Meet Ori, DJDS' New Shinshinit

With a new year, comes a new shinshinit.

Shinshin is a Hebrew acronym for Shenat Sherut, meaning year of service. A shinshinit is a high school graduate who serves Jewish communities all around the world prior to their Israeli army service. The Colorado branch of shinshinim is led by JEWISHcolorado, a proud partner of DJDS. 

This year's shinshinit is named Ori Moryosef and is one of five Shinishinim brought to Colorado. She is 17 years old and enjoys going on hikes and dancing. In fact, Ori used to competitively dance in the past. Her favorite TV shows include “Brooklyn nine-nine” and “קופה ראשית (checkout)”

A few years ago, Ori participated in A.R.T., a program where DJDS brings Israeli students to Colorado. This is partly the reason she wanted to become a shinshinit. Ori also loves interacting with American Judaism and wants to convey true facts instead of misinformation spread through social media.

On October 7th, Ori was in Germany at an ambassadors program. For 7 days Ori was stuck there, as the flights all got cancelled. While her family is safe, many of her friends were either murdered or kidnapped. “It was scary not to be there [In Israel with her family],” she said. 

This only made her want to come to America even more, despite having to leave both her family, but also Israel.  

Ori attends DJDS on Wednesdays, yet goes to other schools such as Northfield High School, Denver School of the Arts, CU Boulder, and more.