Contributed by Sofia Friedman
This
past Sunday, Diller Cohort 19 met for what I thought was one of our most
meaningful workshops yet. We kicked off the workshop at the Delancey Street
Foundation. Before this workshop, I had no idea what this Foundation was or
what it did, so I walked through the big Delancey Street gates with an open
mind.
Right off the bat, I was awed by the beautiful fountain ahead of me and
the tall buildings around me. We started off our workshop with an information
session by four residents of Delancey Street. I was proud of the
thought-provoking questions asked by my fellow Dillers, and was fascinated with
each and every answer given by the Delancey residents.
Then, we went on a tour
of the facilities, and saw the autobody shop, art buildings, lounge,
restaurant, and dining hall, and ended our tour at the public cafe. With each
new room we visited, I was filled with overwhelming feelings of positive
change, renewal, and growth. Sadly, we said goodbye to our tour guides and gave
them a big WHOOSH: a Diller tradition aimed at reciprocating the positive
energy bestowed upon us by a special guest.
Next, we made welcome signs for our
Israeli partners in the comfort of the warm, sunny garden at Delancey Street. I
could feel the excitement all around me regarding the arrival of our partner
Cohort. Then, we had a leisurely stroll back to the Federation Building.
Soon,
we were given the sad news that our Alumni Intern, Micah Light, will be leaving
us to focus on college and on himself, so that he is not overcommitted to
external groups and organizations. He gave each Diller a yellow card with a
quote, poem, or song lyric that he hand-picked for each of us as a piece of
farewell advice. We then did a hug circle, and said goodbye to Micah, knowing
that though he won’t be with us at meetings, he is always there for us over
Facebook, text, or in person.
Then, we read a piece of Pirkei Avot text by
Rabbi Shammai: "Make your Torah fixed,
say little and do much, and receive every person with a pleasant countenance
(Avot 1:13).” In partners and then as
a whole group, we deciphered the text and sought to find the complex meanings
of the phrases and how the text could apply to us as hosts for
our Israeli partners. We discussed the themes of hospitality,
intention, actions versus words, and how our moral compass guides us.
Lastly, we read the Diller Teen Fellows Vision Statement, and dove into
the difficult task of crafting our own vision statement for Community Week (the
week that we plan with the Israelis and then spend with them
in Israel over the summer). As we crafted our statement, we aimed to
answer the question “how?”, as in HOW can we accomplish our mission
statement and put it into action? We broke up into small groups, and each group
took one sentence or phrase of the Diller mission statement to “translate”
into our own Community Week vision statement.
After a lot of thought, hard
work, and word-smithing, our vision statement was born: "The cohorts will
be able to unify through thought provoking, inclusive programing while also
creating informal social setting in which they can communicate comfortably;
they will form genuine and meaningful connections through emotional bonding
experiences. The fellows will engage in bettering the local Israeli community
by sharing who they are while creating a legacy in the community. The fellows
will find a second family and home in Israel by exploring a connection with the
land, their Israeli partner and the partnership cohort.”
We ended this
workshop with a Q & A session about our Israeli counterparts’ stay
with us. After this, we concluded the workshop, with all sorts of emotions
coursing through our veins but each one of us with a smile on our face and a
sense of excitement for the coming week with our soon-to-be-arriving Israeli
partners!
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