The Israel Winter Seminar Begins

After the excitement and then the postponing of our trip, the time had finally arrived. Montreal cohort 6 was off to Israel! We left the Y, with our new journals in hand (thanks Alizée), and made our way to the airport. After a couple adjustments, all our bags were underweight. With some free time in the airport, we bought snacks and drinks and got ready for our long flight to Zurich. Everyone passed the time either by sleeping, watching movies, or reading. Our flight was uneventful as was the stopover in Zurich. Prior to boarding the plane for Israel we met the Miami cohort and socialized, turns out, they were on the same flight as us! We arrived in Israel in the early afternoon and reunited with our partnership cohort. It had been so long since the last time we had seen them! After we all had a chance to hug and say hello, we headed to the buses. 

We drove to Ben Yehudah street where we had a chance to eat, reacquaint with one another and recover from our flights. After watching the lighting if the chanukiah in kikar tzion (Zion square), we got back on the buses to drive to the old city. Despite a rare downpour in Jerusalem, we trekked through to the Kotel. When we got there we were dripping wet, but enjoying what we know is a pretty unique Israel experience. After we had some time to pray and to put notes in the wall, we gathered to go on the Kotel tunnel tour. The tour explored the length of the Western Wall that was buried under the ancient city and just recently uncovered by archaeologists. We learned a lot about the history of the wall and the sheer magnitude of it, and came to appreciate what a feat of architecture its construction  must have been. After the tour, we went back to the hotel for a quick, chanukah themed ma'agal lailah, following which we went to bed to try to catch up on our sleep so that we could enjoy the rest of what we know will continue to be an amazing trip.

 

Written by Ariella Eisenberg, Rebecca Gotteiner, and Jon Boretsky

Diller Teen Fellows Montreal at the Friendship Circle

Last Sunday, we went to the Friendship Circle where we did an activity for Chanukah, and played with the kids there. The Friendship Circle unites teen volunteers with children who have special needs in a friendship that enriches both their lives.

For our Chanukah craft, we made chanukiot out of pieces of wood and nuts from the hardware store, and we helped our new friends decorate them. After we made the crafts, we went to the dance room where we did Zumba and went up to the gym to do an obstacle course and play basketball. Our short afternoon visit made a remarkable impact on the Diller Teen Fellows and enriched our Diller experience.

Once we returned to the Y, we reflected on our incredible experience at the Friendship circle and talked about taking responsibility for others. We also played a game of "and suddenly". It really was a really fantastic day and I hope we have more days like this to come. 

Written by Gabriella Malamud

Cohort 7's First Shabbaton

              On the 21^st of November, the seventh cohort of the Montreal Diller Teen Fellows had their first Shabbaton at the Quality Inn hotel in Montreal. The theme of the Shabbaton was Jewish Identity, so throughout the weekend we reflected on our own traditions and beliefs. We welcomed Shabbat by lighting and blessing the Shabbat candles and by singing Shabbat songs and cheers. Later, we prayed the evening prayer portion in wonderful tunes, followed by an insightful activity where we learned about the different Shabbat prayers and customs. Finally, we sat down and had a delicious Shabbat meal, which included some very yummy chicken soup. After dinner, our JCs rand an amazing program called "Minute to Win It" based on the TV game show. We split in to two teams and competed in mystery challenges. There was lots of cheering and fun competition. Finally, we concluded the night with a Ma’agal Layla, a night discussion circle, where we answered very deep and meaningful questions and got to know each other better.

On Friday night we also met our newest Montreal fellow -- an adorable goat that we decided to name Phil, inspired by our JC of the same name. You can even follow Phil on instagram!

After getting up early on Saturday, we ate breakfast and then started our first activity of the day. The activity was about the streams of Judaism. We were divided into 4 small groups and each group received a paper with information about one of the four streams; Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist and Reform. We then presented what we learned to the rest of the group. This activity gave us an opportunity to better understand the different streams of Judaism.

Following the activity, we left the hotel (without Phil [the goat] L) and headed to the Montreal Torah Centre, an orthodox synagogue. When we got there, everyone was extremely welcoming and the atmosphere was festive for Shabbat. We went in for the end of the services and since this was an orthodox synagogue, the men and women sat separately. After the services, the rabbi made a speech about the brutality with which the four rabbis in Jerusalem were murdered. He told us that as Jews we need to stand up and not give up our land in Israel. It was touching to see the support that Canadians were showing towards Israel. Following the services and the speech, our group went upstairs to a big table set just for us and the rabbi, Rabbi New. As we ate lunch, Rabbi New discussed with us the purpose each person has and the meaning of their life. He also told us that in Judaism, the ultimate goal in life is to bring heaven onto earth while we're still living.

After lunch, we headed out to a reconstructionist synagogue just next door, Dorshei Emet. Rabbi Aigen came and spoke to us about reconstructionist Judaism. He told us how reconstructionist Judaism came about in the 1920s. He explained to us that in reconstructionist Judaism, each family has the liberty to choose what to practice according to what's important to them. He said that it's not as much about the Halacha as it is about the values and culture. It was very interesting to see this side of Judaism especially after seeing orthodox just before. We were able to see how the same religion can be interpreted and practiced in completely different ways.

At 4h30 we walked back to the hotel and had a Seuda shlishit (3rd meal). Afterwards, we all got into a circle and did a Havdala. It was a really unique experience and it brought us closer together. Once we finished the Havdala, we did an activity called agree/disagree. In this activity, a sign saying agree was on one side of the room and another saying disagree was on the complete opposite side. This created a spectrum of opinions between the two sides. We started off the activity on a light note with statements such as "Israel is the most important part of Judaism". We then had to choose a side of the room based on whether we agreed with the statement or not. If we agreed and disagreed simultaneously, we stood in the middle. The activity continued with statements that became more and more serious, up to the last one which was "do you believe in G-d". It was interesting to see how the group was split between those who agreed and those who disagreed. We all shared our personal opinions with the rest of the group and everyone was open and accepting of everyone else's opinions. After the activity we had some free time which gave us a chance to get to know each other better.

We then had pizza and fries for dinner and at 8h30 we headed towards our fun night activity, bowling! When we first walked in, the place looked dead. We got our bowling shoes and they told us to go upstairs. I have to say that the entrance was really misleading. There were more alleys upstairs, it was dark with lasers and there was music playing. We split up into our teams and I got to say, we played pretty well! The music playing was too good to resist so we all got up and showed off our beautiful dance moves. We even had a little dance off with the people bowling next to us.

At 11h we got back to the hotel to do another maagal laila. The maagal was led by our two JCs, Phil and Maya. They asked us to choose two of the following questions: someone new we met, someone we would like to get to know better, most embarrassing moment and proudest moment. Once again, it was really nice to share our stories and hear everyone else's. To end the night, some of us went up to our rooms while others stayed downstairs to watch a movie.

Sunday morning we gave a short feedback on the shabbaton and gave suggestions for improvement. All in all, the shabbaton was really awesome! I learned a lot about Judaism and I got to know others better. I think it was a really fun experience that brought us together as a group and helped us bond with each other.

By Maya Shahmoon and Elisheva Eisenberg

Cohort 7's Second Workshop: Leadership -- by Miriam Abadi

                During our second Diller Teen meeting, we saw our fellow friends after the long period of the Jewish holidays. To our surprise, Cohort 6 was there to begin the meeting with us! Once we all sat down, the two cohorts got to know each other by playing a few exciting and creative games such as “the wind blows”. In this game everyone is seated on chairs arranged in a circle. One person stands in the middle and mentions something about them self .Whoever has that fact in common must get up and find a new seat. Then there will be one person left standing and that person mentions something about them self and so on. We also played another ice breaker game involving telling the group one thing about yourself. These games were great ways for everyone to feel more open and comfortable with each other!

              Once Cohort 6 left, we played “the headband game” where every teen had to hold a piece of paper up to their forehead which had a famous person’s name on it. Each player had to ask questions in order to find out who the person on their forehead was. At the end of the game, we figured out together that all these people have something in common-they are all great leaders of their time!

      

  Next, we partnered up with someone and everyone performed a speech to the group without knowing which charismatic leader lectured it. Once we figured out who these speeches were said by, we then spoke about what makes a good leader. We concluded that we must take into account that an inspiring and thought-provoking leader should be eloquent, giving a speech in a way that he connects to his audience. For example, putting a quote into his speech, adding something that you can relate to on a personal level, or even just the way he catches your attention with his slow and captivating voice!

             After a delicious snack break, we watched two videos. One was about one man free styling dancing alone, publicly. After a minute, someone joined him in the crazy dance! Right after this person joined, more and more people felt comfortable to dance as well. After watching this video, diverse opinions within the group were expressed, whether the leader should be overly glorified or does the first follower share the spotlight with him. Most of us agreed that each have different roles. The leader is obviously glorified but the first follower still gets glory for starting the leader’s movement! After all, what’s a leader without any followers?  The second video was the TED talk. It was about a man who changed a student’s life, by unintentionally, making her feel relaxed to enter university. Four years later, he was told this by her and he couldn’t recall this moment, whereas the student was thankful every moment of her successful life for his remarkable act! From this video, we each shared a moving moment in our life with the group where we gave this enduring effect on someone.

               Towards the end of the meeting, we played one last game. It consisted of all of us being limited from our vision or speech and the goal of the game was to get a certain message across the group. For all of us it seemed to be frustrating and stressful! This game signifies the crucial concept of communication. Communication is sometimes hard and overwhelming because your followers may be limited, and, for example, might not understand your perspective on something. Our job is to overcome that, make an effort, communicate, and get through to the people we inspire!

               To end with, 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!

                                                                                                          By: Miriam Abadi

Cohort 6- Self-Management Overnight!! By Noah Adessky

Montreal’s Diller Teen Fellows Cohort 6 successfully planned a full 19 hours by ourselves!! All of the details, from accommodations, transportation and food, down to outings, volunteering and programming, were planned by the Fellows. This self-management overnight truly showcased how we have all grown as leaders since our very first days in Diller.

We all gathered at the Quality Inn Hotel Midtown on Saturday night. After we were assigned to our rooms, we met in the hotel’s conference room to play some fun icebreakers. One of these icebreakers helped show how close we have become, which was a constant theme throughout the overnight.

After loosening up with some icebreakers, we continued into a meaningful discussion on Tikkun Olam, because after all that was one of the major parts of our overnight. The group responsible for this activity set out a series of quotes from biblical, non-biblical and non-Jewish sources that in some way or another connected to Tikkun Olam, repairing the world. Each fellow went through the quotes and picked a quote that they most connected to. They then went on to explain the connection and how it related to Tikkun Olam and volunteerism. After a nice discussion, we were separated into our Impact Project groups and were asked to formulate a six-word sentence on what we hoped to accomplish with our projects. It was a great opportunity for everyone to truly reflect on their projects and then to share their ideas with the whole group.

The next part of our overnight was the fun part! We travelled to iSaute in Laval for a night full of jumping and bouncing on their trampolines! Through the tumbles, the flips and the cheese pits, we all had an amazing time!

We then had a very meaningful Maagal Laila to end off our night. The maagal reinforced one thing, the unity of our cohort. Through our discussions, we all came to the conclusion that we are one, united, Diller family.The rest of the night was ours, to hang out together.

We woke up the next morning to take on some hands-on Tikkun Olam volunteering work at Mada. After a quick talk from some of the workers at Mada, we learnt the importance of this organization in the community and were eager to give back and help. We were split up into different groups and performed different tasks including: unloading and sorting shipments of products, packing orders for families and making calls to different families to notify them that their orders were ready. I can safely say for myself, as well as some of the other fellows, it felt good to give back to such an amazing organization!

After travelling back to the Y, we continued working on our Impact Projects. We were lucky enough to have Stu Guttman, director of Chai Lifeline and a true leader in the Montreal Jewish community, come to speak to us about making an impact in the community and some of the keys to success in our endeavours. After hearing Stu’s story about in his journey in the community, we split into our groups to work on our impact projects and focus down our ideas into feasible projects. A huge thanks to Stu for taking time out of his Sunday to speak to us!

Lastly, but certainly not least, we had the opportunity to get to meet Cohort 7, the new Diller Teen Fellows, and participate in a number of icebreakers with them, run by our own Cohort 6 fellows. It was very nice to meet them and I wish them an amazing Diller journey!

As the person responsible for the overall planning of this overnight, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped out! You all did an amazing job and I am so thankful for all of your hard work in making this overnight a success! We have all learnt valuable skills that will be used to plan our self-management community week in Israel in December!

By: Noah Adessky