My most meaningful NAS moment was singing Havdalah during the Shabbaton. My all time favorite Diller moment so far this year has been the first Shabbaton when we sang Havdalah outside. It was after an amazing day together, when everyone really started to bond as an American cohort. We went outside to do the service and halfway through it started to snow. It was so beautiful, the snow coming down, everyone swaying and singing, everything dark except for the light from the candle. It was so peaceful and beautiful and special. To me that was when Diller really took off and our family started.
Then flash forward a couple of months we were doing the same thing with our Israeli cohort. We had a great day with the Israelis going on a hike and hanging out and then Shabbat came to an end. So we turned off the lights, put our arms around each other and sang the beautiful melody. The Havdalah melody is one of my personal favorites. Before we started to sing we were placed in boy/girl, American/Israeli order; we were all mixed up. Singing with two new Israeli best friends next to me I was reminded of the last time I sang those prayers in that spot and got a similar feeling. Singing those Havdalah prayers was when the family we started a couple of months earlier in the same spot and way, doubled. Havdalah is about beginning a new week. It talks about having a sweet new week even better then your last. This Havdalah not only started a new, sweet week, but a sweet year, and even life with my new family living in Rishon Lezion. That is a moment I will remember forever and think about every time I hear a Havdalah service.
-Joey Hart
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