by Carol Unger
If there is a silver lining to the cloud that has hung over our nation since October 7, it is the remarkable increase in faith and Shabbat observance.
Since the earliest days of our history, Shabbat observance has been a defining marker of Jewish identity. The term shomer Shabbat has long served as shorthand for a Torah-observant Jew, even finding its way onto tombstone epitaphs. In our times, when the majority of Jews have moved away from the traditional day of rest,
Shabbat-with its many intricate halakhot-remains one of the most challenging mitzvot to reclaim. And yet, in the wake of the tragic events of October 7, a growing number of Jews in Israel, especially hostages and hostage families as well as October 7 survivors, have embraced this foundational mitzvah.
Perhaps the best known of them is twenty-year-old former hostage Agam Berger who famously demonstrated an inner strength of Biblical proportions by resisting her captor’s demands to violate Shabbat. Berger’s journey to Shabbat did not start in a Gaza tunnel. It began in her suburban Tel Aviv home nearly a year before her abduction, when Agam’s beloved grandmother, Sima Rosenthal, suddenly passed away. “She had been my whole world," says Agam’s mother, Meirav. As a merit for her mother’s soul, Meirav decided to start keeping Shabbat.
Why Shabbat? Meirav, who lives in Holon, near Tel Aviv, attributes the decision to a book she read Lo Bikashti Lavo Laolam (I Didn’t Ask to Come to This World), a collection of thought-provoking articles based on the teachings of the well-known Chabad lecturer Rabbi Manis Friedman.[1] The book led Meirav to realize that the Creator has expectations of us, including observing Shabbat. “I decided I would keep Shabbat for a year," she recalls. During that first year, Meirav kept Shabbat mostly alone, sometimes joined by Agam and her twin sister, Li-Yam.
From the moment Agam was abducted from her army base in the Gaza Envelope on October 7, the rest of Meirav’s family joined her in keeping Shabbat. Meirav’s decision didn’t just transform her home-it inspired her neighbors to make the same commitment. For six weeks, she recited morning and evening prayers in Agam’s room until it occurred to her that a Torah scroll should be brought in.
“I put a sefer Torah in her room," Meirav recalls. “Eventually, I moved the Torah into the lobby of our building." Soon after, the neighbors began to gather there to pray together on Shabbat.
“Every Shabbat, seventy to eighty people-some of whom had never attended Shabbat services before-came together to pray, hear a devar Torah and share the third Shabbat meal," Meirav recalls.
Now that the scroll is housed in a synagogue, Meirav and her neighbors still hold a Friday night service together in the plaza outside of the family’s home.
From the moment Agam was abducted from her army base in the Gaza Envelope on October 7, the rest of Meirav’s family joined her in keeping Shabbat.
Meirav is far from alone in recognizing the power of Shabbat. “There is a trend. Many people took on Shabbat observance," she says.
Among them is Merav Daniel, from Kfar Saba, who began to keep Shabbat on October 7 after learning that her son Oz, a soldier stationed near Gaza, was missing. For 142 days, Merav and her family held out hope that he had been kidnapped rather than killed, until the army discovered his blood stains on a tactical vest and stretcher-both were buried in a funeral the Daniels held for their son. They learned that Oz was killed while fighting the terrorists on the first day of the war. As of this writing, they are still waiting for the return of his body. For Merav, Shabbat is the way she honors her son’s memory. “Shabbat is a holy day with great meaning. I feel a need to protect this day because it does something good for Oz’s soul," she says.
Meah She’arim-born Tzili Schneider is one of a small but dedicated group of kiruv workers who have supported these families almost from the moment their loved ones were taken captive.
A former teacher, mother of eleven and founder and CEO of the Jewish unity initiative Kesher Yehudi, Schneider first met the hostage families in the winter of 2023 when she visited the protest tent they pitched outside of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Jerusalem residence. “As a haredi woman, I thought I would be criticized," recalls Schneider. Instead, she was welcomed. After Schneider offered each of the mothers of hostages a hug, all of the women became teary-eyed. “I then pointed to their sign with the words ‘Bring them home now,’" she recalls. “‘Who can do this? Bibi?’ I asked.
At once, all fingers pointed Heavenward. ‘So let’s tell Him. Let’s do something that Hashem won’t be able to refuse.’" Schneider’s idea was to give the hostage families a chance to keep one Shabbat according to halakhah. A week later, thirty-eight members of hostage families gathered together at a Jerusalem hotel for that purpose. For many of them, this was the beginning of their journey into Shabbat observance.
Schneider has glowing memories of that Shabbat. “It was a Shabbat of pure holiness. The families didn’t skip a single prayer service," she recalls.
Since that time, Schneider and Kesher Yehudi have held many more such Shabbatot.
In the spring of 2024, Schneider had another dream. “I wanted the Nova survivors to keep Shabbat in the merit of the hostages," she recalls. When she shared the dream with one of her supporters, New York-based philanthropist Ralph Rieder, she got the green light to move forward.
By the time of this writing, the organization has held five Shabbatonim enabling Nova survivors to keep Shabbat in the merit of the hostages. Schneider says that miracles have ensued. “Sinwar was killed. Then, Nasrallah. The Nova survivors’ Shabbat makes an impression in Heaven."
Schneider says that 230 members of the hostage families and survivors have Torah study partners arranged via Kesher Yehudi and at least half a dozen formerly secular hostage families and thirty-five Nova survivors have become Shabbat observers. That has a tremendous ripple effect. “If one person starts to keep Shabbat, he can influence another ten people," says Schneider.
After a missile fell 200 meters from our warehouse, thirteen people approached us telling us they want to keep Shabbat.
That’s where V’Shamru comes in. Founded in the aftermath of the Meron tragedy in 2021 and dedicated to the memory of those who lost their lives, V’Shamru is committed to helping Jewish families embrace keeping Shabbat across Israel and around the world by providing “Shabbat kits." Over the past two years, especially since the outbreak of the Swords of Iron war, V’Shamru has helped more than 40,000 families start observing Shabbat. Designed to remove barriers to keeping Shabbat, each kit includes essential items such as a ceramic hot plate, electric kettle, Kiddush cup, Shabbat lamp and Shabbat timer as well as books that explain Shabbat. The Bnei Brak-based organization provides the kits at no cost.
Additionally, V’Shamru matches recipients with shomer Shabbat families in their communities for support and guidance. “We want them to have someone to speak with about halakhot and for help in getting ready," says Rabbi Avihai Darshan, who founded the organization together with the singer Avraham Ben Yisrael.
“Before the war, we distributed twenty to thirty kits each week," recalls Rabbi Darshan. Since the Gaza war started, that number has doubled, and when war broke out with Iran in June 2025, the numbers rose once again. “After a missile fell 200 meters from our warehouse, thirteen people approached us telling us they want to keep Shabbat," says Rabbi Darshan.
For those who are not used to keeping Shabbat, even with the right supplies, taking on Shabbat can be a formidable challenge.
Part of the challenge is FOMO (fear of missing out). “Shabbat is when all the best festivals take place," says twenty-nine-year-old Nova survivor Shira Cohen, from Ramat Gan, who took her first steps back after attending a Kesher Yehudi Shabbaton. Gradually, she moved along to full observance. Shira wants to help others, especially those who live in secular environments where keeping Shabbat can feel lonely. “I want to rent a large house. Then everyone who finds it hard to keep Shabbat alone can come to me."
On the same page is Tehila Dvir, an ADD coach from Tzefat who also took on Shabbat observance in the wake of October 7. In May 2025, Tehila posted a video on social media suggesting a gentle path into Shabbat, which has garnered more than 50,000 views. “You can introduce Shabbat slowly," she says. “There are ups and downs in the process. For example, you might watch a movie on the computer but not drive, or you can put up a hot plate and not cook," she says.
“Start with small things. Just think about one Shabbat, not about forever."
Having taken on the mitzvah of keeping Shabbat, Shira and Tehila are deeply devoted to observing the holy day each week-and have no regrets. “Shabbat," says Tehila, “is a present to my soul."
