Israeli Teacher Surprises Lithuanian Jewish Students with In-Person Graduation Certificates

A unique educational connection was celebrated this week in Kaunas, Lithuania, where Israeli teacher visited Jewish children of the Shinfeld family to personally deliver their end-of-year certificates. The Shinfeld family runs a Jewish community center in Kaunas serving about 500 Israeli medical students, but local Jewish educational options for children are limited. About a year ago, during a visit by the Israeli educational delegation "Kanfei Ruach," the family shared these challenges. As a result, the Netzah education network in Beit Shemesh enrolled the Shinfeld children as official students, enabling them to attend live classes daily via Zoom throughout the school year despite the geographic distance and time differences.

This week, the teacher traveled with the second "Kanfei Ruach" delegation to Lithuania, marking the first face-to-face meeting with the children, Yehuda, Michael, and Yoel. The teacher assessed their progress and awarded them certificates recognizing their dedication under difficult circumstances. Rabbi Moshe Shinfeld, head of the family and community center, expressed gratitude for the warm and high-quality educational framework enabled by technology and the Netzah network, which connected the children to Israel despite thousands of kilometers apart.