Last Friday morning, over 10,000 students from across North America gathered together over Zoom to hear divrei chizuk and divrei achdut, recite special tefilot and Tehillim, and sing “Acheinu” and “Hatikvah” in the merit of their brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisrael.

“COVID taught us that we can connect across time zones,” said Rabbi Maccabee Avishur, principal of Rae Kushner Yeshiva High School (RKYHS) in Livingston, who orchestrated this event that brought together over 45 Jewish high schools. He said to the students, “I don’t want you to think that is a small thing. There is nothing more powerful than the tefillot of young people. So harness that power today and let your tefillot shake the heavens.”

Rabbi Avishur called upon Rabbi Efrem Goldberg, mara d’atra of the Boca Raton Synagogue, who called the event an incredible expression of achdut. “As I look at my screen and I see the incredible union of this group of schools from across the country, I can’t help but feel it is the fulfillment of our prayers, of our tefilos … we ask Hashem for kibutz galuyos.”

He explained that kibbutz galuyos is usually considered as the in-gathering of the exiles with Jews from everywhere making their way to Israel, making aliyah. “But I want to share with you, dear students, my dear friends, wherever you are across this [continent], the kibutz galuyos in-gathering, connecting, coming together, is not only geographically … It means when thousands of young Jews are united with their hearts and their focus and their prayers on Israel.” He said that is a fulfillment of kibbutz galuyos. “You can’t tear us away from thinking about Israel right now. It’s all there in our lives … We are across the [continent], across the screen, we stand as one. We are united.”

Rabbi Goldberg spoke about how Avraham Avinu received the bracha that the Jewish people will be like the sands on the beach. His brother shared a beautiful idea with him. “He told me that when you take sand and apply heat you get one united piece of glass. A beautiful crystal. A beautiful vessel.”

He continued, “Alone, independent and apart, we are specks of sand. But apply heat to the Jewish people … put us under pressure, and we will unite like never before. That’s why we are here and that’s what this is. That’s what this means.”

Afterward, students from RKYHS, Los Angeles Yeshiva High School, Yeshivat Or Chaim, Toronto; Katz Yeshiva, Boca Raton; and Ida Crown Jewish Academy in Skokie, Illinois led recitations of Tehillim, Mi’sheberach L’Medinat Yisrael and L’Chayalim, and Tefilah L’Shvuyim.

Hallel Shoval, a RKYHS 10th grader said, “For me, coming here from Israel for a period of only two years, being on a Zoom with so many teenagers who care about the situation in Israel showed me how much we are all one family. This amazing achdut made me feel like I am part of something big. It was amazing to daven with 10,000 people for the safety of my country, which is such a big part of us. It gives me so much strength.”

Rabbi Avishur then called upon Rabbi Chaim Marcus, mara d’atra of Congregation Israel of Springfield, to deliver divrei achdut.

He told the students a story that took place during the first night of Chol Hamoed Sukkot at a DP camp in Germany, around six months after the liberation and end of World War II. “A group of Chasidim decided that they were going to sneak out and have a Simchas Beis Hashoeva in the forest … They were not allowed to be out past 9 p.m.. But they wanted to celebrate a Yom Tov in the way that they celebrated years earlier before the gehenom.” As the group of Chasidim neared the gate, another Jewish survivor in the camp approached them. This particular Jew was not observant and asked what they were doing. They told him that they were going to sing and dance in the forest to have a Simchas Beis Hashoeva once again. The non-observant Jew asked how they could do such a thing, but they simply implored him to let them be. They did this every night of Chol Hamoed and every night, this same person would stop and ask how they could do such a thing.

“On the night of Hoshana Rabba, a time of incredible joy and spiritual energy, they were once again getting ready to leave and go out into the forest and the non-observant Jew was there, protesting their leaving the camp,” continued Rabbi Marcus. Finally one of the Chasidim approached him and asked why it mattered to him. “He responded, ‘You know why it matters to me? Because not one of you asked me to go dance with you. We were all Jews enough to stand together on the lines at the roll call. We were Jews together to go march out to work together. We were all Jews together to go into the showers. Why didn’t one of you think about asking me to come dance and celebrate with you?’”

“What I want to point out is … that the greatest weapon the Jewish people have is prayer … but the greatest protection of the Jewish people is ahavas Yisrael. Achdus.”

He continued, “What we are seeing now in Eretz Yisrael is awesome. It’s beyond inspiring. The nonkosher restaurant in Tel Aviv kashering itself so that it can send kosher food to soldiers on the front lines … Or the Chasidim in a Beis Medrash in Mea She’arim tying tzitzis on the green begadim because the army is overwhelmed by the number of chayalim who have asked for tzitzis… The Jewish people have responded.”

Rabbi Marcus asked the students to work in an active way on their ahavat Yisrael. “We don’t all have to look the same way. We don’t have to have the same opinions. But understand that we are all mishpacha. We are all family.” He suggested that the students start learning one halacha a day from the Sefer Chafetz Chaim to work on lashon hara. “Because when you work on not speaking ill of others, you teach yourself how to look positively at others.”

Afterward, all the schools sang “Acheinu,” followed by “Hatikvah.” Indeed, as the students were singing, they could hear the other schools and as “Acheinu” finished the students kept on singing, not wanting to stop. The same thing happened with “Hatikvah,” where although the anthem had finished, the students wanted to keep up the singing with the rest of their peers across the continent. “Because we were all unmuted, it was a very powerful moment,” Rabbi Avishur said.

After Hatikvah, Rabbi Avishur said, “Ein K’Amcha Yisrael. There is nothing like the Jewish people.” In his closing thoughts he shared, “I spoke to my son this morning. He is in Israel spending Shana Bet in yeshiva and planning to draft to Tzahal this spring. I asked him if he had changed his mind and wanted to come home.” His son’s response? “Abba, I am home.”

“Israel is our home. Am Yisrael is our family. So thank you all for joining together today to pray and daven on behalf of our home and our family.”