The Journey Begins

DAY 2: The Journey Begins! July 3, 2017
Storyteller of the day: Gabby Ripstein

Blog day 2:

After a very long flight, Diller Cohort 5 of Toronto started out on our first day with a trip to a Moshav called Netiv Ha'asarah, which is located right next to the Gaza Border. To wake ourselves up and get active, when we arrived, we began our trip with an Acro Balance workshop. This workshop  involved many different stunts that each of us had to perform, some of which we believed would be impossible. After learning how to attempt them, we each tried to do the moves that were demonstrated by the instructors and were all extremely surprised as well as impressed that we could step out of our comfort zones in that way and do something that we did not believe would be possible. I think this really sums up a large part of the Diller experience and that is trying new things while testing your limits to see what you can achieve. While this was only a small way to show us that we can step out of our comfort zones and succeed, we can all apply this to other aspects of our lives including the prosperity of our future Jewish community. After the Acro Balance workshop, we heard from a local Israeli resident, Tzameret, who has grown up and continues to live on this moshav right next to the Gaza border. It was so amazing to hear stories from her about what it is like to live so close to where many rockets have struck. Tzameret's mission is called the Path to Peace and one way she has demonstrated this Path to Peace is by completing a mosaic design on the dividing wall of the Gaza border. This mosaic is promoting peace and was a very special way for all of the fellows to connect to those who are living in this area and dealing with these conflicts each and every day. We each placed a stone on this wall to show our continuous support and effort to reduce the conflict. Then we returned to our beautiful kibbutz and had a lovely dinner and Ma'agal. In our Ma'agal, we each discussed one goal that we had for the trip as well as what we wanted to name our story. This was really special because it helped us to look ahead for what we want to achieve throughout ISS. We are all so excited for what is to come and can not wait to see what our Community Week and Congress brings!