UJA Shinshinim

Hello everyone!  My name is Tamar Sommer, but I go by my last name- Sommer. I’m one of the new shinshiniot in City Shul and am beyond excited to be part of this unique and beautiful community. 

I’m 18 years old and I live in a suburban city outside of Tel Aviv called Ra’anana where I was raised my whole life.

My high school majors were in Diplomacy and film and I’m very passionate about art, music and politics. I’m excited to share my interests and learn about yours in order to deepen our connection and get to know each other. I love meeting new and different people and I’m so looking forward to getting to know all of you. I’m hoping for a year of fruitful learning and personal growth and I can’t wait to get involved and learn from you all.

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My name is Tamar Hayke. I'm 18 years old and I’m from moshav Ein Ya'akov, an agricultural village in the Western Galilee.

Life growing up in the moshav is a little different from life here in Toronto for a few main reasons. First of all, my moshav is a very small place with around 260 families.

In my moshav, some families have cows, sheep, goats, chicken coops and also grow fruits and vegetables. In our farm we have chicken coops, we grow food in our fields, we have dogs, and even a white donkey. 

In my spare time I love to read books, but what I love the most is music and I really love to sing. My major in high school was classical music and I learned vocal coaching throughout high school.

This year I'm looking forward to meeting you all and getting to know you better.

2021-2022 UJA ShinShinim for City Shul, Semyon and Ma'ayan

Hey, I'm Semyon! I'm 18 years old and live in Bat Yam, a city in the centre of Israel. I work at City Shul and the Toronto Heschel School. In Israel, I was in the "Mashazim", a youth movement that is dedicated to the love of Israel, both through knowledge and by hiking it. I also took part in "Aharai!" - a sports group that focuses on friendships, army training and strength -mentally and physically. I play guitar and love listening to different types of music. I enjoy sports and love to play soccer! I did Judo for 12 years. Fun facts about me: I never had my Bar Mitzvah. I got my Brit Milah at the age of 8 and my dad got it at 36. I love birds and birdwatching! I am really looking forward to reading from the Torah. I am really excited to meet all of you and would love to talk to you about my hobbies and yours!

Hi! My name is Ma'ayan. I'm 18 years old, I was born in Toronto and moved to Israel when I was 3 years old. I live in a town named Binyamina in the central-northern part of Israel. I'm a UJA ShinShinit this year at City Shul and the Toronto Heschel School. I used to go to the Israeli scouts which is the largest youth movement in Israel, I had a lot of experiences there, and I had the best time of my life. In the scouts, I was a counsellor for 3 years. I guided kids with a difficult socioeconomic background, grade 6 girls and I guided grade 9 (who are preparing to be counsellors themselves) and was in charge of a new tribe in a Kibbutz named Mishmarot! I love travelling, either by walking, biking, driving or flying. WhenI was in grade 6, I went with my family on a one-year trip in a van across North America. It was such a fun and enriching experience. I also like playing guitar, singing, baking, and enjoy theatre, photography and poetry very much! I look forward to getting to know Toronto better and meeting the people in it, read the Torah, getting to know the reform community and having interesting and exciting conversations with people around me!

2020-2021 UJA ShinShin for City Shul, Matar

2019-2020 UJA Shinshiniot for City Shul Ofri and Tair 

2018-2019 UJA Shinshim for City Shul Tzlil and Yoav