A Jewish Revival in Peoplehood, Tradition, and Faith

9/22/2025

5785 has been a tumultuous year for the Jewish people. Antisemitism continues to explode in America and across the world. Israel is at war for its survival—both on the battlefield and in public opinion—and 48 hostages still languish in Gaza. By any metric, we are living in a historic time.

If you look at history, whenever Jews went through a rough patch, we always emerged stronger on the other side. We not only survived, but each challenge gave birth to a new facet of Jewish life.

The destruction of the First Jerusalem Temple by the Babylonians led to the creation of synagogues. Until then, Jewish worship was centered exclusively in the Temple. Houses of prayer were born as a result of its destruction.

The destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans led to the evolution of the Oral Torah, the writing of the Talmud, and the great works of Jewish scholarship and literature that remain the crown jewel of Jewish life today.

The Spanish Inquisition gave rise to the spread of Kabbalah, the Chmielnicki riots fueled the spread of Chassidism, and the aftermath of the Holocaust saw the birth of Israel and the flourishing of Jewish life in the United States.

What transformation will the Jewish world see today? When history looks back at these two years, what growth will it record as a result of this latest horror show?

It's up to us.

If we do it right, history will remember this era for a massive Jewish revival in the three core components of our Jewish identity:

1. Peoplehood

If the last two years have taught us anything, it’s that Jews are all one. We’ve wept for people we've never known, hoped for hostages we’ve never met, and rejoiced for families who live thousands of miles away.

We’ve also seen how much we need to be there for each other. We’ve learned that people we once considered allies will turn their back on us, we’ve witnessed governments reward terrorists for their barbarism, and we’ve experienced a frightening rise in antisemitism that reminds us that being Jewish is inseparable from who we are. We can’t run from it, and if we try, others are sure to remind us.

If there is a lesson in Jewish peoplehood from the last two years, it’s that we should cherish our Jewish identity, wear it proudly, never be ashamed, and always be there for each other—no matter what.

2. Tradition

We are blessed with beautiful and meaningful traditions: Shabbat, holidays, prayers, tzedakah, mezuzah, Torah study, and hundreds more. These traditions have formed our identity as Jews since Sinai, and they will continue to sustain us forever.

Sometimes, in the comfort and busyness of life, we can forget how vital these traditions are.

One of the repeated themes from former hostages is how many of them entered Gaza as non-practicing Jews, but in the depths of despair, they searched for meaning and found it in our cherished traditions. Omer Shem Tov began observing Shabbat as a hostage, and Keith Siegel recited the Shema Yisrael—the only Jewish prayer he could remember—every morning, despite not saying it since his Bar Mitzvah.

If we are learning a lesson from the past two years, let it be that we open our eyes to the beauty of our Torah and traditions and hold them dear.

3. Faith

In other religions, there is no peoplehood; it’s all religion. But because being Jewish means you are part of a family, a people, and something beyond faith and traditions, we can sometimes forget how important faith is to our identity.

In our great focus on Jewish peoplehood, we can forget that Judaism is first and foremost a faith.

Being a people is great. Keeping traditions is beautiful. But having faith in G‑d gives us a more peaceful and calm life.

Having faith in G‑d means we believe there is a higher power who runs the world, who does everything for a reason—even if we do not understand, and even if it is painful.

Faith is an anchor and the true antidote to loneliness.

Without faith, we are alone in this dark and often difficult world, paving our own path in a universe without inherent rhyme or reason. There is no reason because there is no Creator. Everything is by chance, and there is no meaning to anything. There is also no true right or wrong—everything is a social construct that can change as quickly as it started.

Having faith keeps us grounded. It means we are here for a reason. Our lives have a purpose. We are part of G‑d’s plan and are needed to play our role in his universe.

Someone once told me they are not a believer. I think that’s the wrong attitude. Nobody simply is or isn’t a believer. Having faith is a choice. We choose to believe.

People choose to believe because it's comforting to live a life in which one is never alone, it's meaningful to live a life infused with purpose, and it's rewarding to know that we are part of something bigger than our little selves.

“U’bacharta bachayim”—“Choose life,” Moses implores in last week’s parsha, speaking to the Jewish people in his final testament.

Speaking to the Israelites who already were a people, and a people who would soon be a nation with a land, he reminded them to not suffice with peoplehood and nationhood, but to choose faith!

As we turn the page into a new year, I wish for myself and for all of us a year filled with love for our people, devotion to our traditions, and faith that shines our path and brightens our lives.

When we do this, history will remember this era favorably, and it will be a true legacy for the lives taken from us—the only fitting response to these otherwise horrible years.

Shana Tova—to a sweet year of peoplehood, tradition, and faith!