The First Shabbaton: Through New Eyes

It was Friday at 2:16 when I was waiting patiently for my school’s dismissal bell to ring. I was so excited yet very unsure of what the upcoming weekend had in store for me. My father picked me up and we began our drive to the Federation building. My stomach was filled with butterflies. As many of you may know, I was just joining Diller so this was going to be the first time meeting everyone! Many thoughts were running through my mind at the time. Were they going to like me? Was I going to fit in? As I entered the federation building, I was greeted by so many friendly faces eager to meet me and my worries disappeared. I was now ready to begin my amazing weekend.

 

Everyone quickly piled onto the bus and began filling the bus with talk and laughter. It became instantly apparent to me that this was one amazing group of people. When we arrived we had to quickly change for Shabbat, which I can say was a pretty hard task for the girls! Although cold outside, together we made the weather and atmosphere warm.

 

I am not very religious so I was very curious of what the Shabbat service was going to be like. Surprisingly, that service was honestly one of the best I have ever experienced. Combined with everyone’s favorite poems, songs and prayers, all the Dillers sang and listened together. Our night wrapped up with a delicious Friday night dinner and then our first Maagal! Maagal means circle in Hebrew and before we would be able to get into the circle, all the Dillers had to take an extra-unique step. Blind-folded, we all walked out of the cabin holding on to the person in front of us. Through communication and trust we successfully completed that difficult task and were finally into our first Maagal.

 

We started the next morning with a beautiful morning prayer called Modeh Ani that focuses on being thankful for the day we have been given. We then spent our day discussing the situations other Jewish people face in different countries. We realized how grateful we are to have been raised here, where we haven’t faced such extreme forms of violence like others have to endure. As young Jewish leaders, we must represent the Jewish people and to encourage understanding and coexistence.

 

We then moved our way to a low-ropes course which focused on using team-work to accomplish different tasks. I learned that without an open-mind, these tasks would be impossible to accomplish. Our day concluded with our second maagal that really touched my heart. We all first shared an item that we each brought representing what we are most grateful for. From their objects I learned a lot about my fellow Dillers. We then opened the maagal where anyone could share whatever they wanted. This forum of trust and openness brought us closer as a group.

 

Sunday, we learned about our  self-management shabbaton which got many of us very excited. Most of the boys were already thinking about what food they wanted to bring and how many bags of twix they would need. When we got back to the Federation building, we were met by Dillers from cohort 7 who helped us record a video to introduce us to our Israeli counterpart. We sang and danced to a “Dillerized” version of Taylor Swift’s Shake it Off. We ended the weekend by having an open discussion with Diller 7.  We talked about their experience with the North American seminar and how they succeeded in their self-management shabbaton. Their experiences were really good to hear considering we will be embarking on the same journeys. I ended my first shabbaton being happier then ever. I couldn’t stop telling my parents my wonderful stories and the truly amazing friends I had made. I can’t wait for the rest of the year and to see the growth of the group and of every individual teen. Lillie wasn’t lying, Diller 8 is GREAT!

-Arielle Rosenberg