In the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks in Israel and the subsequent war, Jewish communities in the United States are witnessing a huge surge in Jewish engagement, according to a new survey released by Chabad.org. The survey, conducted among Chabad-Lubavitch shluchim across America, found that a vast majority of respondents have seen an increase in attendance at Jewish programs and services, as well as a heightened sense of Jewish pride, connection to Israel, and stronger Jewish identity among community members.
The survey results paint a picture of a Jewish community that is responding to this fraught moment with a renewed sense of solidarity and faith. Rabbis reported that people are lighting Shabbat candles, purchasing and donning tefillin – some for the first time – saying the Shema prayer daily, and baking challah. The respondents noted dramatic growth among Jews who in the past had attended synagogue once a year if at all, and who had generally expressed lack of interest in Jewish life and are now exhibiting a new desire to connect with their Jewish heritage and other Jews.
Summary of Results:
- 77.3% of respondents report that they have seen a stronger sense of “Jewish pride and confidence” among community members.
- 81.5% of respondents say that people in their communities have increasingly been feeling “scared.”
- 93.4% of respondents say that they are witnessing a stronger feeling of “connection to the Jewish people or desire to connect to other Jews” among community members.
- 88.2% of respondents say that people in their communities have “a stronger connection to Israel and her people.”
- 85.8% of respondents say that community members have been experiencing a “deeper connection to their own Jewish identity.”
The 211 survey respondents include Chabad-Lubavitch shluchim representing communities in all 50 U.S. states, ranging from cities and towns with robust Jewish infrastructures to areas with a minimal Jewish presence.
A shliach from California recounted how a 22-year-old man who had never before in his life celebrated any Jewish activity came to him right after news of the terror attack broke, telling the rabbi he couldn’t stop crying. Though he had no prior engagement with the Jewish community, the war, in his words, “reawakened” the Jew within him, and he felt compelled to act on it. He has since come to Chabad to put on tefillin for the first time in his life.
A Florida shliach reported that a man who only attends synagogue when he has a yahrzeit has begun attending Shabbat services every week. He explained that right after the Oct. 7 attack he resolved to put on tefillin each day. He then realized that he should recite the full prayers. On Shabbat, when he can’t put on tefillin, he decided to attend services. In fact, the sudden rise in demand for tefillin and mezuzah scrolls has led to a global shortage of the ritual items, which according to Jewish law must be handwritten by expert scribes.
In Georgia, a shliach tells of a woman who shared with him that she had not lit Shabbat candles in many years but had dug her candlesticks out of the closet and begun lighting them every week on Friday before sundown.
These are just a few examples of the many ways in which Jews are responding to the recent attack on their brethren in Israel, the war, and the subsequent explosion of antisemitism at home. The survey results strongly suggest that these events have sparked an awakening of the Jewish spirit, with people from all walks of life seeking ways to connect with their Jewish heritage and community.
Before and after the 1967 Six-Day War, the Rebbe noted that the tremendous groundswell of Jewish pride and feeling that was sweeping the Jewish people should not be left at that, but had to be channeled toward concrete action – Jewish practice in particular. At that time he launched his international tefillin campaign, to encourage Jewish men to pray each day with the sacred black leather boxes, to which he added the mezuzah campaign a few years later after the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
Chabad.org’s survey was conducted in conjunction with the International Kinus of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries. The Kinus is the largest gathering of rabbis in the world, and saw more than 6,500 shluchim and Jewish leaders come together in New York, November 9-12 this year. The Kinus provides a timely platform for these shluchim and Jewish leaders to discuss ways to channel this new-found inspiration to combat the global spike in antisemitism. Their shared experiences and insights will be invaluable resources for their colleagues as they seek to strengthen their communities and address the unprecedented challenges confronting the Jewish world.
