I’m Raphy Da Costa, 23, and I serve as Rosh Machaneh of Bnei Akiva South Africa for 2026. Bnei Akiva is the country’s largest religious Zionist youth movement, running weekly programmes, camps, and Israel tours that shape thousands of young South African Jews and connect them to the land of Israel, the people of Israel and the Torah of Israel. My role is to lead the movement’s flagship Machaneh, overseeing the team of madrichim who run it and the experience of hundreds of Chanichim who attend. I took on this responsibility the same year I lost my mother,the late Andy Da Costa, and rather than step back, I chose to lead through it, using her legacy of kindness and resilience as the foundation for how I show up for our youth. What I believe makes me a rising star is that throughout my life I have been presented with challenges in every area, and rather than letting those challenges affect only me, I have chosen to use them as a way to give back, believing they can impact and resonate with so many other people. To me, being a rising star is not about myself, it is about creating other rising stars. Good leaders create other leaders, and the responsibility I have been given in Bnei Akiva has given me the platform to do exactly that.
I believe I was nominated for my leadership roles in Bnei Akiva, culminating in Rosh Machaneh, and for choosing to lead through adversity and grief, turning it into a platform to build other leaders.
My vision for myself is to build a successful career in business and use that success as a platform to give back as much as I can, while remaining as involved in my community as possible. It is also to build a beautiful family who will be a prime example of what it means to be part of the South African Jewish community.
My vision for the South African Jewish community is to help create an environment where being a religious, Zionist Jew is not the exception, but the norm.
In 2025, as Rosh Hadracha, I led 100 South African teens on their Israel programme. Rather than cancel the trip because of the war, I believed it was exactly the moment our youth needed to stand with Israel and deepen their connection to their people, and I led an experience that left a lasting impact on myself and on every participant.
That same year, I lost my Mom, and I have looked for ways to honour her memory ever since. One way I did this was by taking on two Hyrox events in a single day in her honour, a doubles race in the morning and a relay in the evening, pushing myself physically as a tribute to her strength and resilience. Through this, we also raised R100,000 in her honour, which we donated to the Malka Ella Fertility Fund.
Recreational activities
Crossfit, Jiu Jitsu, Mountain Biking, cycling, Running, Guitar, Chazzan.