First Workshop: Hi, What's Your Name?

If I had to sum up the first Montreal Diller Teen Fellows workshop in a single word, I would choose the word “name.” Of course, I’m glad I’m not faced with such a monumental task, as there was really a lot that happened over the span of our four-hour meeting. It almost seems careless to just choose a single word—it feels like I’m neglecting so much of what happened. Nonetheless, names were a significant part of our first day as Diller-ites. Anyone who has participated in a group activity with strangers in their life (that is to say, everyone ever) is presented the daunting duty of memorizing everyone’s names, and familiarizing themselves with their group. As someone who is awful with name-memorization, this is often my least favorite phase of being in a group. Thankfully, it’s the one that’s over with the fastest.

I think I’m speaking for the majority of our cohort when I say that the first icebreaker was borderline uncomfortable. I mean, that’s not in any way a bad thing, it’s to be expected. So much of what this program is about is stepping outside of your comfort zone and growing as a result. That being said, I felt awkward doing them for the first little bit. I quickly got over this feeling, as, I feel, did everyone else. After all, this is a group of people that we’re going to be spending the next 15 months with, it makes sense to at least know their names, or, like, play “Categories or Die” with them (I feel like death is a rather extreme consequence for not being able to name a vegetable under pressure, but, then again, they’re vegetables.)

Of course, after the games subsided, it was time to get down to business. Yamit, our coordinator, outlined the basic rules for our time as Diller Teen Fellows, and, suffice to say, we’re all 100% committed. There was also time for our 4 potential JC’s— Sarah, Alizée, Max and Evan—to explain Diller’s 4 pillars: Israel, Tikkun-Olam, Judaism/Jewish Identity, and Leadership.

We were also given a list of personal values, and we all had to choose one that would represent what we’d bring to our cohort and write it on a flag. There were a lot to choose from: kindness, friendship, forgiveness, creativity, etc. What was great about this activity was that it showed that each person has something unique to bring to the group. Each person has his/her own set of values. These values might conflict with those of other people, but, in the end, that’s what makes for interesting discussion and growth anyway! If we were just a group of like-minded people talking about how similar we all are, then we wouldn’t be able to grow as people. This selection of values was kind of a symbolic “contract,” in which each person promised to bring their selected trait to every meeting in one way or another. As long as we abide by this contract, our future growth is pretty much guaranteed.

But, for today, the biggest focus was on the identity, or, more specifically, the name. We discussed what our names mean, not only to us, but also to those around us. For example, my name, Sol, has a lot of different meanings depending on whom you ask. It could be the king Solomon, it could be the Latin name for our Sun, etc. But what does Sol mean in terms of who I am as a person? Are our names accurate gauges for who we are, and how we act? If my name were Herbert, would I be a different person? I mean, I think I would be roughly the same (I’d probably be made fun of for it,) but I like to think that one’s name gives him/her a little bit of their individuality. I really think our names are often taken for granted, they’re just words that we associate with faces, and that’s it. But a name can, sometimes, tell you a lot about a person. It can give you an idea of their heritage, their beliefs, and so much more. While I don’t think it’s right to tie someone down to their name, (something over which they have no control,) names are as significant to identification as faces are. We aren’t born fitting our names; we have to kind of “grow into them” as people. That’s why I take pride when someone tells me I “look like a Sol.” Because it’s not that they associate me with the name Sol. It’s that they associate the name Sol with me. I’ve made that name a part of my identity, not the other way around.

Anyway, forgive my rambling. I look forward to getting to know you all.

By: Sol Azrieli

First Day at Congress: Our Present, Past, and Future

Today was a great day to start the new month. After creating special friendships and bonds with fellow North Americans, we were joined by our israeli counterparts.

Soon after our friends from Israel joined us, they were added to the thirteen tribe groups that had been created previously. The first activity was ice breakers and ended with the breaking of actual ice! Soon after we ate a somewhat good lunch & were given our sleeping arrangements for the week.

We started to do another activity at 3:30 led by our junior staff. The activity was all about family; our immediate family, our North American Family, Israel and our new diller family. After this interesting activity we got a much awaited break.

At 5:30 we started another activity led by our coordinators, which was all about the covenant-Brit. For Part of the activity we were divided up into five groups & our mission involved taking the Ten Commandments trying to decided that if they're was only five commandments, what would they be? This was very interesting for me because myself and another North American were discussing the sabbath commandment with two Israelis and our views were completely different, as it is easier to observe the Sabbath in Israel.

Pizza and pasta was served for dinner at seven followed by a magal Lilah (circle time) at 8 o'clock. To end the great day, the famous 'white tent' opened at 9:30 for teens to make new friends and socialize.

Michael Salpeter

IDF Day!

We may live in different countries, experience different cultures and while going to the army at age 18 is certainly not the norm in Canada as it is in Israel, there is a special something that connects us all.  There is one common language we all speak, it's a web of emotions strewn between us. We all feel sadness, happiness, pain, elation... While we watched a movie on a fallen soldier and Israeli dillers shared personal stories, we were all lying in this very web, experiencing grief and pain all together.
But this intricate web also allows us to enjoy certain emotions together as well.  At the Ramon Airforce Base, we watched in anticipation as three F-16i planes took flight on the runway. This was something completely new to me, and I think to most of the Canadians, as soldiers in uniform and army weaponry are certainly not the norm in Montreal.
However, something common does exist between the two countries: our ability to care for veterans of war. Here in Be'er Sheva, we visited בית הלוחם, a centre for victims of war and terrorism attacks in Israel. There are 3 others like it in the country: in Tel-Aviv, in Jerusalem and in Haifa. Not only do they have regular sports teams but, like the ones we played with, they also have many wheelchair teams. Our dillers found out how hard it is to stay seated while passing, throwing, scoring and dribbling a basketball. This is how some people live their lives and I for one, could not even handle it for 5 minutes. These people are heroes in their own right and so brave for not succumbing to despair. It is truly amazing to see a city giving a second chance to those who devoted their lives and gave up so much for it's protection.
Lastly, I would like to thank the lovely planners of this day who made it all possible. They opened our eyes to many different aspects of the IDF, it's not all guns and uniforms but real people with real stories.
The day ended on a high note, bright like the setting sun that spanned the landscape. WATER FIGHT!

Chelsea Myers-Colet

Swimming in Blue and White!

Waking up at 4 in the morning was quite the challenge, but we all managed to wake up and go to Masada. As my first time in Israel, I didn't really know what to expect when we would arrive at this historic site. The ruins left on Masada makes this fortress  even more beautiful and the view from on top of it is breath taking. The group of the day planned an original activity. They asked few teens to stand in the middle of a circle while the other teens would bloke the way for them to get out. It was a reproduction of what the Jews and the Romans did with Masada. After this fun activity, we took the snake path to get down. After an hour walk going down the mountain, we left Masada to go eat a delicious breakfast. Once everyone ate, we took our bathing suits and left for the Dead Sea. It was pretty cool to just float in the middle of the sea.
After the Dead Sea, we headed towards Sde Boker, the kibbutz where David Ben Gurion lived. We were brought in a room where we had to watch a little video about his life. It was interesting to learn about how hard it was to built this kibbutz and how much effort he had put into it. We all think that we know his story, but today I learned a more detailed version of his life. After this little clip, we had a little activity  Jewish leaders.
After our little trip into this famous kibbutz, we headed to Beer Sheva to change outfits for the Maccabiah ceremony. The feeling I had arriving at the ceremony was overwhelming. There were so many Jews from around the world that gathered for this ceremony. This will be a memory that I will cherish forever.
Am Israel chai!

Megan Levy

Day 6: Meeting Be'er Sheva!

Today at 8:15 we met at the gates of Ben Gurion university of the Negev. To begin our day, we split into two groups, the Canadians, and the Israelis. Each group discussed their first night of home hospitality, something we all really enjoyed! Following our discussions, we had the amazing opportunity to get a full tour of the university and even see the mythical Helen Diller building. I  thought was cool to see how much charity this woman has given. As our day continued, we gathered to listen to an Israeli teacher who talked to us about the history of Be'er Sheva, among other interesting topics including a bayonet he found in his backyard. Being a history buff, I was highly interested in this part of the day.

After, we made our way to Tel Be'er Sheva for a scavenger hunt. Purple team won! But that activity was nothing compared to the cave crawling we did later on. I almost got stuck! Finally, we ended up at a kibbutz where we learnt about life on a kibbutz and had a well deserved swim! Personally, I really enjoyed this day because of its focus on history. I was really shocked by the amount of effort put in on the part of the day's activity group. We managed to accomplish so much in one day. And to be honest, I didn't realize how much there was to the city of Be'er Shave. Prior to this day, I honestly thought it was just done random city in the dessert. Now though, I realize how amazing of a city Be'er Sheva really is and that it can hold its own against cities like Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. Overall, this day was fantastic! I hope that the days to come are just as exciting and as intriguing as this one.

By: Maxwell Wiltzer