Tani Reiss is a Canadian who attended Yeshivat Or Chaim, one of the Bnei Akiva private Jewish high schools in Toronto. Reiss also attended Camp Moshava, a Jewish summer camp in Ontario that writes that its “vision is to strengthen the religious Zionist community by educating and nurturing the campers and counselors entrusted to our care each summer to become role models both in Israel and the Diaspora.”
Reiss now works at the Bnei Akiva Schools (BAS) as a social worker.
In an interview posted on the school’s website, Reiss states: “Throughout my time at BAS I learned a lot about what it means to be a Jew in the world. What kept coming back to me, the idea that has always stuck with me, is the concept of ‘oro shel olam’, being a light unto the world. This isn’t a matter of ego but rather a responsibility. This also means that when you see something that needs doing, people that need help and support, you need to step up because it’s the right thing to do. In this framework I was always taught that we have the responsibility to bring people together; to foster understanding and empathy among all peoples. This is something I watched my teachers at BAS model every day in their lessons and the way they dealt with their students. I looked up to many of my teachers and strove to emulate them. They caused me to take my first steps into youth work as a teenager still in high school, they are what drove me to draft in the IDF, and they are what have continued to guide me through front-line mental health and crisis work for the last decade.”
A bio for Reiss in the school’s 2024-2025 course calendar states, “Mr. Tani Reiss is a Yeshivat Or Chaim alumnus. He received his MSW from the Wurzweiler School of Social Work. After graduating from Yeshivat Or Chaim, he served as a Combat Engineer in the IDF, then returned to Toronto to complete his degree in Psychology at the University of Toronto. He comes to the school with more than 10 years of social service and youth work experience, including youth justice, complex mental health and behaviour management, and developmental program-ming experience across multiple provincial sectors. Mr. Reiss believes strongly that every individual is unique, with their own strengths and weaknesses, and is dedicated to working with our youth in all their diversity.”
