Our First Shabbaton: Saturday!

Baruch Atah Adonai… may this year's Diller experience be the best yet! AMEN!

After a late but exciting night of talking, story telling and friend making, we all woke up slightly restless for our first Shabbat service together. None of us really knew what to expect with the scheduled, “alternative Shabbat service” that was planned for us. Personally, I was extremely curious how we would be celebrating Shabbat as we all clearly had distinct levels and relationships with the holiday as we discussed the previous night. I thought this experience was the best spiritual one yet and truly summed up what Diller is all about. As every fellow stood up and went through the order of the Shabbat service through personal prayers and aspects of our lives that we were particularly thankful or wishful for, we not only uncovered more about each other, but also in many ways connected differently with Judaism. The service was unique and spiritually educational and while it was far from traditional, I think we all agreed that it accomplished a very similar task to any other Shabbat service that any of us had ever taken part of.

After a number of emotions surfaced in the Shabbat service it was now time to learn about each other’s different views on Judaism and finally begin our long and difficult voyage of uncovering our own Jewish identities. When we were split up into random groups and were told to present on four distinct sectors of Judaism that may or may not actually represent our own views, there was some level of uncertainty in the room. Once again Diller was forcing us to leave our comfort zone. Nevertheless that small instant of hesitation was quickly replaced with debate and teachings from every Diller member. No matter the outcome all of the teens for sure have a much greater respect for all Jews in the world from Orthodox to Reconstructionist. We were all pleasantly surprised to realize the ease that we were able to discuss different issues and understand each other’s opinions. All in all I think the morning of our first Shabbat was the most any of us had truly participated and it was at this time that we really jumped face first into the Diller experience and never looked back.

After an insightful lunch and talk with Rabbi Nu at the Montreal Torah Centre, we all gained a new appreciation for sensitive issues in our society and Judaism’s view on them. After a relaxing afternoon filled with more relationship forming, we did Havdallah in another classic Diller way and finally did our first real leadership activity. As we read through old Amerindian leadership qualities, we all gained new insight on what type of leader we were. The group reached a consensus that a well functioning team needs all types of leaders including creativity, self-reliance, analysis and cooperation. In my opinion, this was the most beneficial activity that we did as a group as we saw how similar yet different all of us are. While we all enjoyed discovering aspects of ourselves, it was finally time for the big and suspenseful surprise. As correctly predicted by a few of the Diller teens, we all went laser tagging and had an amazing time. When we got back to the hotel we were all relieved to have a short organized talk and were excited just to continue our discussions and become better friends. These bonds were truly exemplified when the next day we were asked to describe our group’s relationship with Judaism through only six words. “Leading Israel through traditional family values” could not sum up what our cohort is about any better. The cooperation and teamwork of the entire group reinforced that this would be a fantastic experience for all of us. Like classic Diller style, we could not leave the Quality Inn Hotel without some sort of bang. Luckily, the hotel helped us out a bit when a chandelier fell directly on my head. Don’t worry Quality Inn, I’m all good plus you just gave us another amazing memory so thanks I guess???

Although we all come from different backgrounds, have pluralistic views on Judaism, and are part of the Diller journey for many different reasons, every fellow ultimately understood that the first Shabbat spent together would be a very special one. With that mentality in mind, I think that I can safely speak for everyone who took part that it lived up and in many ways surpassed all of our expectations and was a Shabbaton we would all remember for a long time.

By: Phil Dubrofsky

Our First Shabbaton: Friday!

I am quite sure that every member of the Diller family would agree that the first Diller Shabbaton went extremely well. Spending all that time together really developed the many friendships within the group. This was a unifying experience. The Jewish custom of calling every day the first of Shabbat , the second of Shabbat etc. implies that every day we are both preparing for and looking forward to Shabbat. This was truly a Shabbat to look forward to. Before I continue, I would like to thank Yamit, Max, Alizee and everyone who helped make this Shabbaton happen. Without their preparations, this very special Shabbat would never have happened. This blog will focus on the first day of the Shabbaton. Erev Shabbat - Friday.

At 4:00 pm we arrived and were assigned rooms. After one hour of preparation for Shabbat, it was time to light the candles. Since I am a male, I watched our director, Yamit lead the candle lighting service. All of the girls had a chance to recite the blessings and light their own candles. Until now, I never understood why women considered this mitzva more meaningful than others. Now, I think I have an idea. Shabbat is one of the aspects of Judaism that many Jews connect to in different ways; whether by observing all the associated laws and commandments or by enjoying a Shabbat meal with the family. The custom of lighting candles on Friday night not only welcomes the Shabbat, it is also one of the commandments that only women can preform. Many have seen their mothers and grandmothers perform this mitzvah, and regard this mitzva as core in their becoming part of the next generation of Jewish women. To continue our welcoming of the Shabbat, we had Friday night prayers - Orthodox style. Our very own teens led the service. The prayers that were sung aloud, such as Lecha Dodi, were especially meaningful.

To test our knowledge of various Jewish trivia, Max and Alizee, our amazing JCs, prepared a version of Jeopardy with a Jewish theme. For this entertaining game the cohort was split into two teams. Both teams were asked various questions on jewish life. Some of the categories of questions included were Movies and T.V., Sports, Bible and Science. As Diller fellows are very trigger-happy, we often answered questions before hearing the entire question. My team (Joseph) won because of Karl Marx’s Jewish ancestry. This game showed how despite making up about 0.2% of the world, Jews have been at the forefront of various cultural, scientific and other developments. In fact, 23% of all Nobel prize winners are Jewish ( I invite you to look at the population statistic again).

After the JC’s activity and the sweet table, it was time for the (this seems to be a
n unfair exclusion of other activities but for lack of a better word) highlight of the night. The Maggal Layla or Night Circle was an activity when we are asked questions about ourselves. Some of the questions resulted in  hilarious answers. Such as the answers to “What was the grossest thing you have ever done?”. Many of the questions were more serious. These questions were often personal. Answering personal questions was in no way a bad thing. Answering and hearing the answers of others to such questions developed the understanding we have of one another, and therefore made us all more comfortable around each other. It was a great opportunity for Fellows to share personal feeling and experiences without feeling intimidated or embarrassed - everyone was doing it!  I look forward to experiencing many more night circles with Diller!

To sum up the first day of the Shabbaton, I decided that there were a few important themes that would carry on into the second day of the Shabbaton. These themes were unity despite differences and Jewish resilience. The first theme of unity despite differences was made manifest in our varied group. Certain activities, such as the maggal Layla and Jewpardy; showed how diverse Jews can be. However, with this array of differences we all have some common ground; our Jewishness. The theme of Jewish resilience was suggested in the title of the Shabbaton; Moses to Facebook; a journey through Jewish identity and leadership. Lets start with the first part of the tile, Moses to Facebook. This suggests that Jews have been around… well from Moses to Facebook. Jews (technically Israelites) are perhaps the only nation to keep so much of their culture through the generations, despite so much adversity. Despite all of this adversity, Jews have not only kept their identity, but have also been leaders. Jews have been resilient for generations and that is why we can call ourselves Jewish today. I look forward to the next Shabbaton!

By: Noah Margolese