How a Gap Year in Israel Can Change a Life

For many young, secular American Jews, there is only one option after high school: to go to a good college.

“When it comes to non-frum Jews, almost all of them will end up on secular college campuses, where their chances of Jewish survival are slim,” says Rabbi Menachem Deutsch. “But if they go to yeshivah or seminary during a gap year, their chances of assimilation are close to zero.”

Rabbi Deutsch talks from experience; he is the CEO of Olami Launch, an initiative founded in 2021 that helps bring public high school graduates to Israel for their gap year, where they can learn about Judaism and continue their Jewish journey.

“Every passing year, young people are less and less connected to anyone who was traditionally Jewish,” he says. “Many Jewish kids today don’t have grandparents who made a Passover seder. But on the other hand, they are less grounded in life, so Yiddishkeit has more to offer.”

Partnering with NCSY, Olami Launch recruits eleventh and twelfth graders from hundreds of public schools across the United States and Canada who are interested in becoming more connected to their Judaism.

Through its Fellowship Program, Olami Launch offers high-level leadership training, a weekend Destination Retreat and a trip to Israel for exceptional high school seniors where they visit gap-year programs while fostering a deeper connection to the Jewish homeland. “They will walk out of the program trained to be a Jewish leader,” says Rabbi Yehoshua Marchuck, executive director of NCSY Alumni.

Olami Launch also provides informational assistance, guidance and significant financial aid towards select gap year experiences in Israel.

High school graduates spending their gap year in Israel. Courtesy of Olami Launch

Some of those selected for the Fellowship spend their gap year in Israel, and some choose to stay on for longer. Currently, there are close to 200 Olami Launch fellows in Israel.

“We lost about 25 percent when the war started because they went home,” Rabbi Deutsch says. “But this year, the number of students interested in our program didn’t go down, which is really gratifying and surprising to us. We would have had more kids than last year, if not for October 7.”

Right now, getting students to Israel can prove to be a challenge because of the situation on the ground. According to Rabbi Micah Greenland, international director of NCSY, the group’s leaders are having conversations with worried parents and showing them how life is still going on in Israel.

“I’ve been to Israel multiple times since October 7, and we ran summer programs for over one thousand participants in the country,” said Rabbi Greenland. “It’s a very powerful time to be in Israel. Once we’ve had a conversation with the parents, they’re already giving it meaningful consideration. That’s a really positive thing.”

Teens who spend their gap year in a program in Israel are materially different than teens who don’t.

With the rising antisemitism in public and private schools around North America, more and more Jewish students are participating in JSU clubs overseen by NCSY, and some eventually join Olami Launch.

“They are looking for that sense of solidarity,” Rabbi Greenland says. “We are thrilled to be on the receiving end of that demand to provide a program and a sense of belonging.” Although getting selected to be a Fellow is not easy. “These are the crème de la crème of the public school students,” says Rabbi Marchuck.

Working with Olami Launch, says Rabbi Jonah Lerner, NCSY regional director, Atlantic Seaboard, has been a “game changer.” In years past, NCSY would have one-on-one conversations with teens about going to Israel. Olami Launch, however, creates a social atmosphere where teens go to Israel together as part of a social group or a fellowship. “The ability to talk with a group of teens about spending a gap year in Israel is groundbreaking,” he says. “Teens are social, they crave social interactions.”

The students who end up being interested in Olami Launch are self-selecting—they are already curious about their Judaism and want to learn more.

“They love meeting like-minded teens and deepening their relationship with Jewish life,” Rabbi Greenland says. “The students have been, by and large, happy and gratified with their experience.”

That is certainly true for Malka Michelle Simkin, who joined Olami Launch the first year it started. She had a rough childhood; she was in the foster care system and didn’t have much stability at home.

High school graduates spending their gap year in Israel. Courtesy of Olami Launch

Once she joined the Fellowship, where she met with other students and leaders, went to fun activities like zip-lining and axe throwing, and learned about her Jewish roots, she found it to be “such a warm environment,” she said. “[When I got to] my first class [in Israel], I loved it. I’m growing so much on the inside and working on my values and goals in life, and my strengths and weaknesses.”

Simkin, who took on the Hebrew name Malka, said she now wants to live a frum life.

“I want to give my children the education I didn’t have. I want to put them in a religious school, be a teacher and inspire the future of Klal Yisrael.”

For Simkin and other Olami Launch participants, the program is lifechanging. It provides them with a deep and fulfilling connection to their Judaism, as well as a clear path—which means everything to these young adults. “Teens who spend their gap year in a program in Israel are materially different than teens who don’t,” says Rabbi Lerner.

“They don’t have a coherent world to live in, and Judaism gives them it,” says Rabbi Deutsch. “Family structure is crumbling, basic optimism about life is down, happiness is down. Yiddishkeit gives them a stable and meaningful world to live in.”

Kylie Ora Lobell is an award-winning writer and president of KOL Digital Marketing, where she does publicity and marketing for Jewish businesses, non-profits, authors and influencers.