A guest on Channel 14’s popular The Patriots show asked Yinon Magal: “Do you know what the hottest trend among Israeli youth is Israel is today? Shemirat Shabbat.”
“I have a friend whose 15-year-old son barely managed to read the Haftorah at his Bar Mitzvah. Now my friend told me that his son has been Shomer Shabbat for two months.”
“I’m talking about tens of thousands of teens. What happened is that an entire generation of Israelis has grown up ignorant—the educational system failed to provide them with any knowledge of Judaism. And then the October 7 massacre happened. And they saw all the hostages returning and speaking about Hashem. It’s affecting everyone!” the guest said.
The two then discussed former hostage Omer Shem-Tov, who was released from captivity on February 22, 2025. Since then, Shem Tov, who grew up in a secular home, often speaks publicly about how his emunah and tefillos sustained him in captivity and encourages his audience to connect to Hashem.
Magal aired a clip of Shem Tov speaking, saying, “Say thank you and Baruch Hashem. When you say ‘Baruch Hashem’ for everything that happens to you, Hashem will be with you—no matter what.”
(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)
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2 Responses
Baruch hashem. After seeing a Shabbos Massacre and the protection of those few places that had locked gates for Shabbos observance, it opened the eyes of many people into looking more into what Shabbos is about and how it’s observance is mandatory for any Jew. Unlike the wicked people who run the country and promote every possible thing that goes against the Torah, hopefully the Young Generation seeks a more educated approach to life and add some meaning to it
We can attribute a great deal to the Rimanov Rebbe Shlita Harav Chaim Eluzer Wassertheil, a true Manig Yisroel, a farsighted leader who has spent thousands of Dollars to bring the message of Shabboss observance to social media, billboards, and overpasses throughout Israel and the USA. With his 2 Shabbatot initiative in the last 30 months, with millions of views on posts in Hebrew and English
https://2shabbatot.org/home-english-hebrew-1
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61566443278410
https://forums.bhol.co.il/forums/topic.asp?cat_id=4&topic_id=3193563&forum_id=771