TORONTO-MONTREAL – Briah Cahana of Montreal is the lone Canadian recipient of a Bronfman Youth Fellowship this year.

The fellowships allow high school students from various Jewish backgrounds to spend five weeks studying in Israel and participate in community service in their home cities.

Cahana, 16, a student at Hebrew Academy, a modern orthodox high school in Montreal, said that her school is very Zionistic and has infused a love for Israel in her.

“Many teachers were supportive and wrote recommendations. They [believe in] opening up and learning about everyone, and trying to understand other people’s perspectives,” said Cahana, who was encouraged by her teachers and her family to apply for the fellowship.

Cahana has visited Israel many times. Last summer she studied science at the Technion Institute, Israel’s institute of technology.

“I try to go back as frequently as I can,” she said.

Cahana had heard about the Bronfman Fellowships from older friends who had been fellows in previous years and had highly recommended the program.

Cahana is “looking forward to developing her Jewish identity and contributing to the Jewish community.”

She is also looking forward to the many classes and tiyulim (trips around Israel) that she will experience as a fellow in the program.

In Montreal, Cahana has contributed to the Jewish community by tutoring in Hebrew, teaching some Judaic studies and baby-sitting for the children in her synagogue, during which time she would engage the children, getting them involved and interested.

To complete the 40 hours of community service required of all Bronfman Fellows, she hopes to acquire a position in her synagogue that will make her a guide to b’nai mitzvah (children having their bar and bat mitzvahs).

Cahana also hopes to spend time in a few years studying in a seminary in Israel to further her Jewish studies.

Cahana is one of 26 North American participants this year. The other 25 represent 12 US states and many Jewish affiliations and denominations.

This year is the 22nd consecutive year for the Bronfman Youth Fellowships.

The fellows were expected to depart for Israel on Tuesday, returning to North America on Aug. 6.

“The Samuel Bronfman Foundation is committed to programs that make Judaism relevant to young Jews from all backgrounds,” said Adam R. Bronfman, managing director of the foundation, which funds the program. “The Bronfman Youth Fellowships in Israel offers a powerful experience that, as 20 years of success show, can last a lifetime.”

In Israel, the fellows will partake in various seminars and forums with rabbis from different Jewish affiliations, as well as spend time with Israeli students their own age from the Amitei Bronfman (the Bronfman Israeli Youth Fellowship).