Students Who Attend Public and Non-Jewish Private Schools are Increasingly Finding Meaning and Community in Shabbat Observance
From Hollywood to sports to the political sphere, Shabbat is enjoying a moment in popular culture, with personalities like actress Mayim Bialik, athlete Amar’e Stoudemire, political pundit Ben Shapiro, and former White House advisors Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump openly publicizing aspects of their observance.
Closer to home, October 7 hostages and their families kept Shabbat even in the face of tremendous risk and harrowing tragedy. Since the start of the Swords of Iron war, more than 40,000 Israelis have begun observing Shabbat, according to a recent Jewish Action article. Equally noteworthy is the growing number of Jewish teens drawn to Shabbat, embracing it with courage and independence, regardless of others’ opinions. Is the resurging interest in Shabbat a passing phase, or something more enduring?
Rabbi Derek Gormin is Managing Director of NCSY and the Jewish Student Union (JSU), a network of extra-curricular culture clubs for 20,000 North American Jewish students at nearly 500 public and non-Jewish private high schools. He says the growing interest in Shabbat reflects a rediscovery of something the Jewish soul has always known.
“We’re living in a time when the world feels overwhelming and loud,” says Rabbi Gormin. “People are searching for mindfulness, self-care, and a sense of grounded authenticity. Simultaneously, this moment in Jewish history is unlike any other. Our teens are navigating rising antisemitism at school, online, and in social environments. They are being pushed to confront their Jewish identity more openly than ever before. In that tension, they’re faced with a real choice: hide, or stand proud.”
Standing proud, Rabbi Gormin notes, leads to a deeper question: What does it mean to be a Jew?
“Shabbat answers that question through real experience,” he says. “It’s no surprise that many students are turning toward Shabbat, one of our oldest tools for personal peace, community, and presence.”
Rabbi Gormin clarifies that the term “taking on Shabbat” means very different things to different people. “For some, it’s about fully abstaining from all 39 melachot; for others, it’s lighting candles, making kiddush, possibly unplugging for a few hours, or simply feeling more connected to Shabbat than before.”
The latter was the case for Rebecca Viknyanskiy, a senior at Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, New York, where she has served as the JSU president for the past three years.
“What inspired me to attempt to keep Shabbat was the connection I felt after my first full Shabbat experience on a JSU Shabbaton last May,” she says. “I don’t know Hebrew, I never lit candles, but there was something so wholesome that I really connected with. It was like a fire ignited in me.”
Despite the challenges of keeping Shabbat on her own at home, Rebecca lights candles when she can, and limits both her technology use and her plans, around Shabbat.
“I’m keeping it gradually now, but I plan on taking it on as much as I can once I go away to college,” she says. “I’ve been researching about Jewish life at the schools I’m considering, and I want to be as much a part of the Jewish community as possible.”
Another high school senior, Jack Worob, was motivated to start observing Shabbat after reading Bari Weiss’ book, How to Fight Anti-Semitism, prior to his Bar Mitzvah.
“Weiss said one of the strongest ways to combat antisemitism is to strengthen your connection to your culture and heritage, by having a Friday night dinner, for example,” says Jack, who has served as Brooklyn Latin School’s JSU co-president for the past two years, and is a JSU regional executive board member. “My uncle and aunt are frum, and I’d already experienced Shabbat dinner and felt it was doable. I thought, I can light the candles, say kiddush and hamotzi.”
With his parents’ support, he bought challah and grape juice weekly for Shabbat, which he felt was a meaningful first step. Slowly, the family accumulated a challah cover and kiddush cup, which Jack says made Shabbat feel more special and authentic. After October 7, he and his mom started attending shul regularly on Shabbat morning.
“It was an Orthodox shul and I felt a bit intimidated,” Jack recalls. “I didn’t know what to expect or whether I’d fit in. I didn’t know any of the davening. But it was a very welcoming community, and they really accepted us where we were at and encouraged us to come back. I was inspired to take on additional mitzvot from there.”
In the summer of 2024, Jack became fully Shomer Shabbat, walking to shul and back — an hour each way.
“I’ve grown a lot since then, but that was really the decisive point in starting to complete that transition,” Jack recalls. “One of the ways I connect more with Shabbat, is, as we say in Havdalah, by making it feel distinct. I try to reflect inwardly and to refrain from planning or discussing things related to chol. Outwardly, I’ll wear nicer clothes, put a white tablecloth on the table, and use nicer plates to honor the day.”
Jack says a weekly highlight is preparing Shabbat meals with his mother.
“Generally, Shabbat has brought my family together in ways we didn’t have before,” he says. “Now we have hours-long conversations that I would never have if I were not keeping Shabbat.”
As a novel experience for many adolescents, Rabbi Gormin believes that JSU Shabbatons are profoundly meaningful.
“For many teens, this is their first family-style Shabbat meal, sitting around a table where people look them in the eye, listen and laugh with them, and celebrate their presence. Students begin to experience Shabbat as something uplifting, grounding, and deeply authentic,” he says. “Once that spark is lit, next steps happen naturally. Because Shabbat feels good. It feels real, like coming home.”
While Rebecca’s and Jack’s friends have largely responded positively to their growing religious observance, others are puzzled by it.
“My JSU friends understand my decision and agree that keeping Shabbat is both meaningful and fun,” Rebecca says. “On the flip side, certain friends are completely weirded out by it.”
While Jack’s peers needed time to process his new way of life, he says their questions were born of genuine curiosity.
“They wanted to learn more,” he reflects. “Over the past year, I’ve seen a marked change in how they think and go about planning activities around my availability. I’m seeing a lot more awareness and sensitivity around my lifestyle.”
At a stage when socializing is paramount, one might assume that giving up phone use for 25 hours would be one of the greatest challenges teens face when becoming Shomer Shabbat. Yet despite the potential to experience FOMO (fear of missing out), both Rebecca and Jack welcome the opportunity to unplug.
“What I lose by putting my phone away on Shabbat is more than replaced by a different but deeply powerful connection — with my shul, Klal Yisrael, and the people I share Shabbat with,” says Jack. “As I get more connected to Jewish communities, and as this becomes more a part of my lifestyle and identity, I feel FOMO less and less. The quiet, the peace, taking in the yom menucha energy, and experiencing the kedushat hayom is really an incredible experience.”
Rebecca adds, “I know I’ll find many missed messages after Shabbat. But I also know I’m going to feel so rejuvenated after being away from my chaotic social life. I don’t have FOMO, because I know the Shabbat experience is so much more meaningful and better for my well-being. When you take a step back and spend the day surrounded by people you love, and experience things beyond a screen, there’s a sense of belonging and connection that I have never previously experienced. It’s such a beautiful feeling and I can’t wait to replicate it every week.
Reflecting on Rebecca and Jack’s commitment and determination, Rabbi Gormin is inspired.
“These teens are growing up in a world where phones never turn off, where social pressure is nonstop, and where being Jewish can sometimes feel risky or dangerous. For a young person today to say, ‘I’m choosing Shabbat,’ even gradually, is an act of tremendous courage and Jewish pride. This moment in history is challenging, and yet I have never been more hopeful. Our teens are choosing growth. They are choosing depth. They are choosing their heritage.”