Jewish life looks very different in Israel and St. Louis — these teens traded places to find out

Avi Holzman, Contributing Writer

Published November 19, 2025

From left: Yuval, Ofir, Itai and Naomi are the four current Israeli Shinshinim serving in St. Louis.

The shinshin program is a cultural exchange between Israel and the United States where recent high school graduates in one country spend a year abroad learning about the Jewish community in the other.

For the past eight years, Israeli teens have been coming to St. Louis – and this year is no different. Ofir, Yuval, Itai and Naomi arrived in August as the 2025-26 shinshinim. (For security reasons, the Jewish Light is using first names only.)

However, new this year is a “reverse shinshin.” Rebekah Simmons, from Hazelwood, left for Israel on Nov. 1 to spend a year living on Kibbutz Ein HaShofet in the Megiddo region — one of the Jewish Federation of St. Louis’ partner communities in Israel.

Rebekah Simmons the “reverse shinshin,” who left for Israel on Nov. 1.

Both Simmons and the four Israelis here will volunteer while abroad, form connections with locals and share stories once they return home.

Bridging cultures, building connections

The four Israeli shinshinim want to go up the Gateway Arch and eat toasted ravioli. They are excited to teach Israeli songs, work with kids of all ages and make matbucha.

“I want to make sure that everyone gets what it means to be an Israeli Jew” explained Ofir, one of the four.

So far, the St. Louis Jewish community is surprising each of the shinshinim in different ways.

“The whole community knows each other,” Naomi said. “It’s so weird, because everybody is asking me, ‘Who are you staying with?’ And they’re like, ‘Oh, of course, I know them. We went to kindergarten.’ It reminds me of my neighborhood.”

Itai didn’t plan to be a shinshin until after Oct. 7, 2023, when American Jews came and volunteered on the farms of his village. “Seeing how much they gave back made me want to give back and explore,” he said.

Although they’ve been in St. Louis for roughly four months, the Israeli teens are still getting used to a new culture — one where people use screens on Shabbat and Hebrew isn’t heard as often. The biggest adjustment, they say, is how different it feels to be Jewish in each country.

“In Israel, when you’re a Jew, it feels like you are the regular thing, and here it’s different. To be a Jew is to be part of the small group,” Naomi said.

She noted that in America, being Jewish requires a more intentional effort — whether that means going to synagogue or taking part in community events. Yet despite those differences, Yuval, who was initially nervous about spending a year abroad, already feels warmly welcomed in St. Louis.

“I really found an amazing community,” she said. “I feel people are really welcoming and warm and it’s a community I can learn from a lot.”

Finding home away from home

Simmons wanted to experience kibbutz life in Israel during her year abroad. Normally, participants in the reverse shinshin program live in an apartment in the city of Yokneam, but she will spend her time working on the farm and helping students in kibbutz school classrooms.

“In high school, I did a lot of volunteer work because I needed credits for it, but I also loved helping out whenever I could,” she said.

Simmons first visited Israel in March and knew she wanted to return immediately after leaving. While she’s not yet sure what she’ll do after her gap year, she felt that being in Israel, where her brother has lived for past six years, would be the right place for her to contemplate her next steps.

“I wanted to do something meaningful,” she said. “I was looking for programs in Israel, and the reverse shinshin program really stood out to me.”

While abroad, Simmons wants to form lasting relationships with kibbutzniks. She specifically wants to improve her Hebrew, both to teach more effectively and communicate with her brother, who is now fluent.

Within the first few months, Simmons is confident she will find her footing. She, like the Israeli shinshinim, is excited to develop a stronger connection to Israel and believes all Jews have an innate connection.

“I think being Jewish there’s a connection with Israel,” she said, “It is amazing to see how different it is from here, and everyone’s extremely welcoming.”

The shinshinim are Israeli teen emissaries who have recently graduated high school who spend a year volunteering in Jewish communities abroad.

The list of partner organizations for the shinshin includes:

Congregations Bnai Amoona, Central Reform Congregation, Kol Rinah, Shaare Emeth, Temple Emanuel, Temple Israel and United Hebrew as well as the Israeli Scouts, Saul Mirowitz Jewish Day School and Jewish Community Relations Council’s Student to Student. During the summer they work at Ramot Amoona, Camp Emeth, Camp Ben Frankel and Camp GUCI.

The Shinshinim program is a partnership between the Jewish Federation of St. Louis, the Jewish Agency for Israel and local Jewish organizations with the support of the Lubin Green Foundation. Both the Shinshin and Reverse Shinshin programs are funded through, and their experiences and roles at various synagogues and schools are coordinated by, the Israel Center team at Jewish Federation of St. Louis.