The NAS Shabbaton!

Friday, March 23:

On Friday morning we did not know what to expect with the upcoming retreat, only knowing the Israelis for a few hours. While the Israelis spent the day exploring the Jewish Journey to America while visiting Ellis Island and picnicking under the Statue of Liberty, the Americans were in school wishing we were all together. Our wish came true when we all met up at the Federation in Whippany to go to the retreat. After a few awkward moments on the bus it was as if we have known each other forever. Music truly does connect people from two separate countries. After our long trek from Whippany to Fairview Lake we got settled in to our bunks, boys upstairs and girls downstairs. We then got changed into our White Shabbat clothing and participated in a prayer service overlooking the lake planned by the Shabbaton Committee. It was truly a “Kodak” moment. After prayers we had enjoyed our first Shabbat dinner together. We then separated into two groups, Israelis and Americans and had our first Ma'agal Laila/Night Circle of the NAS. During the night circle, we were able to process in a safe and comfortable space, the many feelings that we had. We then rejoined as one group back at our bunk, “Wickapeck”, hung out, played some very intense games of jungle speed and went to bed.
- Zach Broder and Rachel Scheckman

Saturday, March 24: Yes!!! The first full day with the Israelis had finally arrived!!! And us Dillers were ready for the best day of our lives. For the boys, the alarms started to go off at four in the morning, and, as for the girls, they got to sleep a little bit longer. But, By 8’ o clock everyone was downstairs for breakfast and once the clock struck nine, the Saturday morning service began. But this was not just any, regular service, this was very unique. Planned by our amazing JCs, Max and Aliza, we went through the meaning and purpose of each of the different sections of the Saturday Morning prayer service. After each section was explained, any Diller that wished to speak about anything pertaining to the meaning of that prayer stood up and spoke. We committed to understanding what each person said by saying "Amen" as a community, as one.

Following the service, Jim, our guide for the hike, lead us on a beautiful hike up to the third highest point in New Jersey. As we began our walk up the mountain, the cheering began too: “When I say diller you say 5!!!” Once we got to the top of the hill, Jim led us in some team activities. After having a monumental amount of fun and really working together as a team, we were led to the most amazing view ever. After looking at the expansive valleys and the beautiful lake, it was time for lunch and we all strode down the mountain to eat.
- Harrison Angoff & Bar Schwartz

After a much needed lunch, we had free time at the camp. We were given the choices to climb the rock wall, the flying squirrel swing (which Leah loved!) or just hang out with everyone, and play games. I used that time to relax by the lake at the camp, and had some nice bonding time with a few of the girls.

The next activity, was really great and got us all thinking about tough questions, many that we don't often think about and for some of us, questions that don't really have one answer. Some questions were,
- What is Shabbat?
- Does god exist?
- What is the torah?
For each question we had a discussion, and depending on the answer, took a colored bead for a bracelet, representing the answer we chose. During the discussion at the end of the activity we discussed what each color bead represented: a different sect of Judaism. We were surprised by the results because for many of us, our beads reprsented ourselves in a way that was very different than how we had seen ourselves. But we talked about how we really are one group of people with the same core beliefs, and have more ideas in common than we thought.
Our havdalah ceremony, ending Shabbat, was a special one. Together the Israelis and the Americans, sang together in a circle and exchanged thoughtful memories with each other.

Next was our bonfire! Even in a little bit of rain we had so much fun, singing, in hebrew and in English. But In our opinion, the best part of the day was the end when we returned to Wickepeck. We were all together in the center room, full with all of us, dancing and listening to music. It was amazing how comfortable we felt with a group of teens we just met one day before. Then, us girls talked until the wee hours of the night. All of us got so close over Shabbat, and bonded so much.

- Alex Reiss and Mai Eisenman

Sunday, March 25: Today was the last day of the Shabbaton at Fairview Lake camp and it started early. Many people woke up to sound of the famous "Boker Tov" cheer. We then had a Ma'agal Boker/Morning Circle. While they were separate from each other, Leah and Keren planned well and both the Americans and Israelis did the same activity: we each choose a card with a quote by Rabbi Nachman m'Uman that best represented our feelings, which led to some deep Diller discussion.

Afterwards, we got into teams and started planning for the Israel Summer Seminar in July. Everybody put a lot of great ideas on the table as to the best ways to run the camp that we will be running in “Rammat Eliyahu” for Ethiopian children in Israel. The theme of the camp will be Tikun Olam/Social Justice, a topic that we Dillers know very well. We spilt into five different groups. Logistics group will be in charge of leading the other groups and planning the logistics of the days we are there. The Counselors will be in charge of going around with the kids and helping them participate in activities. The Enrichment group will be in charge of planning activities for the kids to do. The Social group will be in charge of raising the camp spirit and planning morning ceremonies. Finally, the Volunteer group will be in charge of a volunteer event where the children will give back to the community. Today was a really special opportunity for the Israelis and Americans to work together on a project face to face rather than through the phone and through computers.

After Lunch, we partied on the bus ride home even though we all could have fallen asleep at any time. When we got back to the federation, we participated in Good Deeds Day, a day where people around the world do good deeds. The Dilller Alumni put together stations for us to do such as: writing letters to soldiers,making sandwiches for charity, painting flowerpots for an old age home, and talking about the genocide in Darfur and how it relates to Judaism. Good Deeds Day was very inspiring for several reasons. It was good to see past Dillers, who had already experienced what we are going through, and it was even better to see that they were still active members of the community. These Dillers benefited from the program, and now can still use what they learned to make a difference. This was inspiring for the rest of us. Hopefully, we will be as motivated to make a change even after Diller. Another reason that Good Deeds Day was enjoyable is because of the heartfelt and meaningful service that was planned out. The people running the program had clearly thought carefully about what they felt was important, and it was inspiring to see how they took their convictions and turned it into actions. Amazingly, we still had enough energy left to play some games as a group.Finally, we each wished another person a good week before we all went home after the long weekend. Everybody is looking forward to the week ahead!!

- Jack Greenbaum and Sara Rosen