From Beginning to End - August 7, 2013

We woke up at 7:15 at the youth hostel right outside Tel Aviv on the last day of our trip. We all were very sad that we were leaving the other half of our cohort family, but we still had a full day of fun and exciting activities. After eating the final breakfast in Israel we broke up into smaller groups and had the final conclusion to the international congress. In this activity we rediscussed the sixth leg as well as talking about Jewish values. With an hour long bus ride ahead of us, most of the cohort decided to take a nap before arriving in Zichron Yaakov, a small town. Aftering touring around the city we headed towards "Mini Israel" which is exactly what it sounds like. There we stepped back from all of our amazing experiences and looked at it from an almost birds eye view of all the historical sights to see in Israel. After dinner we were on our way to Ben Gurion Airport on a fairly wishy washy bus ride filled with many different emotions. Saying goodbye to some of the most unique, friendly, and kind Israelis in all of the Holyland.

At "Mini Israel" we had to answer the questions, Where we found our strongest Jewish connection, Where we found our strongest connection to Israel and its people, Where would we bring the cohort to if we could go anywhere new in Israel, and lastly where would we visit again if we could go anywhere. I found my closest connection to my Jewish heritage in the city of Jerusalem but more specifically the Western Wall. There was just such a strong religious vibe flowing through the city. I could feel, taste, and smell the passion towards Judaism. While at the Western Wall, surrounded by the orthodox men bowing back in forth I finally felt comfortable in my religion and a very homey feeling hit me very strongly. It is safe to say that Jerusalem was my favorite of all the cities that we visited because of combination of amazing history and fun attractions for tourists like me to do. 

In addition to feeling my deepest connection to Judaism in Jerusalem, I also felt my strongest connection to the Israeli people in Jerusalem. As I hinted on it before, being surrounded by such religious people made me feel at home. Being a reform Jew in a town with the majority of Jews being reform, it is not very often to see many orthodox people walking around the streets. First entering the city of Jerusalem for the first time, we drove in with all the blinds down until we finally were in the city completely. That was very powerful for me personally and I'm sure to other Dillers as well. 

When I first wrote down where I wanted to visit again I did not put much thought into it. But during our discussion after the "Mini Israel" tour, Coby told the group that he would've liked to have visited Yad Vashem again. I felt as if the Holocaust Museum was very, very powerful and I would've enjoyed experiencing it a little more and learning more.

During these three weeks in Israel I found my own Jewish identity. For the first time in my life I can honestly say that I'm 100% comfortable with my religion. I am certain that I can speak for the whole Greater MetroWest cohort when I say that we had the time of our lives whether it was with the Israelis or just us. None of this trip would've been possible without the amazing Diller staff we had. Rachel (Rayfo), Meital (Meishort), and of course Leah (Mama Leah) were all so very supportive with anything at all and without them I don't think this trip would've been as special or successful. Sitting on the plane now talking to some Israel natives just solidifies the theories that Israelis really are the most friendly people on the planet. Laila Tov everyone see you in a couple hours.

Corey Basciano

The Light Within - August 6, 2013

Our first full group travel day began early in the morning to the wake up call of roosters at our campsite in Metula.  Our activities began with a tour of  Tzfat, one of the four holiest cities in Israel.  We walked through the different quarters, and learned about the types of people who lived here.  We also met with an artist who taught us about Jewish Mysticism, Spirituality, and how he developed his connection to Israel after growing up in Michigan.  

At the cave of Rabbi Simon ben Yohai, we learned about the 13 years he and his son spent there studying Judaism.  Since our time in Israel is coming to an end, we stopped to reflect on how we grew individually and as a result of other people's actions.  We used the metaphor of each person being a candle and another person reflecting and showing his/her light to the group.  It was meaningful for me to see how close we have come as a group and how we know each other well enough to identify important qualities.  Next, we visited a Druze hospitality for dinner, but not before enjoying a snack of pita druzit in the village.  At dinner, we learned about the Druze religion, culture, and beliefs.  We found it fascinating that the religion is a combination of all monotheistic religions, mainly including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  As a Jew who knows how hard we fought for a state of our own, I personally was intrigued to learn about why the Druze do not want the same.  They argue that since they already live peacefully in various countries, they do not want to create violence by fighting for a country of their own.  I think this fact only increased our connection to and pride of Israel for the whole group.  The Jewish people have endured wars to get the country and unity that we are all so proud of, and after touring the country for three weeks,  we cannot imagine the Jewish people without Israel.  This pride is what makes Diller and ISS so important to each of us in a unique way.

- Sarah Nelson

P.S. Shout out to Mom, Dad, Eva, and Taffy!  I miss you so much and can't wait to see you in the morning!!

From 400 to 40 - August 5, 2013

After an incredible 5 days at Congress, Diller 6 said a heartfelt goodbye to our many new friends and departed for a much needed day of fun. We first went to an incredible Israeli water park located on the Jordan River for kayaking. After lunch, Diller 6 put on some oddly dirty life vests and boarded our kayaks for an hour of extreme wetness. We paired of into groups of 6 and the Jordan River turned into a battlefield.  Paddles were stolen, water was splashed, and Dillers were knocked off of rafts, but it was an incredible day. After departing from our war on the water, we showered in suspiciously dirty bathrooms and headed to Metula, one of the northern most parts of Israel and also home to Diller's Israeli director, Liat. The town of Metula lies right on the boarder of Lebanon, an area of extreme tension. But the people of Metula live peacefully with their Lebanese neighbors. While in Metula, we met Liat on the top of a mountain and experienced a beautiful view while Liat explained to us the history of the town in which she currently resides. Afterwords, we went to her home for a delicious meal that was much needed after a week of food at Givat Haviva. It was so amazing of her to welcome Metro-Lezion into her home and provide us with a relaxing night of fun and incredible views. Afterwords, we went to sleep outdoors at a campsite. It was a beautiful night to sleep under the stars and a great way to spend one of our final nights together. 

- Annabelle Hanflig

P.S. Shout out to my Mom, Dad, and cats! Also, shout out to Rayfo and Meital for being the most incredible JCs ever and to Leah for being the heart and soul of MetroWest. Tuna sends love to everyone!

The Last Day of 400 - August 4, 2013

We began the day with a group picture of every Diller Teen Fellow wearing the new Diller T-shirts we got. Then we were given a short break before we began our next activity. When we all gathered in the audiorium, we didn't really know what to expect, all we were told was that there was going  to be a panel of leaders answering questions. Finally, they walked onto stage and the panel began. Tal asked a series of questions about modern Jewish issues and "the Jewish problem".  In the second portion of the activity. In this part, we broke off into smaller groups with a specific specific leader. I had Leah Garber, a head coordinator of the JCC in Israel. Leah's job is to foster and facilitate relationships between cities/ communities in the USA and Canada with cities/communities in Israel. For example, her organization joined Greater MetroWest with Ofakim.  She told us about her belief that every Jew has to have a strong connection with Israel, and part of  her mission is to form that relationship. She told us that one of her struggles is that in New York City, where the highest population of Jews exists (Israel not included of course) only 35% of the jews there come to Israel. She also spoke about how many of the Jews in Israel only think about the Jews in Israel, not the Jews in the diaspora. She recounted that when she finally came to the US to  Pittsburg, and she met Jews not in Israel, she discovered how amazing our communities were and she discovered a new portion of her Jewish identity. This was my favorite activity that we've done, because it gave me such a refreshing point of view and she was also a really cool person. After that we had free time and lunch. We then met with our tribes and prepared a closing ceremony. At the closing ceremony we had a BBQ dinner and all of the groups put on little shows that  were really funny and exciting to watch. For example, my tribe rewrote lyrics to "We Will Rock You" and performed it in front of everyone. Our Israeli JC, Mor Filo, even had her acting debut as she was one of the MCs of the night. At the end the counselors put on a show that included dancing and other songs. Finally, we ended the night with a crazy White Tent dance party that lasted until 2 AM. 

- Josh Cohen

Shabbat as One - August 3, 2013

Shabbat at Congress was both relaxing and thought provoking. in the morning, we had the option to wake up with prayer, yoga, or other alternative minyans, but we also had the option for some much needed sleep. After this, we had breakfast and more time to rest. 

After this, the current Dillers were able to attend seminars led by Diller alumni. The alums, all different ages,  hailed from all over North America. The previous Dillers each lead a seminar about different topics such as leadership, creativity, Jewish idenity, the future, and more. I went to one that was about our identities and how they would change over the future. Our group of about 15 people went around the circle and admitted our personal fears for the future and what we aspire to do with the rest of our lives.  

We ended Shabbat with Havdalah in our partnerships, which was extra emotional because it was our last Havdalah as Metro-Letzion. After Havdalah, the night eded with White Tent, a social gathering amongst all the Dillers with music and food. 

- Eden Posner

PS I miss you Mommy and Daddy but I'm so excited to extend!

The Balance - August 2, 2013

This first complete day of Congress all together began with a sense of excitement and the taste of mediocre French toast. After an early breakfast of 8 am, we moved to our first workshop of the day which dealt with the memory leg of the table. We discussed a few types of memory pertaining to us as Jews, including personal memory, and our collective memory/presence at Mt. Sinai. We then split into North Americans and Israelis to think of events that marked our own countries national memory. We discovered that Israel's national memory was a lot more amorphous and intertwined with Jewish history, reminding us that Israel is before all, the Jewish homeland. This  helped us transition to our next leg of the table, the one I personally feel the most connected to, Israel. As someone who sometimes struggles with their identity as a Jew, an activity in which I got to explore the many facets of israel was especially meaningful. Having the discussion of what zionism truly is with jews both from the diaspora and from  Israel was probably a once in a lifetime experience.The knowledge that half of the people in the room would be receiving their initial draft orders within weeks made me feel a personal sense of responsibility to the state of Israel. This activity only continued to cement my dream of making Aliya, of coming home to where I belong. After a delicious lunch, we went on to our final workshop of the day, choosing a sixth leg of the table, or your own way of connecting to Judaism. It was interesting to see how different each leg was despite the fact we were all Jewish. Most people had others in common with them, but as my mother says "she marches to her own beat" so I ended up defending my leg 'community'  by myself. Having a Jewish community and network is something I highly cherish in my life, and despite being alone, I was proud to speak about my feelings to the rest of the group. The diversity in Jewish beliefs witnessed in the tribes was only amplified by the arrival of the shabbat. We had SIX options of prayer that evening, where I had only been aware of three at most.  I attended the meditation service, which was led by a delightfully pleasant girl named Hannah. Interestingly enough, I felt a Jewish experience from just breathing deeply, but I guess being here does that to you. Sorry to go out of order, but to balance the diversity, and to be my favorite moment of the day, we had what was called the White Parade. Every 2013 Diller in the world, dressed in white, walking  together towards an open field. It is the balance of diversity and unity that makes Diller, and the jewish people, so extraordinary.

Rebecca Cooper

PS Shout out to my family and friends in America, you are the only reason I wouldnt run away and stay here.     

...Crossing Cultures! - August 1, 2013

Diller is sold as an international network of North American and Israeli Jewish teens.  Yet it took until today, almost two-thirds of the way through the Israeli Summer Seminar, for the entire international Diller network to come together.  At 9:30 this morning, the eight Israeli cohorts joined the eight North American cohorts at Givat Haviva, thus ending North American Kennes and beginning the International Congress. Congress, much like Kennes, greatly resembles the seminar that we had just organized in Ramat Eliyahu. It is really interesting to experience the same kind of programming from the other side—now as chanichim. 

We began to digest the lecture delivered yesterday by Avraham Infeld in which he laid out the five legs of the Jewish table. In our first activity with the Israelis joining us, we played several games to break the ice and get to know each other.  Our programming for the day touched upon two of the five legs as described by Avraham Infeld: family and the covenant. We traced our family heritages and genealogies while talking about the values that we value in family relationships.

Congress is giving us the opportunity to meet Jewish teenagers from across the world and bring our own rich histories to the table for an international discussion. While we spend most of the days divided in our tribes with one or zero other MetroWest Dillers, our nightly Ma'agal Leilah allows us to once again spend time with our New Jersey cohort. Tonight, before beginning our Ma'agal Leilah, we celebrated Juliet's birthday with the Rishon LeZion Israelis.  Tomorrow is the second day of Congress. In the evening, the first Shabbat spent with all of the North Americans and Israelis in Diller will begin. While the days remaining in this amazing Israel Summer Seminar are dwindling, we look forward to ending the trip and finishing Congress with a bang.

- Eli Schechner

P.S. Shout out to my sisters and my parents: I already started work on the common app today, so it's all good! 

From Sea to Shining Sea - July 31, 2013

Today was the first full day of Kennes, a time where all the North American Dillers come together. We began the day with a nice late wakeup at 8:30, and then moved on to our first activity, discussing North American Jewry, with our separate tribal groups. These tribal groups are just like mini Diller groups for the duration of Congress. We then had a speaker named Avram Infeld, and he talked about the five legs of Judaism. Avraham Infeld believes that the five legs, family, memory, Hebrew, covenant, and Israel, are the unifying elements in Judaism. He kept telling us to think of Judaism as more of a family and a culture than as a religion. For example, one doesn't have to be observant and pray often, but he can feel connected with the culture and thus feel connected with Judaism. He encouraged us to find at least three legs that we can identify with and call our own. This way, no matter who we meet, we will always have at least on leg in common. 

After this inspiring speech, we had lunch and a couple hours of free time, in which people either took naps, went to the pool, or hung out with their new friends from all of the other North American cohorts. After free time we had another meeting with our tribes, and the theme of this one was "Looking Kadima," or looking forward as a Jewish people and looking at the legacy we as North American Jews want to leave. Then we had dinner, and after that we had a cultural evening with Robbie Gringrass, who told us stories about his Israeli experience and sang some Israeli love songs, while trying to spread the message that even though Israel is not a perfect place, the people who live there and people around the world still have enormous pride for the country and for the Jewish religion as a whole. After this we talked about his song "Rak Po" or "Only Here" and how we all feel a sense of belonging with one special place in the world, whether it be Israel or our home towns. We finished our day of seminars with our Ma'agal Lilahs, or night circles, in which we, as a MetroWest cohort, recapped all of our daily activities.  We ended our incredibly busy and exhausting day with a White Tent, or a place for all of the Dillers to meet each other and socialize! Tonight's White Tent was incredibly special, because we surprised Juliet for her 17th birthday! HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIET! WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH! So, we ended today looking forward to tomorrow, which begins our five day Diller Congress with all the Israelis!

- Hannah Kanter

P.S.- Mom, Dad, Em and Rach- I love you and miss all of you and YES I AM REMEMBERING TO WEAR SUNSCREEN :) ,