Cohort 6 Self-Management Shabbaton

Cohort 6 Self-Management Shabbaton
February 6th-8th
Cohort 6 spent their second Shabbaton at Camp Ramah and the weekend was completeley run by the Fellows with some support from the staff. Rina Dale and Sam Epstein served as the "Leaders of the Shabbaton" which meant that they were in charge of planning the whole schedule, managing logistics, running their own programs, and supporting the other groups. We had sub committees of Rituals, Program, Maagal Lila, and Games and Bonding. We explored leadership multiple ways, and explored the question of whether leadership should be self-proclaimed or externally proclaimed. We also explored the concept of "followship" and used our Myers-Briggs tests and Leadership Compass results to help guide us!

Following are reflections by Fellows who served in different groups:

Sam Epstein (Co-Leader of the Shabbaton):

Last weekend I had the incredible opportunity to be one of our two Shabbaton leaders, along with my wonderful co-leader Rina Dale. With leadership being the main focus for our self management Shabbaton this was especially exciting. Our duties ranged from planning the daily schedule to checking in with other groups and making sure they had everything they needed to make the shabbat the most it could be. A safe, fun environment where we could learn about each other as leaders. Every moment after we stepped off the bus into the sharp winter air amazed me, seeing all of the planning we put in over the past two months come together into the exploration and learning opportunity it was. Our cohort is full of leaders, making every activity a learning opportunity about how people with different personalities can lead in different ways. This was the main focus of my program with Rina, where we explored our Myers Briggs personality test results using art therapy to discover more about our group dynamic and how we all can be leaders. In other programs where I was not in a leadership position and was being lead by other leaders, I discovered that in order to truly be able to lead, you first must learn how to follow. 

Channah Powell (Rituals Committee):

When Cohort 6 began the planning process of our second Shabbaton, I decided that I wanted to be part of the Ritual committee. I had written services before for my youth group, so I was really enthusiastic about exposing the cohort to the creative services that I often participate in through NFTY and my temple. As a group, the Ritual Committee decided that the theme of Mindfulness would link together the religious aspects of the Shabbaton. From there, the seven of us split into smaller groups in order to tackle each service. Rose and Aviva took on the task of writing a Kabbalat Shabbat service that would focus on multicultural mindfulness, Ben, Noah, and Daniel organized an Oneg about mindful eating, and Shachar and I wrote a Shabbat morning service about mindfulness and leadership. Although Shachar was completely enthusiastic about doing an alternative service, she had never been to one before. As I explained to her my experiences with creative ritual experiences, we bounced ideas off one another and developed a service that incorporated our individual ideas and skills. One particularly awesome thing we added to our service was a short discussion program in which we evaluated Moses as a leader. In leading this discussion, both Shachar and I had the opportunity to develop confidence and leadership skills. Being part of the Ritual Committee allowed me to explore my identity as a leader in a religious setting.        

Zoe Goldstein (Programs Committee)

Three months ago, when we began planning for the Shabbaton, it seemed crazy that I would actually be leading a program. I knew that as a member of the ‘programs’ group, I would be helping write and lead two programs, but after experiencing how amazing the first Shabbaton was, I was afraid I would not measure up. My group, to some degree, felt the same way. We thought of countless ideas but could never think of the perfect one. The plans for our programs—one about Jewish leadership, one about leadership in general—changed every time we met. This caused us to pour hours into the creation of our programs that in the end did not matter at all. However, going into the Shabbaton, my group felt that we had created the most interesting, exciting, and informative programs that we could, and this justified our drawn out creation process. Unfortunately, implementing the programs was a bit harder than we had anticipated, due to unavoidable changes in weather, timing, and people present. Additionally, my group found out (as we were running our programs) that we had put so much work into making the activities fun that we had neglected the discussion questions, which are arguably the most important part, as they explain the connection between the fun activity and the important lesson we are trying to teach the fellows. These two major problems taught us to be flexible and creative in both the creation and the implementation of our programs. Even without the problems, the programs gave us a new leadership experience—teaching a group of leaders how to lead with the assistance of other leaders. The number of times I used the word ‘lead’ in the previous sentence visually portrays how it felt to write and lead the programs. Everyone in my group had a different takeaway from this experience, but mine was that I learned that it is possible to be a follower and a leader at the same time. Before the Shabbaton, I had thought that it was only possible to either lead everything or lead nothing. Working with other leaders taught me that I cannot lead everything, but that I should never lead nothing.  

 Erica Morrissey (Maagal Lila Committee):

Shabbaton II, the time to prove ourselves as leaders. The second Shabbaton was planned and led 80% by the Fellows, and 20% by staff. This meant that the Fellows planned almost every aspect of the Shabbaton. We broke into groups and planned everything, from the schedule, to services, to bonding. My group took on the challenge of the Maagal Lilah on Friday night.

            The two of us spent a portion of each meeting to come up with a program that would allow Fellows to get to know each other on a personal level through guided questions. We wanted to build an interesting program that would allow everyone to speak without feeling pressured, and to reach outside of peoples’ comfort zones. Each planning meeting was a chance to bounce question ideas off of each other, and off other groups, talk to other Fellows to ask about any subjects they didn’t want to approach, etc. On days without meetings, there was always a text waiting with a new question to add, or idea of how to present them.

            Friday night, the night where my group’s hard work paid off couldn’t come soon enough. Leaving the previous program a few minutes early to set up, we were mentally ready. Pushing the sofas into a circle, shuffling papers into order, and deciding on last minute changes to the questions, we were physically ready. Excited Fellows burst into the room and leapt onto the cushions. It was time to begin.

            My group stood up and began our program with some common Step-Forward-Step-Back style questions. These soon transitioned into Boundary-Breakers, questions that are answered and interpreted individually, with no commentary from the others. These concluded with some synthesis questions in the same style, and closing remarks that reminded everyone that the room was a safe place, answers were not to be discussed outside, and that we hoped everyone was able to learn something about each other.

             Planning and leading such a pivotal program of the Shabbaton was such an experience. From this experience of an 80%-20% Shabbaton, I feel much more confident in my leading abilities. I realized during this Shabbaton, that sometimes the most important part of leadership is listening to those around you. Within a discussion, listening to someone without commenting can form a deeper connected as they feel more needed and wanted. It can help someone who is struggling to fit in, find his or her spot within a group. A leader doesn’t just give instructions, they listen, get feedback, and help everyone to feel comfortable.

Eitan Galper: (Games Committee):

Prior to this week’s Shabbaton, two other fellows and I worked very hard to plan two activities relating to games and bonding. From these two programs, we wanted everyone to have opportunities to step out of their comfort zone and have a chance to lead the rest of their group. We hoped that our fellow fellows would have fun and bond together through our activities. For our first program, we ran an “Iron Chef” simulation where each group of 3-4 people needed to create an appetizer and an entree entirely out of candy. The other program, titled “Alien Invasion” was a leadership game where every group has to build a capsule to protect an egg when it is dropped from a high height. In each group, one person is blindfolded, one person can’t speak, and one person can’t touch the materials. Everyone has to participate in their own way.

            It was a great experience for us to put all of our hard work into action. Everyone had a lot of fun! We definitely learned a lot while leading the activities and how we can improve for future programs. For example, we noticed that, in the egg drop activity, the person who was blindfolded ended up not participating as much as we thought they would. This taught all of us an important lesson. One of the most important parts of leadership is making everyone feel that they are included and that they have an important role in accomplishing the goal of the group. I can’t wait to apply what I learned to planning activities for future Shabbatons!

Final Day of IWS!

Cohort 5 Israel Winter Seminar
Thursday, January 1st
By Naomi Silverstein

Our first day of 2015 began with a loud rendition of Happy Birthday for a very special Emma Starr and a whole lot of yawning. At 5 a.m. all of the remaining cohorts (many had left to go home the day before) met outside their dorms at Sde Boker Kibbutz for a light breakfast. Some groups were leaving for the airport, but not us. We, along with the Baltimore cohort, made the almost 2 hour bus ride to Masada. When we arrived at 7:30 we had an interesting make-your-own-breakfast experience that included canned tuna and a whole cucumber per person. After serenading Emma for at least the fourth time that day, we began our climb. 

All of the cohorts made the climb together. We took the path that the Romans had built in the early 70’s CE. The trek took only 15 minutes but it doesn’t take long to travel back in time. As we walked under the arch at the end of the path it was like we were walking through history. Our guide led us in a discussion over the morality of the Jewish zealots’ actions. On the one hand, it was a noble action to choose to die by their own hands rather than the hands of the Romans. Looking from another perspective, the group of Jews living on Masada was known as the Sicarii, an extremist band. Perhaps the mass suicide was just another way to get attention. Whatever the reasoning, walking the pathways and looking over the view from the top of Masada inspired incredible and overwhelming feelings. 

Due to time constraints, people had the option to swim at Ein Gedi oasis or in the Dead Sea. I was among those who opted for the Dead Sea experience. While some people thought the water was cold, us New Englanders loved it. Floating was so much fun! We were so buoyant that we couldn’t get ourselves vertical to stand back up! Accidentally getting a drop of the water in my mouth made my lips pucker and one of the Baltimore boys managed to get water in both of his eyes! Once everyone had endured enough of the stinging we swam out to wash off and head over to the mud baths. There were four huge basins filled to the brim with mud and each of us was smothered with thick layers from head to toe. The cool mud soothed the stinging sensations from the extreme saltiness. After taking the customary mud-covered pictures, we went to rinse off under the sulfur showers. Once we returned to the locker rooms we had to hurry to shower and get dressed before it was time to go. After I bought some Dead Sea lotion and a “Life is Sababa” t-shirt, we boarded the buses for Jerusalem! 

Easing our way back into American culture, the Boston cohort went to a burger restaurant for dinner! Sharing one long table, we enjoyed our final sit-down together and once again serenaded Emma with Happy Birthday. Dinner ended and we were headed to Ben Gurion airport. Instead of waiting at the gate, I went around and bought as much Israeli chocolate as I could afford! The 13-hour flight to Philly and then the two hours back to Boston ended our Israel Seminar. In our programming we discussed what being a family meant. To me, it is a place where I can take refuge and relax with people whom I love and love me in return. Going into the trip we were a close-knit group of teen leaders and friends. Now, we are a family.

Day Two of North American Kennes

Cohort 5 Israel Winter Seminar
Wednesday, 12.31.14
By Emma Starr

Wednesday morning started off with a traditional breakfast of cheeses and eggs etc.  We all then walked to our color groups and were told to look for envelopes with our color sticker on it.  At first I felt weird looking around Ben Gurion's grave site for envelopes but then when the groups found them all and we opened them I was very intrigued.  Inside the envelopes were quotes that Ben-Gurion said and dates that were important in the state of Israel. We each read them aloud and discussed if we were inspired and if so why.  My color group had a serious discussion about the conflict and people shared some very insightful opinions.  The notion of a group of around twenty Jewish kids from nine cities coming together to discuss the future of Israel was such an interesting perspective on how different people from different places see the world.  After we concluded with how we are going to affect change in our homes we continued our program on the "Journey of our People."  We also had to think about the first Jew in North America and put on a play about it.  Then the leader spread out a map and we were all told to place stickies with numbers one to ten written on the places that we think had the most Jews.  My group started out with getting the first three stickies correct but then we got the rest wrong.  It was so interesting to see how the places we think didn't have a lot of Jews are on the list and the places we thought had a lot of Jews were the top five on the list.  Boston is the city with the 7th largest Jewish population.

The five legged table is a concept by Avraham Infeld.  He says that a table stands on israel, memory, family, covenant, and language.  He spoke so passionately that it was very hard to not be totally captivated with his words which he so eloquently spoke.

After we heard from Mr. Infeld we broke up into our color groups again and discussed the future of North American Jewry.

We concluded our evening with a maagal both silly and serious.  We screamed our new year resolutions while cracking our glow sticks and ran towards each other ready to embark on accomplishing them together when we go back to the states.   We put on hats and glasses and counted down with the other cohorts and thought about how lucky we were to be in this beautiful country with the most amazing people in the world.  We are one family full of people that care about each other and will do anything for each other.  We are so lucky to have embarked on this adventure together, our nineteen amazing fellows.