Olami Regional Ambassador Amanda Poll Honoring Israel's Fallen

to the dear family of Shearer hi Josh my name is Amanda pol and I am with along a Chicago I am originally from Ohio and I am a first grade teacher at urban Prairie Waldorf School I grew up very very reformed pretty much as reformed as it gets but when I went to college I found myself in a Jewish study group and that really inspired me to reconnect with that part of myself and explore my Jewish identity and because of that my Judaism has become one of my most important and valued priorities in my life I studied with my rabbi weekly I keep a full Shabbos monthly and I've been on several Jewish young professional organized trips so I can explore my Judaism all around the world I have been to Israel twice over the last two summers and I am very excited to say that I will be returning this summer with al-ameen I always love going to Israel because it gives me an opportunity to explore my identity and my values in a way that I just can't anywhere else my inspiration is always lit on fire and I gained such a clear vision of Who I am and the woman I want to become and I always return to the United States with a new sense of rejuvenation that carries me forward for years to come I was really inspired by sheer story because of her selflessness and her devotion to her country and as a teacher prioritizing someone else's life above my own is something that I think about every single day I'm living in an age where school shootings are a real thing and it's a real part of my job that I think about every single day and when I walk into work every morning and when I step into my classroom I consciously make that commitment to prioritize my students lives over my own just like Shearer prioritized her country survival over her own being able to connect over such a profound value is something that is unbelievably inspiring and profound for me at her funeral shears cousin Hillis and the following words your silence had such a strength you seem to effortlessly conquer mountains and just from this small quote I feel like I know who she is someone who had that magical presence of elegance and grace but punctuated with strength and independence this is something that I can aspire to be like to honor shear I am going to write a story about a girl named shear and to tell it to my six year old students I have 14 of them this story is going to tell her story about protecting the State of Israel and protecting her kingdom and she had to fight beasts and soldiers to protect the people who were in her land and this story is going to really be teaching my students many moral values but one of which will be a mitzvah of messy rot nephesh and be about the power of sacrifice and living for a purpose that is greater than yourself I think my students will very much learn from this and really learn the morality of share story I know that we live thousands and thousands of miles apart and that we've never met but as a Jewish people I really do feel like we are one and our thoughts feelings and actions are all interconnected and affect one another I think sheared for her service both in body and spirit and if you would like I would love to stay in touch thank you so much love Amanda