We the Teens of Cohort 5 could not have been more excited for our second Shabbaton. We were very excited to be a part of the Shabbaton we had spent several months planning. It was not at EKC as it was for the first Shabbaton, but at this place called the Family Retreat Center. Getting there on time was a little more of a hassle than last time as we had no bus there, but pretty much the whole cohort got there on time. As we all got to the Retreat Center, we were directed to our cabins, which were not connected like the area we stayed at when were at EKC. After we got settled and everyone arrived, we were directed to the area where we did most of our activities for the weekend. It was there where we did our first activity, which was writing down our goals for ourselves as individuals and as a group. We then did Friday night Shabbat “services” where we all lit our own candles and were together as a group. Then my committee, the Social committee, introduced a weekend long game called the “NO Game”. In this game, each person was given a string necklace with the word NO on it. All weekend we could not say that word and if we did, we had to give our necklace(s) to whoever caught us saying NO. We could avoid losing our necklaces by saying the Hebrew word for No, Lo. We then headed over to dining hall area to have Shabbat dinner, which was delicious. We then went back to where we were before to formally meet our guest speaker Greg Forbes Siegman. We all read his book, The First Thirty, for the Shabbaton. We asked him questions about the book and it led to a much larger discussion about Judaism, social aspects, and of growing up. I for one greatly enjoyed the discussion.
After all that, we went back to our cabins to change into more comfortable clothes to have our first Maagal of the Shabbaton. We all agreed to not say anything outside of the circle of what was said so I can not say what was said obviously. After the Maagal, my committee led a fort building activity which was really fun for everyone. It turned from an activity to just hanging out and having fun with friends. Later, after some went to bed, we played a couple games. A new game that I discovered that night was the Sheep Game. We play by having to say the word Sheep without showing our teeth. The object is to get other players to show their teeth. It got really intense and I got out pretty earlier for laughing so hard. In the end, Noah won because of his great ability to play the game. We all went to bed afterwards and we knew that the next day would be just as fun.
-Max Cohen
On Saturday morning, as I slowly got up from only 3 hours of sleep, I was still full or energy because of my excitement for the day. First, we woke up, and had some delicious optional breakfast, that I decided was not so optional for me. After breakfast, we went into a couple Shabbat programs. First, we talked about what Shabbat means to you. Next, we lay on the floor and did some meditations. They really helped me stay relaxed. Next, to wake everyone up we played this awesome game that you had to scoot around the room and steal people’s socks and we played Mr. Fox. They were great game that really got everyone laughing. Soon after that, we went into a discussion with David’s program on moral dilemmas. One example of a moral dilemma was if a kid should pick to play at the state championship or to have his interview at his dream school that was supposed to happen on the same day. It was a very invoking discussion and really got everyone thinking. Next, Greg Forbes Siegman, the speaker we had at the Shabbaton, spoke again. He talked about making the most of our Israel trip by doing things like taking pictures and doing things that are not in the itinerary. These are things I will be sure to keep in mind when I go to Israel.
Next, we had chofesh (free time). During Chofesh, we first were downstairs in the warm lounge, just playing some ping pong, but then everyone decided to go outside. So, some played football while some others went sledding on a treacherous hill. After defrosting from playing in the frigid cold, we went to have a delicious dinner. After dinner, Elly, Jamie, and Yael had a fantastic program that showed us how hard it can be for the elderly. They put blurred glasses, gloves, and cotton balls on some of us to show this. Then, they gave us all a really deep poem about the Holocaust. It was very thought provoking and it got me interested in hearing on what the Holocaust survivor, who we were going to meet the next day, was going to say.
Next, I lead a program where we watch a video about saying words like “gay” and “retard” and how they can hurt people. After that Allie lead an awesome program that really got people to open up and I feel really brought our cohort together. The first program, Allie would say something and if you agreed, you would cross the line. Next, the other program was if you really knew me. After that, we had a campfire and some scrumptious smores. The campfires then lead to just some free time where we just chilled until we were tired and went to bed. Overall, I thought Saturday was an awesome and fun-filled day!
-Marissa Chotiner
Sunday
We woke up early
For teenagers, anyway
Busy day begins!
Ropes course was snowed in
We made a bridge in the snow
Much teamwork was had
Some speakers arrived
My eyelids were so heavy
I don’t remember
We waited in snow
A trip to a nursing home
The bus came at last
Our holocaust speaker
Had no shortage of stories
She spoke to us all her life
World War two was not
The same in Greece, Jews could hide
She was in plain sight
Her family just
Vanished into the kindness
That was Greece and friends
-Noah James