Nine months after Hamas attack, spirituality and faith flourish in Israel

On October 7, thousands of Hamas terrorists entered Israel and carried out the worst massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. The incident had a profound impact on Israeli society, shaking public confidence in the government, the Israel Defense Forces and even the country’s economy. Many Israelis lost loved ones and were traumatized.

Nine months on, both statistics and anecdotal evidence suggest that many Israelis are turning to faith, seeking spiritual solace to cope with the immense grief and anxiety following the attacks.

“You see people’s Jewish identity getting stronger and stronger,” Eitiel Goldwich, education director at Jewish aid group Aish, told The Media Line. He said many members of the southern kibbutz actively sought peace with Palestinians in Gaza and even transported sick Gaza residents to Israeli hospitals for treatment. Later, those same people entered Israel and killed their friends and loved ones. As the world turned against Israel, including the rise of anti-Semitism, people reevaluated their Jewish identity and felt more connected to their traditions.

Goldwich said thousands of secular soldiers requested tzitzit, or ritual tassels, to wear under their uniforms in combat “like a spiritual protection vest.” Some also asked for tefillin, or prayer bags.

Then, after the Forum for Hostages and Missing Families reached out to Aish in March, the organization led a day of prayer and solidarity centered at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, which some 5 million Jews from around the world participated in. Goldwich said the forum came to Aish because, while it has financial, political and emotional support, it needs religious or spiritual help.

“Many of the Jews who came to pray that day don’t pray every day,” Goldwich emphasized, “but they thought it was important to take action. It means the prayer is alive.”

Statistically, Aish.com’s live web chat service, which allows anyone to chat directly with one of the organization’s rabbis, reported a 300% increase in usage in June since last fall. The organization says it gets more than 5,000 chat responses each month, which equates to 225 per day.

“We hear from many Jews who feel deeply isolated because they live in areas with few Jewish communities or because they had no connections during their childhood,” Rabbi Zvi Broker, who oversees Aish.com’s live chats, said in a statement. “The personal nature of these interactions, combined with anonymity, creates a safe space to ask questions and begin to explore. The ability to connect and share with a live rabbi is appealing to many, and we’ve seen lives transformed as a result.”

Several recent opinion polls have also addressed this issue, including one published in February 2024 by the Jerusalem Post. The survey, conducted by Dr. Menachem Lazar of Lazar Research in collaboration with Panel4All.co.il, revealed that one-third of Israelis (33%), especially those aged 18-29, have strengthened their faith in God since October 7.

Only 8% of people surveyed said their faith had weakened.

The survey also found that Israelis are acting on their newfound faith: 63 percent said they were praying more, 59 percent said they were talking to God more, and 45 percent said they were reading the psalms more often.

A few months earlier, in December, the Israel Democracy Institute think tank surveyed respondents about whether they felt closer or farther from religion since October 7. Nearly a third (34%) said they felt a lot closer or a little closer to religion since the war.

Surprisingly, even the Messianic Jewish organization Jews for Jesus reported a surge in interest from Israelis after the Hamas attacks. Executive Director Aaron Abramson told The Media Line that requests for New Testaments increased 43 percent in the six months since October 7. In the first three months, monthly requests jumped from 100-120 to 600. Requests have since decreased, but are still higher than before, and now average about 430 a month.

“I think there’s a growing number of seekers throughout the Messianic community, Jews who want to understand more about some of the things that are going on around them,” Abramson said. “They’re reaching out to us and other Messianic groups looking for answers.”

He said the situation is not so different from what the organization has experienced in Ukraine, where “openness to spiritual topics and discussions” has increased dramatically since the start of the war with Russia. “When people face a crisis or the situation looks bleak, they become more positive and start looking for solutions that go beyond their own humanitarian solutions.”

Professor Benjamin Porat, a senior research fellow in the Religion and State Program at the Israel Democracy Institute, told The Media Line that after the Holocaust, Jews faced a similar dilemma, struggling with how to maintain their faith after such a devastating blow.

After the Holocaust, some said, if such evil happens and there is no God watching, why is it worth continuing to have faith, Porat explained. Others realized that the only way to survive such a tragedy was through faith and belief in God. After Oct. 7, he expects to see a similar pattern: “Some people’s faith will be shattered and some people’s faith will be strengthened.”

Porat, a person of faith himself, noted that those who turn away from faith after such tragedies often have a “shallow” connection, believing their faith will protect them from harm and turning away when that doesn’t happen. In contrast, those with a deeper understanding use their faith as a source of optimism. They understand that despite the current darkness, humanity is created in God’s image and that there is hope for correction and healing in the face of evil.

“Religion gives hope, but it doesn’t give easy answers to all our problems,” Porat said.

Meanwhile, from a secular perspective, the aftermath of the October 7 attacks has raised deep questions, he added. He said the focus has shifted entirely to non-theist humans. The real challenge, therefore, is not to ask where God was during the genocide, but rather where humanity was.

He said that when secular Israelis witnessed the brutal events of October 7, marked by indiscriminate killings, rapes and burnings, many were forced to painfully reconsider their belief in human potential and decency.

But Porat said it was too early to know what Israel’s ultimate answer would be, especially with the war still ongoing and hostages remaining in Gaza.

“We can’t yet think clearly about the outcome,” Porat concluded. “This is just the beginning. It will take a long time to understand what has happened.”