Oct. 7 has impacted people in many profound ways. For my generation, GenZ, much of the focus has been on American Jewish students on campuses across the country. They had a year very different and more difficult than they imagined due to the increase in antisemitism and intense, sometimes violent, anti-Israel protest movements.
During my gap year in Israel, I too had an experience much different than I could have imagined or anticipated. The experiences of Jewish students returning from a gap year in Israel will certainly continue to impact our generation and our campuses as we prepare to start the new school year.
Last August, before starting college in America, I attended Ohr Torah Stone’s Midreshet Lindenbaum in Jerusalem, where I had been looking forward to studying Jewish texts and spending a year living in a country to which I feel deeply connected. It was a time to explore the country, meet new friends and enjoy a year of growth away from home.
Then came Oct. 7. It was the early hours of Shabbat morning when we rushed to the shelter amid air raid sirens warning of incoming rockets from Gaza. We soon learned that the unthinkable had happened. As I began to process the fear and grief, I immediately knew the year ahead would be drastically different from the one I had anticipated.
My friends and I immediately felt the call to help as we saw people grieving, parents in the neighborhood rushing off to reserve military duty and scared local children facing empty days without school or other activities—all of which had been canceled.
The home front needs were obviously extensive: Families needed help with shopping, babysitting and cleaning; farmers whose workforces left needed help picking fruit and vegetables; volunteers were needed to pack food for soldiers; people were needed to attend weddings where suddenly there were no guests because the couples’ friends were called up to serve; mourners were even needed at funerals to ensure there were enough people to comfort the bereaved.
At first, there were only a few of us who felt comfortable leaving the building. We went out to help meet these needs. The beautiful city of Jerusalem was a ghost town. But as the weeks went on, the needs only grew. Eventually, almost everyone was not only comfortable leaving our campus but made huge efforts to go out and help. I witnessed an incredible community stand up in amazing ways. It was impossible to say no.
Our gap year was transformed into a year of service. While we undoubtedly helped many people, we also learned that you gain so much personally by giving. We felt a part of something bigger than ourselves. We were not alone. A country struck by tragedy came together to help each other.
People often try to compare Oct. 7 to 9/11, but in America only a small group of people know someone who died or went to war following the 2001 terror attacks. In Israel, every family was and is impacted by Oct. 7. Everyone is connected to hostages, soldiers, those who were killed and those who have been evacuated from border areas. And quite rightly, we focus first on the hostages.
I experienced the pain, suffering and unwavering commitment to our people by those who stayed at home: Mothers with no husbands for months on end, parents with no kids to help them and many more people whose stories will never be told. Watching their sacrifices was deeply inspiring.
Additionally, watching my friends and the staff members at Midreshet Lindenbaum serve the community in different ways had a significant impact on me. My friends spent hours babysitting for children of reserve soldiers during their dinner breaks and free nights. They cared deeply about the families and did everything in their power to be helpful in any way possible. It was about what each family needed and, even when tired, people worked together to put others first. Similarly, the staff worked tirelessly to help serve the community. The attitudes from both my friends and staff gave me a new outlook on what it means to serve others, something I will carry with me for life.
I too have been changed by Oct. 7. I learned about resilience, the impact on the home front and, most importantly, the power of serving others.
I will soon be starting my first year of college at Washington University in St. Louis. I am thinking about classes and community, and what it will be like as a student on a college campus as Israel remains at war and antisemitism remains a challenge in the United States.
I will face different challenges, but I am also committed to bringing my experiences from Israel to campus and using them to help navigate the current situation.
What kind of community can we build? How can we improve the world around us? How can we show others what it means to be a Jew? How can we learn to give and not just take?
