July 29
As of today, we have one week left in Israel. I really wish I had more time in Be'er Sheva, but we've got to Congress. I was really sad leaving my hosts, but at least I got to say goodbye to everyone.
We all got to the bus at 10:30, then started driving to Gan Shmuel for the opening ceremony of the Diller Teen Fellows International Congress.
After the end of the ceremony, we drove the to Givat Haviva, got our rooms and a tour of the kibbutz.
After dinner, we had an activity about family with our "tribes," which are tiny groups that we are all divided into for Congress. They are mixed with Israelis and NA/SA, and are named after the 12 tribes of Israel. They had to add a few tribes, though, because we are so many people, so I am in the Leah tribe, after Jacob's wife.
We had a short ma'agal Laila in our local communities afterwards, and then bed. Tomorrow there are speakers and lots of activities, so I hope the 7 other boys in my room are quiet so I can sleep.
July 30
The keynote speaker at Congress' name is Avraham Infeld, a man from South Africa who came to speak to us about Jewish peoplehood. He had this whole thing about the 5 legs of Judaism: Jewish memory, the land/state of Israel, the Hebrew language, Mount Sinai and Family. The whole thing is that you're supposed to pick the three legs that are most significant to you, so that no matter what, you have at least one leg in common with everyone else in the room. I picked Hebrew, the state of Israel and Jewish Memory.
After that, we had an activity in our tribes about the presentation, where we mostly talked about the Hebrew language and whether or not it divides or unite the Jews of today. I said it was uniting, but a lot of people were opposed to me because they didn't speak Hebrew. I told them that I didn't speak Hebrew either, but they still felt differently than I.
We had lunch, and then had little meetings with various Jewish leaders in Israel. I was with this guy named Peleg Reshef. He wasn't so great, and he thought that all Jews should live in Israel, because it is our duty as a people. After the so-called "Inspiration Dates," we took a big group picture with everyone on the basketball court. Then we had dinner, and an activity about Mount Sinai in our tribes, where we went over the story of the giving of the Torah. After that we had a ma'agal, and bedtime. Tomorrow is Shabbat, and I'm nervous because it has been very hot the past few days, and I do not think I'll be able to handle being outside in my nice Shabbat clothes. Fingers crossed it will cool down tomorrow night.
July 31
Today we talked mostly about what to do as a Diller alumni in order to continue making an impact in our local communities.
After breakfast, we had small meetings with some of the JCs, whom are technically Diller alums. I met with this guy named Nitay, who is the mentor for all the JCs, no matter where they're from. He talked a lot about getting into college and life in college, which I didn't really get because it has nothing to do with Diller. Still, I listened to him, and he said some pretty smart things about how to use Diller to improve our resume and use the leadership skills we've learned to do better in interviews. He goes to UPenn, so I trust what he said!
After lunch, we had an hour and a half to prepare for Shabbat. Sure enough, it was hot hot hot today, and as soon as I got outside in my nice shirt and shorts, I was sweating like crazy. First, we had a gathering on the basketball court in our local communities, for 45 minutes, then we filmed something for a music video a Diller alum is making, then we had a postcard activity on the main lawn, where we had to write a Shabbat message to a random fellow from another community and then find them and deliver the card. Finally, we went inside for services, which were pretty nice, but not as good as going to synagogue with Yonatan's family.
At 8 o'clock, we had dinner, which was pretty good. There were more beans, and I had potatoes, along with an Israeli salad/rice combo. After dinner, we had a really nice ma'agal with Be'er Sheva and Montreal, where we played "I love you because." Basically, we all sat in a circle, and one at a time we got up and went around to someone in the circle and told them why we loved them. It was a really sweet activity, and it made me feel better after the burning hot Shabbat.
August 1
Today was Shabbat. It was very hot, but very calm.
After breakfast, we had a small ma'agal with our local community, then we had an activity about the Ten Commandments in our tribes. We were divided into groups within our tribe, and we each had to come up with two new commandments to add. Our group came up with "treat everyone equally" and "remember where you came from." Other groups had the same first one, but their second one was different. They all had very similar meanings: "respect the environment," "do not harm any of God's creations," etc.
After dinner, we (all 500+ of us) did havdallah together on the front lawn, in huge concentric circles. It was still very hot, even at 8 o'clock at night. Then we went to the basketball court for the closing ceremony. Every tribe did their little presentation, and they were all pretty good. Then there was a party with popcorn, music, clothes to buy, and more. It was really fun. Today was the last day of Congress, and tomorrow we're going touring in the Upper Galilee, a city in the Golan, the northern region of Israel with our partnership group.
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