I first heard about last weekend’s massacres in Israel while in synagogue. While walking home, I grappled with what and how I should share this devastating news with our daughters. Should I reveal the extent of what happened? Or shield them from the brutal and heart wrenching details?

In the end, I shared some of the news without getting into too many specifics. Later, I sat our three older daughters down and explained more about the attacks. Though I still had to censor myself somewhat, it was important to me that our girls recognize and understand the gravity of the situation and feel deep sadness in their hearts for the lives that were lost.

But it’s more than that. I wanted my kids to feel being Jewish. To feel connected to their Judaism in a more meaningful way than eating a bagel every now and then or spinning a dreidel on Hanukkah. For that to happen, our kids need emotional skin in the game. I want them to share in the collective pain that our Jewish brothers and sisters around the world are feeling.

Our tradition refers to the Jewish People as “one person with one heart.” Historically, whenever Jews in one country were suffering, Jews worldwide felt that pain as their own. When you break one bone, your whole body hurts. While painful, this sense of shared suffering and compassion has kept us united, and ironically has been one of the keys to Jewish survival.

The same is happening today. This horrific time has also been a wake up call, specifically for young Jews here in the United States. For a long time, the older generation has been perplexed by the younger generation’s lack of involvement and feeling of inherent connection to Judaism and Israel. We throw them feel-good Judaism and free trips to Israel on a silver platter, so why are they still opting out?

I believe this is about to change. Even the most secular, uninvolved grad students–who haven’t really done anything Jewish since their bar/bat mitzvah–have reached out to our organization this past week. To express grief, to ask how they can help, but mainly just to connect to someone and something Jewish.

I think they are reaching out because for the first time in their lives, not only are they Jewish; they feel Jewish. For the first time, they have emotional skin in the game. They are facing real antisemitism from peers and former friends. They are feeling nervous about the safety of Jewish communities around the world. But mostly, they saw the atrocities inflicted on young people a lot like them for the crime of being Jewish. They felt our collective pain, and now they need help navigating forward.

A Jewish pride is awakening in our young people that hasn’t been seen before in our lifetime. As one nation with one heart, we need to seize this moment to provide young Jews the chance to reclaim their place within the collective destiny of the Jewish People.

JGO is working day and night to support our Jewish grads, to protect them, to educate them, inspire them, but most of all – to just get them to Feel Jewish.

Thanks for being part of this amazing community and helping us make it happen.