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Dear Friends and Supporters,
Last week, I went to Montreal to visit my mother and the cemetery where my father is buried. There is a beautiful Jewish custom, especially as we approach the High Holidays, to visit the graves of our loved ones. For me, it is always a moment to recentre. I stand at my father’s (a"h) grave and, in a sense, I give him a report. I tell him how the children are doing, how the grandchildren are growing, and about so many of the beautiful things happening in our family. And as I speak, I realize how much of what we are building today began with him and with those who came before us.
The Torah says: “זְכֹר יְמוֹת עוֹלָם, בִּינוּ שְׁנוֹת דֹּר וָדֹר” “Remember the days of old; understand the years of generation after generation.” (Devarim 32:7) Sometimes we become so consumed with the details of today that we forget: we came from somewhere. We are carrying lessons, values, sacrifices, and dreams that were handed to us by parents, grandparents, teachers, and so many others who helped shape who we are.
Visiting the cemetery is not only about memory. Judaism teaches us that a person is so much more than a body. The body has limits, but the neshama, the soul, does not. When we visit those who came before us, we are not simply remembering someone who once was. We are recognizing that so much of them is still alive in us, in our children, in our choices, and in the way we live our lives. Maybe that is why this custom is so meaningful before Rosh Hashanah. We go back to those who helped form us, and then we turn inward and ask: What am I doing with everything they gave me? What values have I carried forward?
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In the morning prayers we say, “Elokai, neshama shenatata bi, tehora hi”, “My God, the soul You placed within me is pure.” That is such a powerful Jewish idea. Beneath all the mistakes, distractions, pressures, and imperfections, there is still a pure soul inside each of us. A soul connected to Hashem. A soul that is constantly calling to us: There is more to you. You can learn more. You can do another mitzvah. You can become better. You can live with greater purpose.
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In a way, that is the journey of life. We begin as a neshama placed into a physical body, and then we spend a lifetime trying to reconnect with that neshama, to hear it through all the noise and allow it to guide the way we live. We spend so much of the year taking care of the outside. The High Holidays ask us to look inside. To remember where we came from. To remember who we really are. And to ask ourselves who we still have the potential to become.
With gratitude,
Rabbi Glenn Black
CEO, NCSY Canada
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A new Jewish People Policy Institute (JPPI) survey suggests that Jewish practice is becoming more visible among nonreligious Israeli teens, but the shift is far from universal. While 46% said their friends are observing more Jewish traditions, the increase is concentrated largely among teens who already came from somewhat traditional homes. Among those identifying as completely secular, just 4% reported observing more, while 35% said they now observe less.
Rather than a broad religious revival, the findings point to a widening divide in Jewish connection. Teens with an existing foundation appear more likely to deepen it, while the most secular are moving further away, underscoring how important early experiences, relationships, and meaningful access to Judaism can become as young people shape their identities.
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Toronto student Daniel Friedman arrived in Jerusalem unsure whether yeshiva was a place for someone like him. With help from Rachelli Krongold, NCSY’s Director of Impact and an Olami Launch Gap Year Specialist, he explored the opportunity, eventually choosing a year at Aish that transformed how he understood Torah, Jewish life, and his own identity. Along the way, he also built an online audience of more than 6,000 followers sharing what he was learning.
Daniel’s story shows what can happen when a teen is given the right invitation at the right moment. What began as uncertainty became a deeper Jewish life and, unexpectedly, a desire to share that growth with thousands of other young Jews. Sometimes opening one door for one teen can create an impact that travels far beyond them.
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Saudi Arabia has removed virtually all antisemitic material from its school curriculum, according to a review of 136 textbooks by IMPACT-se. Material portraying Jews negatively or Zionism as inherently racist has been removed, while newer textbooks increasingly promote peace, tolerance, coexistence, and more positive portrayals of religious minorities.
The significance extends well beyond rewritten textbooks. In a country that still does not formally recognize Israel, changing how millions of young Saudis learn about Jews and Israel could help reshape attitudes that were reinforced in classrooms for generations, and potentially lay cultural groundwork for a very different relationship in the years ahead.
| | NCSY Alumni Rally To Help David Cairns Reach Yeshiva In Israel | | |
David Cairns’ journey began with NCSY's TJJ (The Jerusalem Journey), thanks in large part to Rabbi Shlomo Mandel. Now, after an incredible summer, he has taken his next major step: yeshiva in Israel. Along the way, four anonymous NCSY alumni stepped forward to help fund his journey, joining the support of TJJ Bus 2 staff, Directors Leah and Manny Callan, and Rachelli Krongold, NCSY’s Director of Impact.
That alumni response is what makes David’s story especially powerful. Teens who were once on their own NCSY journeys are now helping create opportunities for the next generation. It is a clear example of how NCSY impact can come full circle, with relationships and experiences built years earlier becoming the support that helps another teen take a life-changing step.
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The Israeli government and Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) are partnering on a $66.7 million initiative to expand Jewish day-school education in the United States and Canada. Israel approved NIS 100 million in government funding, to be matched by philanthropy, with the money targeting barriers including tuition, limited access, learning supports, and educational quality.
The goal is not simply to support students already enrolled, but to bring significantly more Jewish children into Jewish education. At a time when most non-Orthodox Jewish families still do not choose day schools, the initiative treats education as a long-term investment in identity, belonging, resilience, and Jewish continuity.
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