Graduates of Chabad's Beth Rivkah High School say the antidote to post-October 7 hostility isn't retreat, but a proud, renewed commitment to Jewish education and community service worldwide.
As headlines across North America continue to focus on rising antisemitism, hostile anti-Israel demonstrations, and growing concerns about the safety of Jewish life, a very different story unfolded this week inside a packed auditorium in Brooklyn.
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Beth Rivkah High School graduates celebrate after receiving their diplomas in Brooklyn, New York
(Photo: Yossi Kahane/Beth Rivkah)
One by one, young women in caps and gowns crossed the stage at Beth Rivkah High School, embracing classmates they had spent years growing alongside, before heading off to celebrate with their families. This year, 152 graduates received their diplomas, joining generations of Beth Rivkah alumnae who today serve as educators, Chabad emissaries, and community leaders throughout the world.
For many, it was a familiar graduation scene. But this year, the moment carried a profound new weight.
Graduates gather following Beth Rivkah High School's commencement ceremony in Brooklyn, New York
(Photo: Yossi Kahane/Beth Rivkah)
These young women came of age during one of the most turbulent periods in modern Jewish history. They spent their high school years witnessing the trauma of October 7 and the subsequent wave of hostility that swept across college campuses and major cities. Yet, if anxiety and uncertainty have become defining themes of Jewish life in recent years, there was no trace of it inside the room. The prevailing mood was one of absolute confidence—not fear, and certainly not retreat.
These girls are our answer
The graduates are part of Beth Rivkah, Chabad’s Global School for Jewish Women’s Leadership. For more than 80 years, the institution has prepared Jewish women for lives of education, leadership, and service. Today, more than 8,000 alumnae serve in schools, Chabad centers, summer camps, and on college campuses across more than 40 countries, actively shaping the next generation of Jewish life.
For many parents in attendance, the ceremony represented much more than the completion of high school. It represented a direct answer to a question Jewish families have been asking themselves since October 7: What comes next?
Members of the Beth Rivkah High School graduating class pose for a commemorative photo after commencement in Brooklyn, New York
(Photo: Yossi Kahane/Beth Rivkah)
Among those celebrating was Razi Metzger, co-founder of the Sutton Place Chabad Jewish Center in Manhattan, whose daughter was among the graduates. Living in New York City, Metzger has watched anti-Israel demonstrations and increasingly hostile rhetoric become part of everyday life.
"There are moments when people ask, 'What kind of future are our children growing up into?' And then I look around this room. These girls are our answer. They are returning to their communities with confidence, responsibility, and hope. They are teaching our children not to be afraid, but to walk proudly as Jews."
For Metzger, who has spent decades building Jewish life in Manhattan alongside her husband, the answer to uncertainty is simple: "It is education. It is investing in young people."
Bringing light back to the campus frontlines
Hundreds of miles away, that message has taken on added urgency. For Chana Bluming, the challenges facing Jewish students are deeply personal. Her parents, Rabbi Zalman and Yehudis Bluming, direct Chabad activities at Duke University and throughout the Durham-Chapel Hill area in North Carolina.
Beth Rivkah High School graduates celebrate after the commencement ceremony in Brooklyn, New York
(Photo: Yossi Kahane/Beth Rivkah)
Since October 7, university campuses across the United States have become flashpoints for antisemitic incidents, leaving many Jewish students feeling isolated and searching for community. Whenever Chana returns home, she reconnects with these students, listening to their experiences and offering support.
For her mother, Yehudis, the graduation carries a special, full-circle meaning. A Beth Rivkah alumna herself, Yehudis watched her daughter walk across the same stage to join the next generation of leaders.
"Beth Rivkah gave me the values and sense of purpose that have guided our lives on shlichus (emissary work)," Yehudis said. "To see our daughter receiving that same foundation and bringing it back to campus with her is incredibly meaningful. The message she brings is simple: You don’t answer darkness with more darkness. You answer it by adding light."
From Oregon to Brooklyn
For graduate Rachel Rivkin, arriving at Beth Rivkah required leaving her comfort zone entirely. Growing up in Oregon, she had no local Jewish high school to attend. Moving to Brooklyn as a teenager to enter a school with nearly 3,000 students was initially intimidating.
The Beth Rivkah High School graduating class poses for a group photo following commencement in Brooklyn, New York
(Photo: Yossi Kahane/Beth Rivkah)
"But very quickly, it became family," Rivkin said. She found herself surrounded by peers from diverse communities across the United States and around the world. The challenges of the past year only strengthened those bonds.
"We realized we are living through extraordinary times," Rivkin reflected. "And that means each of us has a responsibility bigger than ourselves." Guided by that mission, she now hopes to dedicate her career to Jewish education.
Building the future of Jewish leadership
School leaders note that the global demand for Jewish educators and female community leaders has skyrocketed in recent years.
Graduates celebrate after receiving their diplomas at Beth Rivkah High School's graduation ceremony in Brooklyn, New York
(Photo: Yossi Kahane/Beth Rivkah)
To meet this need, Beth Rivkah is developing a new Global Campus for Jewish Women’s Leadership, designed to prepare thousands of young women from around the world for lives of Jewish education, leadership, and community service.
The full campus represents a $50 million investment. To date, $10 million has been raised and invested in the first phase of the project, and the campus’s first building is now in the final stages of construction and is scheduled to open at the beginning of the upcoming academic year.
Yosef Kahana, Beth Rivkah’s director of philanthropy, helps spearhead the new campus initiative. For him, the graduation ceremony was a powerful testament to the school's mission.
A Beth Rivkah High School graduate addresses classmates during the school's graduation ceremony in Brooklyn, New York
(Photo: Yossi Kahane/Beth Rivkah)
"It was incredibly moving to hear these young women speak," Kahana said. "They are graduating with a clear spirit of shlichus and the understanding that the future of Jewish life is in their hands. Many of them will continue on to advanced studies and leadership training to serve on the frontlines of Jewish life worldwide."
"We are seeing firsthand how much Jewish communities need talented young women who can inspire," Kahana added. "Despite everything the Jewish people have faced since October 7, they are stepping forward with confidence."
As parents embraced their daughters and cameras flashed throughout the hall, the atmosphere stood in stark contrast to the grim headlines of the past year. Raised in the shadow of conflict, this generation has chosen purpose over fear. As they stepped out of the auditorium and into a complicated world, they appeared entirely ready to help shape it.