For anyone who grew up in the Jewish youth movement, Young Judaea, pitching in during challenging circumstances is second nature. Steve Berman, a lifelong Young Judaean, put it well: “There’s something in the water we drank. Maybe it’s the shores of the Delaware or the Mediterranean that infused our souls with the same spirit. The spirit of Hineni, calling out that you’re there and ready to serve.”

After the attacks on October 7th and the subsequent war, Young Judaeans lived out this spirit once again. Year Course participants immediately jumped into action, helping survivors in the Gaza envelope who suddenly found themselves without housing, clothes, or basic necessities.

Many Young Judaeans flocked to Israel to volunteer and support in any way they could. Alumni with special skills, like Lisa Fliegel, a trauma therapist, traveled to Israel to help survivors cope. Miriam Schler, Executive Director of the Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Center, stepped up to assist the many sexual assault victims of October 7th. Year Course alumni who have maintained a close friendship, Sam Merrin, Ira Greenberg, and David Cohen-Mintz, longtime friends from Young Judaea’s Year Course volunteered on Kibbutz Kfar Aza, a destroyed community, and assisted farmers near Gaza.  Others, like Julie Kolman Powell, used the power of awareness to aid Israel. While participating in races across the country, Julie wore a photo of a beloved member of the YJ family, Gili Adar, who was murdered at the Nova Festival, on her marathon shirt.

Three Friends Helping a Shattered Community

In a similar spirit, three lifelong Young Judaea friends recently came together to support Israel in a crucial way. Joel Rosenfeld, Seth Merrin, and Steve Berman grew up in the movement, attending YJ clubs, camps, and eventually Year Course. When Joel’s daughter, Ayelet, reached out about a critical cause, he turned to his YJ friends to find a way to help.

Ayelet served in the IDF alongside Yonaton “Jonny” Siman Tov, who lived with his family on Kibbutz Nir Oz, a community on the Gaza envelope. On October 7th, the kibbutz was brutally attacked by Hamas, resulting in the deaths of a quarter of its residents and the kidnapping of many others. Jonny, his wife Tamari Kedem, their three young children, and his mother were murdered that day.

The survivors were initially relocated to a hotel in Eilat. After the initial shock subsided, the community planned to relocate to a different kibbutz farther from Gaza, Beit Nir. The move, rebuilding, and purchase of land would cost them $26 million. It was during this time that Ayelet, with support from her father Joel and others, began a campaign to aid the community’s relocation efforts.

Joel reached out to old friends like Steve, who reconnected him with Seth, for help. Seth believes their readiness to support this cause stems from their Young Judaea roots. “The activism, the drive to improve the world, and the desire to help others are deeply ingrained in every committed Young Judaean. So, when Joel and Steve called me, my response was, ‘Of course. How can I help?’”

Their outreach was crucial. Steve played a key role in facilitating connections and organizing fundraising efforts. His network in Atlanta, combined with Seth’s connections in the Northeast, amplified the fundraising campaign.

While in Israel, Steve met with Chen Itzik from Kibbutz Nir Oz, who was leading recovery efforts. Steve reassured Chen that many people in the U.S. would want to help. He quickly organized a reception at his Atlanta home, with just four days’ notice. To his relief, 100 people showed up to hear the story of the devastated community from survivors of Jonny’s family, Amit Siman Tov and her sister Koren.

Steve recalled, “My house isn’t really set up for 100 people. It was hot and crowded, shoulder to shoulder, but you could hear a pin drop that night. We had three survivors from Nir Oz sharing their story.”

This event, co-hosted with other community leaders, was a turning point in raising awareness and support for the kibbutz. The positive response led to significant contributions from major foundations and individual donors.

The task of relocating Kibbutz Nir Oz and rebuilding lives is far from over. The efforts of Joel, Seth, and Steve, along with the broader community’s support, are vital to this process.

The Spirit of Service: Shared Values

In the face of extreme adversity, many people waver, unsure of how to help or move forward or worried that their small acts won’t impact the larger challenges. Yet, after October 7th, the subsequent war, and rise in antisemitism around the world, Young Judaeans did the opposite. These stories of resilience and solidarity showcase the enduring power of the YJ community. As we learn from Rabbi Tarfon in Pirke Avot, while it is not our task to finish the work, neither can we desist from it.

As Seth put it, “This is what we do. This is Young Judaea in action.”

*If you would like to help support the Kibbutz Nir Oz project, please contact Joel, joelrosenfeld@gmail.com

By Adina Frydman, CEO of Young Judaea

Although we are still processing all that occurred on October 7^th and the significance of that day, it is clear we are living in a “before” and “after” October 7^th. We must mark the liminality of that day.

When the sun rose the next day, on October 8th, that’s when we started to make sense of things. In the light of day, we could see, truly see, the ugliness in the world and we realized that we were privileged to still be here when so many were not.

There are days that feel like a curse, why me and why not them? What makes me so special? What must I do to deserve a day after to turn the curse into a blessing?

We are here left to pick up the pieces and put them back together; that is our task. But before we turn to the work ahead, we must engage in deep introspection.

Have we felt enough, reckoned enough, done enough to merit another day? Have we dared to imagine a different kind of world – one that would never lead to a day like October 7^th.

And where does our hope lie? That 3000-year-old superpower that has carried our people from strength to strength. But what is this hope, and where do we find it today? I can tell you that for me, that hope has emerged countless times in the faces of our youth.

In the United States and in Israel, hope is the young people who are stepping up in defiance donning their pride and wearing it like a suit of armor. In Israel, it is the scores of young people who are serving their country, some who have just graduated from high school and others, having just finished their service. Many are going back and forth from the battlefield to the cemetery to pay homage to fallen friends. Hope is also the thousands of volunteers who put the country back together without waiting for someone else to do it.

In the United States, hope started with the Rally in DC that was led by 30,000 high school and college students. What followed was the petitions, letters, and counter-protests on our college campuses where young people proudly wore their Stars of David and hostage tags all while enduring the social cost of being a proud Zionist.

I am especially inspired by the ability of our teens and college students to hold nuance during such a polarizing time —having the ability to hold a both/and position which is often counter-cultural.  But we see it both in Israel and in the United States that it is possible to hold a deep commitment to the Zionism that is yet to come while feeling deeply frustrated with the Zionism that is today. And the bravest are those who commit themselves to working on it. It is a much more comfortable position to opt out, or as Yehuda Kurtzer states the most challenging position, is to be the “troubled committed.”

At Young Judaea we aim to cultivate curiosity and foster a lifelong relationship with Israel, acknowledging its complexities. Our approach to aspirational Zionism is rooted in the belief that we are all part of shaping Israel’s future – a future that reflects our values and strengthens its role in Jewish life and culture. Through this lens, we inspire teens to see themselves as active contributors to Israel’s ongoing story, ensuring its relevance and importance for generations to come.

As proud as I feel to be leading Young Judaea in this moment, I know that we cannot do it alone. The day after October 7^th calls upon all of us together, from across the Jewish spectrum, left, center, and right, secular, traditional and religious, there is no one individual or group that can bring about our collective redemption. On October 8^th we all stand up together under a big tent, not in a single voice but as a choir bringing together our various approaches and perspectives and finding ways for them to harmoniously blend or to be intentionally dissonant. This is a moment that calls for unity and action from across the Jewish spectrum.

And now I speak to our youth.

This is your time. Stand up, stand together, and build the world as you want to see it.

Reach out of your comfort zone to connect and to understand.

Complaining about the world you inherited may give you solace.

Committing that it is your world to fix will give you purpose.

We believe in you, and we are right there with you.