Cohort 8's Second Workshop by Jordan Silver

Last Sunday, our cohort had another great meeting! We first discussed the recent events that transpired in Israel. When we first entered the room there were papers that were posted on the wall with each one having different information about the many atrocious attacks that had been happening in Israel. We were then given the time to ask the shinshinit, Avital, any questions we might have regarding these events. She was able to give us a personal perspective on life in Israel along with the details of the various news events.

We were then asked to pair up with people that we hadn’t really gotten to know very well yet and were given questions to ask each other. The questions' overarching theme was mainly on our names and how they related to our individual identity. The main purpose of this exercise was to see if the names we were given, had an effect on the way people perceived us and how we ourselves acted in life regarding it. Afterwards we were shown a video of 2 brothers, one had been named Loser while the other had been named Winner, it showed that Loser ended up becoming an extremely successful businessman while Winner ended up in prison for multiple felonies. The video was able to show us that regardless of other peoples' preconceived notions of you, if you work hard that's what will define you.

After that we shifted into the topic of leadership. We were broken into small groups and given a small speech to practice and deliver to the rest of group. We were then supposed to analyze the speech and figure out who said it and why they were a good leader. This activity helped us to determine what we thought to be as good characteristics for leaders and helped us realized that even though someone might be a truly awful person (i.e Hitler) that doesn’t change the fact that they may have been a great speaker that inspired people, albeit to do wicked things.

After a short break to talk and eat some snacks, we did an activity which consisted of questions with multiple answers and with each answer there was a colour associated with it. We were given different coloured beads and some strings. We then had to put a bead with the same colour that matched our answer on the string. Afterwards we were told that each of the different colours of beads represents a different type of leadership. We learned what each of our leadership types meant and discussed if we wanted to be like a different leadership type.  My leadership type was called the Democratic leadership; what this means is that I value the input of team members and peers, but the responsibility of making the final decision rests with the leader. This type of leadership was said to help make team members feel valued and contribute to the overall goal of the team but still left some authority to leader in order to help make complete decisions. 

At the end, we watched a Ted talk that spoke about how even one small action can make a huge impact on someone, whether it was  making a joke to cheer someone up or asking someone how they are feeling, it can have a life changing effect on them that we ourselves might not even realize. 

I think we all really gained a lot from our second Diller Teen Workshop. Now, we truly understand the qualities and effects of a leader and how anyone can become a leader and reflect their inspiration onto others! I am very excited to see what we can all learn next time we see each other!

Cohort 8's First Workshop by Jony Assayag

This past Sunday at Diller, we had Cohort 8's first workshop ever. We first played an icebreaker game that required you to memorize everyones object that they put in their trunk, which was a good way to commit everyone's names to memory.

Next, we broke into small groups to examine the Israeli Declaration of Independence. Using this text, we discussed how the State of Israel laid out expectations for the country, its people and of the world at large, as well as their commitment to Jews overseas. We then took this example and applied it to our own Diller group, thinking about what we can expect from one another and what we will bring to the program. With that in mind, we started working on a list of qualities we want to have as a Diller family. We wrote them all down a long list some being: Equally respect others, cooperation between members of the group, and keeping an open mind.

After a short snack break, we went outside and participated in team bonding activities with Dynamix. The activities really required everyone on the team to contribute, which I think everyone did a great job of. Especially the last game, which required everyone in cohort 8 to make a long bridge to lead the marbles into a cup. We got to see how each person takes part in group tasks and what it takes to work as a team, which gave us a better understanding of each other.

I think that this was a very successful first workshop, everyone is starting to feel more comfortable with each other and things are starting to get less awkward. 

ISS: August 4 by Josh Levine

Josh Levine as Leader of the Day on Aug 4

The day started off with everyone packing up our bags to make our move to Tel Aviv. Before we left we had some places to see in Metula. We went up to a lookout that looked over the border around Metula. We were able to see the entire city from up there.

We then went to the Canada Center where we had the choice to either go skating or swimming. The majority of us went Skating first and later we went swimming.

Afterwards we ate an amazing lunch at Liat Cohen Raviv's house - the Senior Director of Diller Teen Fellows International. I have to say it was one of the best meals we ate in Israel, thanks to Liat's sister in law.

Next we all went on the bus and began our long drive from Metula to Tel Aviv. When we arrived we had shopping time in a market for an hour. We met some of the some other Diller groups while shopping which was a great surprise for us. After we all met up at the end or the shopping time we drove towards our last hotel of the trip. We ate dinner as a group and we got ready for our last program with the Israelis.

This was one of my favourite programs we did throughout the trip. We got into a big circle and candles were passed around. We were asked to go and light the candle of someone who we wanted to thank or tell them something. Although the wind kept blowing out the candles, it was still a huge success. We all said our goodbyes after the program and began to talk about the next time we will all see each other. The Israelis loaded their stuff on the bus and made their way back to Beer Sheba.

ISS: July 29 - Aug 1: Congress by Theo Cape

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.