With a name like INEXTG, it sounds like a hi-tech device, but it is the acronym for something far more down-to-earth and substantial, the US-based nonprofit Israel’s Next Generation. INEXTG supports the development of a positive Jewish identity among Jewish youth.
For over 15 years, Bracha Shilat and her husband, Rabbi Moshe Shilat, have been working to improve Jewish identity among Israeli youth during three critical periods in their lives: the impressionable teens between the ages of 13 and 17; the complex and challenging years of IDF service; and the college and university years. To that end, they have created three organizations in Israel – CTeen for teenagers; Machaneh Meshutaf (Shared Camp) for those in their IDF service; and Chabad on Campus – all supported by INEXTG.
“The purpose of our work is not to make people observant,” says Rabbi Shilat. “We are here to provide an authentic view of Judaism that is enlightening and strengthens the common denominator that connects us all, to provide values with love, and to help the next generation decide that their lives are connected and rooted in Judaism.”
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The Shilats, who live in Kfar Chabad, first became involved in Jewish education as the founders of IDF Core. They organized a series of 10 meetings in which young rabbis from hesder yeshiva programs (that combine Talmudic studies and IDF service) met with IDF soldiers to discuss topics of Jewish interest.
IDF Core is available to male and female IDF soldiers. Bracha developed the women’s program. “The purpose of IDF Core,” Rabbi Shilat explains, “is to strengthen a sense of shared Jewish identity and Jewish values among the soldiers in the IDF, regardless of their background.”
Every week, the organization operates Shabbat programs at IDF bases throughout the country. Bracha recalls how on the fateful Shabbat of Oct. 7, IDF Core was running programs at more than 10 bases. One of the bases staffed by IDF Core on that Shabbat was Zikim, where Hamas terrorists attacked.
Michal Elon, a lecturer in one of the programs and registered nurse, was there on that dark day, and she helped save several wounded soldiers. Elon was seriously wounded by the terrorists and is recovering. IDF Core is not a Chabad program, and the educators come from all streams of Orthodoxy.
“From IDF Core, we realized the program’s potential for students in their pre-army years, as well as their post-army years,” Rabbi Shilat says. Ten years ago, the couple founded two new programs in Israel – CTeen and Chabad on Campus – which also exist in the United States.
“We are here to strengthen Jewish identity,” Bracha states, “and we do it in very up-to-date and contemporary ways, suited for youth.” On the day that the Shilats spoke to the Post, over 1,000 teens were spending the day in Superland on a summer CTeen program. “The visit is mixed with positive content and includes dinner and a short Torah lecture,” Rabbi Shilat explains.
“We want to be their friends – not just their rabbis,” he says, “and we want to show them that the Torah is a living Torah – that it is much more than a source of receiving religious instruction. One of the most notable things about our program is the volunteering and the intergenerational connection, in which young people – youth in CTeen, as well as college students – visit the elderly, prepare and serve them hot meals, and become their friends.
Rabbi Shilat adds that CTeen and Chabad on Campus help teens and students grapple with existential issues.“Hatzalah and Zaka deal with the body, but we work with the spirit of our national life: ‘Why are we in Israel? What is our future? Why are we fighting? Why am I a Jew? And what does that mean for me?’
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“These are the questions that Israeli youth are asking now, and our job is to try to provide the answers,” he says, adding that these questions have assumed critical importance since Oct. 7. Bracha adds that official educational resources in Israel do not provide a wealth of Jewish information, and as a result, teens and young adults are often not equipped to discuss these issues.Both CTeen and Chabad on Campus have Instagram and TikTok pages that are updated daily. According to Rabbi Shilat, CTeen currently has more online followers than any other youth organization in Israel.
“TEENS ARE interested in our activities,” Bracha says. “We have weekend programs, fun days, trips, and summer camps. People come and don’t encounter anything that is threatening. On the contrary, they find things that are enjoyable and that have value and content.” She adds that parents prefer to know that their children are attending the movement’s 38 centers in Israeli cities rather than hanging out in bars or on the streets.
Regarding Chabad on Campus, Rabbi Shilat explains that the organization is ensconced in 40 universities and colleges across the country, with the Chabad shlichim (emissaries) based there considered to be an integral part of campus life. Chabad on Campus maintains excellent relations with the various student associations at colleges and universities.
Campus shlichim, Rabbi Shilat explains, prepare and host Shabbat meals in their homes for students, teach courses on Judaism, and are an integral part of the school. In all of the colleges and universities where Chabad on Campus can be found, nightly classes are held on a variety of subjects – Talmud, the weekly Torah portion, and understanding the basics of Judaism – and there are volunteer programs. Once a month, Chabad on Campus holds a major event in honor of Rosh Hodesh – with music, food, and entertainment.
The organization conducts special Shabbat programs in Jerusalem, Safed, and Kfar Chabad, and is planning to take 400 students on a leadership mission to the US in September to visit Jewish students at Yale, Princeton, and Harvard. The shlichim who work at CTeen and Chabad on Campus are considered official Chabad emissaries who will remain on their campuses for the duration of their careers, similar to Chabad shlichim in Chabad Houses around the world.
Regarding the outlook for INEXTG over the next 15 years, Rabbi Shilat says, “We hope that 50% of Israeli youth will participate in our programs. They will renew the organization, and we will give them the tools to [learn to] lead.”Bracha adds with a chuckle, “And that way, we will stay young.”
In the early days of the program, she recalls, the couple ran the fledgling organization from a tiny storage room in their apartment building, working with a single computer. Today, CTeen, Chabad on Campus, and IDF Core occupy 30 offices in a building in the center of Israel. The organizations have a full-time staff of 100 and an additional 300 part-time workers. Each organization has its own executive director, and Rabbi Shilat is the overall head of the program.
Since Oct. 7, INEXTG has been actively seeking partners and expanding its resources to support its activities. To learn more about working with INEXTG, write to Info@inextg.org.
This article was written in cooperation with Israel’s Next Generation.