The October 8th Jew
October 7 changed more than Israel's sense of security. It awakened profound questions of identity, faith, belonging and purpose among Israelis who had never seriously asked them before.
Mevakshei Panecha was founded as a direct response to that awakening.
In Ma'alot, young Israelis are finding a Jewish home where they can encounter Torah, community and their own identity seriously, personally and without pressure.
U.S. tax-deductible giving available through Chai Charity.
What October 7 Revealed About the Soul of Israel
Rabbi Avichai Epstein speaks with Israel Now News about the spiritual awakening taking place among young Israelis since October 7 — and the response growing through Mevakshei Panecha.
Go Deeper Into the Story
What War Taught Me About the Soul of Israel
Reflections from repeated IDF reserve duty on soldiers, Shabbat, faith, and the deeper questions awakened by war.
What the War Revealed About the Soul of Israel
Reflections from more than 600 days as an IDF Brigade Rabbi on faith, responsibility, Jewish identity, and the spiritual questions awakened in Israel since October 7.
Something Is Moving Inside Israel
For generations, friends of Israel have stood beside the Jewish people as we returned to our ancient homeland.
Today, another kind of return is unfolding within Israel itself.
Soldiers and civilians who once experienced Judaism mainly as heritage, family or national identity are beginning to ask deeper questions.
Why are we fighting?
What connects us to the generations that came before us?
What is the Jewish story we are defending?
October 7 did not suddenly make every Israeli religious. Nor do we believe every search must end in exactly the same place.
But something unmistakable has opened: a new willingness to ask.
The Search Is Taking Different Forms
Questions Becoming a Journey
Young Israelis who once felt far from Jewish learning are beginning to seek Torah, Shabbat, prayer, faith and a deeper understanding of their heritage.
Sacrifice Becoming Identity
Defending Israel has caused many soldiers to ask how personal courage connects them to the history, destiny and responsibility of the Jewish people.
Isolation Becoming Belonging
Many are looking for a community in which honest questions are welcomed, relationships are real and spiritual growth can unfold at a human pace.
This Is Already Becoming a Living Community
From Survival to Building a Jewish Home
Nehorai survived the Nova massacre.
What followed was not a sudden or simple transformation, but a serious search for meaning, Torah, belonging and a way forward.
Mevakshei Panecha became part of that journey.
Today, Nehorai is married and building a Jewish home.
Faith, Service and Jewish Identity in Wartime
A Hebrew-language feature with English subtitles exploring Rabbi Avichai Epstein’s work as an IDF brigade rabbi during the war.
Hebrew interview with English subtitles
A Jewish Home for the Search
Mevakshei Panecha was created after October 7 because we realized that a new kind of Jewish searching needed a home capable of receiving it.
We do not begin by demanding that a person change his appearance, lifestyle or identity.
We begin by learning the person: his story, his questions, what brought him through the door, and what he is actually seeking.
Serious Torah Learning
Tanach, Talmud, Jewish thought, faith and halachah are encountered seriously, as living sources of wisdom and identity.
Personal Guidance
Regular one-on-one conversations with rabbis who know each student personally and remain present over time.
A Living Jewish Community
Shabbat, meals, prayer, music, friendship, celebration and everyday life make Judaism something lived, not merely discussed.
Freedom to Ask
Faith, doubt, suffering, identity and life itself can be discussed openly without fear of judgment or hidden deadlines.
Relationships Are the Heart of Mevakshei Panecha
Rabbi Noam Oster
Rabbi Noam has more than a decade of experience connecting Israelis with little previous connection to traditional Jewish life to Jewish identity in a warm, serious and welcoming way.
Trained as a combat soldier in the IDF's Kfir Brigade, he later served for five years as rabbi of Tal-El, a largely non-religious community in Northern Israel.
He has led Mevakshei Panecha from its founding and remains at the heart of its educational culture, personal relationships and sense of home.
Rabbi Avichai Epstein
Rabbi Avichai serves as an IDF reserve brigade rabbi and has spent more than 600 days in reserve service during the war.
Throughout the fighting, he repeatedly encountered Israelis willing to risk everything for the Jewish people while asking, sometimes for the first time, what that Jewish story actually means.
Today he shares this emerging story with communities and friends of Israel around the world and builds partnerships around the next stage of the work.
Israel Needs More Than Secure Borders
Israel's physical security and its spiritual resilience cannot be completely separated.
A generation that has sacrificed so much deserves the opportunity to understand the identity, history and purpose for which it is standing.
Friends of Israel around the world have already stood beside Israel militarily, politically and materially.
There is another rebuilding taking place as well: the rebuilding of Jewish identity, belonging and meaning.
A Clear Jewish Mission
Mevakshei Panecha is an Israeli Jewish educational initiative, led by rabbis and dedicated to strengthening Torah, Jewish identity, belonging and spiritual resilience among young Jews in Israel.
We deeply value the friendship of people around the world who wish to stand with the Jewish people and support this work with full respect for its Jewish character, leadership and mission.
Help Us Be There When the Questions Open
More young Israelis are finding their way to Mevakshei Panecha than our present team can personally accompany.
Your partnership helps provide more rabbinic time, personal mentorship, Shabbat hospitality, serious Jewish learning and the institutional strength needed to receive this growing search.
U.S. tax-deductible donations can now be made directly through Chai Charity.
Want to learn more about Mevakshei Panecha itself? Visit our full International page →