Photos: Rivkah Laber, Sadya Liberow
The energy inside Carnesecca Arena was electric. After three days together — from an uplifting Shabbat in Crown Heights to an inspirational visit to the Ohel, and a massive Jewish pride celebration in Times Square — 4,000 Jewish teens from 60 countries gathered one last time to close the CTeen International Shabbaton.
But this wasn’t goodbye. This was the starting line.
They came from cities torn by war, from campuses where walking to class with a kippah takes courage, from towns still rebuilding after hurricanes and wildfires, and from schools where they are the only Jewish student in the entire grade.
As the program began, Eli Tzives stood before them. Representing CTeen Shanghai, where his connection to Jewish life began, Eli spoke about what it meant to arrive at UCLA and walk directly into a wall of masked protesters blocking his classroom.
“I stood there with my student ID, hoping they’d step aside,” he said. “They didn’t. They only saw that I was Jewish.”
Eli’s video of the confrontation went viral, but the real impact came afterward, when messages poured in from other teens with stories just like his.
“I realized I wasn’t alone — and none of you are alone either,” Eli told them. “Even one small flame can light up a whole room of darkness. That’s why I’ll never hide my Jewish star. I’ll never hide my face.”
Ellie Zeiler stepped forward, representing CTeen San Diego, where her connection to Jewish life began. At 16, Ellie became a viral TikTok star, gaining millions of followers almost overnight. But success came at a cost.
“I moved to LA and got swept up in the influencer life,” Ellie told the crowd. “In all the noise, I lost touch with my soul and my values.”
That changed when Ellie visited Israel for the first time. After October 7th, she felt a pull to speak up, even knowing it would divide her audience.
“I started posting ‘I Stand With Israel,’ knowing people would unfollow. But I didn’t care. For the first time, I felt like my platform had a purpose.”
Her journey continued when she returned to San Diego, started keeping Shabbat and kosher, and eventually went to seminary.
“Turning off my phone for 25 hours felt impossible at first, but now it’s my favorite part of the week. It’s not about disconnecting from the world — it’s about reconnecting with myself, my family, and Hashem.”
She left the teens with a challenge: “How can we shine even brighter? Let’s take that question with us back home and make it our mission.”
Rosemary Acker from CTeen Asheville took the stage, representing a kind of leadership that happens close to home. When a hurricane swept through her town, she and her fellow teens didn’t wait for someone else to step in. They showed up for their neighbors and their community.
“Being a proud Jew isn’t only about what you say,” Rosemary told the crowd. “It’s about the way you show up — for your friends, your school, and your town — because that’s where people see who you really are.”
“Want to fight hate?” she challenged her peers. “Do something helpful. Visit a hospital, help rebuild a house, hang a mezuzah. Show what being Jewish looks like through action.”
From the back of the room, Daniel Yehuda walked down the aisle, tefillin bag in hand, representing CTeen Tampa. What started as a moment of hesitation as he worked his shift at the airport turned into a personal commitment.
“Every day I look for someone to wrap tefillin with,” he said. “And if they’re in a rush, I tell them—I can meet you at your gate.”
Oliver Rak from CTeen Budapest held his Chumash high as he described the unique strength that comes from Torah learning. “The Torah doesn’t just give us instructions; it shows us our purpose. It doesn’t just teach us what to do—it helps us understand why we’re here.”
The roar of an engine cut through the arena as Roei Sabag from CTeen Maslul in Israel drove his motorcycle to the stage.
Roei, who famously walked away from a BMX competition that conflicted with Shabbat, offered a simple reflection: “People said I gave something up. I didn’t lose anything. Shabbat gives me everything.”
The atmosphere shifted as teens from CTeen Palisades California stepped forward, holding brand-new pairs of tefillin. These teens lost their homes, schools, and almost everything they owned to wildfires. But when the flames came, they ran back inside—not for valuables, but to rescue their tefillin.
Two of their friends, Sam and Josh, weren’t able to save theirs, so CTeen Bucks County across the country raised the funds to buy them new pairs. In emotional moments the two groups united on stage as they gifted their new friends with the Tefillin.
A photo filled the screen. Agam Berger — 18 years old — sitting on an IDF helicopter, freed after 481 days in captivity.
“She was brutally taken from her bed on October 7th,” Rabbi Mendy Kotlarsky told the teens. “For 481 days, Agam risked everything to keep her faith.”
She refused to cook for the terrorists on Shabbat. She insisted on praying every day. When they offered her non-kosher meat, she wouldn’t touch it. Even when starving, she paused to say a bracha over the scraps she was given, and on Pesach, she refused to eat chametz.
“Jewish law would have allowed her to do whatever she needed to survive,” Rabbi Kotlarsky said. “But Agam held onto her faith—and stayed the path.”
When she was freed, just days before Shabbat, Agam held up a handwritten sign for the world to see:
“I chose the path of faith, and I returned in the path of faith.”
“Now, she can light Shabbat candles with her family again,” Rabbi Kotlarsky said. “In the darkest moments, when everything was taken from her, Agam held onto her light. And even her evil captors couldn’t ignore it.”
Rabbi Kotlarsky looked out at the arena filled with teens who had just spent three days discovering their own Jewish strength. “We all have battles to face. The question is — will we wait for the world to define who we are, or will we shine first? Will we step up and show the world what Jewish pride really looks like?”
“This is our moment,” he said. “This is the year we shine brighter than ever before.”
The ceremony ended with 4,000 voices singing Ani Ma’amin.
For Eli, Ellie, Rosemary, Roei, and every teen getting on a plane back to Hong Kong, Venezuela, Panama, France, or the hundreds of other communities represented — the message was clear:
Unapologetic Judaism isn’t a one-time response or reaction. It’s a lifestyle.
Now, 4,000 teens are heading home ready to live it.
Kol hakavod!