The most remarkable expression of newfound religious identity comes from the hostages

PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK / DAVID COHEN

There is a certain secret to the Jewish People that our enemies have yet to discover, despite over 3,000 years of experience: The more we are beaten, the stronger we become. Already in Egypt the rule was established: “As much as they would afflict it [i.e., the bnei Yisrael] so it would increase and so it would burst forth…” (Shemos 1:12). When they attack, they drive us into the embrace of HaKadosh Baruch Hu, the source of our endurance and our strength.

There is a hisorerus (spiritual arousal) taking place today in Israel, not through the efforts of any kiruv organization — though, of course, those organizations are rising to the occasion — but as a spontaneous surge from the Jews of Israel.

I watched an interview in which a well-known public personality, who lives in one of the affluent northern suburbs of Tel Aviv, related how her 15-year-old daughter told her late one night that she was going to Selichos. She joined her daughter and found a room bursting at the seams with teenagers. When the Selichos were over, they went to a shiur given by a charismatic young rebbetzin. Again, the hall was overflowing.

The mother told the interviewer that there is a great thirst for connection to Hashem among young people. But unlike previous teshuvah waves, today those taking on Shabbos observance, kashrus, etc., mostly continue to define themselves as chiloni (secular) — only now as chilonim who keep Shabbos.

There is an entire movement known as “tzitzis without a kippah,” that is probably rooted in the tens of thousands of soldiers who put on tzitzis before going into combat. (Even more remarkably, approximately ten thousand soldiers have taken on the mitzvah of tefillin, with tefillin purchased for them by donors from abroad.)

Approximately 15 years ago, Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv ztz”l told Mrs. Tzili Schneider, the founder of Kesher Yehudi, that her task is not to produce baalei teshuvah, but only to strive that Jews should keep the Shulchan Aruch. He meant that the goal of kiruv is not that the chozrim b’teshuvah should move to Bnei Brak and don black hats. Presciently, Rav Elyashiv was speaking about the present moment.

Mrs. Leah Hecht, the educational director of Kesher Yehudi, shared a story with me of how fast things are moving. She has a friend who is the principal of a Torani school in Rechovot. Recently, an 11-year-old girl in the city told her parents, both secular professionals, that she wanted to go to a religious school. They acquiesced and enrolled her in the school.

On Shabbos Shuvah, Kesher Yehudi hosted a shabbaton in Jerusalem for around 200 people who were learning with chavrusas, but were not yet shomer Shabbos. The only thing they had to commit to was keeping that Shabbos k’hilchaso. Rebbetzin Schneider told Mrs. Hecht to invite this family, even though they did not formally meet the criteria for participation. (The mother did ask for a chavrusa in the course of the Shabbos.)

The next thing Mrs. Hecht heard was that the mother and her two daughters had gone out and purchased modest clothing for Yom Kippur. That led to an invitation to join the second Kesher Yehudi Simchat Torah for Nova survivors, even though again, the family did not fit into that category.

The currency for bidding on aliyos at these gatherings is mitzvah commitments. Watching from the women’s section, the mother and her daughters looked for their husband/father, who had been the least enthusiastic member of the family at the previous shabbaton. They were thrilled to see him holding a sefer Torah, which he had bid upon with a commitment to keep Shabbos.

In addition to the anecdotal evidence, there is quantitative support of this hisorerus as well. Kesher Yehudi, for instance, has added 3,000 pairs of chavrusas over the past two years, and as only one of a number of organizations, including Ayelet HaShachar, involved in creating these partnerships. Kesher Yehudi works with over 30 pre-army-induction academies (mechinot), in which each student has a chavrusa over the course of the year prior to induction and spends at least one Shabbos in a chareidi neighborhood with their chavrusa’s family. In the last two years, the number of graduates continuing with their chavrusas even after induction or otherwise involved in mitzvah observance has jumped greatly.

In May, Shuvu, a network of schools combining a religious education with top-level secular studies, conducted a survey of traditional and secular Jewish parents. The results indicated that 70 percent of parents felt a need to strengthen their children’s Jewish identity subsequent to the Simchas Torah massacre, with more than a quarter expressing support for an education of equal parts secular and religious studies. The former figure represented a 20 percent jump from a similar survey conducted in 2017.

THE MOST REMARKABLE expression of newfound religious identity comes from the hostages. They had no access to outside sources of information, and their growth wasn’t spurred by any external inspiration, though it’s fascinating how many of the captives who held fiercely to their Jewish identity and practice in captivity had parents who were on a parallel religious journey.

For the last year, the Israeli public has been bombarded with stories of the sacrifices made by hostages to preserve their Jewish identity. And the impact has been enormous. A guest on Yinon Magal’s popular The Patriots show recently described the hottest trend among Israeli youth as becoming shomer Shabbat and attributed that to the stories of the returning hostages: “I’m talking about tens of thousands of teens. What happened is that an entire generation of Israelis has grown up ignorant — the education system failed to provide them with any knowledge of Judaism. And then the October 7 massacre happened. And they saw all the hostages returning and speaking about Hashem. It’s affecting everyone!”

Agam Berger, about whom we have written at length, refused to work on Shabbos or eat nonkosher food in captivity, and she inspired three other IDF observers taken captive along with her, to fast on Yom Kippur and not eat chometz on Pesach. At the same time, her parents created a shul in their building in Holon. Her mother, Merav, traveled the country urging Israeli Jews to respond to hostages seized for being Jewish by becoming more Jewish — learning with a study partner, keeping Shabbos, and observing the laws of family purity.

Omer Shem-Tov, released at the same time, made Kiddush each Shabbos in captivity with a few drops of grape juice from a small bottle he was given, and would not turn on his flashlight on Shabbos, even when confined in a pitch-black tunnel. He related upon his return how each night he would converse with Hashem, including asking Hashem, kiveyachol, how His day had been. (Avraham Fried has a song where he describes the Baal Shem Tov having similar conversations with Hashem.) Instead of focusing only on his requests from Hashem, Omer took the time to thank Hashem repeatedly for all that he had, even in confinement.

Back in Israel, Omer’s mother Shelly was the prime mover from the side of the hostage families in bringing about the multiple Kesher Yehudi shabbatons for the hostage families. She herself took on full Shabbos observance following the first of those shabbatons.

A new spate of stories has now appeared with the release of the last 20 living hostages. Matan Angrest, who received particularly brutal treatment as he was an active soldier at the time of his capture, asked his captors for a siddur, which was eventually provided. A fellow hostage had a full Chumash, and together they recited each parshah together at least 20 times. “Emunah provides a lot of chizuk, (strength),” he explained simply.

Interestingly, his mother has become close friends with Rebbetzin Tzili Schneider since the first Kesher Yehudi shabbaton for hostage families. They speak daily and even traveled together to America to to meet with important politicians in New York and Washington D.C. in an attempt secure a hostage release.

Bar Kuperstein, another recently returned captive, learned in the Shuvu elementary school in Rishon LeZion, but was not able to continue on to a Shuvu high school, where traditionally the most dramatic religious development takes place, as his father suffered a crippling injury and Bar was forced to go to work to help support the family.

His mother, Julia, became fully observant 14 years ago, during the period Bar was learning in Shuvu. She was shocked when he requested tzitzis upon his return. “He had emunah and was traditional, but not like this,” Julia told Army Radio. But when he saw his Arab captors praying and fasting, Bar decided that he, too, wanted to be close to the Borei Olam. He began reciting Shema repeatedly, davened, and recited a chapter of Tehillim he knew by heart every day. A fellow captive, who was released earlier, related that Bar would awaken his fellow captives between Rosh Chodesh Elul and Yom Kippur to recite Selichos.

Rom Braslavski’s captors pressured him to convert to Islam with offers of more food and soap to clean himself. But that only strengthened him. “They tortured me only because I’m a Jew, and that gave me strength. A Jew needs to know he’s in a lofty place, that he is different. We need to strengthen our Jewish identity so that Am Yisrael will remain strong and united.” Upon his return, he kept repeating, “I’m a Jew, a strong Jew.”

While still in captivity, Segev Kalfon fasted on Yom Kippur. Upon being forced by his captors to watch his friend Ohad Ben Ami’s release, the experience gave rise to a dream that when he was released, he would stand on stage surrounded by Hamas terrorists and shout, “Shema Yisrael, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echad.” (Ultimately, Hamas returned the last 20 hostages without these discharge ceremonies.)

Asked by Shai Graucher what message he would like to convey, Segev replied, “Emunah is the basis. Emunah, emunah, emunah — strengthen your emunah. And Am Yisrael should unite — that’s the most important thing.” Rather than stressing the bitterness of what he endured, he summarized his experience, “In the darkest place, I succeeded in seeing the light.”

Eitan Horn was taken captive along with his brother, who was released earlier. This past Yom Kippur he fasted for the first time. He thought it would lead to his release, and less than two weeks later, it did.

Perhaps as amazing as the efforts of the hostages to build a relationship with Hashem and hold on to their Jewish identity in the most extreme circumstances has been the development of the survivors of the Nova Festival. Two years ago, they were at a rave festival on Shemini Atzeres/Simchas Torah, with a large idol on the premises.

Yet of the survivors who have been participating in Kesher Yehudi events over the past year and a half, 60 have become fully shomer Shabbos, and many others have committed to different aspects of Shabbos observance or learning with chavrusas. Thirty-seven survivors participate in a weekly hilchos Shabbos shiur with Rabbi Yaron Ashkenazi, the chief rabbi of Hadera.

This past Shemini Atzeres/Simchas Torah, for the second year in a row, 150 Nova survivors gathered under the auspices of Kesher Yehudi to dance with sifrei Torah. On Motzaei Yom Tov, they celebrated a hachnassas sefer Torah, with a sefer Torah contributed by Ralph and Leah Shoshana Rieder of Monsey, in honor of their efforts.

When the sefer Torah was initially commissioned, it was meant to be dedicated to the speedy return of the hostages still in captivity and to the memory of friends murdered at the Nova Festival. But by the time of its final letters were written, all the living hostages had returned to their families.

May we continue to witness Hashem’s light shine upon His People.

Next week: How does this hisorerus obligate the Torah community.

(Originally featured in Mishpacha, Issue 1084. Yonoson Rosenblum may be contacted directly at rosenblum@mishpacha.com)