Ari Shortt is a Canadian from British Columbia who is mentioned in a July 2012 post by a rabbi on the Chabad of Vancouver Island website.
The post states: “Ari Shortt, a good friend (and a Chatan who is getting married in 3 weeks. Mazal Tov!), shared with me an amazing story from his recent visit to Israel. As fellow Victorians, I belive [sic] you are going to be amazed by the Divine Providence of this incident and you may take great pride in the picture he shared with me.
Five years after Ari volunteered to serve in the IDF, he came with his fiancée Eva to visit family. It was a beautiful day when they decided to get some fresh air in the Golan Heights. They hiked Mount Odem, picked some cherries and were ready to head south.
As they were passing next to an army base, they saw, as frequently seen in Israel, a few soldiers waiting at a bus stop. In the spur of the moment Eva suggested to stop and share the cherries with the young men who looked like they may enjoy some fresh fruits… Eva remembered what Ari had told her of the great appreciation the soldiers had for kind people, who would stop by a check point and spoil them with a snack or pizza, in the middle of a long day…
Ari wasn’t sure how these guys would react, but Eva insisted. So they made a quick u-turn, and found themselves offering the soldiers the cherries they had just picked… Turned out that one of the soldiers was originally from the US. They had a great conversation about life in the army, and exchanged some experiences. Suddenly the soldier turned to Ari ‘You are from Canada, do you know Michael Starr?’ to which Ari answered ‘of course I know him! In fact, he is the only soldier from Victoria serving in the IDF right now… and our families are close friends’.
Minutes later, Michael was standing next to Ari; he was serving the base that by ‘chance’ was just up the road.
Ari remembered when Michael as a young teenager came to consult with him whether he should volunteer in the IDF. Ari was very encouraging. Now he was rewarding Michael with cherries, for his great service as a warrior, for the safety of our people.”
(Michael Starr is included in this database.)
Shortt is also mentioned in a September 2019 article at the Chabad website, which states: “Ari Shortt is looking forward to celebrating Rosh Hashanah with his community. Shortt, a Ph.D. candidate studying psychology in Guelph, Ontario, will head to his neighborhood Chabad center with his wife, Eva, and two sons, ages 5 and 2, to enjoy the holiday alongside students and locals in the small Jewish community. ‘It’s very vivacious,’ he says of the gathering. ‘Sometimes, when there are fewer people, each person does more to elevate the energy levels, and so it’s rich with song.’ In the six years he’s been living there, Shortt says he has watched the community develop and his children connect with their heritage as a part of it. ‘I want my kids to grow up steeped in Jewish life, and that’s only possible if we have a community that’s celebrating the holidays, that’s active, that they have somewhere to go,’ he explains. ‘I want these holidays to be their holidays.’”
A profile at the Saskatchewan College of Psychologists lists Shortt as having “Full Practice” status in the province. It also notes that he obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Guelph in October 2023. Shortt also completed a Master of Arts degree at the same university.
