The free Shabbat was really awesome!  At my house, we had a big Friday night dinner with eight fellows at my house.  We then spent the evening playing some board games and card games.  Then all of the guys went to one house and spent the night together, while some of the girls did the same at another house.  Then during the day on Saturday, since we were keeping Shomer Shabbat, we spent the morning together and rested.  Then in the afternoon, we decided to walk to lake Michigan.  On our way to the lake, we had to walk through Fort Sheridan and it was really fun to show the Israelis the different architecture and the history behind the old fort.  Finally we got to the lake, skipped some rocks on the water, and just had some real human conversation.  I think the best part about the Shabbat was the bonding that came out of it.  Since we (the Americans) don’t normally keep Shomer Shabbat, we found it extremely nice to not have any electricity and especially our phones.  By not having any of these distractions we were able to learn more about each other and just spent time breaking the barriers that we may of had when we first met.  I want to end with a quote that I feel describes the Shabbat and the whole week, “Truly great friends are hard to find, difficult to leave, and impossible to forget.” - Unknown"

-- Ben Zavell

On Friday, one of the last days of JCM, we visited schools. We started the day by going to Rochell Zell Jewish High School. We davened and then ate breakfast. After breakfast, we got to talk to the rabbi at RZJHS about the school and how everything works. The Israelis had time to ask questions about how the school works compared to the schools they had visited Wednesday and compared to their school. When the rabbi left we had an in depth conversation about each person’s time volunteering Thursday and the importance of volunteering and how people may come into these situations. We left the high school and ate lunch at Mizrahi grill. After lunch, we went to Northwestern. At Northwestern, we went to the Hillel there and got a tour of the campus. We then talked about BDS at Northwestern and world wide and its significance for Israelis and american jews. We took the bus home and went to our homes for shabbat. Lidor and I went to stay with Garren and Ariel for shabbat. We also had shabbat dinner with Ben, Tevel, Einav, and Annie. We had a nice dinner at the Zavell’s house and then went back to the Kalter’s to go to sleep.

-- Arie Sztainberg

On Thursday, April 14th, the Israeli Diller teen fellows, along with some Americans, took a couple trips into different neighborhoods of Chicago to experience community service.  The first thing we did was visit The Arch.  We learned about the services The Arch offers to mostly Jewish underprivileged citizens of the Chicago area. We discussed what we thought about the Arch’s services.  Then, we got on a bus and drove to Bronzeville, where the Bright Star Church is located.  There, we met Pastor Harris, who talked to us about his relationship with Israel and the Jewish people.  He also discussed the violence done to black people that takes place in Chicago.  It was extremely impactful to hear what he had to say.  He truly left a large impact on both the Israelis and Americans.  I learned that we must also stand up for Blacks and their rights.  It was a beautiful experience.  After, we visited a modern orthodox temple and learned about their synagogue and community.  Finally, we went to the Uptown Cafe.  It was a cafe where underprivileged people can come dine for free.  We wore aprons and acted like waiters.  It was an awesome experience and it was helpful to the community.  In conclusion, so much was learned on this day by both the Israelis and Americans.  I am very glad I participated in this day.

-- Miriam Berkson

Cohort 3: Workshop 4

Last week, I had the privilege to meet and get to know many amazing people at Gidwitz. I have very little experience with talking to the elderly besides my grandparents, so walking in I was nervous of the impression I would make. We started off stuffing animals for children who might not be receiving gifts this holiday season. As we stuffed and helped each other with our animals, we had conversations with the residents about Hanukkah, Jewish identity, and their lives before living in Gidwitz. One of the women I talked to, Selma, said her favorite part of Hanukkah is lighting the candles and singing prayers each night. It was a time for everyone in her family to come together and focus on each other, rather than other stresses of the day. The best part of our conversation was Selma constantly giggling when she talked about her husband or "hubby", making everyone else at the table smile. Then the fellows left to discuss our experiences with different residents. After about an hour, we went back to the community area and lit the candles of the menorah for the eighth nigh of Hanukkah. My favorite part of the night was singing the Hanukkah prayers and songs with all of my friends from Diller and all of the residents that I had met. 

-Elly Qunell

Cohort 3: Workshop 3

The most recent Diller meeting on November 18 was held at Hannah Silver’s home in Chicago.  We addressed three important topics:
1.  How we would observe Shabbat during our shabbaton
2. How we define our leadership as teens
3. How we would spend our time during our first shabbaton  

The main question we needed to answer was how we would observe Shabbat given the diverse backgrounds of our group. We debated over how many services would be held, and if these services would be mandatory or optional.  It seems not many people in our cohort keep Shabbat in the traditional sense, and while some fellows wanted to try to be more observant, others were in favor of a more relaxed Shabbat observance.  Our discussion about defining leadership kicked off with shared stories about different times we were leaders, both successes and failures.  We split into groups, and discussed the attributes of a leader in ancient Judaism.  Each group then had to advocate for their leader. At the end of our presentations we voted for which leader we thought was the best.  The final activity we did was gathering in our committees to plan for the upcoming shabbaton.

--Sam Weber

Cohort 3: Workshop 1 + Orientation

Excitement filled the Mayer Kaplan JCC, on August 30th, at Cohort 3’s first workshop! I was feeling a bit nervous, but overall really excited! I had been waiting for the first workshop since I found out that I was accepted in July! We kicked off the workshop with the fellows and the parents together, discussing a text that talked about “our names.” We talked about how everyone has different names; what your parents call you, what your friends call you, and what you call yourself. We also discussed how we wanted our names to change over the course of the next 15 months in Diller. My name is Danielle, but by the end of the program I want my name to be Danielle “the leader”.
Next, the fellows left the parents and we went upstairs to do our own programming. Once we all got upstairs, we played a game to learn everyone's names. After that we played “the ice game.” It is where you have to hold onto a piece of ice and you to talk about yourself until the ice melts or it gets too cold. If you wondering the ice was really cold. It was great to get to know everyone in the cohort!
We spent most of the workshop getting to know one another, and started making connections with each other. I am ready to start this one and lifetime program. I am ready to create my Diller family. And I am ready to make a difference.
I would like to end the first blog post with a quote:

“Be the change you want to see in the world.” ~Mahatma Gandhi

--Danielle Wolff

Cohort 2: Workshop 10

Social action was in the air last Sunday, August 23rd. After a brief whip around about our favorite parts of the Israel trip and a short feedback session about the trip for next year, we finally dove into starting our impact projects!
We were each handed a sticky note and asked to write down an issue that we were passionate about or an issue we felt like went unnoticed in our society. We were given total freedom and were encouraged to be as specific or as vague as we wanted to be. We were then asked to place our notes on the mirror where everyone could see them. We organized the notes into categories based off of the subject matter and the targeted audience. After deliberating the options and of course brainstorming a few more together we emerged from Sam’s house, (the site of the meeting) to the backyard, partially to have space for the next activity but mostly to get away from the cat.
To form our groups we were given a speed dating like template and told to find others with similar causes to our own. By the end of the program we had chosen our groups and started to discuss what we wanted to do to make an impact on our community.
Since we have the Tikkun Olam Shabbaton coming up we started planning some of the programming. We broke up into small groups and assigned individual roles to each member of the group. It was a jammed packed day!!!

-- Elisha Serotta

Diller Chicago Cohort 2 ISS, August 4

On our last day in Israel, we decided to do something different. For the majority of our trip, we had been going around Israel and exploring, but not really interacting with different people and getting to see their daily lives. But this was our chance to volunteer and really give back to the people of Israel. We had spent the night in Tel Aviv, and we were on our way to volunteer in South Tel Aviv with some kids. South Tel Aviv is the rundown part of the city, many of its residents are refugees from Eritrea and Sudan. After our short bus ride, we got to the day care. Immediately, there was a large group of children who crowded around the door to see us. One of the women who worked there told us we would each get a child to look after and play with at the park. After we each got a kid, we walked the short distance to the park, singing and playing games the entire time. When we got to the park, the real fun started. We went swinging, played with balloons, and had an overall great time. Once we said goodbye to the kids, we went to Shuk Carmel in Tel Aviv for some lunch and last minute shopping. The shuk was so amazing. Vendors there were selling everything from t-shirts and elephant pants, to fresh fruit and smoothies.

            For our closing activity, we went back to the hotel. At the hotel we all sat in a circle and has two cups, one filled with Coke, and the other filled with a strawberry-banana drink. The two drinks represented the sweet and the sour of our trip. After each person said their memories, they took a drink. Many funny and touching memories were shared after our three weeks there. We also each got a piece of paper, and got to draw what the trip meant to us on it. When all the pieces were put together, they made the flag of Israel. This was to remember that all of us made the ISS so fantastic and if one single piece was missing, it wouldn’t be the same. We then drove to Jaffa for our last meal. On the way there we passed the restaurant that the Chicagoans ate at on our first night in Israel. This provided a sweet reminder of how far we had come. After dinner, we headed to the airport. Once there, we said goodbye to our amazing bus driver, Brent, and our wonderful tour guide, Maya. We had our tearful goodbyes with the Israelis, and soon, we were on a plane back home.

-          --Melinda Berman

Diller Chicago Cohort 2 ISS, August 5

The flight home was a sad but happy time for most of the fellows. Although we were saying goodbye to Israel and to the Israeli's, we also got a chance to look back and remember how great of a trip it was. The Israel to Philadelphia flight was easy for most of the fellows because of how overtired we were from the trip. Some of us even fell asleep within the first fifteen minutes of the flight. After the first flight we had a three hour layover where we had to go through customs and security once again. After customs and security, some went to breakfast and some went right back to sleep. Finally we boarded the plane that would take us back to our hometown, and make this trip officially over. 

-- Brian Schneiderman

Diller Chicago Cohort 2 ISS, August 3

              On our second to last day in Israel, we woke up on our campsite, having spent an exciting night under the stars. After a lengthy process of packing up all of the camping gear and eating breakfast, we headed to an ecological farm. At the farm, we gathered in a building that the people who lived there had constructed themselves to listen to a women talk to us about her history and how she decided to start the farm. Personally, I found the story very interesting. This woman had grown up on a moshav but then she moved into the city and became rather materialistic and very into things like shopping, until she came to realize that there were more meaningful things in life, and through a series of other events that I will not go into here, ended up starting the farm. The one issue with this lecture however, was that the building it was in was very hot and filled with comfortable couch cushions meaning that many people found themselves falling asleep. After the lecture, we divided into two groups to tour the farm. I found this part even more interesting than the lecture part. It was really cool to see the method they have for collecting rain water on their roof and storing it to water their plants. Also the homemade little huts that they live in were really cute and cozy looking.

              After the farm visit, we drove to a Druze village in the mountains. Once we got there, we went to a hospitality house we were had a very delicious Druze lunch and then we learned a little bit about the Druze religion. 

              After lunch was the moment we had all been waiting for- going to the beach! It was a very hot day and we were all sweaty and tired so this is just what we needed. We spent about an hour and a half swimming in the Mediterranean Sea until it was time to drive to our hotel in Tel Aviv.

              After settling into our (tiny) rooms and eating dinner, we went to an indoor rock climbing gym. Even though the gym was kind of hot, this was really fun, at least for me, because I love climbing. Even people who didn’t like climbing got to have fun though because there was this big rope swing thing where the climbing staff would pull you up really high and then release you and then you would go flying!

              Then, it was time to go back to the hotel and shower and pack L. All in all it was a pretty good day.                    

-- Karen Weiner

Diller Chicago Cohort 2 ISS, August 2

After we packed, ate breakfast and said our goodbyes to all of the friends we made at Congress, we were ready to leave Givat Haviva and continue our once-in-a-lifetime trip elsewhere. After a short bus ride, we were treated to a couple hours of free time on the main strip of Zichron Ya’akov. All that mattered was that we got to eat real food for the first time that week. Some of us had Italian food, some of us had shawarma, whatever it was, I can guarantee that we ate well, and that was all that mattered. After lunch, we got back on the bus and headed to a Kibbutz called Regavim to meet the Kiryat Gat coordinator's grandfather, who was a part of the Mossad and helped carry out an operation that brought thousands of Moroccan Jews to Israel. His story was truly remarkable. After hearing his story, we got back on the bus and headed for our campsite in the Carmel. That night, we had a barbecue with Hamburgers, hotdogs, and homemade french fries before sleeping under the stars. All in all, the day was fantastic.

-- Henry Wolle

Diller Chicago Cohort 2 ISS, July 29- August 2: Congress

After a successful community week, the united Diller Kashlash boarded busses and left the partnership region for their next adventure located in Givat Haviva: Congress. The opening ceremony included eleven Diller cohorts along with their Israeli partnership cities, all wearing really fun Diller bucket hats. The room was a loud cacophony of chanting and singing, each group trying to out-cheer the rest. The fellows learned all about Helen Diller, heard a great new song written by a Diller alum, and watched all of the JCs show off their dance moves. After the opening ceremonies, the fellows were all split up into smaller groups called tribes. The tribes had one Israeli and one English speaker from each partnership, so it was a great way to meet people in a smaller setting. In each tribe meeting, we explored a different lesson that was important to the Jewish people. We discussed the idea of family on the first day. Each group decided which aspects of family were most important to them. At the end of our day, the Chicago group talked about family more by reading letters our parents had written to us before the trip. After mingling and dancing with everyone else at a party called the White Tent, we all went to sleep. 

Thursday morning, everyone had the privilege to listen to the famous Avraham Infeld. He made the peculiar point that “Judaism is not a religion”. He taught all of the fellows that Judaism is so much more than a religion and stands on a five-legged table. Our role as Jews is to pick three of these five legs that we can connect to. Our goal for Congress became to explore each of these legs in depth in our tribes. We had already discussed memory and family, but we also talked about Hebrew, Mount Sinai, and Israel. We did this by looking at sources and quotes and thinking about how what we read could connect to our lives. It was interesting to have these discussions because each tribe had a huge diversity of opinions from many different places. 

The fellows also had the opportunity to hear from other speakers like Diller alumni and modern Jewish leaders. I know that a group of Chicago girls were inspired by a speaker who advocated for women’s rights within Orthodoxy, even working with a religious lesbian organization called Bat Kol. Congress was not all discussions, learning, and speakers though. On Friday, the fellows had the chance to participate in the Diller Olympics, where many of us did zumba. We also had White Tent every night where we were able to meet even more people from other cohorts and partnerships. 

Friday afternoon everyone changed into their white clothes and began getting ready for Shabbat. We said our goodbyes to Sam, who had to leave for a wedding. All of the fellows walked together in a parade of white to the tune of the original song written by Max Kalser, a Diller alum. We all danced and sang together the songs we had sang with our own cohort, but this time we were joined by over four hundred other voices. At one point, we all ran into the middle of a large field and everyone began dancing. It was an amazing experience. 

After that, all of the fellows split up for Kabbalat Shabbat. The Chicago group had planned a Reform service, and I heard it went great. I went to a Carlebach minyan led by the South Africans, which was so much fun. By the end dinner I had lost my voice from singing so much. Our Ma’agal Lilah brought many of the Chicago group closer together as some of us stayed up until midnight for the start of Grace’s birthday, when we sang even more. 

Shabbat was a relaxing day spent mostly with our tribes, talking about the legs. In the morning, there was an option for yoga, which some of the Chicago went to and really enjoyed. When we started to see stars in the sky, all of the fellows gathered together in the big field for havdallah. It was again the crazy experience of singing with over four hundred other people. The end of Shabbat brought the beginning of the closing ceremony. Each tribe preformed a skit, song, or cheer that had to do with their tribe. Of course, Ben’s shirt came off as a part of his tribe’s performance. The junior staff and the coordinators also had a dance that they performed. Maya, the Kashlah coordinator, is a great dancer. 

The night ended with an insane dance party. Cotton candy was involved. The party was so much fun and definitely one of my favorite memories from Congress. In the morning, we concluded Congress with our tribes, said our goodbyes to everyone, then boarded the busses once again. 

Even though it was really hot outside and the food was awful, Congress was fantastic. I know I made friends all over the world who I will remain friends with. We were able to explore our Jewish identities even further through speakers and discussions in our tribes, but we were also able to explore what it meant to be a Diller. It was so cool to feel like a part of the huge Diller community, and know that I was a part of something bigger. I also had so much fun. 

-         --  Lizzie Jenssen

Diller Chicago Cohort 2 ISS, July 28

The last day of community week finally came. Looking back on the week, it felt like a huge blur of time that went by fast, but it also felt like it had been going on forever. We started the day with a ma'agal boker where we made posters showing what we think would help make the world a better place. We then went on to Angels Forest where we did a scavenger hunt and had to exercise our navigation skills. We went to a greenhouse as well, and then drove to the kibbutz where we reflected on community week and had the closing ceremony.

When all the families of the Israelis were there, I could see the Americans interacting with their host families like they were their very own families. It was such an amazing, beautiful thing to see how close and comfortable my fellow Americans and their Israeli families had become with each other in just one week. On a more personal level, I feel like the luckiest girl in the world because I got the perfect family for me. I was put in such amazing, caring, lovely, warm, laughter-filled, and extremely welcoming home. As nerve-wracking as it is to be hosted by a family in which you only know one person, they made me feel as if I was right at home, and I got to know everyone else in the family very well also. As strong as my feeling of belonging in Israel was before this trip, now I know I have a real (not just a feeling of) family in Israel who I can always count on being there. As cliché as this all is, from the bottom of my heart, I can honestly call the Raviv family my own family, and Reut's siblings my own siblings. Overall, getting to see and hear that my fellow Chicagoans also felt this real feeling of having a family in Israel, made the closing ceremony of community week so much more special than I could have ever imagined. It was an amazing end to the best week of my life.

~Eden Berke 

Diller Chicago Cohort 2 ISS, July 27

On Monday July 27th in the midst of our community week we had a day devoted to loving and understanding our senses. Since the theme of community week was loving all of god's creations we spent the day analyzing the importance of our own god given senses.

In the morning we volunteered with children at a local community center. We brought games to play with them as well as recipes to make with them. Most of the games had to do with throwing things and most of the recipes contained chocolate, so needless to say our presence was a big smash amongst the kids.

Next we did a program called “The Maze of Senses” which sounds like it should be a very famous and strange looking abstract painting, but actually was more like a blindfolded obstacle course. Blindfolded participants were guided with words by a seeing partner. They had to be talked through a room filled with various tasks like finding a gum ball in a box full of marbles or searching for a bottle underneath chairs. This gave us a new perspective on what it is like to be blind and what it means to help someone who is blind.

We then had a staff program called “memories” which discussed why we remember what we do. It also talked about memories through history and through our own pasts and how they have shaped us. We closed off the day with an extra special drum circle and then went our separate ways for a night with our host families. It was a really good day :)

---Elisha Serotta

Diller Chicago Cohort 2 ISS, July 26

Tisha B'av is not a happy day for the Jewish people. On that day we commemorate the destruction of the First and Second Temple and we basically add on all of the other tragedies that have happened over time. This is not a widely "celebrated" holiday amongst the Jews, but most people who do observe it, fast in memorium of the destruction of the temples. For Tisha B'av this year, we had the opportunity to be in Israel. A high percentage of the Chicago cohort decided to fast. I mean "when in Rome" or this time, Israel.

We started out the day by learning a tune to the words "If I forget Jerusalem may my right hand wither." It was very special and seemed to fit perfectly with the theme of Tisha B'Av. We then began discussing Sinat Chinam (baseless hatred) and Ahavat Chinam (baseless love). Sinat Chinam is one of the supposed reasons of the destruction of the Second Temple and Ahavat Chinam is what needs to happen in order for the Third Temple to be built. We talked about ways there is still Sinat Chinam in the world and solutions to try and eliminate it. Afterwards we talked about Ahavat Chinam and things we can do to work towards it. We then split into two groups and designed our own temples.

Later in the day we went to the new settlement Eliav. There, we designed masks that reflected how we think people see us and how we see ourselves. We shared with everyone and after the activity the people who were not fasting went to volunteer at a synagogue and helped clean it, while the fasting people rested and had a limmud (text study). All in all the group who planned the day gave everyone a very meaningful Tisha B'Av.

-- Barb Sodos

Diller Chicago Cohort 2 ISS, July 23

On the 9^th day we looked into the question how can we love our enemies? Loving our enemies as we discussed is very difficult but crucial for peace and friendship. We started our day by going to a settlement made from Jews who had to evacuate Gaza. We heard the story of man named Ariodes. He told us his story and that of many others like him who were forced to leave Gaza during the Disengagement in 2005. They started a settlement called Neta. His story was very compelling. We also had discussions and text study during this time.

After lunch we met with two women who are part of an organization called the Parents’ Circle, an organization supporting families who have lost a loved one in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They shared their story and the goals of the organization to try and create peace and friendship between Arabs and Israelis. We then listened to a Jewish women who makes clay pieces and puts them on the wall between Gaza and Israel. She tries to make the wall a more attractive and less hostile site. She also paints peace and peace signs towards Gaza so someone hopefully sees it in Gaza. With her, we all chose a clay piece and help decorate the wall between Gaza and Israel. We met some IDF soldiers and talked with them. We understood what it was really like to live on the border with Gaza, and how peace could really be an option. 

Diller Chicago Cohort 2 ISS, July 24

We started off at our home base in Quirat Gat, Youth Futures. Our first activity of the day was a group discussion of the weekly Torah portion, Parshat Devarim. We read a short summary of the portion, in which we learned that Moshe was speaking to the Children of Israel about their earlier journeys. We then discussed why Moshe might have felt the need to review previous events. Some fellows suggested that in order to understand one’s identity and predict one’s future, one must first know their pasts. This was a key idea explored by us Chicagoans in Kennes. Other interpretations were that he was trying to preserve the history that might have been forgotten by the new generation or warn them not to repeat a previous mistake.

The next activity of our Ma’agal Boker was a discussion of our goals for the Israeli Summer Seminar. The leaders of the day, Hili, Hillel, Elad, Adam, and Barb, helped facilitate dialogue by giving out clay for us to mold into shapes that represented our goals. We received four colors of clay. Yellow clay represented how we hope to grow as a result of Diller. Green clay represented the personal growth we wished to experience. Pink represented growth in relation to Israel and blue represented growth among our cohorts. I decided that I wanted to increase my leadership skills, step out of my comfort zone, strengthen my connection to Israel, and build long lasting friendships.

The third activity of the morning focused on the theme of the day, multiculturalism. We explored the history and rich cultures of various groups that have made Aliyah. We learned about Yemenite Jews, their Aliyah in Operation Wings of Eagles, and Ja’achnun, a delicious doughy dessert. We also learned about Russian and Moroccan immigrants.

We then broke for lunch and tried some authentic Ja’achnun made by Hili’s mother before leaving for a local Ethiopian cultural center, Hineni. There one of the organizations founders, Rabbi Moshe Selomon spoke to us about the organization’s goals and motivations. He described how after surviving the incredibly difficult and dangerous journey from Ethiopia to Israel, some older members of the community felt dejected and purposeless. The founders hoped that giving these members the opportunity to use their agricultural skills would lift up their spirits and bring them out of their isolation. Another member of the cultural center, Pini then put us to work building a traditional Jewish Ethiopian house, a Gojo, made out of mud and straw.  We learned that Ethiopian Jews deliberately did not building more permanent domiciles to show that they were ready at any moment to return to Jerusalem.  We then learned about Amharic, the language historically spoken in the Ethiopian Jewish community. Each of us had the opportunity to write our name in Amharic.  Finally, we finished the day with some delicious traditional Jewish Ethiopian bread and coffee.

-- Matan Cutler 

Diller Chicago Cohort 2 ISS, July 20

Today was a jam-packed day of content and fun in the North American Kennes. First thing after breakfast, we split up into our respective color groups (SILVER RULES) and began our first official unit. This first piece was on David Ben-Gurion and his role as a founding father of Israel. The teens learned some background history on the first Prime Minister. Then, we simulated the decisions that led to the formation of the State of Israel. The Fellows experienced the difficulty of making such large, historical choices as David Ben-Gurion and his equals. From this first activity, we learned that David Ben-Gurion was a strong leader because he was a man of action, albeit the difficulty of the 

choices he made.

The second part of the David Ben-Gurion unit focused on how the Fellows could make similar 

changes within their local communities. We were introduced to the Alumni Impact Projects, which take Ben-Gurion's attitude of activism to the Diller communities. After a short presentation, we split into groups based on our interests. There was a group on environmentalism, education, gender equality, etc. Within the smaller groups, teens discussed pertinent issues that related to their local communities. The passion was palpable in all of the discussions, and it was clear that the teens are committed to Tikkun Olam (repairing the world).

After many fascinating discussions, we had a quick lunch and reconvened in the auditorium. Liat Cohen-Raviv, the senior director of Diller, gave a detailed presentation on the history of the Jewish people. After, we met in our color groups for a discussion on Jewish roots within the Diaspora.

Our final unit for the day, Rak Po, was all about "belonging". The song by Hadag Nachash is about a sometimes irrational love for Israel – the singer loves his country, despite the many problems it faces. The Fellows wrote their own "Rak Po" about their homes, and shared with the rest of the group. Only a few verses, each poem packed a surprising punch. The Fellows proved to be future poets, as well as future leaders.

Molly Livingstone, an American-Israeli comedian, wrapped up a long day of content with humor. She insightfully joked about what life really is like for an immigrant to Israel. Some of the Fellows were also invited on-stage for some funny improv exercises.

After some laughs, we finally reunited with the Chicago cohort for our Ma'agal Lailah. Expertly led by our coordinator, Sam, we discussed some powerful Ben-Gurion quotes under a night sky dusted with stars. As we all learned, the unpolluted night sky of the Negev is unequalled in beauty. It was a beautiful, peaceful experience for the Chicago cohort, and a great way to finish a full day.

By: Amanda Jackson   

Diller Chicago Cohort 2 ISS, July 22

               When both the Chicago and Israeli fellows arrived, most of us were all exhausted from the previous night because of all the excitement of finally seeing each other again so most of us were up late and had to get up early in the morning for a full day of activities. To start the day, we Lachish to hike up Tel Lachish, a short mountain, the location of the second largest stronghold, only behind Jerusalem, where Guy acted as a tour guide for informing us about the history and pointing out significant rooms that were dug up by archaeologists. After that, we all went back down where Brian, Igal, Noah, Oriyah, and Shahar led the rest of the cohort in simulated IDF training activities, such as army crawling, eye tests, running, push-ups, and mental tests. At the end of this, everyone received fake dog tags representing that everyone passed.

               Following this, we all returned to Kiryat Gat for lunch. Once we finished lunch, Aaron Gertz, a Jewish history teacher who served in the IDF as a combat engineer. He told us his story about how he ended up making Aliyah to Israel, since he graduated college in the United States before making Aliyah to Israel, where he was a lone soldier, meaning he had family there so he received special benefits. He explained that he felt that since he thinks there is need for a Jewish country to exist and he felt it was his obligation to serve the country of Israel.

               After a short break, we had two more officers from the IDF, one of whom had just finished her 2 years of required service that day, come to speak to us, as well as put us through a few more minor physical exercises. They introduced themselves and explained what they did, one of them was involved in secret operations so he couldn’t tell us much because these were secret operations that he was involved in which were not allowed to be spoken about. The second one was involved in the education unit of the IDF, the only military that has an education unit. After this, they also did a simulation of some of the training that is done in the IDF, and had us run, do sit-ups, push-ups, as well as teaching us the proper way to stand, in the Hebrew letter het, with our feet forming a “v” and our hands behind our backs in the shape of a diamond.

               After they left, we had a Maagal Layla, which was led by Shahar, where we discussed dilemmas within the IDF, such as how many people don’t serve in the IDF, the conflicts within certain brigades and how we would feel in different situations, primarily what we would do if we had  to serve in the army according to a law.

               Following the conclusion of this discussion, everybody had family night. This was very exciting because of how fun the families were and all the things there were to do. Some of us went to different cities nearby to do some shopping, while others went out for dinner. Another group of us hung out together and just hung out at houses together. Overall, everyone enjoyed family night because of being able to spend quality time with our Israeli host and their families. What an exciting first full day with the Israelis and all of us can’t wait for what else is to come during Community Week.

----Adam Gurin

Diller Chicago Cohort 2 ISS, July 21

Today the Kennes ended and community week began. We started the day by leaving Sde Boker at 4:30 am and driving to Masada. We were on a bus with the cohort from Johannesburg and it was a nice opportunity to get to know them better, although they did shame us with how efficient they are at counting off. When we arrived we hiked up the old Roman Ramp in our color groups from the Kennes. It was a nice short hike with a great view. Reaching the top of Masada was an amazing experience. We got to see ruins built thousands of years ago by Herod and could see all the way to Jordan across the valley. Once at the top we had a discussion about the Masada story and its significance to the Jewish people. We talked about the values inherent in the story and about how to properly teach the story of such a terrible event. Despite viewing very little of the ruins, It was fascinating to hear all the different opinions and perspectives brought from all the North American and South African cohorts. Once we finally got off the mountain we had a feedback session and drove to the Dead Sea.  It was quite a shock to go into the water expecting refreshing cool and instead find it bath water temperature at its coolest. We had a ton of fun floating around in the Dead Sea. It was my first time going and the experience certainly lived up to the hype. On the way back we saw our 107^th stray cat! Then we got on the bus on our way to meet with the Israelis and begin community week with our host families. It was a fabulous end to Kennes and a great beginning of community week.