Israeli Teacher Visits Lithuanian Jewish Students After Year of Remote Learning

A touching educational milestone took place in Kaunas, Lithuania, where children from the Sheinfeld family met their teacher in person for the first time after a year of remote Torah study. The children had joined the "Netzach Israel" Talmud Torah in Beit Shemesh following a visit by the "Wings of the Spirit" delegation, which is part of the Netzach network, Jerusalem Municipality, and the Ministry of Education. The delegation had toured Kaunas about a year ago and stayed with the Sheinfeld family, who run a Jewish center for Israeli medical students in the city. The family explained that local Torah study options were limited, so their children mostly studied independently. Impressed by the children's dedication, Netzach accepted them as official students, and they participated in regular Zoom lessons alongside Israeli peers throughout the year.

This year, the second "Wings of the Spirit" mission included the teacher who had guided the Sheinfeld children remotely. Meeting face to face was an emotional moment for the children, who had only known their teacher via computer screen until then. The teacher presented them with physical certificates and praised their perseverance and commitment. The encounter symbolized how Jewish education can transcend geographic boundaries and connect students thousands of kilometers apart.

Rabbi Moshe Sheinfeld, who has run the Jewish center in Kaunas for 15 years, expressed his joy that his younger children, Yehuda, Michael, and Yoel, found their place in the Netzach network. He highlighted the center's role in fostering Jewish identity among about 500 Israeli medical students studying in Kaunas, many of whom continue their studies in Hebron Yeshiva and England.