the Marin Headlands and the Kabbalat Shabbat group did their service and program
that focused on Abraham Joshua Heschel and alternative ways of praying.
The group asked people to develop a prayer that was more meaningful for them.We
also discussed how social action could be interpreted as a form of prayer. After a
delicious dinner, we went on a night hike organized by the team building committee
where we paired up and discussed our roles in issues of discrimination. Then we sat
for our Ma’agal Lilah and talked about our aspirations (stars) and what stands in our
way (sand). We had some girl talk with Sam after that ended a great first night to our
shabbaton!! !
-Jesse
Day two of the Shabbaton was a great day. We woke up and
went to breakfast and soon started doing programs planned by our fellow Teen
Fellows. The first activity was a shacharit hike, we walked through a hill in
the Marin Headlands and had some one on one discussion on social issues. This
was a great way to express ourselves in a more meaningful way, as well as
serving as a great way to connect to new people in our group. Next we had one
on ones with our Junior counselors, Gabi, and Arielle. This allowed for us to
express how we felt about the Diller experience so far and share any concerns.
After that was done we did a Junior Counselor planned activity based around
morality and making tough decisions. In this program we had to think about the
community vs. the individual and which is more important in different contexts.
Then we went on to play some team building games and soon after we played
dinner.
After all that we still had time to start on our very own Diller
scrapbook which helped us transition smoothly into a wonderful Havdallah
ceremony. After that long day we all gathered round a bonfire, ate s’mores
(sort of), and sang songs. Once the bonfire was over we came inside and had a
meaningful discussion about our Diller Teen community. As a whole I would say
that the second day of our Shabbaton was a huge success and a fun way to connect with the Cohort.
-Josh
On the Sunday of our Shabbaton, we had a lot of time for reflection. This was our self-management Shabbaton, where we broke into groups and planned activities ourselves. This gave us the chance to be leaders and direct our own activities. Sunday was a time for us to reflect on how well we planned our Shabbaton. We looked at how well we did as a whole group. Then we zoomed in and looked at how our smaller groups did, how well we worked together, how the program went, things to improve on etc.
Lastly, we looked at how we did as individuals; what role we played, did we step out of our comfort zones. It was a very meaningful experience. On Sunday, we also had Ariel Light give us another example of social justice, the theme of the Shabbaton, about the LGBTQ community. It was another great example of how we could get involved in the community. At the end of the Shabbaton, many of our Diller members went to go pay their respects to Helen Diller, who made this entire program possible.
- Indiana
