Meet the Shinshinim: Building connections in Pittsburgh | The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle – thejewishchronicle.net
Posted By admin on August 20, 2022
Pittsburghs shinshinim are here.
Since arriving from Israel last week, the four young ambassadors have begun exploring the community and creating new connections. The 18-year-olds, who deferred a year of Israeli military service to volunteer, will spend their time helping educators at Community Day School, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh and religious schools throughout the area.
These responsibilities, the teens explained, require more than simply teaching bright-eyed American children cheery Hebrew songs. They hope to introduce young Pittsburghers to young Israelis and, in turn, share insight into each others passions and practices.
Get The Jewish Chronicle Weekly Edition by email and never miss our top storiesFree Sign Up
Before joining the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh-supported program, Michal Dekel and Shahar Kurland were both familiar with western Pennsylvania. Dekel is from Karmiel Pittsburghs Partnership2gethers sister city and was a Diller Teen Fellow. She was supposed to visit Pittsburgh in 2020 but was unable to due to the pandemic. Despite never visiting Pittsburgh before last week, however, Dekel said she met several teens and local residents through Zoom and had heard about the citys beauty.
Kurland is also from Karmiel and said her knowledge of Pittsburgh and its Jewish community stems from attending Emma Kaufmann Camp three years ago.
Pittsburgh is so green, she said. You can breathe and be relaxed. And I know that you say its big and noisy, but I think Pittsburgh is quiet.
Einav Mayer is from Kibbutz Dovrat in northern Israel. Before beginning the Shinshinim program, he didnt know much about Pittsburgh. Since arriving, however, hes found that his musical bent will be appreciated here; the family he is staying with is a musical bunch, and hes been able to practice piano in their home.
Bar Zeevi is from Midreshet Ben Gurion in southern Israel. Like Mayer, she had little knowledge of Pittsburgh before joining the program. Even so, she said, she researched local Jewish life and was delighted to discover how those of different denominations share spaces and join in activities together.
What I read is that the community is a mix of Conservative, Orthodox and Reform, and I thought it was really cool because each one of us could find their own place inside the community, she said.
The English-speaking teens have different interests, which will help create inroads throughout the community. Dekel enjoys traveling and reading books about philosophy or biblical commentary. So whether its during a discussion about a weekly Torah portion or a specific region of Israel, Dekel said she is excited to share her knowledge and learn from others.
Kurland is an athlete and makeup artist and is eager to show American youth how Israelis experience high-energy activities like dance, gymnastics and Muay Thai. Purim, she added, is a perfect time to share her love of makeup and hair braiding.
Mayer said he knows that music is a great means of introducing children to a new language or another place, but he hopes to do even more with his talents.
I think that music is something that brings the community together, even if it's not related to learning Hebrew, Mayer said.
Hes hoping that during the year there will be opportunities for fellow musicians to play together, as those experiences arent only educational but just fun in general, he said.
Zeevi is an artist with an ability to sew, paint and weld. Back home, during Adloyada (an Israeli parade marking Purim), she oversaw costume design a responsibility that required her to begin helping participants as early as two months before the holiday. Zeevi said shed love to see a citywide arts-filled Purim parade, like those in Israel, but is also keen on introducing students to paint and other expressive materials when discussing the Jewish state.
Federation staffer Risa Kelemer joins the Shinshinim. Photo by Adam Reinherz
As excited as the 18-year-olds are to begin working with local youth, theres a certain level of fear that goes along with being a part of the Shinshinim program.
It's kind of scary because if they don't like me I don't want them to hate Israel, Dekel said.
Representing an entire country is a big responsibility, she added. Its stressful because we dont necessarily know how to handle some of the arguments [people may want to have]. We also dont want to get into politics because its not our job.
Risa Kelemer, Federations Shinshinim coordinator, said the young adults are not here to serve as formal educators but rather 18-year-olds who just graduated high school and are able to create those kinds of very natural connections with kids in the same age group essentially.
Even so, the Shinshinim said the task is worrisome.
Weve come to represent Israel and, for some people, thats already a reason to argue, Dekel said.
If people wish to challenge the Shinshinim about Israeli politics or policies, Kurland is nervous about her ability to respond in English.
This language is not my first language, she said. I cannot [articulate] my ideas like I would in Hebrew, and thats hard because sometimes people cant understand me when I say something.
Kurland is also concerned about the cultural differences that can affect conversation.
I think that in Israel you can say everything because in Israel this is what we do, she said. But like when you say something a little bit harsh here people can be sensitive about that and maybe get very defensive.
Mayer said hes less distressed about a potential linguistic divide than an information gap.
While I've lived in Israel my entire life, and I've experienced many parts of it, I'm scared that I wouldn't be able to answer every question that everyone has about the country, he said. I'm not an expert on everything, even though I live there, and I just don't want to spread misinformation about things.
Zeevi said that she and the other Shinshinim agree theres at least one major concept that Americans need to be understand.
There's a difference between Israel the country, the government, and the people in Israel, she said. That's a really big difference that people are not very aware of.
Along these lines, the Shinshinim appreciate that working with a younger demographic may require responding to inaccurate information they see online.
There is a lot of fake news on social media, and although Israel, and Israelis, may be often maligned online, Zeevi said she hopes that by spending time together the Shinshinim and American youth will gain greater insight into one another.
Part of their mission, Kurland said, is predicated on understanding American Jewish practices: We need to learn how you live and how you make your traditions. And we need to bring this to Israel.
Whereas bolstering Jewish peoplehood is a program element Kelemer said that the Shinshinim serve as a bridge not only between Israel and Pittsburgh but also between different institutions because there are very few people in the community who migrate between CDS and all the Hebrew schools and the JCC.
Given their bird's eye view of the community, Kelemer is eager to see what the 18-year-olds accomplish in Pittsburgh.
The Shinshinim are talented, they are energetic, they kind of reinvigorate every institution that they're a part of, she said. They come in with fresh ideas, a fresh mindset and a different way to connect and speak about the conversations that we're already having in the community. PJC
Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.
Visit link:
- How to give thanks when the Jewish world is grieving - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - November 22nd, 2023
- A way to fry, from the Jewish Roman passion that peaks at Hanukkah - Los Angeles Times - November 22nd, 2023
- These are the 2 Jewish blessings I'll say when the hostages are ... - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - November 22nd, 2023
- It's time to censure Jewish Jew-haters - opinion - The Jerusalem Post - November 22nd, 2023
- Citing antisemitism abroad, Jewish students stream to Israeli ... - The Times of Israel - November 22nd, 2023
- Organizing a Jewish Call for Ceasefire: A Conversation with Jewish ... - Nonprofit Quarterly - November 22nd, 2023
- My Fathers Secrets review Holocaust pain unlocked in Jewish coming-of-age tale - The Guardian - November 22nd, 2023
- Jewish Americans say surge in US hate crimes after Israel-Hamas war is changing the way they live - WAPT Jackson - November 22nd, 2023
- NC progressive Democrat says Jewish caucus would 'end' the party: 'They control everything' - New York Post - November 22nd, 2023
- 'Shared society' initiatives bearing fruit with Arab-Jewish relations in ... - eJewish Philanthropy - November 22nd, 2023
- Jewish Community Relations and the October 8th Jew - Jewish Link of New Jersey - November 22nd, 2023
- Unorthodox Podcast Co-Hosts to Share Jewish Wisdom and Culture ... - Jewish Post - November 22nd, 2023
- 25 Years Later, the World Honors the Pioneer of the Jewish Internet - Chabad.org - November 22nd, 2023
- Jewish voters say they trust President Biden on the Israel war and ... - NPR - November 22nd, 2023
- Court skeptical of Jewish professors' challenge to union that ... - Reuters - November 22nd, 2023
- Here's what Jewish New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast's dreams are ... - JTA News - Jewish Telegraphic Agency - November 22nd, 2023
- Who are the Palestinian and Jewish-led groups leading the protests against Israels action in Gaza? - PBS NewsHour - November 22nd, 2023
- Jewish students react to Neo-Nazi rally in Madison - Spectrum News 1 - November 22nd, 2023
- My Jewish cultural identity is wrapped up in food. But some events are so momentous they blunt the appetite - The Guardian - November 22nd, 2023
- Jewish scholars talk about the "psychic familiarity" of Hamas attack ... - College of Social Sciences and Humanities - November 22nd, 2023
- This 1950s Actress Paved the Way for Unapologetically Jewish ... - Alma - November 22nd, 2023
- From the archive: How the murders of two elderly Jewish women ... - The Guardian - November 22nd, 2023
- Letter to the editor: Achievements of prominent Jewish individuals - Bryan County News - November 22nd, 2023
- 'Its very scary': Jewish and Muslim students at this large state university say they don't always feel safe - NBC News - November 22nd, 2023
- The other side of hate | The Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle - thejewishchronicle.net - November 22nd, 2023
- At multifaith vigil, Peninsula leaders show solidarity with Jewish ... - The Jewish News of Northern California - November 22nd, 2023
- Three Jewish boys, sons of Arab father, are circumcised on same day - Arutz Sheva - November 22nd, 2023
- US pro-Palestinian group blasted for map of Jewish groups with blood on their hands - The Times of Israel - November 22nd, 2023
- On the frontline of blame: how it feels to be Jewish in UK since Hamas attack - The Guardian - November 22nd, 2023
- Rabbi, imam try to help NY Jewish, Muslim students find common ground. It doesnt go well - The Times of Israel - November 22nd, 2023
- Jewish students at Tufts fear for their safety after Pro-Palestinian rally - CBS Boston - November 12th, 2023
- More than 1,600 Jewish Harvard alumni threaten to withdraw donations over antisemitism concerns - CNN - November 12th, 2023
- Police respond to reports of bomb threats at multiple Jewish sites in NYC - NBC New York - November 12th, 2023
- Jewish school in Montreal target of gunfire for second time in a week - Fox News - November 12th, 2023
- It's Not Easy to Be Jewish on American Campuses Today - TIME - November 12th, 2023
- Shots fired at Jewish school in Canada again, amid tensions over ... - Reuters - November 12th, 2023
- Hate condemned after Montreal Jewish school struck by gunfire for 2nd time this week - CBC.ca - November 12th, 2023
- Shabbat event for NYC officials interrupted by protesters as bomb threats hit Jewish sites in Manhattan and Brooklyn - Forward - November 12th, 2023
- My life has been defined by genocide of Jewish people. I look on Gaza with concern - The Guardian - November 12th, 2023
- The Jews Who Join the Jew-baiters - Jewish World - Haaretz - November 12th, 2023
- Police respond to reported threats at 2 Jewish sites in New York City - CBS News - November 12th, 2023
- The struggle to live up to an ethic of Jewish power - opinion - The Jerusalem Post - November 12th, 2023
- I Am Jewish and an Educator. Where Do I Stand With Equity ... - Education Week - November 12th, 2023
- New biography revisits legacy of Jewish feminist Betty Friedan - The Times of Israel - November 12th, 2023
- Beware Suella Braverman and all the other vultures bent on exploiting Jewish and Muslim pain - The Guardian - November 12th, 2023
- Jewish musicians want Jewish Israel critics to stop singing their songs at protests - The Times of Israel - November 12th, 2023
- Jewish refugees from Israel find comfort in countryside retreat in Hungary - The Times of Israel - November 12th, 2023
- In spite of heavy snow and global unrest, Alaska's Jewish Cultural ... - Must Read Alaska - November 12th, 2023
- Extremists in the Israeli government are hurting the Jewish State - The Hill - November 12th, 2023
- Cornell student Patrick Dai, accused of making threats against Jewish students, ordered held in jail - syracuse.com - November 12th, 2023
- South African Jews sound the alarm as government reaches out to ... - Jewish Insider - November 12th, 2023
- Seeing October 7 Through the Long Arc of the Jewish Story - Jewish Journal - November 12th, 2023
- Jewish organizations at UCLA host rally to call for release of Israeli ... - Daily Bruin - November 12th, 2023
- Antisemitic graffiti spray-painted in Romes Jewish Quarter on Kristallnacht - The Times of Israel - November 12th, 2023
- 5 Facts About the Jewish People's Ancestral Connection to the Land ... - American Jewish Committee - November 12th, 2023
- Judaism - Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - November 4th, 2023
- Jewish Viewers Find a Refuge in Fox News - The New York Times - November 4th, 2023
- Ohio Congressman cancels town meeting over threats against Jewish people - Fox News - November 4th, 2023
- NY Dem seeks meeting with Jewish voters as his stance on Israel-Hamas war criticized - The Times of Israel - November 4th, 2023
- Parallel lives, together: How some Jewish and Palestinian Americans are navigating tensions - NBC News - November 4th, 2023
- Video: Jewish students in the US share how the war has impacted them - CNN - November 4th, 2023
- I, too, am the Jewish community: rift among US Jews widens over Gaza war - The Guardian - November 4th, 2023
- Israel issues global travel warning, telling citizens 'to avoid displaying any outward signs of their Israeli or Jewish identity when traveling' -... - November 4th, 2023
- Cornell University cancels classes Friday amid extraordinary stress on campus after violent antisemitic threats led to the arrest of a student - CNN - November 4th, 2023
- A fire in the Jewish section of a cemetery in Austria's capital causes damage but no injuries - ABC News - November 4th, 2023
- In PBS series Little Bird, a Jewish woman uncovers her traumatic Indigenous past - The Times of Israel - November 4th, 2023
- Cornell Student Arrested for Making Online Threats to Jewish ... - Department of Justice - November 4th, 2023
- Universities Face Increase in Demands to Protect Jewish Students - The Wall Street Journal - November 4th, 2023
- More Jewish Hoosiers condemn Israel's siege on Gaza, call for ... - The Herald Bulletin - November 4th, 2023
- Jewish family in Boca Raton finds antisemitic graffiti in front of their home - WPBF West Palm Beach - November 4th, 2023
- Expanding the Jewish circle of gratitude - JNS.org - JNS.org - November 4th, 2023
- Sarasota Man Charged With Threatening Jewish Organization In ... - Department of Justice - November 4th, 2023
- Jewish newcomers being courted to settle in Windsor - Windsor Star - November 4th, 2023
- Jewish group in Iowa City makes call to action to end violence in Gaza, holds mourning event at Ped Mall - KGAN TV - November 4th, 2023
- Iran Pressures Jewish Minority To Sever Ties With Relatives In Israel - - November 4th, 2023
- Oakland Jewish parents organize against Israel resolutions - The Jewish News of Northern California - November 4th, 2023
- FAU to begin construction on Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building - University Press - November 4th, 2023
- Jewish Americans calling for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in ... - NPR - November 4th, 2023
- Opinion | Jewish Human Rights and Welfare Must Be a ... - The Chronicle of Philanthropy - November 4th, 2023
- Happenings in the Historic Triangle: Veterans art show, Jewish film ... - Daily Press - November 4th, 2023
Comments