler and Emma for some outdoor training. This wasn’t your typical stroll in
the park; rather it consisted of a wide variety of team building activities to
see how well we could work together. These activities really were a peek into
how we will work together as a group and lead as individuals. We then enjoyed
some hours of free time where some chose to get some studying and homework
done, while other participated in an intense game of Jungle Speed. 
Next, the Social Committee planned
and carried through an interesting game of “Sardines”, where 2-3 people hid
throughout the bunk while the rest of us waited outside. When they were done
hiding, we went inside and searched for them. Once someone found them, they got
in the hiding place too, which led to 9 people in one corner. We really got
close, literally. By the end of the game, it was dark out which meant that it was
time for Havdalah, the closing of Shabbat.
The Havdalah service consisted of
the singing of the prayers while we all stood in a tight, closed circle
illuminated by the single candle in the middle. We learned about the meaning of
the candle, the spiced and the wine and thought to ourselves the meaningful
experiences was had over Shabbat that we want to take with us into the rest of
the week. Then, the Rituals Committee provided the group with a great activity.
Each fellow lit a candle as we sat in a circle on the ground. We talked about
our personal goals and goals for the upcoming Diller year. It was the first
time that we really got to share personal pieced of ourselves with each other
and it was a great warm-up to our Ma’agal Laila later in the evening. 
Our Ma’agal Laila was
really special. Trust was key for this activity, as each person was blindfolded
and led by Rachel and Meital down the road and into the woods. As we arrived at
our destination, we were each seated individually. It was complete darkness and
we had no idea who was sitting near us. We were handed two sticks, which we
were instructed not to do anything with until told to. Meital and Rachel began speaking,
“We are here, just us, just Diller 6, in the dark. We want you to be as honest
and open as you can, and share your inner most fears”. As we each shared, we
cracked one of the sticks in our hands and the area began to light up. We
continued sharing and were instructed to fill in the sentence “I am…!” What was
different between these instructions versus the last was that we were asked to scream
this on the top of our lungs, for the world to hear. As each of us did this,
and shared our innermost beings, we cracked our second glow stick. It was an amazing way to just let everything
out and we knew that anything we said was completely safe with the other Diller
fellows who were there. As our area became completely lit, we realized that this
is who we are. Each of us, individually, makes up this group, this family,
Diller 6. 
We ended the programming with a warm
bonfire set up and free time. It was a great time to make some s’mores and to
thaw out any limbs that might have frozen from sitting on the cold ground
during Ma’agal Laila. We sang songs together, and although there was no guitar,
it was so much fun to sing by the fire.
During our freetime, we had snacks
back in the common area of our bunk and we set up an intense mini tournament of
Kent, the card game. Leah and Max are the current reigning champions, but a
very good fight was put up by teams of Michael Paisner - Coby Bernstein and
Hannah Kanter - Rebecca Bonder. Both defeated teams had complicated codes, but
none were as great as the dynamic duo Leah and Max. 
Finally, we did some celebrating.
There were two birthdays, Max Kasler celebrated his birthday on Thursday the
15th, turning 15; Josh Cohen celebrated his 16th birthday on Sunday
the 18th. At exactly 12:00 a.m. on Sunday, cupcakes, baked by our very own
Linsey, were brought out to the birthday boys in celebration. Then everyone,
except for Rebecca who was passed out on the couch the entire evening, got a
cupcake as a nice midnight snack. Then it was off to bed, although, rumor has
it Diller 6 stayed up late chatting the night away.- Max Kasler
Sunday, November 18, 2012:
Sunday morning started with an early wake up
(early for some of us at least) and a quick breakfast. We then had to pack and
get ready for the day. Once we were all ready, we began our last Ma'agal
of the Shabbaton, our time to reflect. We were given the time to write our
opinions of the programming and the general atmosphere of the Shabbaton on
posters that were placed around the room. Then we were paired up, and each pair
read one poster and the comments that people had written down. We returned to
the Ma'agal and summarized the constructive criticisms from each poster
for the group. We then returned to our cabins where we used our new teamwork
skills to efficiently pack the bus. The way home was filled with singing,
dancing, Israeli accents, and of course telling bad jokes. We arrived at the
Federation and were shocked to see our fellow cohorts, Diller 5, the ones who
we just received letters from 2 nights before. It was great to see them, at the
end of their journey, and see the leaders that they have become. They told us
that we were going to make a music video based off of the song "Gangnam
Style", but remake it into “Diller Style” to be sent to our fellow Diller
6ers in Rishon LeZion as a way to introduce ourselves. Although it was
challenging, we made the video and had an amazing time doing it. There were new
dance steps to learn, some easier than others, and lots of lyrics to memorize.
Our time with them ended with learning about a MetroLeZion tradition called the Achim Dance. You can watch the video that we sent to Diller 6 in Rishon LeZion! In the end, we left MetroWest tired but excited, filled
with Diller spirit. We can’t wait to spend more time together!
-
Josh Cohen
Our video to Diller 6 in Rishon LeZion!!!
