Friday, April 27, 2012

The Diller Teen Fellows J-Serve-ing the Community


Last weekend, the San Francisco Diller Teen Fellows took part in J-Serve, a Jewish national day of service.  Here is what EJ Weiss had to say about the experience:

One of the main pillars of Diller is tikkun olam, or repairing the world.  On Sunday, April 22, we got an opportunity to fulfill this by going out in to the community and taking part in something significant.  J-Serve, the day of Jewish service, was an amazing opportunity to partake in something important to all of us.

As it was earth day, it was only fitting that we get our hands a bit dirty and become one with nature.  We went to the Shelter Network in Daly City where we got to plant a garden for the homeless residents enabling them to have not only a beautiful view but also providing them with vegetables and herbs to eat.  My personal favorite part of the day was getting to play with two residents of the Shelter Network.  Little Alexis and Junior brought great warmth to my heart.  Blowing bubbles and making chalk designs on the sidewalks with the kids gave me great perspective on what it means to be a leader.  These children face a lot of adversity in their lives.  Even as I played with them, Junior’s cousin, who was about my age, hit him on the head.  The cruel reality of our world is upsetting but seeing innocent children without loving support further convinced me of how important it is to stand up for what I believe in, become a leader in the community, and use my resources to help educate and better the lives of others.

Following our active service we got to reflect with our cohort as well as other groups of teens at the Contemporary Jewish Museum.  We led a program helping the teens reflect by creating art to express the impact of J-Serve and how each person can bring the experience back to their own community and instill the desire to change the world in more people.

J-Serve was an amazing experience that allowed us all to take a day away from our regular lives and accomplish something unique and important.  With SATs in a few weeks, AP exams coming up, finals around the corner, and the entire college process looming over our heads, this experience brought everything into perspective, showing us that there is a larger world out there which we have a responsibility to, and that we can have an impact on the future.

Yours Truly,
EJ Weiss

And here comes another reflection on J-Serve, this time written by Gabriel Kaufman, who helped create the program the Diller Teens ran at the Contemporary Jewish Museum:


J-serve provided me with a perspective on all of the opportunity for service in my life. While I felt that we didn't get enough time to work at with the shelter network, spending time with such a wonderful organization helped remind me how many opportunities there are for service in my life. The service itself consisted of work in the planter boxes outside of the apartment complex run by the shelter network. As someone who doesn't spend too much time working in the gardening, I had so much fun getting my hands dirty and planting some beautiful flowers. After we had finished, the front of the building looked much more colorful and more inviting. In terms of the time we spent at the CJM, I loved getting to see the art projects the other participants came up with. While some people went for the more abstract, others went more literal and came up with some really interesting stuff. The conversation/discussion we had was also very meaningful to me. We discussed the sacrifices one has to make in order to serve the community and the merits of such service. All in all, I felt great coming out of the program and look forward to my next visit to the CJM.

Sincerely,
Gabriel Kaufman

Thursday, April 26, 2012


This is the latest post about the North American Seminar, coming from Cohort 15's Sarah Grossman-Kahn.  Scroll down to read about her experiences!  Enjoy!

The first thing I noticed about the Israeli Dillers was their unbelievable enthusiasm. Within seconds of being introduced to the group I felt like I had made 20 new friends. They all rushed to hug and greet me, and what really struck me was that they were just so genuine. They seemed so sincerely overjoyed to be reunited with our cohort. I, having just returned from a similar trip to Israel, had a very good sense of how exhausted they must've been. Yet, even though they were all sleep deprived and probably a little homesick they always had a smile on their faces. I really admired their enthusiasm and their willingness to completely immerse themselves in the San Francisco culture. 

I felt so lucky to have time to have conversations with the Israelis as well. They all had such vibrant stories to tell and were so willing to share the details of their lives. When I met my pen-pals, Shir and Ofek, I was overwhelmed with how sweet and caring they both were. I truly feel that I have made lifelong friends. Even though they live 6,000 miles away, I feel confident that I have created many lasting friendships.
I will never forget how wonderful our time together was. I will always treasure the time we spent laughing together, and I can't wait to be reunited in Israel! 

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Reflections on the North American Seminar Retreat


Driving home from Novato, California, after losing a big baseball game, all I wanted to do was to relax and rest. But, on my way to Diller instead of closing my eyes and dreaming that I won my previous game, I was anxiously thinking what I was about to walk into: meeting our Israeli cohort-mates. When I walked into Raven Room, the building which we were staying in, Matt Blumenthal immediately jumped on me and from then on everything was a whirlwind of new. I didn't start on the greatest foot of the Israeli's because when I walked in with my baseball pants on, most of them thought I was wearing women's Yoga pants, which took some time explaining. I was worried that arriving 3 and half hours late was going to affect my relationship with the Israelis but I could not have been more wrong. We got on like humus and pita, like lamb and shawarma, and most importantly like a family. After a well lead Shabbat service, some crazy games, and some free time, everyone sat in a circle as we discussed last week's Torah portion.  It truly was amazing to see how the ideas of Americans and Israeli's clashed and were intertwined. It was then time to head upstairs for some shut-eye, or as Dillers like to call it, chatting through the night.  

The next day ran smoothly, group activities and games that broke what was left of the ice, and everyone was getting a long like old friends. It was truly amazing to see how cultures, instead of clashing, came together harmoniously.  The communication had anything but a barrier. I am still in contact daily from someone in the Israeli Diller Cohort and I know that because of that amazing weekend, I have made friends that I can keep for a lifetime. I cannot tell a lie; however, during night circles, it was very nice to come together, as San Francisco Fellows.

Warmly,
Alex Jekowsky

The 2012 North American Seminar--Reflections on Partnership

Hello Everyone,

The San Francisco and the Upper Galilee Diller Teen Fellows, along with seven other North American communities and their partner cities, experienced the amazing and incredible partnership coming alive.  This is a process where two groups become one community and begin to realize the collective strength they share.  It was certainly heart-warming to see the North American and Israeli teens bond, work together, and overcome language barriers.  So much so that a few North American teens offered to write about their experiences during the North American Seminar and how it impacted them.  The first comes from Jenny Gross, who writes about her Home Hospitality guest Yarden.  Enjoy!


How do I even begin to describe the time I spent with Yarden and the rest of the Israelis? After taking time to reflect about the North American Seminar, I feel as though a connection has been built between the people of Israel and us Dillers here in America. Now, we all have close friends that are there for us. While they may be in Israel, they are an easy reach away through the Internet. I do not feel that twenty Israeli teens left a week ago, I feel as though twenty of my close friends have left. I look forward to the summer to meet them again and deepen the connection that has already begun to happen.

Hosting Yarden in my home was like nothing I have ever done before. I got the opportunity not only get to know her better, but also to understand what its like to live in Israel. I learned that there is conflict between the Orthodox Jews and the rest of Israel because since most of the Orthodox Jews do not fight in the army. The rest of Israel constantly questions the fairness of this.  I can only begin to imagine what it is like to not only be the center of conflict with neighboring countries, but also have conflict within your own country.
But I also learned that Yarden along with most other Israel teens are very similar to us American teens. They like to sleep in, they don’t like homework or tests, they like to shop, and they love to just spend time with their friends. Even though Yarden and I live so far apart, I feel as though she is my neighbor and I will see her soon. This experience has changed they way I view Israeli teens and I am excited to learn even more about them when we travel back to Israel this summer.

With much appreciation,
Jenny