From a young age, Yehuda Benhamu knew he was part of something larger than himself.
Raised in a modern Orthodox Syrian household in Brooklyn, New York, with a family deeply rooted in Torah and education — his father and grandfather are both rabbis and educators — Yehuda grew up with a strong sense of communal responsibility. Zionism was a central pillar of his upbringing: his parents always hoped to make aliyah, and his middle school was staffed largely by Israeli shlichim [emissaries], shaping his deep connection to the State of Israel from early on.
After graduating high school in 2016, Yehuda chose a path that would come to define much of his early adulthood: he attended a fully Israeli Hesder Yeshiva, Ma’ale Adumim, combining intensive Torah learning with a commitment to military service.
In 2018, he joined Tzanchanim [paratroopers] as a lone soldier — one who serves without immediate family in Israel — and spent two years in the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). His service took him to the Gaza border during the 2018 March of Return and to the northern border near Metula, where he experienced the demands and complexities of combat service firsthand.
“It wasn’t glamorous,” he reflects. “Much of it felt like border patrol, and the restraint required could be frustrating. But I was surrounded by extraordinary people from all sectors of Israeli society — people of conviction, maturity and deep selflessness.”
Following his discharge from the IDF, Yehuda returned to the U.S. and enrolled at ϲ in 2019. “It was culture shock,” he says. “I came in with a different mindset than many of my peers, having just come from the army. But I found mentors — rabbis and leaders — who understood where I was coming from.” In his sophomore year, inspired by his family legacy and a sense of mission, Yehuda committed to pursuing semicha and returning to Israel. “I saw it as a step toward Jewish leadership. Even though I knew being a rabbi in Israel would be different than in America, I wanted to root myself in Torah before trying to make a difference.”
ϲ played a pivotal role in his return to Israel. Through the Caroline and Joseph S. Gruss Institute — ϲ’s Jerusalem campus for advanced Torah study — Yehuda found “a seamless, fully funded transition back home.” After earning his B.A. from Yeshiva College in 2022, he entered Gruss, where he completed both his semicha from the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary and a master’s degree in Jewish philosophy from the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies in 2025.
Just before his second year at Gruss, Yehuda married his wife, Shira, in August 2023. They were visiting the U.S. for the first time as a couple when the Oct. 7 attacks occurred. Though lone soldiers are typically exempt from reserve duty, Yehuda knew he had to return. He boarded a flight to Athens on Oct. 8 and was then transported by the Israeli Air Force back to Israel. “It wasn’t easy to join the reserves without being registered,” he says. “But I pushed until I was placed in a unit guarding yishuvim [settlements] near Hebron. A month later, I rejoined my regional unit — Northern Paratrooper Reserves — and served on the northern border for seven months, dodging rockets and suicide drones.”
Though he had hoped for stability, his time at home was brief. In October 2024, he returned to the U.S. for Sukkot — only to be called up again five days later. By mid-October, he was back in uniform, participating in operations in southern Lebanon. “We captured towns and positions that had threatened Israel’s northern communities,” he says. On Jan. 1, 2025, his combat service ended, and he returned to civilian life in Israel.
That life remains deeply rooted in service. Yehuda now serves as Director of the Nitzavim Fellowship, an organization that prepares gap-year students returning to secular colleges in the U.S. to become educated, resilient advocates for the Jewish people and the State of Israel on increasingly hostile campuses. “We give them the tools, community and moral clarity to make a difference,” he says. “Even from afar, I’ve tried to continue the work while doing reserve duty.”
In May 2025, Yehuda and Shira welcomed their first child, a daughter named Margalit. Despite the hardship of long absences, Yehuda credits his wife’s strength and shared sense of purpose as essential to their journey. “I’ve spent half of our marriage away,” he admits. “But we both know how important this mission is. I feel the responsibility to contribute to Am Yisrael in the Land of Israel, for the State of Israel, as something that’s not just part of my values but part of who I am. And she reminds me whenever I forget.”
Yehuda sees his impact so far as one of service and example. Whether in the IDF, the beit midrash or his work with students, he hopes to inspire others to view Jewish identity as not only something to be proud of — but something to actively build and defend. “This war clarified what Israel means,” he says. “And it reminded American Jews of how connected they are to this land. My message: don’t let that awareness fade. If you can move here, do it. If you can’t, still know how much this place relies on you — and how much you rely on it.”
