Faced with a world where they are being turned on from all angles, young people are finding their Judaism again. Campuses across much of the world have erupted with antisemitic frenzies. Many channels of media are thick with hatred for Jews and Israel. This outside pressure has squeezed a diamond-hard resolve into many students, who are weathering this storm by holding fast to their Jewish identity and community. Rabbi Daniel Korobkin, of Beth Avraham Yosef of Toronto, described it as “a greater yearning to connect” in those who found themselves isolated by antisemitic lies and propaganda.
In Israel, many chiloni (secular) young men have begun wrapping tefillin daily. Rabbi Yosef Aharonov of Chabad declared, “This is an awakening the likes of which we have not seen for years.” Precisely due to enemies trying to wipe out the nation that keep the mitzvah of tefillin, R’ Aharonov shared, more and more youth in Israel are now putting on tefillin. “From bitterness,” he said, “we received sweetness.” The reinvigorated attachment to tefillin actually caused some stir in a school in Ramat Gan, after a student was suspended for distracting others due to wearing tefillin during school hours.
In Canada, Rabbi Aaron Greenberg of the Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC) says he’s seen the trend as well. Working with university students at Hillel chapters around Toronto, R’ Greenberg said it’s “a bit of a renaissance”. All Jewish organizations are seeing an influx of interest from young members.
After COVID, with community life put on hold for lockdowns and social distancing, some were afraid there would be trouble bouncing back, but there’s been more than a return to the normal - now there’s a true resurgence. When young people find that friends are cutting ties with them or lab partners become hostile, solely because of their Jewish identity, it drives them to reconnect and reinforce that identity. What antisemitic hatred tears down becomes clear ground for renewed Jewish connections. R’ Korobkin said that when some Jews are running away from their identity, for many more, the opposite is happening- an earnest reconnection to their core of Jewishness.
A Hillel student organizer said, “I’ve never seen people more motivated in Hillel than after the October 7th massacre.” He said that both the socially Jewish events, such as Hebrew lessons, and the religious ones, such as learning sessions, have experienced a rise in attendance. He explained that for those who have found themselves with a slack connection to their Judaism, “anything that makes religious action more accessible” is an attractive option.
R’ Greenberg explained that extraordinary experiences and special events (such as lectures or trips) do draw people, this new wave of youth reattaching to their Judaism often focuses on routine, everyday aspects of Judaism. Keeping kosher is one of the things that R’ Greenberg named as a common stepping stone. It’s something that allows people to make “being Jewish” something they do and participate in the active tense, not just what they are.
Just as the everyday parts of being “actively Jewish” draw people in to rediscover their connection with the community, so too do the weekly ones. Many young Jews find Shabbat observance to be a point where they can reconnect to the Jewish people. Keeping Shabbat is something that those returning to Judaism can easily take as a time of bonding. In particular, when all of everyday life seems dominated by the usage of smartphones, computers, and other devices, a day when these are not used can radically change a person’s outlook and the way they use their time- perhaps to engage with fellow Jews or begin studying Torah instead of remaining preoccupied with weekday matters.
For those of us who were brought up in a Jewish household, there are many things we might consider average or ordinary that, introduced to somebody who has found themselves distant from their identity, could be literally life-changing handholds on the sometimes steep climb towards a firm grasp on one’s Jewish self.
To be a contributor to this wave of refreshed and inspired Jews doesn’t require a titanic feat. Having a single guest over on Shabbat who’s never sat around a Shabbat table before can be the act that lets somebody renew their grip on their identity as a Jew. Just being there as part of the local community - one more person at a kiddush, sitting in shul, or attending a lecture - can give people a more robust and lively community, a sturdier handhold that will get them back into the Jewish identity they’re striving to reclaim.
How long might this surge of rediscovery last? R’ Greenberg, who works closely with students from all degrees of orthodoxy, says there’s no sure telling. The Hillel organizer whom we interviewed said, “As long as Israel is in the public mind, there are still people looking for that sense of community, to oppose antisemitism or the stigma they may face.”
Certainly, the hope is that every one of these people seeking a return to their Jewish identity will draw in more with them, perhaps until, G-d willing, there is nobody left who feels lacking in their attachment to that identity. But no matter how long this goes on, it can’t be blown off as a passing trend. Whether these people will observe the commandments they adopt for a few holidays and then drift away, or for the rest of their lives, it’s the duty of the Jewish community to give them the step up they need.