Ten-Year Goal to Save Am Yisrael: One million new Jewish families on the path to keeping Shabbat

I would like to congratulate Jewish Action for initiating this symposium to debate how best to respond to the historic times in which we are living. In free democracies like the United States, antisemitism—while dangerous and harmful—is not an existential threat. The greatest existential threat to Jews in the Diaspora is assimilation.

To address this, we need a strategic rethink. And now is the time to do it. The aftermath of October 7 is escalating the question young Jews are increasingly asking themselves: why be Jewish? If to be Jewish is to exist in a perpetual state of victimhood and isolation, is it worth the trouble? On the other hand, the same forces are evoking feelings of Jewish pride and defiance in the face of senseless hatred.

Perhaps we are thinking too broadly. We are trying to do too many things. The time has come to zero in on one clear goal—for only by doing so will we “make a dent in the universe,” as Steve Jobs once put it. I would like to propose that we redirect every resource we have—human, financial, institutional—toward spreading one mitzvah, a mitzvah that can be a gateway to a spiritual rebirth of a kind we have never seen before. That mitzvah is Shabbat.

Only Shabbat provides compelling answers to “why be Jewish.”

Shabbat is uniquely positioned to transform the Jewish world in four ways.

First, Shabbat is the ideological foundation of everything in Torah. Halachically, a person who does not keep Shabbat is considered to be outside the ideological fold of Jewish identity. Shabbat lays the foundation for belief in G-d and for the values of family, faith and community—the pillars of Jewish identity.

Second, Shabbat shapes the cultural fabric of Jewish life. When Jews observe Shabbat, it transforms their entire lifestyle—they live near a shul and become part of a community, and Shabbat itself becomes a weekly touchpoint for family and community.

Third, children who grow up in Shabbat-observant homes are far more likely—by orders of magnitude—to marry Jewish and stay loyal to Jewish values. Shabbat offers parents an opportunity to impart to their children an inspired Jewish identity—one they can be proud of and excited about. History has shown that, within a few generations, Jewish families without a deep connection to Shabbat assimilate altogether.

Fourth, Shabbat is the aspect of Torah we are most likely to succeed in spreading. More than any other mitzvah, Shabbat is the antidote to some of the greatest social ills modern society is grappling with: high levels of anxiety and discontent and families struggling to connect, distracted and overwhelmed by external stimulation, frenetic communication, and unprecedented professional and social demands.

So I would like to use this platform provided by Jewish Action to propose that the entire Jewish world—Israel and the Diaspora, and especially American Jewry—come together to set an audacious goal: in the next ten years, let’s usher one million new Jewish families on a journey toward keeping Shabbat every week.

Ask yourself this question: if in ten years from now one million new Jewish families were on the path to keeping Shabbat each week, how would that transform Am Yisrael? Everything would look different. In Israel it would unite and inspire a new generation with the meaning of building and defending a Jewish state surrounded by hostile nations.

In the Diaspora, it would stop assimilation in its tracks. Shabbat is the only thing strong enough to do that. To suggest to secular young Jews who do not keep Shabbat that they must not marry non-Jews sounds chauvinistic and irrational. If Judaism is just a quaint cultural heritage, a comfortable ethnic identity, then why shouldn’t they marry out? Only Shabbat provides compelling answers to “why be Jewish.” Only if you believe in Shabbat and all it stands for—faith in G-d and in our Divine mission and values—does it become clear that this is not the way. Only Shabbat has the power to reverse the current trajectory.

How do we achieve this audacious goal? I believe there is a way. And it starts by every leader, educator and organization, and indeed, every Jew, asking this simple question (to paraphrase JFK): What can I do for Shabbat? How can I help more Jews keep more Shabbat more often? If we all ask that question, come up with meaningful answers, and act on them, we can realize the dream of reaching one million Jewish families.

To illustrate the power of this approach, allow me to offer two examples drawn from my personal sphere of influence.

As chief rabbi of South Africa, with a vibrant community of over 50,000 Jews, I am working with our rabbis, shuls and Jewish schools on a bold new mission: to become the first national community since the Haskalah with a majority shomer Shabbat population. Currently, around 25 percent of the community are Shabbat-observant (among young families, that number rises to around 45 percent).

And as founder of The Shabbat Project, now entering its second decade, I am looking to establish a dedicated Center for Shabbat. The idea is for this new division of the Shabbat Project to work all year round to develop content, programs and training to support rabbis, activists, educators and organizations to inspire and empower more Jews to keep Shabbat. With eleven years of experience creating, designing and refining Shabbat content for all ages and backgrounds, the Shabbat Project is ready to invest in taking this mission to the next level and helping all who are on this journey.

As part of this Center, we are also planning to establish a think tank to research and map Shabbat observance and attitudes across the Jewish world through surveys and focus groups. This research will help deepen our understanding of Shabbat observance, guiding efforts to spread Shabbat throughout the world. It will also study the personal and societal benefits of Shabbat, finding innovative ways to showcase its importance and beauty globally, while collaborating with all levels of Israeli government and civil society.

If every role-player in the Jewish world asks him or herself, “what more can I do to spread Shabbat?” then together we can reach our ten-year target of one million new families on a path to keeping Shabbat, unleashing unimaginable Divine blessings for Klal Yisrael.

Together, we can create a bright new Jewish future, with Shabbat at its heart.

Rabbi Dr. Warren Goldstein is the chief rabbi of South Africa and the founder of the global Shabbat Project that took place in more than 1,500 cities across the globe on November 15–16, 2024. Rabbi Goldstein’s book, Shabbat—A Day to Create Yourself, is available in all formats and has been translated into Hebrew, French and Spanish.