JANUARY 4 • 2024 | 11
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A Second Home,
JANUARY 4 • 2024 | 11
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hen Shahaf Harari woke up
on Oct. 7, 2023, her 18th
birthday, she expected her
phone to be overflowing
with happy birthday mes-
sages from her loved ones
back home in Israel. Shahaf
was one month into her
stay across the world in
Detroit as a community
Shinshinim. Those mes-
sages ended up being very
different from what she
expected. She didn’t understand. She
was in shock. “I didn’t expect the day to
go like that,
” Shahaf said.
None of the 2023-24 Detroit
Shinshinim did. Shahaf, Itamar Grife,
Ofri Lellouche, Erela Sabag and Itay
Nussbaum could not have expected
their gap year in Detroit to deviate
from the norm as much as it has. But,
no matter what, they’ve made the best
out of the situation, have found more
purpose in their roles than they ever
would’ve expected, and found a second
home they’ve connected with on a deep-
er level than they ever thought would be
possible.
The individuals in the Shinshinim
(Young Israeli Emissary) program are
high school graduates who choose to
defer their military service for a year
of service abroad. The young Israeli
ambassadors are carefully selected and
brought over by the Jewish Federation’s
Israel and Overseas Department to
share their Israeli spirit, energy and
unique perspectives in their work
at Jewish day schools, synagogues,
religious schools and more through
educational lessons, presentations and
personal connections with community
members of all ages.
A Second Family
The 2023-24 Detroit
Shinshinim have
found purpose in
Michigan while the
crisis continues on
the home front.
DANNY SCHWARTZ STAFF WRITER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN HARDWICK
continued on page 12
Shahaf
Harari