Just a Few Days Away...Workshop 7!

This past workshop was focused on preparing for the North American Seminar. We began with Avodat Ha-Lev and then broke off into the committees: Welcome, Chupar, Shabbaton, and Farewell. 

When a group of Jewish teenagers sit and work intently for an hour, you know things are serious. The fervor in which we worked was really rewarding, because what is better than doing things for people you care about? 

Then, we received a visit from some Diller alumni, and a super special Israeli guest. Actually he was an American Diller with a fake Israeli accent, but close enough. They answered questions, mostly ones concerning school and work. The main point they emphasized was that the stress and desperation of work become minimal when the Israelis are here with you, and that all it will come down to is spending time with them. The excitement in this tall beige room was almost tangible at this point. 

We then discussed the camps we would be running this summer with the Israelis. This reminded us that this is just the very beginning of our journey with our Israeli counterparts, and to relish every moment of it. After another work session, our meeting came to a close. It was the last time we would be just Americans, but I think we all felt that Metro-LeZion was one group all along.

Happy Birthday, Corey!

Workshop 6: The Journey of Bread & Water

As always, we opened our meeting with Avodaat HaLev, or Prayer of the Heart, where we have the opportunity to learn something unseen about a person in our group. Afterwards, we pieced together a gigantic puzzle from our Israelis, one that would end up forming letters and notes from them to us, in anticipation for the quickly approaching North American Seminar.

As we began the first workshop to our meeting, we were all given pictures, and under them were a set of instructions. We really had no idea what we were doing as we bumped into one another, just trying to match ourselves to the picture. As we continued to arrange ourselves in the formation of the pictures, we realized we spelled out "DILLER!" Through this, we were able to understand the idea that our missions aren't always obvious from the ground, but when we see it from above, everything becomes clear. 

Our second activity pertained to the concept of seeing life through "rose-colored glasses”.  This means that whenever you're faced with a problem or something bad happens to you, you, as a leader, look for the best way to resolve the conflict. For example, if you’re in the middle of getting thirty dollars’ worth of food from Dunkin Donuts for your friends, and you drop it all, what will you do? When you put on your “rose-colored glasses,” what will the resolved solution look like? What is the vision?

These two activities were part of something Diller called “The Journey of Bread and Water”. This means that you look at a problem, whether it is something like $30 of dropped food on a sidewalk or a lack in volunteers at a nursing home, you identify the steps that are necessary to take for problem to be resolved. You begin with a mission, a why, a reason for the problem to be solved, a reason you're set out to fix. Next, you see a vision, going back to the “rose-colored glasses,” you try to see what the conflict will look like in the end. Then, you have goals, what needs to be accomplished in order to get to that vision, and lastly there are objectives, kind of like a check in to see how we’re doing on reaching that vision. 

This led us into our next activity: Committees to prepare us for the North American Seminar. We split into 4 committees: the Welcome Committee, who will prepare a welcome for our Israelis, the Chupar Committee, (chupar, meaning treat,) who will prepare gifts each day for the Israelis while we are apart from them, the Shabbaton/Rituals committee who will prepare the Friday night service and Havdallah for us during our Shabbaton, and the Farewell Committee who will organize a goodbye - for now - to our Israelis. We created our mission, vision and goals for each committee and we all are going to take a big part in planning for the NAS.

With the North American Seminar quickly approaching, it was clear that Diller 6 needed to organize our time wisely, especially with our new committees and tasks. In everyday life, we all struggle to maintain a certain schedule. Whether it be homework, chores, or Diller, we devout certain amounts of time to certain tasks. But sometimes the constant juggle can be hard and leave us in a difficult situation. As exceptional teens, we have a responsibility to juggle all of our commitments without dropping the ball. As a way to show this responsibility in a real life situation, our Junior Counselors set up a game of Twister for us, but with a twist. Instead of plain red, yellow, blue, and green dots, a series of colored tasks such as school, homework, and sports were arranged on the floor like a game of Twister. We were told to place different body parts on different tasks and this proved to be a difficult task. As we tried to keep our right hand on schoolwork and our left elbow on SAT tutoring, we realized that it was very difficult to stay steady. This symbolized how hard it is to juggle the many responsibilities of being a Diller Teen Fellow. We concluded with discussing the differences between “importance” and “urgency”. It is important as busy high school students to be able to know in what order things need to get done. We were given a list of 10 examples of things that a typical person would need to do. These ranged from things like calling the admissions office of a college or calling a friend back because they have something funny to tell you. Individually, we had to rank the ten things in order of which we would do first given that we only have a certain amount of time. Then, we broke into groups of four and had to come up with one common list. This helped us realize that with our busy schedules, it is very important to know how to classify things as important or urgent. This will become especially important as the Israelis are coming soon and we have much to prepare for them, and ourselves!

Afterwards, we met up with our parents to discuss the orientation for the North American Seminar - the rules, the schedule, and the Israelis. We just can’t wait!!!!

Diller 6 Overnight: From Israel to Identity to Leadership - January 5-6, 2013

On Saturday night, Diller was reunited once again and it took no time to get deep into conversation. However, there was stuff to be done. First, we were introduced to one of the JC’s from last year, named Max, (that is one awesome name!). We then played a hilarious game called “Monologues” where we said we loved things we hated, and hated things we love. It was all pretty funny. After that, our very own fellows, Eden and Julian, led an activity where we got the chance to sit one-on-one with another fellow and get to know them on a more personal level. There were candles to set the mood, and dessert-to-share that filled our tummies. Then, we moved on to introducing the Rishon LeZion Dillers to each other. It was so great to learn about our other half, and we cannot wait to meet them very soon! Afterwards, we had our Ma’agal Lilah where we passed around a box that had something inside. One at a time, we individually looked at what was inside the box and had to say one word that came to our mind when we saw it, all without saying what was inside. It was very interesting to hear the different things that people said about the same object and depending on where you were sitting, knowing or not knowing what was in the box was a different experience. Following that was pajama time and then the Social Committee showed the all-time fabulous “Monsters Inc.” At the end, there were three people watching the movie, others were playing Jungle Speed or just chatting. We went to sleep after that, or at least tried to for the day ahead of us.

After waking up from what was a 5 hour nap at best, Diller 6 awoke and did what Jews do best, eat bagels. Diller 5 JC and current JC mentor, Max, then led us in a thought provoking workshop. He started off with a puzzle. He explained a theory that he was taught in his college philosophy class and it went like this:  through advanced science, Greg’s brain has been placed in a jar. Even though Greg’s brain is nowhere near his body, he is still able to communicate with his body. Considering our tech-savvy generation, we chose to think of it like a Wi-Fi signal. The brain could still easily send messages to the body telling it what to do. Greg is fully functional. Max then posed the question, where is Greg? Is he in the body or the jar with is brain? After discussing in groups, we found that no one totally agreed. The theory was a matter of opinion; there was no right or wrong answer. This was not science test, but a way of asking the question, “Who are we?” Does our mind or our bodies define us? We were then given t-shirts and Leah’s sacred markers and told to write, “I am” and then our names on the front. Every Diller gave their name a little twist, whether it was adding a pocket or a small doodle. We then flipped the shirt over and wrote physical characteristics, and well and internal and morals and values who made us who we are. We wrote what we were scared of and who we thought we were as people. Our existence on a tee-shirt. After we were done, we wore our new shirts with pride and explained to each other why we wrote what we wrote. We share our thoughts and opened our minds to look further into ourselves and discover who we truly are.

Our last activity on Sunday was something called the leadership compass. The leadership compass is an activity in which we had to be introspective and honest with ourselves. We were given a list filled with characteristics under four categories, North (The Warrior), South (The Healer), East (The Visionary), and West (The Teacher). All of these are different types of leaders with different strengths and weaknesses  Once we completed the questions, we put all of answers on a graph. When the graph was done we saw where we fell, whether it be North, South, East, West, or somewhere in between. We then discussed where we placed ourselves and if it was in fact a good fit. We also talked about our reaction to where we were placed, because for some of us, it was a real shock to find ourselves in the West, when we thought we were North. We then stood on a big compass Leah taped on the floor in the center of the room. Standing on the compass was very interesting because it allowed us all to see where we fell as leaders, our strengths and weaknesses as a group, and how we really formed a circle, showing that we had every type of leader in our group. The Leadership Compass was a very good activity to end our meeting with, because Diller is all about becoming a good leader, and learning about one’s self is the first step to becoming one. Once the activity was finished we hugged and said our last goodbyes. Then, we all left, waiting for our next meeting.

Six Success at Super Sunday! - December 2, 2012

This past Sunday was our 5th Diller Workshop, which was also on Super Sunday. For this meeting, the overarching theme was the Diller pillar Tikun Olam, (in English, repairing the world,) which we explored in many different ways throughout the night. 

 

We began our workshop with the basics, some chatting, a riveting game of WAH!, and Avodat HaLev. We also received some delicious chocolates that Coral brought back from Israel for us and it only made us get even more excited that soon, we are all going to Israel together!!

The first thing we did relating to Tikun Olam was a text study with bible passages. The re-occurring theme, apparent in each text, was our overall responsibility in taking care of the earth, which expanded beyond different areas of work. We concluded that this is where the literal definition of the term, “Tikun Olam” comes from, but this sparked a discussion of what it truly means to perform this in a modern society, and if tilling the fields were the only things that G-d meant for us.

Then, as if on cue, we then went to a room with Jewish teens from all the programs to begin Super Sunday. (Oh and let’s not forget we received our super sassy Diller shirts which we rocked as we entered the room.) In the room, we learned about Super Sunday, the biggest fundraiser of the entire year for the Jewish federation. In this meeting, we saw all the amazing things that the federation was doing for Jews both in our community, and all throughout the world. A lot I these things really surprised us, things like feeding the elderly in the former Soviet Union, something I doubt any of us knew about before. From just this, we found just one of many ways to help fix the world. And then we got to actually do it.

We called people in the Jewish community to ask for donations, which became sort of a team sport. We all rooted each other on, and cheered when we received donations. We all got wrapped up in trying to get as much money as possible, and it was so nice to slow down for a second to remember that these funds we were working so hard to acquire were going to a really worthy cause.

Perhaps the highlight of the evening was when the beautiful and talented Leah showed up as her famed persona Daisy the Clown, and our very own Corey won a $700 tablet in the raffle.
 
Overall this workshop was really exciting and fun, but again, if you stop to think about any small moment of it, you will find a deeper meaning, a lesson that should be applied to everything we do.

 

Diller 6: Our first Shabbaton!

[Prologue]
Dear Parents and Readers,
We decided to keep a blog of all our experiences this year in Diller and share with you the learning we undergo. This blog is dedicated to discussing our activities and expressing our opinions on the latest news and events in Diller. Enjoy, discuss, and feel free to share with your other family and friends!
Sincerely,
Max, Rebecca C., Annabelle, and Josh (The Blog Committee!)

Friday, November 16, 2012:

When we were let out of school early, we were filled with excitement. Partially because we got to skip our last class, and partially because we were about to be reunited with the people we would soon travel the globe with and refer to as our family. We boarded the bus and had a ride filled with bad jokes and balloon throwing. After unpacking our things and settling in at Fairview Lake, we set off to Shabbat dinner. We all got all dress up and took the walk over to the lodge, just a short and cold walk away from our cabin. Once there, we began discussing Shabbat rituals and the ways our families practice. I have never been a part of a traditional Shabbat dinner, but it was awesome seeing the different traditions that Jews honored on this night of rest and reflection. We went through various different colored cards, each with a different part of how Shabbat dinner was done. After we ate and laughed, we dived into our first workshop of the Shabbaton, one that I personally loved. We all sat in a circle, as we do at every workshop, and were given a bag of jellybeans. But there was a twist. Under our chairs were cups, each with a different topic on it. These topics ranged from favorite snack to our views on attaching Iran. And on the cups, there were 3 colors, each a different way to express our opinion on the topic. We would say the topic, and then put a colored jellybean inside the cup that expressed our view. When each fellow answered the questions with their Jelly Bean, we discussed. Some topics provoked heated discussions, others provoked laughs. After our workshop, we had our first Ma’agal Laila/Night Circle of the Shabbaton. We each opened letters from Diller 5, the previous cohort of Dillers. This was amazing because, there, in front of us was the written love for Diller from the participants themselves. These letters were long, pages of how much the program meant to them and how incredible of a time they had had in Israel. This only made our hunger for Israel and this program grow. After Ma’agal went back to our cabins, changed into our PJs, and huddled in the common room for some down time. This gave us a chance to hang out as friends and really get to know each other. We shared stories, jokes, and a lot of clementines. We laughed and talked until the clock stroke 1, and then off to bed we went, excited for what Saturday would bring.

-          Annabelle Hanfling
 
Saturday, November 17, 2012:

On Saturday, the Wake-Up Committee got us ready for our day by doing a shake-n-wake. We got the blood pumping and were ready for what was ahead for our busy Saturday. Following that, we had “Meditation with Meital”, which was a new way to reflect on our week and Shabbat. We were all sprawled out on the floor, eyes shut, and as the title says, we meditated with Meital.This wasn’t just any typical meditation; through this experience, we really were able to look at our personal Shabbats and reflect on ourselves individually and as a community. After that, we were greeted by guest speakers for our next workshop. Zohar and Sivan, from an organization called Hechalutz, were waiting with an AMAZING workshop about Yitzchak Rabin, the fifth Prime Minister of Israel, the lessons of leadership from his life, and how we can apply them to our own lives. Following that, we had a delicious lunch to refuel for the second part of the day.

After lunch, Diller 6 met with Tyler and Emma for some outdoor training. This wasn’t your typical stroll in the park; rather it consisted of a wide variety of team building activities to see how well we could work together. These activities really were a peek into how we will work together as a group and lead as individuals. We then enjoyed some hours of free time where some chose to get some studying and homework done, while other participated in an intense game of Jungle Speed. 

Next, the Social Committee planned and carried through an interesting game of “Sardines”, where 2-3 people hid throughout the bunk while the rest of us waited outside. When they were done hiding, we went inside and searched for them. Once someone found them, they got in the hiding place too, which led to 9 people in one corner. We really got close, literally. By the end of the game, it was dark out which meant that it was time for Havdalah, the closing of Shabbat.

The Havdalah service consisted of the singing of the prayers while we all stood in a tight, closed circle illuminated by the single candle in the middle. We learned about the meaning of the candle, the spiced and the wine and thought to ourselves the meaningful experiences was had over Shabbat that we want to take with us into the rest of the week. Then, the Rituals Committee provided the group with a great activity. Each fellow lit a candle as we sat in a circle on the ground. We talked about our personal goals and goals for the upcoming Diller year. It was the first time that we really got to share personal pieced of ourselves with each other and it was a great warm-up to our Ma’agal Laila later in the evening.  
Our Ma’agal Laila was really special. Trust was key for this activity, as each person was blindfolded and led by Rachel and Meital down the road and into the woods. As we arrived at our destination, we were each seated individually. It was complete darkness and we had no idea who was sitting near us. We were handed two sticks, which we were instructed not to do anything with until told to. Meital and Rachel began speaking, “We are here, just us, just Diller 6, in the dark. We want you to be as honest and open as you can, and share your inner most fears”. As we each shared, we cracked one of the sticks in our hands and the area began to light up. We continued sharing and were instructed to fill in the sentence “I am…!” What was different between these instructions versus the last was that we were asked to scream this on the top of our lungs, for the world to hear. As each of us did this, and shared our innermost beings, we cracked our second glow stick.  It was an amazing way to just let everything out and we knew that anything we said was completely safe with the other Diller fellows who were there. As our area became completely lit, we realized that this is who we are. Each of us, individually, makes up this group, this family, Diller 6.  

We ended the programming with a warm bonfire set up and free time. It was a great time to make some s’mores and to thaw out any limbs that might have frozen from sitting on the cold ground during Ma’agal Laila. We sang songs together, and although there was no guitar, it was so much fun to sing by the fire.
 

During our freetime, we had snacks back in the common area of our bunk and we set up an intense mini tournament of Kent, the card game. Leah and Max are the current reigning champions, but a very good fight was put up by teams of Michael Paisner - Coby Bernstein and Hannah Kanter - Rebecca Bonder. Both defeated teams had complicated codes, but none were as great as the dynamic duo Leah and Max.

Finally, we did some celebrating. There were two birthdays, Max Kasler celebrated his birthday on Thursday the 15th, turning 15; Josh Cohen celebrated his 16^th birthday on Sunday the 18th. At exactly 12:00 a.m. on Sunday, cupcakes, baked by our very own Linsey, were brought out to the birthday boys in celebration. Then everyone, except for Rebecca who was passed out on the couch the entire evening, got a cupcake as a nice midnight snack. Then it was off to bed, although, rumor has it Diller 6 stayed up late chatting the night away.
-          Max Kasler


Sunday, November 18, 2012:

Sunday morning started with an early wake up (early for some of us at least) and a quick breakfast. We then had to pack and get ready for the day. Once we were all ready, we began our last Ma'agal of the Shabbaton, our time to reflect. We were given the time to write our opinions of the programming and the general atmosphere of the Shabbaton on posters that were placed around the room. Then we were paired up, and each pair read one poster and the comments that people had written down. We returned to the Ma'agal and summarized the constructive criticisms from each poster for the group. We then returned to our cabins where we used our new teamwork skills to efficiently pack the bus. The way home was filled with singing, dancing, Israeli accents, and of course telling bad jokes. We arrived at the Federation and were shocked to see our fellow cohorts, Diller 5, the ones who we just received letters from 2 nights before. It was great to see them, at the end of their journey, and see the leaders that they have become. They told us that we were going to make a music video based off of the song "Gangnam Style", but remake it into “Diller Style” to be sent to our fellow Diller 6ers in Rishon LeZion as a way to introduce ourselves. Although it was challenging, we made the video and had an amazing time doing it. There were new dance steps to learn, some easier than others, and lots of lyrics to memorize. Our time with them ended with learning about a MetroLeZion tradition called the Achim Dance. You can watch the video that we sent to Diller 6 in Rishon LeZion! In the end, we left MetroWest tired but excited, filled with Diller spirit. We can’t wait to spend more time together!

-          Josh Cohen

 

Our video to Diller 6 in Rishon LeZion!!!

 

Tuesday & Wednesday, August 7-8: The Last Two Days

What can be done in two days? In two days, G-d created light and G-d created sky. In two days, you could fight a third of the Six Day War. In two days, you could finish an entire game of Pokémon, watch Batman 24 times, or play 12 games of monopoly (assuming no one cheats). In two days, we said good-bye to Israel and the Israelis we came to love so much.

It began with a realization: The ISS is almost over. It was time to go home. It was time to go back to New Jersey, back to familiar, back to the real world. For me, it happened on Monday night. It was 11:30 p.m., and Peleg and I arrived home at curfew right when were supposed to. After hanging out on the Rishon beach with our Diller friends, I couldn’t help but to think of what a great time we just had. It was nothing special, just talking, walking on the sand, eating chicken wings, but it was with good friends and it was fun.

“We should do this again tomorrow night”, I thought to myself. Then I remembered we couldn’t, tomorrow was the farewell dinner.

“Well how about the night after?” I thought again. The night after most of us would be in our own beds, in our own homes, with our non-Israeli parents.

What? That’s it? I need more Israel, I need more beach, more chicken wings, more jokes, more time. Even the thought of bringing sand in my suitcase and making a beach on the plane did nothing to cheer me up. (Well, maybe it did cheer me up a little, but that’s beside the point).

I went to Peleg and I told him we were not sleeping tonight. I went upstairs, brushed my teeth, and in a second I was passed out in bed. When I woke up, I discovered that my plan for an all-nighter had failed, miserably. Yet there was a silver lining, for in that moment of complete and utter disappointment, I had an epiphany. Ding. This trip wasn’t about epic halo tournaments and water melon eating contests and late night beach parties, this was about experiencing Israel with your friends, and I didn’t need to push my body to the limits to prove it. I realized that even though there were only two days left, Diller wasn’t over and I was going to make the best of it.

That Tuesday morning we all gathered at the Garden of Leaders for our last day of programming. The plan was to learn about the leaders represented in the garden, Herzl, Rabin, Ben-Gurion, and others, and then come up with leaders of our own whom we thought should be represented.

We dragged through the morning and at noon, we took a walk to the community center for lunch and more activities. Even though the walk was short (about 15 minutes) and we were following a group of 30 people, my friend Eric and I still managed to get lost. After asking 5 different old ladies where the community center was, we managed to find our way back home. It turns out that we over shot the community center by a whopping 30 feet. Perhaps retracing our steps would have worked better in this situation, but asking the old ladies was far more interesting.

Once inside, we had another workshop: the sixth leg of the Jewish table, part B. Avraham Infeld would have been proud of our legginess as we discussed the issues of family, memory, covenant, language, Israel, and our optional sixth leg. After much thought, insight, and extended metaphors involving tables, legs, and bilateral planes, we had worked up quite an appetite. Luckily, the last Diller lunch was falafel and one of the best, even if I was tricked into eating ice cream mixed with hummus. (Thanks Marisa).

Filled with fried chick peas and pita, we split into Israelis and Americans for the Final Ma’agal. The Americans were treated to Meditation with Max, and those of us who stayed awake for it dove into the deep crevices of our subconscious.

Next, Sarah Resnick, as leader of the day, prepared an awesome activity for us. She had Lee-Dubs write notes to our fellow Dillers. Leah would read a prompt, such as “What was the funniest moment you had one this trip” or “What did you appreciate about someone”, and we would write a note directly to that person. When we were finished, we put each note in the corresponding Diller’s envelope, and I’m proud to say that everyone’s envelope became very, very, fat.

By the end of the activities it was 4:30 in the afternoon, time to rest before our big farewell dinner. Rachel Forman, being the incredible caring, compassionate, person that she is, began to tear up at the thought of leaving for a few hours. Nobody could blame her for it; we know in a few hours we would be doing the same.

At the Oscar themed farewell party, everyone was looking great. I was rocking a t-shirt, khakis, and a bright red “South Park” tie which I felt earned me the award for best dressed of the night.

Sarah Resnick and Yuval Dafadi were our hosts for the night, and we got hear from some great speakers such as the head of the municipality of Rishon, Co-Director of the Diller Teen Fellows Program and the head of the Youth Department. Another highlight was listening to Anais, Eric, Dar, Ori, and BenSal sing and play piano for the crowd, and they were so good that I think I cried when they hit the high notes. After a quick montage of the Amazing Diller Race the day before, our hosts commenced awarding Oscars. Some notables: Zach Broder won the funniest Diller, Julian won the most patient, Alex and Marisa won most energetic. (I got the most honest, but I think I deserved the one for longest blog writer). Following the awards, we were given full, fragile, ceramic flower pots to give to our host families, and surprisingly, the only person to break one was our Israeli coordinator Keren.

To end the night, all the Dillers gathered for one final Achim dance. (For those who don’t know, the Achim dance is a Metro-Lezion tradition where we all gather in a circle to dance and chant). Though we had done the dance many, many, many times before, this time there was a palpable difference. We locked arms and we stomped our feet, and the floor shook with each footstep. It became our heartbeat, one heartbeat for one family.

“I said let me see your Achim Dance!”

“What did you say?”

With every verse of the song our voices swelled louder and stronger. When it finally came to the chorus, we could barely contain ourselves. We bounded around the circle, jumping and spinning and yelling and dancing all at once. It was a moment none of us wanted to end.

When the event was concluded, we all agreed to meet back at Cinema City to chill. We ate some burgers at Moishes, went shopping, and Nick and I paid thirty shekels to have fish eat our feet. (It was sooo weird). It wasn’t anything special, but like at the beach, it didn’t have to be; we were together.

I woke up the next morning and it was time for the final goodbyes. Peleg’s dad, Eilan, made me the usual iced coffee and pita, and as usual, it was delicious. I said good-bye to the rest of Peleg’s family, and we were on our way to the bus stop.

I know this may sound a little heartless, but at first the bus stop was kinda funny. Not everyone was there yet, so I decided I wasn’t going to give anyone hugs until everyone was present. That way, I would start crying at the opportune moment so that it didn’t seem weird. I stood there awkwardly debating whether or not it was the right time to begin the hug-process, but in the end, I just wound up hugging everyone anyway, problem solved.

It was sad; there were a lot of tears and a lot of promises to stay in touch. I hope I can keep them all. Once all the bags were on the bus, we were reluctantly herded inside, and we left. That was it. The ISS was officially over.

As I write this Blog 30,000 feet above sea level trapped between a crying baby and a snoring lady from Phoenix, I have the sudden urge to read the fat envelope with my name on it. I pour the notes onto my tray top table and begin to read. Memories come back that were forgotten, and for a moment, I’m not stuck in crowded smelly airplane; I’m back in Rishon Lezion, eating chicken wings with my friends and walking on the beach.

-Noah Lisser

Monday, August 6th-A Race Around Rishon

Hello all! This is Julian, writing to you directly from the Rishon Letzion Museum. As I may have just revealed, today was spent exploring the great city Rishon Letzion, the first settlement in the land of Zion.

Our day started out with the "The Amazing Diller Race," a scavenger hunt throughout downtown Rishon, where we learned about Rishon's history and visited the sites. We got to do so many cool things; we visited the first synagogue in Rishon, and we even sold soda water in the street the way they did 100 years ago! It was amazing to see how a city can be both fully of history and modernity at the same time. Once we were done with our race, we enjoyed free time and lunch in Rishon's beautiful downtown.

After lunch we visited the well that was the heart of Rishon's society 100 years ago. Without water there can be no civilization, and that well was the only water source in 12 miles of Rishon. Heavy stuff.

Our day was concluded with a visit to the local Holocaust survivors home. We enjoyed a light dinner with the survivors, who shared with us their unique and emotional life/survival stories. It was great to see how happy the survivors were to share their stories with the next generation.

-Julian Amkraut

Sunday, August 5 - From Words to Action!

On August 5, I finally had the opportunity to be leader of the day! It was an awesome experience because the day was so meaningful.
As you all probably know, on Wednesday,  Thursday and Friday, we, the Americans and Israelis of Metro LeZion had the chance to take on the madrihim role that is usually held by our JC's, Max, Aliza, Zohar, and Addi. We can proudly declare that we have run a tikun olam themed camp for young Ethopian Israeli teens, grades 7 to 9, however, our work was not over just yet.
On Sunday we got together with our chanichim (campers) one last time; it was time to volunteer and act on everything we discussed and learned at the seminar about tikun olam (repairing the world).
We were all sent to different places in Rishon to begin the volunteering, such as Asaf Harofe, a farm, a home for holocaust survivors, and a home for adults with autism. I was sent to Asaf Harofe, a hospital on the outskirts of Rishon. While there, we played with some of the sick children. Recently, we've been discussing the idea of barriers - whether it be barriers of emotion, or physical, but more common, barriers of language. I thought of this a lot when I was at this hospital. At one point, Yuval Bensal, one of the Israelis, and I started to play with a little girl. We were just playing, trying to make her laugh, when one of the adults pointed out something funny; I speak English, Yuval speaks Hebrew, and this little girl spoke Arabic. It was really funny to see all these languages come together - something we've been discussing a lot in these past three weeks - in nothing more than a simple game with a sick three year old child. The fact that we were able to still play happily with this child showed me how much Diller has impacted me and changed me. Although it was something small, and I could definitely use a much better example on a larger scale, just this little exchange between us and a three year old showed me how Diller has affected me.

Before this trip, the Hebrew language truly intimidated me. It was something extremely complex and hard to understand. But, after spending such a long time in Israel, Hebrew and Israeli culture and everything I had previously been scared or nervous about, doesn't affect me in the same way. I can't describe in words the utter appreciation I have for all the things I've learned and come to know about Israel. I love Israel and everything this country has to offer.
But, before I get into that...
After volunteering, we got back to Ramat Eliyahu and Mai, my co-leader of the day from the Israelis and I, prepared everyone for the rest of the day, as we would be visiting the deaf museum. We continued the conversations about barriers, as the deaf have an obvious barrier with communication - something that also exists between the Americans and the Israelis with the language barrier. Sometimes we have trouble expressing ourselves to each other, and it can prove to be a problem when someone wants something and the other person doesn't understand.
When visiting the museum, I think we were all able to appreciate the barrier of communication a little bit more as we understood how it directly related to our lives. Going through the museum, we put on headphones and were not allowed to talk or make sounds so the idea of being deaf could be more realistic. We were led through by a deaf person and thus able to simulate the life a deaf person faces every single day. We were even given our very own names; Max, for example, was simple "glasses", while I got to be "figure skating". We had so much fun and learned so much through this amazing experience.
To sum up the day, it was an amazing addition to this life changing experience I've been going through for the past three weeks. I loved being the leader of the day, even with all it's challenges and dilemas, I had so much fun and learned a lot.

P.S. Mom, Dad, Adam, and Eric - I had an amazing time and its going to be very hard to leave but I cannot wait to share everything with you.


-Rachel Forman

Saturday, August 4th- A Day With Our Hosts

Today was Saturday, August 4th and it was a free day with our Israelis. Personally, I  caught up on sleep, as Ori and I slept until 3 pm. Once we woke up and ate breakfast, I was on my way to a place called mini Israel, which is near Jerusalem. It was a large outdoor place that was a large model representation of the country of Israel. It was really cool for me to see the places that I already visited and to also lean about new places that I would like to see in the future.  The only disappointing part was that Rishon Lezion was not represented! After spending a couple hours there, we went to Rothschild Street right after Shabbat ended and walked around for a while and I finally ate my first falafel this trip. Needless to say, it was amazing! Next, we walked to the Federation and got on the bus along with all the Dilllers to see the show "Mayumana." It was a really cool and exciting show. the performers encorporated acting, singing, and dancing, and was also very interactive with the audience. I enjoyed the show a lot and it was a good way to cap off the Saturday.

-Coby Levine

Friday, August 3 - The "Aha! Moments"

Today was the last day of our tikkun olam seminar. After spending two rough days with 50 uncooperative adolescents, we finally had a breakthrough. Today, the same 50 Campers made us remember why we were even there in the first place. Leah called it our "aha! Moment," and appropriately so. For example, today one of the kids, let's call him Craig, who had been giving me a particularly hard time showed me that he is not just an annoying 12 year old boy. He say down with me while I was making posters and started trying to sound out the words I was writing in English. He figured out "us," "today," "hope," and a few others while having trouble with words like "welcome" and "remember."  Seeing how hard he was working and how innocently he was exploring new things made me remember that these youngsters are deeper than any of us thought. A few of the counselors gave stories of campers really delving into their lives and inner emotions.

These "aha! Moments" really changed how we thought about the camp experience. We started to get to know the campers are realized how important it is to teach them and be positive role models while keeping them off the streets. All of the late nights and planning, all of the back talk and disrespect were totally worth it. While yes, we had a small impact on their lives this week,  they taught us so much more than we ever could have imagined.

- Rachel Gordon

Thursday, August 2 - We Share...We Learn...

For me, today started out a little hectic. I was on breakfast duty, which meant that I had to be in the dining hall early and I had to stay to clean up after.  Rushing through the morning routine, I came in to a hearty breakfast with plenty of toast and some delicious Israeli cuisine that I cannot even hope to spell. After that, the counselors and the enrichment team helped to lead the campers in a Tiguf; a.k.a. a drumming thing in which a person uses their bodies or some buckets to make music. It was really fun! Later the other Dillers had some Tiguf time as well.

Another highlight of the day was that the Dillers set up an American Day for our Ethiopian campers. With fun stations such as dance, tie-dying, football, s’mores made in a solar oven and trivia, the campers had a good time.  It was a fun way to share typical American culture with our campers, who all asked us if we knew Snooki from Jersey Shore personally.  It was almost like American summer camp, which was a totally different atmosphere than the campers were used to.     

Later in the day, the campers prepared an Erev Tarbut/Cultural Evening for us! Taught by the campers themselves, it was not to be fascinated and inspired by their knowledge of their ancestors’ country and their dedication and preparation in making every station. The Dillers learned about Ethiopian food, dance, traditional garb, hair braiding, and ceremonial coffee. And of course, who could forget the depiction of a traditional Ethiopian wedding re-enacted by the campers in traditional clothes. It was so wonderful to see the campers participate in something so meaningful to them; their faces as they spoke of their background and the pride they felt in being Ethiopian in Israel were alight with excitement as they earnestly explained the how and why of their unique culture as Ethiopian Jews.  As you can tell, all the Dillers and I were thrilled to participate in first running American Day, and then experiencing Erev  Tarbut . It was an evening filled of cultural exchanges and sharing, which, at the end of the day, is why we are here!

Good night! : )

-Sara Rosen

Wednesday, August 1st-Learning From Each Other: Community Week

Today began at around 7:15 for me, waking up to the smell of Omer’s dad cooking eggs. I was promptly given an egg in a pita and sat down to enjoy it while Omer took it to go. After picking up Yuval Moriah and Marisa Parnes, we headed to a youth center where we were briefed on what was to come; we were  working with Ethiopian Israeli youths in a camp setting. We made a big entrance singing and dancing and then we took an hour bus ride to Alexander Muss High School in Hod Hasharon where the fun began. The bus ride was an amazing experience in and of itself the seats reclined, and we all found ourselves in a comfortably reclined daze. I was on the spirit team so most of my efforts went into motivating kids, singing dancing, dressing funny, the sort of stuff the people on my team do every day.

Of all the teams the counselors definitely had the hardest job after being constantly with the kids. We thought the Israelis had energy to spare but these kids obviously had apple juice or something before coming. Luckily for the counselors the schedule for oncoming days has been revised in order to give them more breaks. The enrichment team really found it meaningful to spend quality teams in more personal groups. The camp seems to be off to a good energetic start. Currently there is a "teen zula" going on for the kids. "Teen zula" is pretty much a tent where kids can dance. The thing I found interesting was that they're having a headset party. The basic premise of a headset party is a DJ transmits music to a heap of wireless headsets and the kids dance and hang out with them on. From our point of view not only is it hilarious to watch kids just randomly dancing but they're all quiet!! We still have our night circles and sleepy time left on the schedule.

Overall today had a huge learning curve for me. The main things I learned were how to deal with energetic kids who don't speak the same language as me, how to set up a tent, and how really as a teacher you can learn from your students in ways in which you'd least expect. Most important of what I learned from the kids specifically today is the little things really affect a bigger group. I saw one of our Dillers pick up a piece of trash and a few campers follow. Hopefully tomorrow I will learn even more from this experience. Laila tov, to my mom and family I love you and hope you have a good night.

-Nick Sarano

Tuesday, July 31 - Congress to Community Week

Montreal, San Francisco, Baltimore, Upper Galilee, Ashkelon; Just A few places where I now have friends.
Congress was an amazing experience where we learned to form our own opinions, gained new ideas, and got to argue our position with other teens from around North America and Israel. We finished off congress with a sleepy morning after a big party last night. After giving and getting feedback in our color groups, we said our goodbyes, and made our way to Rishon Letzion! We were welcomed by the youth department (federation) in Rishon and a much needed lunch after a few days of the food at Givat Chaviva.

Now I'm at Mai's house starting off community week. I was welcomed into her house right away with a tour, a snack, music and dancing. After a trip to the mall, we're really ready for a good night sleep

-Alex Reiss

Monday, July 30 - Last Day of Congress

Greetings Diller parents and friends!
I am writing to you as our last day at the Diller International Congress sadly comes to an end. It has been an amazing and action packed week, and each and every one of us has had an experience that shall never be replicated.

Today started off with an out of this world breakfast that lead to an early (well, we all thought it was)morning activity in our color groups, and after a short break we had yet another morning activity in our color groups. Lunch was surprisingly edible and after lunch we had some much needed break/pool time. We then gathered back in our color groups to plan out our skits for the closing ceremony. It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you put 24 teen leaders in a room together. At the closing ceremony we all got to see each others’ skits and we even got to watchour junior staff give us their renditions of “things chanichim say”, or stuffthat we the fellows say.  The ceremony was concluded by Diller co-director, Liat singing a song dedicated to all of the wonderful Coordinators from the different partnerships.

With the heat and humidity, the white tent (teen hang out spot) has turned into a watergun fight that involves music and dancing. I will really miss congress and all the new people I met it was a learning experience that taught me about both friendship and Judiasm. The five pillars of judiasm were instilled into us and now as Jewish leaders we can spread our ideas and help the jewish world continually grow in a manner that will help the Jewish world prosper.

- Julian Amkraut

Sunday, July 29 - Covenant & Memory

We first started off our day with an early morning breakfast at 8:30 with delicious assortments of salad and berakas. From there, we then went to our color groups to learn about the covenant (brit). The covenant, one of the five legs, describes the contract between the nation of Israel and God. We then had a much needed break where we watched the Olympics.

Then, we went back to our color groups and discussed another leg of the table – memory. We talked about our past as a joint nation and how it affects us. After, we had lunch.

After lunch, we were extremely fortunate to meet fifteen of some of the most renowned Jewish leaders in the world. I had the pleasure of meeting Michael Biton. He was a mayor of a city in Israel and was extremely cool to speak with as he gave his advice and opinion on how to become a better leader.

After meeting with the speakers, we then met with some Diller alumni who are leaders in their careers today. My Diller alumni, Natanel, talked about the legal immigrants coming in from Sudan, to Israel. After this, we had dinner and learned about other ways after Diller to still make an impact in our Jewish community. Straight from there, we went to our ma’agal lilah. We had a nice refreshment in twizzlers.

-Zach Broder

P.S. Mom and Dad I love you, and YES I am brushing my teeth!!!!!!!!!!!