Social Justice and Innovation Day!

Sunday, May 19th
MassChallenge, Inc

Written by Hannah Elbaum (Newton)

Diller Fellows and their 6 young adult coaches!

As we move into the part of our Diller experience that focuses on the Social Action Projects we will create, I feel a little daunted. This past workshop, we met at MassChallenge, a kickstarter company for entrepreneurship ventures.

First after arriving, we spent some time catching up as a group. We are all busy planning our days for Community Week this summer in Haifa, and wanted to hear all about everyone else’s progress. This process of organizing activities and programs from opposite sides of the world is a learning experience for us all, but everything is coming along, and it sounds like we are going to have so much fun this summer!

Before we delved too far into why we were at MassChallenge, we spent some time talking about Israel, and The Lone Soldier Project. We watched A Hero In Heaven, a documentary about an American man named Michael Levin who served in the Israeli Defense Forces as a paratrooper before he was tragically killed in battle. In the movie, his parents, sisters and close friends talked about this passion that Michael had for Israel, to protect her and her people. He had this connection to the place that I have never witnessed before. 

Hearing from David, a former lone soldier

I have been to Israel, once, last summer, and I loved it. I love new cultures and experiences and travelling. The history of the land amazed me, I ate falafel every day, I stood on Masada, and I dug in an archeological dig. I walked through the shuk in Jerusalem right before Shabbat, and pushed through people to hear the vendors calling out their prices. I stood next to my mom at the Kotel and slipped a note between the cracks. Still, I never felt like more that a tourist. I was there to visit and then I would be flying back home.  I never considered that as a Jew, this is my land, too. One of the four pillars of the Diller Teen Fellowship is relationship with Israel. I hope that this summer I will be able to feel one tenth of the passion and connection that Michael Levin felt when he joined the IDF. 

After a quick snack break, we sat back down as a group to talk about a little bit of a lighter topic. Another pillar of Diller is Social Justice, and we will all be creating our own Social Justice projects over the course of the next six months. Before the meeting we had been asked to fill out a sheet about what injustice we see in the world, and why we feel passionate about changing it. As my friends began to talk I listened closely. Some feels strongly about the environment, some about domestic violence, bullying, Judaism related issues, and more. I have spent the past eight months learning and spending time with these people. We have had programs on every imaginable subject and talked about everything under the sun, and still when they began talking about what they wanted to change, some of the ideas surprised me. After listening to everyone, I have no idea where my project will take me, but I know I will be passionate, and put my heart and soul into it.


Then, we got to know our coaches! For each group that is creating a social action project, there will be a coach, a young adult who works in Boston. Two of the coaches talked about a project they are working on called AltruHelp. It is a social media app to help with altruism in the world today. We played some “get to know you” games, and the coaches all seem really cool and interested in what Diller is and how they can help us best achieve our goals.

Touring the MassChallenge

Finally, we heard from a past Diller Teen Fellow. Adam Lassman began The Pink Seat Project last year as his social action project. He talked to us about when he first came up with the idea and how it has changed since then. It’s amazing how much he accomplished in a year, and hopefully we will be able to follow in his, and other past Dillers’ footsteps.

Reflections from the Diller North American Seminar

As part of the 15 month Fellowship, the Haifa Diller Teen Fellows (our partner cohort) visited Boston for 10 days as part of the Diller North American Seminar. They began the seminar with a Shabbaton at Camp Ramah with the Boston Fellows. Haifa Fellows stayed in the homes of Boston Fellows, and particpated in programs and seminars for the remainder of the 10 days. Themes included Getting to Know Boston, American Jewry, Coexistence, and Social Justice. The 10 days culminated in a final ceremony planned and led by the Boston and Haifa Fellows.

Check out all of our photos here: jccbostondillerteenfellows.shutterfly.com/pictures/133

See below for some of the speeches that Fellows gave at the ceremony:

Shabbaton: Emily Wood, Boston:

It is weird thinking back to the Shabaton. It almost feels like that happened over a year ago. The closeness we are feeling already even after this short time, makes us feel like old friends that have known each other for years. One thing that I will never forget was the first program that we did after meeting each other. The teens from Israel were asked to draw what they thought a Stereotypical American teenager was like and The American kids drew what they thought the stereotypical Israeli teenager was like. You know, contrary to popular belief, not every American girl wears high-heals with a bikini on the beach and not every Israeli has hairy legs… Looking at these drawings and seeing how some parts were so inaccurate and that other parts were very accurate helped us to bond together. This simple exercise allowed us to leave the inaccurate stereotypes behind and truly learn what the other group actually was like.

Getting to Know Boston: Yuval Regev, Haifa:

On Monday we had so much fun touring Boston. We did a lot of activities, including a duck tour.  On the duck tour, we had an hour around Boston on a bus that can become a boat.  After driving around Boston and seeing a lot of historical sites, we got in the water and saw the city from the water.  We all got to drive the boat, which was very special and fun. This was the first time that we actually saw the city of Boston because when we got here it was late at night and we went straight to camp Ramah.  It was very meaningful to get to see the city and learn about it because we had been waiting to see it for a long time. 

Another activity we did that day was touring the JCC.  I really loved to see that even though it is so far from Israel, people still create a meaningful community centered around Judaism. 

The whole experience of touring around places in Boston, some important to Jews and some important to all of the citizens of the city, was very fun and educational.  It was a great beginning to the best seminar ever!

Judaism in America: Yuval Zelig, Haifa:
 Tuesday's theme was "Judaism in America". Because of the snow almost everything we planned to do was canceled. But we did have the rabbi panel. Although the reform and the conservative rabbi didn't come we de had a great conversation about different kinds of Judaism. This was a meaningful experience from some reasons.
First of all, in Israel we have almost only orthodox judaism. For me, as an Israeli teenager it was really good experience to meet other kinds of judaism.
It also was really interesting to speak with the orthodox rabbi because he was really different from Israelis orthodox rabbis.
It was interesting to hear their point of view about religious conflicts in Israel. We heard their opinion about separation between religion and state, about how Shabbat should look in the public areas and about civil marriage in Israel. That's was really interesting, for me as an Israeli teenager, to hear an outside point of view about Israel as the Jewish state.

Coexistence: Bramm Watkin, Boston:

March 20th began with a representative from the American Islamic Congress who showed us their location on Newbury Street, right in the heart of Boston. He showed us a short film that spoke of the history, importance, and necessity of human rights for all people, all religions, all races. Something so quintessential to humanity has been limited to few individuals for centuries, and I had been oblivious to its unfair effect on different groups. Very few countries guarantee basic human rights to their citizens. I am blessed to live in one of these countries! Along with this blessing, simply earned by where I was born, comes a responsibility to work as hard as I can to bring these rights to all people, all over the world!

Social Justice: Arianna Dines, Boston:

On Thursday afternoon, Like usual, we excitedly greeted each other and boarded the bus. Somebody said we were going to the statehouse but I didn’t know why. I knew it was something about a press conference and tax revenue, but that was all. I even tweeted, “Why am I at the state house, like what am I doing here?” We entered the statehouse and went into a large room where a workshop took place. A woman gave statistics on America’s wealth distribution and Massachusetts recent tax decreases. She advocated that it is unfair and that wealth should be distributed equally. The statistics on wealth distribution shocked me, but it was hard to agree with her ideas on solutions because it seemed like socialism. Nevertheless, it was an interesting snippet of today’s economy. We traveled to an open area where groups from all over Massachusetts gathered for a press conference on economic reform. Several teens advocated for higher tax revenue to support schools, public transportation, and youth employment. Then Deval Patrick entered and spoke. It was so cool to see him only about 20 yards away!! He spoke passionately about our duties now to improve the future. It was amazing because I never would have expected that he would have been such a great and enthusiastic speaker, even when it was for teens. I felt privileged to be present at such a relevant and important event. While I walked into the state house confused, I walked out raving about what had just occurred. This part of Social Justice Day came as a pleasant surprise made us informed and involved in something important. It is a memory I will never forget.

Diller Cohort 4 Shabbaton 2

The Shabbaton for Cohort 4 had to be rescheduled due to Blizzard Nemo! The rescheduled retreat took place from March 1st-3rd at Camp Ramah in Palmer, MA.
Check out our photos here: http://jccbostondillerteenfellows.shutterfly.com/pictures/8

Programming during this retreat varied according to the pillars of Diller. One program focused on the meaning of Tikkun Olam, from a Kabbalistic perspective. The group had to think back to the first time that they noticed that there were problems in the world, when they were young children. They did some text study on a few important and meaningful quotes related to social justice. Two other programs focused on the Fellows' personal connection to Israel, the history of Zionism, and the history of events since before the founding of the state of Israel. Two Fellows reflect on the Shabbat experience, and Maagal Lila (night circle):

Liza Sherman (Needham):
Friday evening, right after settling in to Camp Ramah and changing into our finest Shabbat outfits, we all gathered to have a more traditional Kabbalat Shabbat service. Last retreat, we did a more alternative activity to discuss the meaning of Kabbalat Shabbat and each fellows traditions. For this retreat, we did more traditional prayers, followed by a quick song session that helped get us prepared and excited for Shabbat. Personally, I loved this song session and it was a great way to start our retreat off and begin Shabbat. On Saturday morning, we once again gathered for a more traditional service. For the torah service, the rituals committee led us all in a discussion about the parsha from a few weeks prior (from the original Shabbat before the retreat was postponed). This discussion got all of us fellows thinking on somewhat controversial topics and it was nice to share our opinions and hear each others as well. For most of us, these more traditional services were inviting and welcoming, making everyone feel joyous and excited for Shabbat. For me, I loved sitting and listening to everyone praying and singing, and these Shabbat services were a great way to start off the retreat. Later that day for Havdallah, another committee led us all in the Havdallah prayers as well as an excellent compliment activity. Prior to the retreat, each fellow was assigned a name of another fellow to create a compliment for. These compliments were then shared anonymously in front of the group right before the Havdallah service. These compliments were truly kind and shared loving and caring aspects of each person, as well as funny things too. While singing the Havdallah songs and prayers, there was a great feeling in the room, each Fellow truly feeling close and connected to each other. Havdallah was a great way to end off our Shabbat experience for this retreat, and we all continued on to our next activity feeling warm and fuzzy after receiving our compliments.

Emily Morgan (Easton):
Maagal Lilas are one of my favorite parts of the Shabbatons! I look forward to them every day and I know I will never be disappointed. Friday night ended with our first Maagal Lila of the weekend. The fellows sat in a circle in the lounge and Twizzlers were passed around. Then, we began to share our peaks, pits, and wishes, also known as rose, bud, and thorns. Maagal Lila’s bring us all much closer together every time. Since we had not been together at a Shabbaton in so long, we had to do a little catching up at the same time. With this one, each fellow was encouraged to share a peak, a pit, and a wish. A peak was an extremely high point in an individuals life since the last time we had all met. This was fun to share, everyone had something very positive to contribute. After the peak came the pit, a very low point in an individual‘s home and school career. The pit, though quite saddening, gave a great deal of insight into each fellows life. The wish is just as it sounds, a wish we had for our upcoming Diller experience. Many shared the same wish, to become close with the Diller teens from Haifa. This exercise was very fun, interactive, and a fantastic way to get things off of one’s chest that they wanted to share with the group. It allowed a perfect window of sharing and understanding between each fellow as well as the JCs. Saturday night’s Maagal Lila was intense. Sitting in the same place as the night before, some were not as prepared as we had thought for the night. Liana left the fellows in the capable hands of the JCs. Snapping, an action the fellows were familiar with to mean “I agree” or “Same here” was no allowed for this Maagal. It was more serious than the night before. At around 9 p.m., the Maagal commenced. There were about 15 questions, each deeper than the next. Each question could be interpreted however each fellow thought fit. The first person to start the answers moved around the circle. After almost three hours of memories, tears and laughter, the Maagal came to an end. The participants were asked to reflect on the honesty of the group. Some of the things that came to light surprised many. I, personally, was taken aback by some of my own answers. In the end, I was blown away. I had learned more about myself and my peers. This experience brought us all exponentially closer together. Though intensely emotional, it was by far the best and deepest Maagal we had ever encountered. Following the Maagal was a mess of hugs, tears, and “I love you”s. A game of lap tag brought up everyone’s spirits before going off to bed. Not one Diller fellow who was at the Maagal could disagree that it was one of the most significant experiences of their teen consciousness. Maagal Lilas are a huge part of why I am so in love with Diller and I look forward to doing many more in the months to come.

Cohort 4's First Shabbaton!

The Diller Teen Fellows of Cohort 4 have reflected on their first Shabbaton, which took place from November 9th-11th, 2012 at Camp Grotonwood in Groton, MA.

Andrew Jacobson (Swampscott): Let me begin me making myself clear: Although I knew many of the people mostly by name, before attending this amazing shabbaton, I was not really friends with anyone in Diller. After just a short 48 hours, I consider all 19 other fellows my best friends (yes, even better than school friends). It feels like I’ve known them my whole life. We are already planning events to see each other outside of workshops! Just this past sunday, it was Kineret’s birthday. Despite the fact that it was the day after the retreat, a bunch of us grabbed the chance to meet up and get some froyo in Newton. Living on the North Shore, it was just too far for me to show up. Diller is such a unique and special experience that I am honored to have given the opportunity to participate in it. Unlike anywhere else, I can share my controversial opinions, and know 100% that they’ll be included. Each and every one of us share a strong bond that isn’t present anywhere else in my life. By browsing the photos on Facebook, this is extremely clear. Everyone is truly accepted for him/herself. This is the most remarkable aspect of Diller. In this day and age, it is rare to find a place like that. Whether you’re at school, or even an extra-curricular, trust is difficult to come by. Here, I can genuinely trust anyone with anything. This may not seem like a big deal, but as teenagers, it is. A lot of people might ask: What caused this everlasting friendship? There are numerous answers to this questions, but it all boils down to outlook. Walking into this program, we were all optimistic, hearing about the wonderful things to come. Now that it’s a reality, we embrace Diller, and allow it to become the largest part of our lives.

Liza Sherman (Needham): Something we did this weekend right before leaving the camp was an activity called the appreciation box. Into the box each fellow put anonymous note cards addressed to somebody or a group of people who they appreciated for any reason. Some note cards were thanking each other for funny things said or shared inside jokes, but others were truly kind and showed the deep connections that people had formed over just the 48 hours we spent together on our retreat. These cards helped to show how each person of our cohort was truly important and helped benefit the group in their own ways. This appreciation box was a great way to close our retreat and sum up the overall great weekend we had together. Never did I expect how deep the bonds and friendships we all made this weekend were going to be. This weekend was a truly special experience that I have never had before and already we all share deeper connections than others I have made with people I have known for years.

Julia Habbe (Sharon): On Saturday night our JCs (Andrew and Liat) led our magaal. The fellows were told to report to the main room at night with something to blindfold ourselves with, and that was all we knew of the plan. When we arrived, Andrew and Liat made sure our eyes were covered and put us into a line holding hands. From there we were led in a silent trust-walk through the woods. This was such a bonding experience in that none of us knew who we were following, where we were going, or how long it was going to take, but we trusted each other enough to keep going. After that the experience got even more intense as we were led into a dark gymnasium (although we didn't know it at the time!) and separated. We were given two glow sticks and told to remove our blindfolds. Then Andrew and Liat asked us our goals and biggest fears. When we had something to say, we cracked our glow sticks and said it to the group. It's indescribable how connected we all felt watching the glow sticks slowly light up in the darkness and hearing each other's fears and desires. Once everyone had spoken we ran to hug each other and that was the moment, for me at least, where Diller really began to feel like a family. These kids that had been strangers only hours before now felt like people I could trust to lead me in the right direction and to trust with my secrets. I know I'm speaking for everyone when I say I'm counting down to our next Shabbaton!

Hannah (Newton) & Noam (Needham): This past weekend we had our first retreat! It was amazing for all of us to spend a solid 48 hours together and really bond as a group. There were too many amazing programs and moments to list here, so we will just mention a few. At our first workshop we created a list of ten different qualities we want to have as a group. We had a “Chalk Talk” (actually a Marker Talk, but that doesn’t sound as fun), with each trait on a piece of paper. After being given a marker, we walked up to the papers and wrote times during our retreat where we saw them in action. Later that evening, we did a trust walk where each person, blindfolded, was placed in a line and instructed to hold the hand of the person next to them. With a staff leader and a few called out direction (“There is a tree of your left, and a puddle on your right”) we made our way slowly through the woods, putting all our trust in the person leading us. Reaching the gym and walking down a flight of stairs, we were separated, giving us a sense of trusting each and every person, as we did not know who was in front of us. We were placed spaced out in the pitch-black gym and given glow sticks to crack as we answered what our goals, and then fears are for this year. Then we had a campfire with s’mores! This activity was part of that night’s Maagal Lila, a circle we do every night. These times are when we learn more about each other as people, and not just our religious practices, or opinions on today’s controversial issues. The best part? Maagal Lila ends with hugs for everyone! There is no way to explain how close we have gotten with these people without us pretty much melting into a pile of goo, explaining how much we love them. None of us realized on Friday that we were more or less still strangers to each other, and within about 2 hours, that had changed. Living in such close proximity, as well as being Shomer Shabbos (keeping Shabbat) allowed us to develop relationships that made us not want to leave on Sunday afternoon. None of us really know how that happened, we just know that it did, and now we are all best friends. We can’t wait for our next meeting!

Emily Wood (Westford) Imagine 20 Jewish teens from multiple different backgrounds those of which barely know each other. Now imagine them putting aside their differences and discussing highly disputed topics with respect and understanding towards differing opinions. Well, that’s exactly what happened on Cohort 4’s first retreat last weekend. For two and a half hours straight the Diller teens discussed topics ranging from kosher foods to who should have to serve in the Israeli army. This activity was named the jellybean activity. The way it works is that different topics get written on cups and each teen would put a different color jelly been in the cup depending on where they stood on that specific issue. As the issues got harder the group felt increasingly more comfortable in expressing their opinions. When differing opinions started to become more apparent, the group talked about both sides of the argument and was able to move on. At the end of the activity a new sense of understanding and respect was apparent and in following discussions this same respect was demonstrated. The jellybean activity was one of the highlights of the retreats and cohort 4 really benefited from doing it.

Introducing the JCC Boston Diller Teen Fellows Cohort 4!

A silly video for our Haifa Diller Teen Fellows- designed by the Fellows