We are thrilled to welcome Aya, Daria, Lihi, and Michal to our Metro Detroit Jewish community as they embark on their journey of education and connection with Jewish people around the Mitten State.
Shinshinim or ShinShiniot (we have an all-female cohort this year) are charismatic 18-year-old Israelis who engage and enrich students’ lives, peers, and the broader community. Shinshin is an acronym for sh’nat she’rut, a year of service. This group of Israelis has graduated high school and delayed their army service to serve as volunteer educators in communities worldwide. Metro-Detroit’s ShinShiniot are highly motivated and dedicated individuals representing the best of their generation in Israel. Throughout the academic year, they’ll take on active roles in our school and facilitate fun and engaging activities and programs related to contemporary Israeli culture, holidays, and the Hebrew language. What is special about our program here in Detroit is that three of our four ShinShiniot are from our Partnership region, and all four have ties to our community.
Our four ShinShiniot spend their time each week connecting with you at Hillel Day School, Frankel Jewish Academy, Hebrew Day School of Ann Arbor, and several synagogues. Additionally, they welcome opportunities from partner agencies and individuals across the community to connect, engage, and ignite support for Israel.
We offer many thanks to the host families who have welcomed our ShinShiniot into their homes for five months and made them family. If you would like to host a ShinShinit in the spring semester and learn how amazing the experience can be, please email our ShinShinim Supervisor, Allison Gutman at agutman@jfmd.org.