Bar and Leshem Maor love Israeli music, food, arts and culture. Perhaps, the only thing they like more is sharing their passion for Israel with others. <\/p>\n
As Houston\u2019s new shlichim (Israeli emissaries), the young married couple will spend the next two years bringing Israeli customs, traditions and fun to Texas.<\/p>\n
The couple moved to Houston in August as part of the Jewish Agency For Israel\u2019s shlichim program. Bar will work through the Jewish Federation of Greater Houston, while Leshem will work at the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve only heard good things about Houston, and the community has been very welcoming,\u201d Bar told the JHV. \u201cWe like the culture and think it will be a perfect match for us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Leshem grew up working in teen programs and saw Houston as a great opportunity for the next stop on their journey.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost shlichim assignments are for singles, but Houston has had a nice tradition of having couples, which was perfect for us,\u201d Leshem told the JHV.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur main goal is to bring Israel to everything we do. I plan on doing that through the J by getting involved in programs \u2013 from early childhood to teens and seniors.\u201d<\/p>\n
Many of the programs the couple will lead include celebrating the Jewish holidays.<\/p>\n
They recently helped lead a PJ Library Sukkot Afterschool Playdate on Oct. 1 and have another event planned for Sunday, Oct. 18, at North Houston Farms.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will teach the children to sing the \u2018Old MacDonald\u2019 song in Hebrew,\u201d Bar said.<\/p>\n
Animals are a big part of the couple\u2019s life, as Leshem used to work at the Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem. The couple also traveled to Houston with their two pets: Tuches, their cat, and Johnny, their Labrador retriever.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe did one activity with our Johnny at a scavenger hunt with teens where we taught them how to train your dog in Hebrew,\u201d Leshem said.<\/p>\n
Add Bar, \u201cJohnny is Israeli and only understands Hebrew, so we taught the kids how to say the commands and he cooperated very well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bar, who especially loves creative art and music, will be involved with the Federation\u2019s Kehillah High and Young Adult Division.<\/p>\n
Leshem, who loves sharing her passion for Israeli food and theater, enjoys working two mornings a week with preschoolers at Bertha Alyce Early Childhood Academy.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe kids are so cute, and I have such a good time,\u201d she said. \u201cI taught them the word \u2018jump\u2019 in Hebrew the other day and we danced together with a lot of fun energy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The couple is also planning programs for the upcoming Ann and Stephen Kaufman Jewish Book & Arts Festival at the J, as well as for Chanukah.<\/p>\n
While the couple hopes to bring Israel to every group they engage, Bar and Leshem are also learning about Judaism in Texas.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are definitely different ways to practice Judaism and different ways to be Jewish,\u201d Leshem said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Israel, there is a certain picture of what it looks like. There is Orthodox and secular. It looks much different in Houston compared to Israel.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn Israel, we sometimes take our Judaism for granted. You are not always active in that sense. Here, you have to choose to stay active every day.\u201d<\/p>\n
While they adapt to their new roles, the couple is also learning to navigate the big city.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing here, I now understand what \u2018Life is a Highway\u2019 is all about,\u201d Leshem said.<\/p>\n
Bar agreed: \u201cEverything is bigger in Texas, indeed. We can\u2019t wait to experience everything, including the rodeo.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur main goal is to make the most connections we can and be a bridge to Israel for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bar and Leshem Maor love Israeli music, food, arts and culture. Perhaps, the only thing they like more…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":460910,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[56,58,57,116482,31274,116481,116480,116479,12008,27],"class_list":["post-460909","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-houston","tag-houston","tag-houston-headlines","tag-houston-news","tag-houston-synagogues","tag-jewish","tag-jewish-herald-voice","tag-jewish-news","tag-jhv","tag-newspaper","tag-texas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460909","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=460909"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/460909\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/460910"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=460909"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=460909"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=460909"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}