Diller Teen Fellows Summer Seminar - Detroit

July 25th, 2007

On Sunday Afternoon, along with the San Francisco, Cleveland, and Baltimore communities, we arrived in Jerusalem. The scenery greatly differed from that of the Negev which we have become accustomed to for the past week. Yet, everyone stared out the windows of the bus, amazed and awed by the breath-taking sight that is Jerusalem. All the while, we kept thinking about this “surprise” that our Israeli madricha (counselor), Talia, had promised us. The bus stopped at the Haas Promenade, an incredible view that overlooks the entire city of Jerusalem. However, the moment we arrived there we began this bizarre, new activity. Jason, Talia, and Carmel, our other Israeli madricha, tied paper towel around our eyes. We did not know what to think, and had no idea where we were going or what we were doing – we just wanted to take pictures of the amazing sight. Blind-folded, we were led by Jason, Carmel, and Talia to an area farther down along the promenade where we discussed what we felt as we looked outward toward the city. We took off the blindfolds, and were told that our surprise was that we were going to Talia’s Mom’s house for a snack. We sat on her balcony, allowing the amazing view of the entire city to sink in. We read and analyzed some pieces of Israeli poetry, and even wrote some of our poems as well. Talia told us about her incredibly adventurous life in the army and participating in a leadership program similar to Diller on a kibbutz. That night, we met up with the other three groups at Emek Refaim, an area with many shops and restaurants. Some of us met with friends and family that we had just met for the first time. It was a really great city-life experience that we had not really felt while we were in the Negev. After a fun night, we went to the Rabin Youth Hostel where we will be staying until Thursday. The accommodations are very nice; it almost seems like we are staying in a hotel.
 

The next morning we woke up very early to go to the Kotel. We arrived there dreary-eyed with our travel-buddies from Baltimore, whom we have really become close with after traveling with them over the past week. It was spiritually moving to be at the Kotel, yet, our time there was short – we had a lot more touring to do. After our time at the Kotel, we toured the Old City, which included Robinson’s arch, the Southern wall, and the Davidson Center, where we saw a video and computerized images of the ancient Temple. We learned about the history of Israel, and the pitfalls it has overcome to become a free nation under the jurisdiction of its own people. We literally saw the history that we were being taught, examining ancient artifacts that depict the history of our people. After this intense experience, we went to Cardo where we ate Falafel and Schwarma, and bought many gifts for all of you back home. Afterwards, we went to the park where we had a text study on the story of Jacob’s ladder in the Torah, and then went back to the Hostel to relax and prepare for Tisha B’av, the fast of the Ninth of Av which commemorates the destruction of the Temple. We learned about the various customs that surround the fast, ate dinner, and then drove back to Haas Promenade where we read the book of Lamentations. It was a very powerful experience to actually look out at the glory of Jerusalem, while reading the book that laments the destruction of Jerusalem at the same time, I felt extremely grateful to be in Jerusalem and feel its spiritual power and maintain this strong connection with my homeland and my people. Afterwards, we went back to the Hostel, and got some rest for the long day tomorrow.
 

Today (Tuesday) we went to the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial center. The fact that it was Tisha b’Av only made our experience there that more meaningful and significant. Many tragedies in Jewish history have occurred on Tisha b’Av, and thus reflecting on the Holocaust made the day even more significant. After, we went to Har Herzl where we saw Theodore Herzl’s and Yitzchak Rabin’s graves. In addition, we saw the graves of many buried soldiers from the Independence Day War, Six-day War, and even the recent conflict in Lebanon. As a whole Diller community, we participated in a special memorial service for a few kids’ Israeli counselor from a trip last summer that died in combat last year. Afterwards, we came back to the Hostel and were given different options that centered around Tisha b’Av including visual arts, a movie, creative writing, and a discussion on Jewish identity. Then we ate dinner and had individual group sessions. In our group, we gave feedback about everything we have done so far in Jerusalem. Everyone is having an amazing time, getting to become great friends with each other while meeting new friends from other communities as well. Everyone is looking forward to more fun time in Jerusalem for the next few days and for an amazing rest of the trip.

- Michael Baum