Sunday Volunteering and Monday Fun Day
by Alana Entin and Shannon Rasson
After an amazing weekend full of laughter and
bonding, the Los Angeles and Tel Aviv fellows arrived at the Los Angeles Jewish
home for an afternoon filled with community service and learning. For many of
us, it was our first time visiting an old age home, so nervousness and
excitement filled the air. Each American fellow was paired with an Israeli
fellow, and we split off to interact with different people. We started off
stating our names and explaining about Diller, yet we quickly began to learn
about each of the people we were talking to. Every person at the L.A. Jewish
Home had a story or memory that related back to their Jewish life and identity.
It was fascinating to hear these wise people discuss the unforgettable parts of
their lives. Specifically, Sheer and I talked to an elderly woman who recounted
the story of her moving to Los Angeles with her daughter and meeting her
life-long friends at the temple she joined. The Israelis loved sharing their
stories of home and discussing Israel with each person they interacted with. By
the end of the afternoon, everyone was wishing that we could have had more time
to spend there. Each and every person seemed touched by the service they did,
but also by the stories and memories they heard and shared.
The next afternoon
we reunited as a whole group at the home of one of our junior counselors, Chava.
The “Party in the USA” committee planned a fun night for us to all hang out and
relax. We went swimming, played games, and had ice cream. It was a fun night to
hang out with a group in a very relaxed setting. It was remarkable to see how
close we had all gotten after just knowing each other for a couple of days.
Everyone seemed very comfortable and happy around each other. For many of the
Americans, it was the first day back at school, so the fun night provided a
relief to all the stress and homework. Ultimately, both of the activities helped
us grow as group. By Monday night, although we were all tired, we were looking
forward to the rest of the upcoming week.
Our Closing- Thursday
By Hannah Rapoport
Impactful, a word commonly used in our Diller vocabulary, however not exactly as strong or descriptive a word we sometimes would want to describe an experience that has truly changed and bettered us as individuals. None of the fellows expected our second thursday night of NAS to really affect emotionally, but we were wrong. As the Americans arrived to Vista Del Mar from their busy days at school, we found the Israelis jamming out to High School Musical. Once everyone arrived at the location, we sat around tables in the gym and greeted the kids, inviting them to sit at our tables. We met a particular boy named Daniel, who seemed quiet at first, but really got into the program and was more than excited to play Matzah Matzah Matzah, Mania Mania Mania with the whole group. The Rabbi at Vista Del Mar led the seder while we were able to help teach the kids the meaning and origins of Passover. One of our favorite parts of the seder was seeing the kids try matzah for the first time. We all especially loved the wafer cookies! After dinner, Sami led us in a circle of Israeli dancing. We all got really into it and had a great time. We had fun being able to experience the seder with the kids of Vista Del Mar, and the Israelis gained a new perspective of judaism in LA while talking to the kids, and helped teach them about their lives in Israel.
After the program, we headed over to the sanctuary at Vista Del Mar for a performance of Freedom Song. Freedom Song was performed by the residents of Beit T’Shuvah, a residential Jewish rehabilitation center in Los Angeles. The play took place during a Passover seder and revealed to us the struggles of individuals who struggled with addiction. We learned from the stories of the people affected by addiction along with their families. What we came to learn was that the “actors” were telling their personal stories during the play, and acting was a part of their process of healing. We were deeply affected by the stories of the struggles of the kids our own age at Vista del mar, and found a way to connect with them. We learned the importance of support, our jewish roots, and connected with kids of LA who we would’ve never gotten to meet without this experience. After the emotional play and q&a with the “actors,” we gathered together for our closing ma’agal (circle) of NAS. We went around saying our favorite part of NAS including funny stories, experiences, and what we learned. We also had a short program where we picked an emoji to describe how we would sum up or NAS experience. We then wrote a future letter to ourselves that we are going to open once we reunite with one another in Israel. From bonding with each other, to socializing with the kids of Vista Del Mar, to watching a powerful play about addiction, to our closing ma’agal, we all became closer as a group of Diller Teen Fellows from different parts of the world, and found it sad to be leaving eachother in just a couple of days.
A Video Recap
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