A Journey Back: From Social Media to Spiritual Awakening

Unlike my usual interviews, this one takes place in my own home late at night. I open my laptop to interview the most remarkable person I've ever met: my husband. Our match was unexpected. I was a girl from a religious home, studying at Beit Yaakov, while he was on his journey back to faith. Sometimes, I reminisce about my seminary days and find it hard to believe that while I wore my blue uniform, he was attending Rabin High School in Kfar Saba. My husband's return to faith is surprising, not because of a dramatic journey of self-discovery but for the simple path he took—a path that could bring thousands back to their spiritual roots.

It happened when Tomer was 17. During the summer vacation, with nothing else to do, he turned on his computer. "I went online, browsing social networks like all teens did back then, looking for something interesting. Suddenly, I stumbled upon a video titled 'A Remedy to Survive a Pandemic.' Even though we hadn't yet heard of COVID-19, my curiosity was piqued. As a senior in high school, my life felt mapped out—school, army, friends, and that's it. In the midst of this emptiness, this video seemed valuable and meaningful. I didn't realize it was connected to Judaism at first, but I thought it could provide value because humanity has faced severe pandemics before."

(photo: shutterstock)

"For the First Time, I Understood the Importance of the Tefillin Commandment"

When Tomer began watching the video, he saw a rabbi, later realizing it was Rabbi Zamir Cohen. He was captivated by the rabbi's gentleness and nobility. The calm and serious manner of speaking won him over. "The rabbi spoke about the great power of reciting the Ketoret passage, and I won't forget how he read the text with the audience every fifteen minutes. He explained that the remedy is to recite the prayer three times a day. Even though it wasn't live, I tried this too, joining the crowd in the recitation. The words were displayed on the screen, and I felt like I was battling my way through to read the text along with everyone else three times." That could have been the end, but after the video ended, Facebook suggested more videos of Rabbi Zamir Cohen, leading Tomer to one discussing the significance of tefillin.

"I knew tefillin from my Bar Mitzvah, and I thought to myself that if the previous lecture interested me so much, this one surely would too. Watching the rabbi, I felt like I got a real wake-up call. Suddenly, I understood that tefillin weren't just a symbol, or something to wear when leisure allowed. I discovered it is a vital mitzvah observed today just as in the past, and it has profound significance connecting us to the Creator. It is truly a sign between us. The rabbi explained that tefillin should be donned before sunset, and because it was evening, I decided I would try to remember how to put on tefillin properly the next day and experience this mitzvah anew."

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"I Went Out to the Street, Looking for Someone Who Could Help Me"

"The next day, I called a good friend from high school who had started observing more commandments a few months prior, and I asked him to decode the secret: how to put on tefillin." After Tomer managed to obtain the information, he was left with one problem: he didn't know what blessing to recite while putting on the tefillin. He went out to the street, a secular boy without a kippah riding his bike, and headed to a Chabad house, hoping to find someone who could teach him the precious blessing a Jew recites while donning tefillin. "That's where it all began," Tomer smiles. "I got to know Hidabroot, watched more lectures, and read books. I remember that after Rabbi Zamir Cohen's first lecture, the final high school year began. Every morning when I woke up, I eagerly wanted to get home to read Rabbi Zamir Cohen's book 'Journey to Truth.' I would force myself not to finish the book too quickly because I worried that once it ended, I'd have nothing to fill the void within me."

Tomer came from a mixed household. His father was secular-traditional, and his mother came from a Torah-observant Yemenite family. She was traditionally religious, with strong faith in the Creator. On Shabbat, the hot plate was on, and his mother observed Shabbat, but aside from Kiddush and the Shabbat meal, the rest of the household behaved as if it were a regular day. "One Friday afternoon, I was again sitting at the computer, and likely due to my changed browsing patterns, the computer suggested a lecture from another Hidabroot rabbi. It was a short eight-minute video about Shabbat observance, but two things shook me to the core. The rabbi said that the punishment for desecrating Shabbat is greater than that of a murderer, and the second was that a Jew who publicly desecrates Shabbat is like a gentile in every respect. I couldn't bear that. It was twenty minutes before Shabbat, and I asked myself, how can I desecrate the Shabbat in a few minutes knowing that Hashem will see me as a gentile? How can I desecrate Shabbat knowing I'd be liable for a greater punishment than a murderer? I always took pride in being Jewish, and now I'd be regarded by Hashem as a gentile? This cannot be."

It's been about ten years since. Today, Tomer observes the Torah and its commandments and studies in a kollel for married Torah scholars. "If I could, I would send a message to all the teens who were like me, but I know they likely won't read this article. Therefore, I want to tell you, there's a very significant importance to the content we consume. One video led me to start putting on tefillin, and opened a gateway to my entire spiritual journey. I believe that if we all strive to engage with content that gives us value, we can make spiritual progress and live lives filled with meaning."

You too can! Download the Hidabroot Shorts App now, and watch interesting and high-quality videos >>