Opening Our Homes and Our Hearts: Hosting Israeli Rishonim
by Jane Gomez
A great way for members of the MetroWest community to build strong human connections to Israel is by hosting a rishon. The Rishonim program, under the direction of resident shaliach Moshe Levi, allows for six 18-year-old Israelis to live in our community for a year prior to fulfilling their military service. Families within the MetroWest community host these young people for six-month periods. The program is highly selective. Prior to coming to our community, rishonim are given a rigorous screening and a yearlong training in Israel, so that the six students chosen out of over 100 applicants are mature, motivated, and extremely personable. Each rishon, equipped with a car, a cell phone, and a busy schedule, is expected to help out in the community by teaching in day schools, assisting with youth organizations, and generally “bringing a little bit of Israel to our community.” Host families provide these students with a home away from home during their stay in the United States – not just food and shelter, but a family atmosphere in which the students can fully engage and participate.
For those who have hosted these remarkable young people, the connections they have formed go far beyond what they initially envisioned. I spoke with Gerri Russo, Ruth Kirshner Novick, Jodi Silverman, and Wendy Becker about their experiences. All unequivocally stated that by hosting a rishon, they gained an extended family that has shaped their lives and the lives of their children far longer than the six months during which their rishon lived with them.
On the surface, it is the little exchanges that have changed their lives or routines. Wendy Becker reports that her four daughters embraced their rishonah Anais as a fifth sister with whom they could sing and act silly, and that they still make Israeli salad the way she taught them. Gerri Russo added that with her rishon, Lior, her children practiced their Hebrew daily and instituted a Hebrew “word of the day” to improve their conversation. When Lior’s mother, Ruti, came for a ten-day visit, she did yoga with the family, which encouraged Gerri to start practicing yoga again. Ruth Kirshner Novick’s rishon, Harel, taught the family many Sephardic traditions including recipes that have become favorites in her family. Jodi Silverman, who also hosted Anais, has invited the rishonim to her home for a Sukkah party every year since Anais’s stay.
More meaningful, however, are the long-lasting ties that have formed between hosts and their Israeli “children.” When the Novick family, inspired by Harel, visited Israel for the first time, they spent time with Harel’s family. On a subsequent trip, Ruth’s son Josh invited Harel’s family to a gathering of his own relatives in Ranana. When Gerri Russo’s son celebrated his bar mitzvah at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, Lior and his mother, as well as the other Israelis who had lived with the Russos over the past years, were in attendance. Wendy Becker’s girls still keep in touch with Anais through Facebook, and Jodi Silverman hosted Anais’s family for Passover. Notes Jodi, “there is no better gift you can give your children.”
Most poignantly, Moshe Levi tells of one host flying to Israel to attend his rishonah’s wedding, where he stood under the chuppa and offered a blessing for his “Israeli daughter” and her groom.
By providing a six-month home to a rishon, your family’s life will be enhanced immeasurably. If you are interested in hosting one of Metrowest’s rishonim for the coming school year, please contact Moshe Levi at mlevi@jfedgmw.org.