Shabbat Mifgash

Last weekend we had a meeting with the Israeli versions of us. They were our age, after the army and working in American summer camps during the summer. We got a chance to really get to know them by discussions on everything from the death penalty to Justin Beiber as well as just hanging out and playing Yaniv (a very popular Israeli card game). We started the weekend by thinking together as an Otzma group about how Israelis stereotypically think of Americans and how we stereotypically think of Israelis. Then we met the Israelis and had some icebreakers to introduce ourselves. The next morning we did some experimental learning exercise outside in the woods to work on teamwork and leadership. Then we came back ate lunch (the food was really good at the hotel we stayed at, so all the meals were great!) prepared for Shabbat, and went to services (reform, conservadox, or alternative). I helped plan the reform with Erin and a couple Israelis. Then we had a really nice Shabbat dinner, after which we sang the birkat hamazon-- camp style. Then we did a speed-dating style activity where we got a chance to have quick convos concerning all kinds of topics with a bunch of the Israelis. Then we played some games and called it a night.

         On Saturday morning we had a discussion based on the Catcher in the Rye where we discovered some difference and similarities in how we each communicate, specifically in relating to how we introduce ourselves and how our culture shapes us. We continued having lots of interesting discussions throughout the day. We played beseder/lo beseder with a bunch of serious and silly topics, as well as discussed the Jewish populations both in Israel and the Diaspora. We focused on the relationship between the 2 groups and how both really need each other to be as successful as they are today. We concluded our weekend with a nice havdallah service before heading back to our P2K cities for another wonderful week! Overall the weekend was a really great experience, where we got a chance to discuss the relationship between Israelis and Diaspora Jews as well as making some cool new friends.