Getting stronger, month by month

Sacha Feit of New Milford, 19, has spent his post-Frisch gap year in Jerusalem at a Torah and leadership program called EFG@Aish. In the fall, he will go to Washington University in St. Louis, where, for the first time in his educational career, he is likely to encounter antisemitism and  anti-Zionism.

He’s ready to respond to ignorant, hostile, or just plain curious questions about Israel due to his participation this year in the Nitzavim Fellowship, which prepares 100 Orthodox gap-year students for their upcoming secular college experience.

And he’s also got a $5,000 prize from Nitzavim on hand to help implement a program he and other Nitzavim fellows created with the aim of strengthening the Jewish community at Washington University.

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Nitzavim — the Hebrew plural for “standing up” — was founded in 2021 by Rabbi Adi Isaacs, the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and the 7 Schwartz Brothers Leadership Trust. It’s a partner of Masa Israel Journey, a program of the Jewish Agency and the Israeli government that provides “transformative experiences” in Israel for young Jewish adults in the Diaspora.

Under the directorship of Yehuda Benhamu and Naomi Fink, Nitzavim Fellows complete an accredited course at Hebrew University on Fridays, covering topics such as Jewish leadership on college campuses and combating antisemitism.

In addition to the monthly classes, the fellows form groups and work with a mentor to devise projects designed to create awareness and engagement for Israel and the Jewish people among Jewish college students of any or no affiliation. In May, the most promising six ideas are presented to judges at an Impact Project Showcase and Shark Tank competition.

This year’s judges — Yom Tov Ranaan, deputy director from the Ministry of Diaspora & Combating Anti-Semitism; Sacky Mitrani, chief development officer of Masa Israel Journey; Professor Ron Schor, Hebrew University academic head of program; and Jenni Riochton, program director of Jewish Life at the Walder Foundation  — awarded first prize to Mr. Feit’s group for Project Am Echad.

Am Echad aims to recruit Orthodox Jewish students at Washington University as free tutors and mentors to non-Orthodox Jewish middle- and high-school students in St. Louis. Mr. Feit’s partners in Am Echad are Skylar Margulies, from Woodmere, N.Y., and Ari Gordon from Atlanta. Conversations with local Jewish leaders convinced the three that this initiative could help strengthen the community in the face of rising antisemitism.

“We already have 15 tutors signed up, and we’re not even on campus yet,” Mr. Feit said.

The tutors, to be available mainly on Sundays, will not focus on Jewish topics. “It could be any subject — math, science, social studies,” he said. “We don’t want parents to have the impression we’re trying to influence them religiously. We are trying to build bridges between Jewish Wash U students and local Jewish students. We hope to do a trip or barbecue for all students and tutors at the end of the year.”

Mr. Feit, who plans to major in political science, is the son of Sarah and Yitzchaki Feit.

Winning the competition, he said, “feels amazing, as I see our hard work really pay off. The funding will help our project run smoothly and successfully. I am excited to see our project go into fruition and make an impact.”

Among the other Nitzavim Impact Project Showcase finalists was a foursome that included Jacob Zide of Teaneck, 19, another Frisch graduate. He’s finishing a gap year at Yeshivat Orayta and is registered to attend the University of Maryland in the fall.

His group plans to implement a project dubbed Traveling Havdalah at Maryland as well as Brandeis and SUNY Binghamton, all of which have large Jewish student populations. (Havdalah is a brief candlelit ritual marking the end of Shabbat and the start of a new week.)

“Once a month, we will do Havdalah at different locations around each campus to get people involved,” Mr. Zide said.

“At secular colleges, many Jews are unaffiliated and aren’t active in Hillel or Chabad. Especially after October 7, it’s easy to feel alone and isolated on campus. People might feel put off or bored by prayer, but Havdalah is quick and pretty chill. It could be done at any college campus and could grow to be a huge thing.”

Mr. Zide, the son of Amy and Stephen Zide, also expects that the Orthodox students who will lead the Havdalah ceremonies will benefit from the experience.

“I’ve heard that when you go to a secular college, it’s hard to stay religious at the same level you were before,” he said. “One of the best ways to stay active in the Jewish community is to take on a leadership role; it makes you accountable. Nitzavim helps you prepare for this. The classes are interesting and give you resources for next year. One of my favorite classes was about the different types of Jews we will find on campus — Reform, Conservative, and Reconstructionist. We are all Orthodox, so learning about this was very interesting.”

Nitzavim Fellowship operates under the larger umbrella of Jewish Year Abroad, an independent, privately funded nonprofit organization headed by Rabbi Isaacs. JYA also runs Thrive Study Abroad for Jewish semester-abroad college students at Hebrew University and Tel Aviv University; and manages Olami Herzliya at Reichman University.

Nitzavim Fellowship applications for the 2026/2027 school year, which are now being processed, are at Nitzavim.org.