Shinshin (ש”ש). It’s the Hebrew acronym for Shenat Sherut which means Year of Service. Kind of like our “gap year” between college and what’s next, Shenat Sherut is a yearlong program some Israeli students opt for prior to their military service. Four of those schlichim (emissaries) recently touched down in metro Detroit.
Starting this month, Alon Lachman, Noa Sabag, Yuval Weiss-Izhaki and Tamar Schnitzer will make Detroit their home away from home. With home being the Central Galilee, famous for its kibbutzim, moshavim, dance and music festivals. It’s also Metro Detroit’s partner region where programs like the Israeli Camper Program, Teen Mission and Detroit Community Taglit-Birthright Israel give families in Israel and Michigan the chance to connect.
They’ll volunteer at Hillel Day School, the Frankel Jewish Academy, synagogue schools, camp programs, the Pitt Child Development Center and with the Jewish Community Center’s JFamily programs, as well as participate in community events that focus on Israel. But mostly they’re so excited to be in Detroit–where they also feel like they have family.
“I already feel part of the Jewish community and part of the family in the States,” Alon says.
When she first met members of Detroit’s Jewish community, “they were so welcoming, smiling and wanting to learn about Israel,” Noa says. “I was very impressed by their love of Israel.”
“I really noticed how welcoming the community is,” Tamar adds. “Everyone I met was so interested in my well-being. In addition, I could see that the community is very strong and united, with a rich community life.”
“I love how much the [Detroit] community’s kids are interested in getting to know the Israelis…asking questions about our way of life and sharing their life experiences with us,” Yuval says.
“We hope they’ll be everywhere and meet everyone!” says Dona Stillman, Associate Director of the Israel and Overseas Department, Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Detroit. “Their role is to bring Israel here in a very tangible way.” Americans often hear and read about life in Israel, she notes, but the schlichim help them understand “what it’s really like to be Israeli.”
“Welcome to Detroit” to our schlichim. We’re so happy and proud that you’re here.
Alon
Lachman
Alon, who lives in Migdal Haemek, is the grandson of four Holocaust survivors;
his father Boris is a physician, and his mother Natalia is an electrical
engineer. In addition to playing all those instruments and learning music
history and theory, Alon studies telecommunications. He loves reading and
photography, and he’s very interested in politics and behind-the-scenes at TV
and other media. Alon recently took up a new hobby: He builds drones.
Noa
Sabag
Noa studies biology and theatre, and she enjoys working out and participating
in sports. Noa sings professionally and has been dancing for 10 years. “And of
course, like every teenager, I sometimes like to sit on the sofa with some
popcorn and watch TV.”
Tamar
Schnitzer
Tamar has two brothers and a sister, and she lives in Shimshit with her mother,
a historian, researcher and lecturer, and father, who is the head of a sales
department at Tosaf Compounds, Ltd. Tamar is majoring in physics (“Because I
really like science”) and theatre (“Ever since I was young my dream was to act,
write scripts and direct”). She also enjoys playing the piano, working out, running
and swimming, and she loves being outdoors.
Yuval
Weiss-Izhaki
Yuval resides at
Kibbutz Ha’soelim in the Jezreel Valley with his father Ram, a manager at a
high-tech firm, his mother Tahel, a vice principal at a junior high, and two
brothers. Yuval studies physics and computer science, an interest he inherited
from his father. When not learning about science (ever since he was a young
child, “I remember sitting and watching ‘National Geographic’ and ‘Discovery’
channels,” he says), Yuval loves sports: running, swimming, CrossFit,
snowboarding and most of all, hiking. He also enjoys reading science fiction
and thrillers, photography and filmmaking.
