Recent News & Blog Posts

Shaked Blog – January 20, 2020

Jan 21, 2020 | Miscellaneous

Hi everyone, What a fun week I had and about to have! This Sunday school at Shaare Emeth I did an activity about my kibbutz, the same activity that I needed to prepare to one of the steps of getting in the Shinshim program and it was an amazing closure for me! The...

Guy Blog – January 20, 2020

Jan 21, 2020 | Miscellaneous

Hello everyone! I’d like to share with you all about my week! On Sunday morning I had a great time on Sunday school in UH! I did a program about the Israeli slang for the kids! We were talking about the main words they should know and created together emojis for each...

Shaked Blog – January 13, 2020

Jan 13, 2020 | Miscellaneous

Shalom everyone! I had really a busy week last week. During the four days after I came back to town I stayed with the Kerner family, I really enjoyed my stay with them! After that, I came back to my host family, the Silver family, it was good to be back home. That...

Guy Blog – January 6, 2020

Jan 6, 2020 | Miscellaneous

Hello everyone! I’d like to share with you all about my wonderful vacation I had with my family from Israel! First of all, my family arrived is STL 3 weeks ago and it was one of the moments I’ll never forget from this year! I was so happy and excited to see them after...

Shaked Blog- January 3, 2020

Jan 3, 2020 | Miscellaneous

Hi everyone, I hope you’re winter break was as good as mine! I had the perfect two weeks!! On Friday, the week my mom arrived, we went to the Arch, it was a beautiful day and we really enjoyed there to walk around and to be in the Arch! In the evening I had Dvar...

Guy Blog – December 20, 2019

Dec 30, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Shalom everyone! I’d like to share with you all about my week! On Sunday morning I had BA Sunday school which was so much fun: We had a latke day! We made a lot of latkes together and it was delicious! In addition, I shared with the children how we celebrate Hanukkah...

Shaked Blog – December 20, 2019

Dec 30, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Shalom! This week is very special for me, because on Wednesday my mom arrived to town! Last Friday I had meeting at the federation with Guy and we planned our program together for the ECC (we’ll talk about more) and then went to Shaare Emeth for my second time Challah...

Shaked Blog – December 13, 2019

Dec 13, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Hi! This weekend that I had wasn’t as planned… I was really sick on Friday so it prevented me to go to the 678 event on Friday and Saturday morning. I wished I could, I’ve never been to the City museum and I wanted to spend time with the 6th- 8th graders. I...

Guy Blog – December 13, 2019

Dec 13, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Hello everyone! I’d like to share with you all about my week! On Sunday morning I had UH Sunday school which was so much fun! I did a program about Hebrew words ‏related to Hanukkah ! The kids learned the main words about Hanukkah in Hebrew by a memory game! It was a...

Guy Blog – December 6, 2019

Dec 6, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Shalom everyone! On Sunday evening I came back from a vacation in Chicago with my host family! I had such a good time. We traveled a lot, ate good food and had sooo much fun!! On Monday I had my 19th birthday!!! It was a PERFECT day! In the morning I went for...

Shaked Blog – December 6, 2019

Dec 6, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Shalom everyone! I hope everyone’s Thanksgiving went well! I had a good time this week and enjoyed the Thanksgiving break I had. On Wednesday I had a meetings day with Cynthia and Guy and we worked on an activity Guy and I are doing on Hanukkah for all the ECCs at our...

Shaked Blog – December 3, 2019

Dec 3, 2019 | Miscellaneous

On this blog post I will share with you about this current week that I had as well as about the past two weeks (because I did not write how was my week two weeks ago). So two weeks ago I had the North America Shlichim (emissaries) Annual conference! We had a super...

Guy Blog – December 3, 2019

Dec 3, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Shalom everyone! I had such a long and amazing week. From Sunday to Wednesday I had the Shinshinim conference in Boston and Connecticut, I had the best time ever! I met all of my friends from the other communities in North America. I heard a lot of stories and...

Shaked Blog – November 15, 2019

Nov 15, 2019 | Community Engagement

Hi! I hope you all enjoyed your week because I did! On the weekend I went to the 6th grade retreat for three days and I really enjoyed my time with them! On Friday we went for a hike at night and learned to use our senses at night, and it was really nice and cold!! It...

Guy Blog – November 15, 2019

Nov 15, 2019 | Community Engagement

Hello everyone! I’d like to share with you all about my week! On Sunday I had Sunday school! I did 3 programs on that day. The first one was about Israel in general and we were talking about the places in Israel which everyone would like to live. My second program was...

Shaked Blog – November 8, 2019

Nov 8, 2019 | Center for Jewish Learning, Community Engagement

I had a busy week this week! I participated in the NFTY convention at Shaare Emeth this past weekend, I got to meet super friendly and fun teens from all over Missouri Valley and hung out with the Shinshinim from Denver and of course with Guy. I also had Sunday school...

Guy Blog – November 8, 2019

Nov 8, 2019 | Center for Jewish Learning, Community Engagement

Hello everyone, I’d like to share with you all about my week! On Sunday I didn’t work because it was the last day on the NFTY conversation, which was great! I chose to take a rest for a little bit and stayed at home. On Tuesday I had an incredible day! In the morning...

Shaked Blog – November 1, 2019

Nov 1, 2019 | Center for Jewish Learning, Community Engagement

Shalom! I had a great week this week, we are getting into the routine after the High Holidays. Last Friday, I had my Dvar Israel at Shaare Emeth. I talked about Breast Cancer awareness and it was very emotional and important. On Sunday I had religious school at Shaare...

Guy Blog – November 1, 2019

Nov 1, 2019 | Center for Jewish Learning, Community Engagement

Shalom everyone! On Sunday morning I came back from Indiana from a vacation with my host family. I spent my time there on the weekend, it was really fun! Monday is my free day so I chose to stay at home and to take a rest for a little bit 😉 On Tuesday morning I had...

Shaked Blog – October 25, 2019

Oct 25, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Hi everyone! How was your week?? Mine was amazing! On Saturday I went to Champaign, Illinois with my host family and another family, Tenenbaum family, for a college football game: Wisconsin vs. Illinois. Was an amazing experience, although Wisconsin lost 🙁 On Sunday I...

Guy Blog – October 25, 2019

Oct 25, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Hello everybody! I’d really like to share my week with you! On Sunday morning I went with my host family to an event about the movie “Harry Potter” in the bird sanctuary. It was so fun! We saw a lot of kind of birds and some shows about the movie. On Sunday evening I...

Shaked Blog – October 11, 2019

Oct 11, 2019 | Center for Jewish Learning, Community Engagement

Hi everyone! I hope you all had an easy and meaningful fast! I had a special week this week. On Sunday I had a Tashlich at Tilles Park with Kol Rinah (for the very first time) and then ran a station of Sukkah decorations with the kids of the Religious School which was...

Guy Blog – October 11, 2019

Oct 11, 2019 | Center for Jewish Learning, Community Engagement

Hello everybody! I’d really like to share my week with you! On Sunday morning I came back from a retreat For 6th and 9th graders with UH, I had so much fun in the retreat! At the beginning the kids had some programs about important things which related to the adults...

Guy Blog – October 7, 2019

Oct 7, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Hello everyone! I want to share with you all my about my week. On Sunday I didn’t teach because it was Rosh Hashanah evening. I went with my host family to the service at United Hebrew! I had fun! On the next day I had a lot of things to do. In the morning I...

Shaked Blog – October 7, 2019

Oct 7, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Shanah Tova everyone! It was so amazing yet different than what I’m used to celebrating Rosh Hashanah in St. Louis! On Sunday I went with my host family, the Samsons, to the service at Shaare Emeth and it was incredibly powerful and spiritual to be there! It was my...

Shaked Blog – October 2, 2019

Oct 2, 2019 | Community Engagement

What a week I had! Full of activities and events, as I love! I had Sunday school at Shaare Emeth, and taught at 4 classes- 2 of 4th graders and 1 of 5th graders in which we learned a bit more about Israel’s geography and we played Jeopardy including the categories of:...

Guy Blog – October 2, 2019

Oct 2, 2019 | Community Engagement

I’m so glad I had such an amazing week! So what did I do?? On Sunday I had Sunday school at Bnai Amoona. We had such a good time together! I did an activity about the Israeli slang and it went well. The kids learned some new words in Hebrew. On Tuesday I spent all my...

Guy Blog – September 23, 2019

Sep 23, 2019 | Community Engagement

Hello everyone. My name is Guy, I am from Israel, and I am the new Shinshin at United Hebrew and Bnai Amoona. The decision to become a Shinshin through the Jewish Agency came to me one year ago. The process to get accepted into the program was so long: it took over...

Shaked Blog – September 23, 2019

Sep 23, 2019 | Community Engagement

How do you measure a year? In seconds? Months? Maybe moments and memories? And how do you measure 3 years? I measured my last 3 years by anticipation. The anticipation to make a dream come true. To be a shinshinit outside of Israel. To live and act in a Jewish...

Lir’s Farewell Speech

Jul 19, 2019 | Community Engagement

Good evening everyone. I’m a little bit excited so with your permission, I will read what I wrote to you all. Almost a year ago, I started this journey: one girl, with two suitcases, a great ambition mixed with fear from the unknown and with a great sense of mission....

Snir’s Farewell Speech

Jul 19, 2019 | Community Engagement

“אם יוצאים מגיעים למקומות נפלאים” This is the first sentence in the Hebrew version of the book “Oh, the places you’ll go” by Dr. Seuss. It means “If you go on Journeys, You’ll get to wonderful places”. That’s the phrase I had in my mind when we started boarding...

Lir Blog – June 12, 2019

Jun 13, 2019 | Miscellaneous

OMG! I can’t believe that this is actually the end of this school year. The past couple weeks were WONDERFUL! We had the last programs in the ECC of United Hebrew and Bnai Amoona. The last program in BAUSY and NFTYUH. The last programs in religious school and Sunday...

Snir Blog – June 12, 2019

Jun 13, 2019 | Miscellaneous

These last two weeks were our last weeks working at Shaare Emeth and Kol Rinah’s Religious Schools. It was very exciting but also very sad. I want to thank everyone at each of these amazing congregations for making this experience unforgettable! It was the best year I...

Lir Blog – May 17, 2019

May 21, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Hello everyone – this week went by so fast! On Monday all of the Shlichim and I met the Chairman of the Jewish Agency Isaac Herzog. We listened to him talk about the Jewish Agency and what he believes that we as a Jewish community can do. He gave a very interesting...

Snir Blog – May 17, 2019

May 21, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Eurovision! This week we had lots of activities for the biggest song contest in the world, that this year took place in Tel Aviv, Israel!! At Kol Rinah Religious School, we had a special activity with facts on the Eurovision, a game, and we watched together the...

Lir Blog – May 15, 2019

May 15, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Wow what a CRAZY week we had! It started off on last Thursday with Yom HaShoah – the Israeli Holocaust Day. Then on Friday at the services at United Hebrew congregation it was the Israel Shabbat dinner with a nice Israeli dinner and a different service (more...

Snir Blog – May 15, 2019

May 15, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Yom Ha’Atzmaut! This week we had lots of special Israeli Activities. Starting with Yom HaZikaron on Tuesday, we joined the Memorial Day Ceremony at The J. It was very powerful. On Wednesday, we had the community wide Yom Ha’Atzmaut Celebration! It was very...

Lir Blog – May 3, 2019

May 3, 2019 | Miscellaneous

I can’t believe we are getting so close to the end of the school year!! On Sunday at Bnai Amoona we learned new Israeli slang like ‘sababa’, ’yallah’ and try to speak with it. After Sunday school we had a fun activity for the 678 graders. We went go-carting! it was so...

Snir Bog – May 3, 2019

May 3, 2019 | Miscellaneous

This week, we had many special activities! On Monday, I had an adult program about the Israeli elections, together with Rabbi Zinn. I want to thank everyone who came and shared their opinions about the Israeli politics. It was very interesting! At Shaare Emeth Early...

Lir Blog – April 28, 2019

Apr 29, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Happy Passover and hello everyone! This week I tried some new things! For example – an American Passover Seder! Which was very different from the Seder in Israel but I liked it and it was super fun! On Saturday, there was a congregational Passover Seder at Bnai...

Snir Blog – April 28, 2019

Apr 29, 2019 | Miscellaneous

This week we had lots of activities for Passover! First of all, I had a Seder twice for the first time! One time with the Rosens, my host family! It was very different than an Israeli one, but it was very fun! The second Seder was at Shaare Emeth with the community,...

Lir Blog – April 22, 2019

Apr 22, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Hey everyone! What busy two weeks I had!!! It started off with the NFTY spring Chavurah in Kansas City, which was super fun! We met with the kids that are part of the Missouri valley region. It was my third and last convention and I’m glad I got the chance to spend it...

Snir Blog – April 22, 2019

Apr 22, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Passover! This week was full of activities!! On Sunday, I had an activity with Shaare Emeth religious school students about the upcoming special holiday! We talked about the Seder Plate and about the symbols on it. On Tuesday, we got the go to the Israeli Elections...

Lir Blog – March 29, 2019

Mar 29, 2019 | Miscellaneous

I’m back!!!! For those who don’t know, I traveled to Israel to visit my family and friends! The trip was so great, I traveled all around Israel. I went to Jerusalem, walked around the old city and of course to the Western Wall to put all of your special notes in it. I...

Snir Blog – March 29, 2019

Mar 29, 2019 | Miscellaneous

What a month! We went to Israel in the end of February for two weeks, and it was such a fun time! I spent time with my friends and family, with my students from my youth group in Israel, and with lots of other people, I missed everyone there! After my time in Israel I...

Snir Blog – March 1, 2019

Mar 1, 2019 | Miscellaneous

I am going to Israel!!! This week was very exciting! It was the first week before our flight to Israel! At Kol Rinah Early Childhood Center and Religious School, we talked about the first Israeli spaceship that was sent to the moon! We colored the picture of the...

Lir Blog – March 1, 2019

Mar 1, 2019 | Miscellaneous

This week was very unique. It started off on Friday when I had my Dvar Israel at United Hebrew. We talked about Israel’s politics and the upcoming elections. I had so much fun talking to everyone at the end of it and getting to know even more people! On Sunday school...

Lir Blog – February 21, 2019

Feb 22, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Hey everyone! What a busy week I had! It started off on Thursday when my host family’s family arrived from all around the world. Last weekend was my host brother’s Bar Mitzvah weekend!! We started off with dinner at the synagogue on Friday moved to the main service on...

Snir Blog – February 21, 2019

Feb 22, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Purim is coming! This week I had lots of activities! At Shaare Emeth Early Childhood Center, we had a Purim Bingo! We learned about Masks and why we wear them, about Queen Esther and what she did to save the Jews, and about Mishloach Manot – the special basket we give...

Snir Blog – February 15, 2019

Feb 15, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Israeli Food Month! This week we had lots of tasting and cooking of Israeli Food and Snacks!!! At Shaare Emeth Early Childhood Center, we tried some more Israeli Snacks, and some of us even rated all of them 5 stars!! At Kol Rinah USY Lounge Night, we made ‘Shakshuka’...

Lir Blog – February 15, 2019

Feb 15, 2019 | Miscellaneous

I cannot believe that this week has come to an end so fast! We had so many new and fun things this week!! On Saturday night at BA we had an under night with the 4th graders. We learned new things about Israel as a startup country and danced to some Israeli music. We...

Lir Blog – 2.7.19

Feb 11, 2019 | Miscellaneous

What a nice and chill week we had. It started off with my first time ever Super Bowl game. It was a very unique American experience when I got to know the two teams – the Cheaters (the Patriots) and the Leavers (the Rams), I had a fun time with my friends and...

Snir Blog – 2.7.19

Feb 11, 2019 | Miscellaneous

The Tasting Continues! At Shaare Emeth Early Childhood Center, we continued trying new Israeli Snacks and Food! This week: Bissli – a bread crusts snack, Pop Rocks Chocolate, and Israeli Waffles! We all gave it 5 Stars! At Shaare Emeth Youth Group Lounge Night, we...

Snir Blog – February 1, 2019

Feb 4, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Israeli Food Month! This week we officially finished Hebrew Month, and moved straight to Israeli Food Month! At Kol Rinah Early Childhood Center we talked about the different Israeli Dishes including Shakshuka, Sabich, Hummus, and Falafel. At the end, we even made...

Lir Blog – January 31, 2019

Feb 4, 2019 | Miscellaneous

I can’t believe that January is already over, and February is here! Last week we had so many fun things! On Friday, the Bnai Amoona USY teens and I flew to Minnesota for a USY convention. It was so cold and fun! We talked about Israel, Judaism and we also went...

Snir Blog – January 24, 2019

Jan 28, 2019 | Miscellaneous

NFTY Winter Chavurah! This week, we got to spend the long weekend with the NFTY friends from Shaare Emeth and United Hebrew and another 60 students from Reform Congregations around the Missouri Valley region! It was really fun and exciting to see our Shinshinim...

Lir Blog – January 24, 2019

Jan 28, 2019 | Miscellaneous

What an amazing week we had! It started off with NFTY Winter Chavurah 2019, which was so much fun! The convention was in Saint Louis at United Hebrew. Kids came from Denver, Kansas City, and more! I was so glad to see my friends from Colorado. During the convention,...

Lir Blog – January 18, 2019

Jan 22, 2019 | Miscellaneous

WOW! What a cold weekend we had! It was my first time seeing this amount of snow! My host family and I went to the movies, hung out together at home and just had a very chill weekend. But before the snow began, Snir and I made a presentation to people from NORC. We...

Snir Blog – January 18, 2019

Jan 22, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Snow! Although it is almost Tu Bishvat, we got snow here and also in Israel! In Jerusalem the snow reached almost 2 inches, that’s nothing compared to here, but it’s something! On Friday, I went sledding with my host family, and we also shoved the snow from the...

Lir Blog – January 13, 2019

Jan 14, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Hop on board, we are going to Israel! At the ECC of UH and BA we are starting our Journey to Israel. First stop for the ECC of UH: Mount Hermon, which is the highest mountain In Israel. We “flew” to Israel and from the “airport” we took the bus to the north. We saw...

Snir Blog – January 13, 2019

Jan 14, 2019 | Miscellaneous

Hebrew Month continues! This week, at Shaare Emeth and Kol Rinah’s Early Childhood Centers, we learned about colors and body parts in Hebrew! We learned how to say Blue (Kachol), Yellow (Tzahov), and Red (Adom). We also learned how to say the body parts! Head (Rosh),...

Snir Blog – January 3, 2019

Jan 7, 2019 | Miscellaneous

My winter break was just amazing! I went to New York and met with my mom who flew in from Israel – it was so fun! We saw the American Museum of Natural History, the Met museum, Statue of Liberty, and other fun activities! We also had dinner with a family I know...

Lir Blog – January 3, 2019

Jan 7, 2019 | Miscellaneous

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I cannot believe that it is 2019! That’s crazy. I hope your winter break was good, relaxing and enjoyable. On winter break I flew to see my Shinshinim friends in Colorado. We had so much fun together! We toured around Denver, volunteered in one of the...

Snir Blog – December 20, 2018

Dec 21, 2018 | Miscellaneous

Working on our Hebrew! This week we kept learning new words in Hebrew! At Shaare Emeth Early Childhood Center, we had a full training in Hebrew! We learned how to say run, stand, sit and walk! At Kol Rinah Early Childhood Center, we continued reading about Israel and...

Lir Blog – December 20, 2018

Dec 21, 2018 | Miscellaneous

I can’t believe it is already almost Winter Break! We had a few things this week – On Saturday night at Bnai Amoona (BA) we had a great Undernight for the 5th graders. We had a nice dinner together and afterwards we had an Israel activity! We talked about Israel...

Lir Blog – December 13, 2018

Dec 13, 2018 | Miscellaneous

We had a lot of fun things this week! On Thursday night I was invited to a Hanukkah dinner at the Kress family from United Hebrew. We talked about Israel, Hanukkah, played some games and lit the candles together. It was so nice to meet them and great spending time...

Snir Blog – December 13, 2018

Dec 13, 2018 | Miscellaneous

Hebrew Month! This week I started Hebrew month at the congregations! At Shaare Emeth and Kol Rinah Early Childhood Centers we played games and sang songs as we learned the first 5 letters of the Hebrew Alphabet! (Aleph, Bet, Gimel, Dalet, Hay) א, ב , ג , ד, ה At...

Snir Blog – December 7, 2018

Dec 7, 2018 | Miscellaneous

Happy Hanukkah! This week we had a lot of activities for Hanukkah! At Kol Rinah Early Childhood Center, we made candle headbands and we colored them! And at Sunday School, we had Israel Defense Force (IDF) day! We learned about the different brigades and units, we...

Lir Blog – December 7, 2018

Dec 7, 2018 | Miscellaneous

Happy Hanukkah everyone!! This week at Sunday school at United Hebrew, we learned about a special event that happened 71 years ago – November 29, 1947 – The Partition Plan. It is the date that The United Nations General Assembly approved a plan for the partition...

Lir Blog – December 4, 2018

Dec 4, 2018 | Miscellaneous

So now that I am back in Saint Louis after a very nice vacation, I am already settling in with my new Host Family House – the Smith Family. The Shinshinim live with different host families for a time period of about 3 months with each during the year that we are here...

Snir Blog – November 29, 2018

Nov 30, 2018 | Miscellaneous

Hanukkah is coming! I am very excited for Hanukkah, and this week was full of activities and games for the upcoming holiday. At Kol Rinah Religious School, we played a trivia game about Hanukkah and answered challenging questions together. We also danced to a Hanukkah...

Snir Blog – November 22, 2018

Nov 30, 2018 | Miscellaneous

This week we had the National Shinshinim Conference! Both Lir and I flew to NYC to meet with all of our friends that we hadn’t seen in 3 months! We had an amazing tour in NYC, and we saw Times Square, Empire State Building, 9/11 Memorial, and many more fascinating...

Lir Blog – November 30, 2018

Nov 30, 2018 | Miscellaneous

This last week, the week of Thanksgiving, was so busy! It started with a Shinshinim convention of four days in which I saw some of my Shinshinim friends that are volunteering with the Jewish communities in different places around North America. It was so much fun! We...

Lir Blog – November 19, 2018

Nov 19, 2018 | Miscellaneous

Last week I went to NFTY Chavora event with the kids from United Hebrew. It was in Kansas City so it was a long bus drive – but a lot of fun! It was really nice to meet new people from different places and to go through the activities we had; we talked about Israel,...

Snir Blog – November 19, 2018

Nov 19, 2018 | Miscellaneous

This week was full of adventures! I Joined NFTY of Shaare Emeth to the Fall Convention and we had lots of fun! I met my fellow shinshinim from Denver and it was very exciting! I also met Liron, the Israeli supervisor from JAFI! We had breakfast with Lir and we talked...

Jewish Federation Announces Inception of Shinshinim Program

Apr 5, 2017 | Israel Center, JFed Press Releases, JFed STL News

Jewish Federation of St. Louis is pleased to announce the inception of the Shinshinim program in the St. Louis community. A “shinshin” is an 18-year-old Israeli emissary who defers their army service for one year to volunteer in Jewish communities abroad with the goal...

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