Friday, July 27 - First Day of Congress

First day of congress has arrived meaning that we’ve already been here on Givat Haviva for three days and 120  Israeli Diller Teen Fellows joined us. Crazy, right? Right. The North Americans had a really great two days together, and to be completely honest, were a little anxious about having an extra 120 Israelis mixed in to the melting pot of Jewish diversity. The Israelis showed up group by group until we saw our partnership cohort Rishon L’zion. We greeted them with shouts of joy as if the two days without them was actually two months. All three hundred of us piled into the auditorium for opening of Congress, and cheered for our partnerships so loudly that I’m surprised no one heard it at home. The anxiety was gone. The Israelis were divided into the groups that we already were a part of and we proceeded to play ice breakers and get to know them. Much to my surprise, the doubling in size of the color groups only helped the conversation topics presented to us by the staff. The Israelis brought unique perspectives and opinions to the table that the Americans alone did not think of. Today was a fun and tiring day and I think I speak for almost everyone here when I say I can’t wait for Shabbat together as an entire Diller community.

- Eric Lederman