Simchat Torah Challenge

Simchat Torah Challenge — A website uniting tens of thousands of Jews worldwide in weekly Torah reading to honor October 7 victims

Overview

Simchat Torah Challenge is a global Torah reading initiative backed by the Margaret and Daniel Loeb Foundation, uniting Jews worldwide in weekly Torah study to honor the victims of the October 7, 2023 attack — now in its second year. The platform serves a diverse global audience across the full spectrum of Jewish life, supported by major Jewish organizations including Sefaria, Chabad, Yeshiva University, Hillel International, and UJA-Federation.

Partners in Wisdom — Community partnership cards

Challenges

In the wake of October 7 — which fell on the holiday of Simchat Torah — philanthropist Dan Loeb partnered with leading Jewish organizations to create a meaningful, lasting response through collective Torah study. The initiative needed a platform that could:

Unite participants across the full spectrum of Jewish observance and background
Deliver weekly Torah portion content with accessible, modern commentary
Support a global sign-up and email delivery system at scale
Create a sense of shared community and purpose around a deeply emotional cause

Media of the week — Torah portion video and article content

Solution

GS developed and built simchattorahchallenge.org — taking an existing design and engineering a modern, reliable platform to make weekly Torah engagement feel personal, accessible, and communal.

Development & Integrations

User sign-up flow with weekly email delivery to keep participants engaged throughout the initiative
Content management system enabling the team to publish and update weekly Torah content efficiently
Built on Next.js and React for a fast, reliable experience at global scale

Content Structure

Weekly parsha pages with curated insights and commentary from participating Jewish organizations
Accessible summaries that lower the barrier to participation for a broad, diverse audience