Post Summer Workshop 11- Cohort 17

Sunday was our first official workshop after TOSS, and the one-year anniversary of Cohort 17! Admittedly, we all felt a bit weird. After seeing so much of each other, it felt strange just to go a few days without having anything scheduled. Even though we were a few fellows short, it was a much appreciated reunion and certainly a strong point of transitioning into what unfortunately is the last leg of our Diller experience.

            

After the habitual check-ins, our first program of the day, facilitated by Paul, was an interactive dialogue with former J Street representative Chelsea Mandell. She spoke powerfully about her own summer Israel experience – with the intention of staying for several months while filming a documentary combining art and social activism, she ended up leaving after eight days, feeling that she could do more to raise awareness state-side than try to directly impact the situation there.

           

Reconvening after a short break, we began planning our joint Cohort 18 workshop. Honestly, we cranked out our mission, vision, and goals like professionals, a real mark of our progress over the past year. I think I can speak for the rest of the Fellows and say that we are very excited to meet the new Cohort and have some fabulous programs in store for them.

Next, Sydney took lead and presented us with a mindful and creative activity to shift our thinking towards our Tikkun Olam projects. She put up various photographs around the room, each depicting young African children. We were instructed to choose one that spoke to us, and create a story revolving around the subjects of the picture. After each fellow shared, Sydney revealed that she had taken the pictures during her trip to Ghana while she was working along side the non-profit organization Right To Be Free, which fights the trafficking of children and women in Africa, and provides incredible resources and rehabilitation for the victims of forced labor. Sydney shared her long-standing personal connection to the organization and passion for ending human trafficking, reminding us that our Tikkun Olam projects should come from our passion for a cause more than anything else.

            

The main event, so to speak, was the announcement of the anxiously awaited new Community Week schedule. Gabi went over each day and patiently answered our questions as always. With only a few more workshops left, the excitement is tangible, and now more then ever, it really feels like things are falling into place for Cohort 17.

-Samara Cohort 17

San Francisco Cohort 18 Orientation- Welcoming our Chai Group!

Today we say hello to our 18th cohort in San Francisco. 
We began with a lively orientation for parents and fellows together. 

After a warm introduction by our National Director, Tal Gale our fellows had an opportunity to create a family portrait and share a bit about their families with one another. 

       
               

Following the activity Gabi led a short "Limmud" with the families as well as an overview of the Diller Teen Fellows program. Overall, a great first meeting with the parents.

In the afternoon, the fellows stayed on to partake in our fellow Orientation which began with fellow introductions. The fellows and staff introduced themselves in creative ways such as interviews with people around the world, a movie theme song and a T-shirt show!

we continued with creating a facebook profile to get to know each other and play a game of "Friending" each other by knowing facts from our profile. 

 

                                                 

We continued with a speed dating activity to have some one on one time with the fellows. 

Then came time to begin Team building! 

 We ended the workshop by setting expectations for the year and processing the day.All and all a good start to our Diller Journey!
The fellows enjoyed getting to know each other and the program and we are looking forward to the rest of the year.

Gabi 

Tikkun Olam Overnight Cohort 17

The overnight began Saturday night and was a nice opportunity to get together after TOSS and get back to routine Diller programming. We had a campfire and Maaal Layla. 

Sunday was Tikkun Olam Project day. After an early breakfast, we gathered in our main building for a lesson on making an impact led by senior counselor Ariel Light. Fellows discussed the relationship between proximity and responsibility, while each of us brainstormed problems we feel responsibility to solve in preparation for our upcoming tikkun olam projects.Then we broke into our committees to plan upcoming workshops. As the next Diller cohort (cohort 18!) begins to meet, responsibility for planning our workshops will shift from Gabi to us.

 

After the committees met, we reconvened for a program about charity led by fellow Jack Goldstein. Jack walked us through the different categories of causes a person can contribute to, and provided some excellent examples of charities that already exist. Soon after his program ended, we had a reflection of TOSS, the series of activities we did during the time when we would've been in Israel. We concluded that TOSS ROCKS.

After a fantastic vegetarian lunch, we gathered back in our building. We then had a Q&A session with Alumni Barry, Rachel Katz, and Ariel Light. They shared their experiences connecting with Israeli partners during their trips and working on tikkun olam projects.

Fellows Ophir and Chelsea, who were in Israel when the trip was cancelled, then led an exciting program exploring the situation in Israel. Afterwards, we had a chance to begin planning our tikkun olam projects. And then, after our eval session, the overnight was over.

-Paul, Cohort 17 

TOSS 2014-Mini Israel day Cohort 17

The Israel day was a great way for our cohort to be able to spend our last day of TOSS together. We began our day with a check in and then skyping with a couple of Israelis and discussing their daily lives these days and their political thoughts. Afterwards, Rachel led an entire program for us through Skype! We talked about what the phrase "רק פה/rak poh" or "just here" means in context of a song by an Israeli band called Hadag Nahash. 

We had a program I led about Tisha Be'av and the concepts of ahavat and sinat chinam, which led the cohort to think about what it means to appreciate people and whether intentions matter if the same result is obtained either way.

We had a wonderful falafel lunch and resumed our mini Israel with a program led by Sam and Jack about different neighborhoods in Jerusalem. The conversation about neighborhoods was a very fascinating way to see how different members of the cohort perceive their neighborhoods. 

Samara and Moriah led a program about coexistence relating specifically to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It was really cool to be able to express our views through that concept and to see an outsiders take on the conflict through a short video clip. Gabi also led a fun activity that involved the cohort acting out different things related to Israel. A movie and dinner followed this as well as a maagal. The day was a wonderful way to incorporate people's programs built for ISS into TOSS.

TOSS 2014-Peace Village Interfaith Summer camp cohort 17

Two years ago, I was a Teen Leader at an interfaith summer camp called Peace Village. I was disappointed when I realized I couldn’t work there this summer, because I was going to be in Israel with Diller. Since we didn’t go to Israel, I decide to contact my rabbi and the others in charge about having Diller help out. It worked out perfectly since they needed volunteers to watch the children during lunch.

We listen to the Torah story of Abraham, Sarah and Hagar told by Rabbi Callie. The campers were hearing the story told from different perspectives throughout the week. It led right into a program I led about perspective and point of view. Each fellow wrote down what they remembered from the first Diller meeting. So much had happened, we had all forgotten quite a bit, however, each person remembered something a little different, and had felt slightly different emotions.

After our brief Diller program, we went out to watch the campers while the Teen Leaders, many of whom I am friends with, had a break for lunch. Initially, all of the fellows were hesitant to move over to the tables were the campers were sitting. This is partly because they were all getting up to wash their hands. When we all finally sat down, the fun began. One girl began telling me the backstory of all her dragons. Some of the boys began throwing airplanes at Jack.

Soon the campers had devoured their lunches, so Ophir began leading some games. We played Sharks and Minions, and Chain Tag. The kids loved it. We all ran around smiling having and blast. Too soon it was time to leave; all of the kids looked really sad when we had to leave. It was so much fun connecting and playing with wonderful kids.

We, the fellows, ended the day with a pizza lunch from Amici’s and CREAM and T-Pumps for dessert.

-Katie Wysong