Sept. 2025
Eliezer Witty
Faced with a world where they are being turned on from all directions, young Jews are reconnecting with Jewish life. Campuses across much of the world have erupted with antisemitic frenzies. Much of the media is 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.
Many secular youth in Israel have begun wrapping tefillin daily, which Rabbi Yosef Aharonov of Chabad describes as “an awakening the likes of which we have not seen for years.”
Rabbi Aaron Greenberg of Toronto’s Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (JLIC) says there’s been “a bit of a renaissance” at Hillel chapters across that city. While there were real concerns after COVID-19 that community life might struggle to recover, the rabbi says that’s what’s happened instead is more than a return to normal — it’s a full-fledged resurgence.
Rabbi Greenberg explained that while special events (such as lectures or trips) do draw people, this new wave of youth reattaching to their Judaism often focus on routine, everyday aspects of Judaism. Keeping kosher is a common stepping stone. It’s something that allows people to make “being Jewish” something they participate in the active tense, not just what they are.
Many young Jews find Shabbat observance to be a point where they can reconnect to our people. One student from York University said that while she generally considers herself ‘spiritual’, Shabbat dinners have become a way for her to rediscover the community and refresh her connection. In a time when our everyday lives are dominated by the usage of smartphones and computers, keeping Shabbat can radically change a person’s outlook and the way they use their time.
A Hillel student organizer says he’s seen a noticeable increase in participation since Oct. 7 — both in cultural offerings like Hebrew lessons and in religious programming such as learning sessions. For students who hadn’t previously felt strongly connected to their Judaism, “anything that makes religious action more accessible” has been an attractive option.
For those of us raised 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. Inviting someone to a Shabbat dinner, a synagogue service or a Torah class can be the act that lets somebody feel part of a robust and lively community, giving them 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? Rabbi Greenberg, who works closely with students from all degrees of observance, says there’s no sure telling. Certainly the hope is that everyone seeking a return to Judaism will inspire others to do the same.
But no matter how long this goes on, it can’t be blown off as a passing trend. For however long these individuals adopt an observant lifestyle, it’s the duty of the Jewish community to give them the step up they need.
Eliezer Witty, an alumnus of Yeshivat Migdal HaTorah and Lev HaTorah, studies journalism in Toronto.
