A letter from our 2018-2019 ShinShinim

Dear RHA community,

We have loved being part of the RHA community this past year. We learned survival skills with the grade 6s at Mansfield, explored Montreal with the grade 7s, and led karate and Israeli dancing during DPA. We have experienced so many classes, ceremonies, recesses, and lunches together. We very much enjoyed our time at RHA through teaching about Israel and getting to know everyone.

During our regular activities, we wanted to expose the students to new elements of Israel through games, trivia, presentations, and discussions (and an exciting escape room). In the classrooms, we talked about hot topics in Israeli society and always encouraged students to express their opinions. We enjoyed sharing our own stories and perspectives of life in Israel.

We came to Toronto to engage and educate as many people as possible about Israel; however, we feel the engagement and education were both ways as all of you influenced us too. We were able to feel what it is like to be a Jewish teenager in the diaspora and study in a great Jewish school as well as what it is like to be part of such a supportive, loving and involved community that cares, supports and knows so much about Israel. We are thankful for the opportunities we had and we promise to bring with us back to Israel everything we learned. Our experiences in this warm (metaphorically, not physically) and amazing place have been inspirational. Our time in Toronto has been life-changing and we are very thankful.

While our time in Toronto is over and we will join the Israeli army in a few months, we will never forget you—our beloved RHA community—and our time in Toronto. If you happen to be in Israel, please contact us and we would be delighted to get together with you. For those who are not planning a trip to Israel soon, we will do our best to visit Toronto in a few years! Keep in touch.

Love you all and already miss you,

Yuval and Daniel

ShinShinim 2018/2019

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