We arrived with signs, balloons, party horns, gift bags and smiles and we greeted our penpals. It was really overwhelming, there were so many people, hugs and names to remember but it was exciting, definitely a very special moment. Our bus ride to CBB was our first chance to have one on one conversations. My prediction from that drive was that we would become a very close group, very fast (spoiler: I was right!) Once we arrived, we were told to go to bed but the eagerness still had not worn off so we hung out a little (or a lot) before we went to sleep.
Friday morning we had our first meal with the Israelis and Canadians together, and then our staff did a little skit presenting the theme for our Shabbaton: Trust. We discussed levels of trust, where we are now, and where we would like to be by the end of the Shabbaton and by the end of the week. I really liked this theme and it was interesting to see how all the following activities tied in with it.
We sat down for lunch, it was amazing, with every meal, we could feel the bonds strengthening more and more! Once we were finished eating, talking and cleaning, we got on to the bus to go to Tremblant. The outing missions/bus games committee arranged games for us on the bus to get to know each other better, it was a success. They split us into teams and we had a picture scavenger hunt all around Tremblant. When we were finished we had free time, it was so much fun to show the Israelis around, especially to take them to make and eat frozen maple syrup on a stick! (Eh?)
We got back to CBB and began to prepare for our first shabbat together. Each Canadian wrote a Shabbat-o-gram to an Israeli, each Israeli to a Canadian and everybody wrote one wish. Once we were all dressed up we met to light the candles and we were each given one anonymous wish to make come true over shabbat, and an adorable note to start our Shabbat off positively. We split into 3 groups for prayers; Orthodox, Alternative and Camp Style and then got back together to eat our meal.
Saturday morning started off with praying. There were two services offered: a traditional orthodox service and an alternative yoga lesson. I went to the the alternative services, where we had the chance to practice yoga, meditate, and reflect (and for some of us, nap).
We then had a program that was run by a few members of Diller international staff, Leah and Keren. In this program, we talked about the story of the Two and a Half Tribes. In this program, we assumed the role of one of Moses's advisors, and we were given a chance to share our opinions on whether the tribes of Reuven and Gad should be permitted to stay on the east of the Jordan. In the end, we learned that Moses allowed the two tribes to stay, but half of Menashe was assigned to stay with them as well. This program led to interesting discussion, and really showed the complexity and controversy behind what I always thought to be a simple story.
We then had lunch all together. Once again, the meals were a good chance to bond and to talk to the Israelis. After lunch, we all went outside. We had a huge snowball fight, and took advantage of the free time to bond and have fun. This was definitely a highlight of the weekend for me, and I am sure it was an especially memorable experience for the Israelis, who do not usually have the opportunity to play in the snow like this.
Later that night we had havdallah. We all stood in a circle, and afterwards we all sang songs together. After this we started community week planning. We separated into Israeli and Canadian groups, and each group voted on 8 words that they wanted to a part of the vision of the week. We then combined the groups, and all together narrowed it down to 6 words. It was very exciting to finally start down the road of community.
All ready we can feel the excitement growing, and if this weekend was any indication, everyone will work together for an amazing experience. We then all hung out till curfew (and maybe a bit past it), before going to sleep.
In the morning, we had a short feedback session before getting on the bus back to Montreal. There was a mix of sadness that we had to end this amazing weekend, and excitement that we would finally be welcoming our pen pals into our homes and into our city.
by Joy Malorni and Jared Boretsky
