The Friday before we left for the retreat I woke up feeling very apprehensive. I was nervous to go away with a group of people that I barely knew. I was apprehensive about spending the entire weekend outside of my comfort zone. However, these feelings did not last long. By the time we returned from Camp Newman, I felt an unbreakable bond with my new friends. Many of the experiences were new for me such as meditating, something that I had never taken seriously before. In fact, after going into the woods on Shabbat morning, being taught to meditate, I was surprised that I really connected with it for the first time in my life!. The entire weekend was filled with new experiences and new friends and I loved every moment of it.
Jacob Ganz
The most important thing I learned this weekend was why we
celebrate shabbat. Of course, I celebrate shabbat at home, and know what it is,
but I never fully understood its meaning and importance to the rest of the week
(Sorry mom and dad for having to spend all that money on Jewish day school...).
By having such reflective kabbalat shabbat, shacharit and havdallah services,
and by not being able to write, I had a different shabbat experience, one that
made me realize that the reason we celebrate shabbat is to have a separation, a
day we can rest and not think about the chaos and stress of our week days. It
felt great to just spend time with people and interact face to face and forget
about the problems that arose during the school week and focus on the Diller
programming and getting to know each other. I didn't bring my phone on the
retreat, and that was a good decision because it added to making this shabbat
DIFFERENT. Paul, a fellow member of the cohort, read a story about a man living
in a world run by technology. He takes a break once a week by turning off all
the electronics that he uses. And thus, he feels great. I can relate to that
feeling because without my phone I felt more relaxed, less distracted, and more
focused on the retreat and bonding with people. This shabbaton opened my eyes
to what shabbat is really about. Going forward, maybe I will turn off my phone
or computer on Friday nights, just to remind myself of shabbat and its
significance as a holy day, a day of separation, of reflection, and of
connection.
Sam Tick-Raker
The Diller Retreat was an especially meaningful part of my Diller
experience so far. Our cohort took a bus to the location of the retreat
together, and just from that short time we got to get to know each other better
on a more casual level. As the retreat went on, we had amazing activities
planned both by members of the cohort and the JC’s and Gabi. We had a
delightful Shabbat service, filled with many candles. The Saturday morning
service that we had involved a walk in which we stopped every few minutes and
would be asked a question that we would then need to think about silently. At
the end of the walk, we reached an amphitheater, in which we did a mediation
exercise, followed by singing Ma Tovu and discussing its significance. We also
did an identity workshop, which I found particularly insightful. We talked
about what creates our identities, and related this not only to our personal
general identities but our Jewish ones as well. Another part of the retreat
that I enjoyed was the campfire that we had on Saturday night, which involved a
lot of singing and bonding time. The retreat served as an integral part of our
cohort learning more about each other and getting to truly become a tight knit
group.
Ophir Gilad
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