ISRAEL @ 75 SPECIAL SECTION
Four young adults have been making the rounds in Denver since last August. They are relatively in concert on a number of topics; they like Colorado’s four seasons, and they are not totally sold on the food scene here.
“Yes, the food is horrible here,” says one of the four, whose identity is withheld to protect the innocent.
They are also unanimous about one thing: they love being Denver residents, though their residential status is only temporary.
“This is the best gift I could have given to myself,” says 18-year-old Adaya Koren.
Koren, along with May Sabri, Omer Dian and Ram Shraiber, are Israeli natives in Denver on a one-year assignment as “Shinshinim,” part of an ambassador program organized by the Jewish Agency for Israel and JEWISHcolorado. Locally, the program is in its ninth year of participation.
Shinshinim have each graduated from high school in Israel, and were selected from a field of 1,800 applicants to spend a gap year abroad in this volunteer community service project, delaying their commitment to the Israeli Defense Forces for one year.
Each of the Shinshinim is hosted by a local family and is paired with a synagogue in Denver where they assist in youth programs and Sunday schools.
They are also involved collectively with varied city-wide initiatives and JEWISHcolorado-sponsored events.
Ram Shraiber visited Denver prior to his Shinshin appointment. His older brother Or was a previous participant in the program.
“My brother’s Bar Mitzvah trip was in the US for two weeks, when I was 10,” says Ram, who turns 19 in August. “And he told me a lot about his experience here.
“I like the diversity in Denver, especially the snowboarding and hiking here,” says Shraiber, who is from Moshav Timmorim in central Israel and is paired with Temple Sinai.
“I get to interact with each one of the kids, from preschool to Sunday school, and confirmation kids, which I really like,” Shraiber says. “The more I’m with them, the more they have been interested in Israel and asking me about the country.
“I think this gives them a great idea of Israel, that it is the Jewish melting pot from around the world. There are so many cultures there, from the desert to the sea.”
May Sabri, 19, is from Ramat HaNegev. She works with Rodef Shalom and has found an opportunity in Denver not only to share her Israeli heritage and customs with Coloradans, but to expand her own religious horizons.
“This is an amazing place,” says May, whose father is in the Israeli Air Force.
“It’s interesting here,” she says. “Whenever I meet with adults, they want to talk about Israeli politics. The young people, though, have other things they want to know about — culture and music, although usually the first thing they ask me is about the IDF.
“My experience here has completely changed the way I look at religion. In the part of Israel where I am from, Judaiam is practiced mostly by the Orthodox movement. I had never engaged before with Reform or Conservative congregations. On Yom Kippur, since I was a little girl, boys and girls are separated.
“This Yom Kippur I decided to go to Aish, to experience their service. Then, for the afternoon service I went to Temple Emanuel. Each service was completely different, but it gave me the perfect balance. It’s something I felt that, in a strange way, made me feel more connected to my Judaism.
“It is one of the biggest gifts I have ever gotten.”
Omer Dian, from Kibbutz Tlaim in the southern part of Israel, was previously a student exchange participant at Denver JDS. He estimates he interacts with as many as 300 students at Temple Emanuel.
“I get to share Israel through my eyes,” says Omer. “Most of the kids that I work with have been to Israel before. I feel because of all the interaction I’ve had with them, there is interest in many of them to go to Israel again.
“The kids are really curious about Israel, and I can tell they really care about the country.”
For Omer, 18, there is a bonus for landing in Colorado.
“I love Denver, and I love the snow,” he says. “I just started skiing during the last snow season.”
You can’t get that on a kibbutz.
Adaya Koren, of Hadera, along the Mediterrean Coastal Plain, works with students at HEA. Her parents were in Jewish exchange programs as teachers in Mexico City, and Adaya has picked up the family bug.
“It opened me to this world,” says Adaya. “It’s one of the reasons I’m doing this.
“It’s been amazing in so many aspects. We get to know a different Jewish community, and the community here is so different than what it is back in Israel. We get to know ourselves in a different way, if that makes sense.
“A bunch of 18-year-olds leaving their lives to go to the other side of the world is not easy,” Adaya laughs, “but it is amazing here.
“We are bringing our version of Judaism and Israel and our culture to the American people.”
Climate has provided an adjustment or two.
“In Israel we really don’t have seasons,” Adaya says. “This has been an experience — it’s not hot all the time.”
Each of the four Shinshinim has a story or two about someone they have interacted with in Denver who has never been to Israel, but who now plans a trip when they hope to reunite with their Shinshinim.
“The family that has hosted me, they really want to go to Israel,” says Adaya. “That makes us feel impactful.”
Steve Mark can be reached at steve@ijn.com.
Copyright © 2023 by the Intermountain Jewish News