In Tidewater for a little more than a month, ShinShinim Aya Sever and Alma Ben Chorin are engaging community members of all ages.
Since mid-September, the two Israelis have been busy celebrating and teaching about the Jewish holidays, adding an Israeli flair to area Jewish holiday education. At the Patricia Sarah Ashkenazi Religious School at Congregation Beth El and at Ohef Sholom Temple Religious School, the teens led students in making sukkah decorations and wishes for the coming year. At Strelitz International Academy, the ShinShinim met with the Pre-K students to help make shofars and discuss how bees make honey. They also visited Temple Emanuel’s religious school to continue High Holiday lessons.
Tidewater’s ShinShinim can also be found around the Sandler Family Campus leading a variety of programs. For example, the Simon JCC Seniors Club invited Ben Chorin and Sever to their Rosh Hashanah celebration where the two sang Ha’Tikva (the Israeli national anthem, meaning The Hope). During the Rosh Hashanah break, Sever and Ben Chorin brought the Maccabi Games (Israeli Olympics) to the children at Camp JCC’s School Days Out. The competitions, activities, games, and crafts resulted in a fun day for the children who got a little closer to Israel.
To learn more about Tidewater’s ShinShinim, visit JewishVA.org/ShinShinim or contact Nofar Trem at Ntrem@ujft.org.
–Nofar Trem