From Parties to Prayer: Linor's Journey to Faith

From a young age, Linor felt something missing in her life. At just 12, she was searching online for how to say "Shema Yisrael," morning blessings, and she showed interest in the religious lifestyle.

"I grew up in a secular-traditional home. We did Kiddush at home but also went to the beach on Shabbat. I didn't have a prayer book, but from within, I longed for something more, and I searched for it. I started saying the Shema at bedtime, and as a student in a non-religious school, with its various challenges, I went to my mom and asked why we don't keep Shabbat. So, I started keeping Shabbat on my own. I also asked my mom why we don't do Havdalah, and she began doing Havdalah."

How would you explain a young girl suddenly becoming interested in Judaism like that, without any apparent reason?

"My soul knew where it belonged and sought it out."

Living in a non-religious home and in a non-religious environment made it challenging for Linor to maintain a religious lifestyle, and the pull of secular life dragged her down. "My lifestyle included relationships with boys, parties, drinking alcohol, smoking, immodest clothing, and disturbing sins. Additionally, emotions were numbed. I needed something intense to feel anything. You search for something but don't know what. You try to find it at parties, but it's disappointing to see it doesn't work. My old lifestyle wounded my soul. They said there was love, but it was desire, and it didn't align. It left a hole in my soul. My entire lifestyle was just wrong."

"My soul knew where it belonged and sought it"

"I Was Simply Lost. There Was No Truth in the Chaos"

Linor continued her life this way until she was 20, when she first came across a video from Hidabroot on social media. "For a year and a half, I only watched classes on social media until I started attending in-person lessons. Thanks to returning to faith, I'm here today. I was simply lost. There was no truth in the chaos. Everything was complicated by desires, just going with the flow. But suddenly, thanks to the videos, I got my soul back. It was simply salvation."

Where do you think you would be today if you hadn't returned to your faith?

"I wouldn't be here. I would have been lost. A place without Torah is simply not a good place. You sink lower and lower, and faith just rescued me from there. Imagine a person in a pit with snakes and scorpions, and from above, they're sent a lifeline. The classes shared on social media are that lifeline."

"Before returning to my faith, I didn't believe there was love in the world until I had the merit to taste and know the Torah and the love of Hashem. I was blessed with life. I didn't come from an environment where people had a rabbi. I wasn't taught modesty or that the Creator of the world is my father. All the classes on social media were the face of Judaism for me and my entry into the world of mitzvot."

Linor began to build her spiritual life, step by step. "After some time, I had the merit to receive a prayer book. The day I received it, I felt something in me calm down. At age 20, I also received a *netilat yadayim* cup."

"I wasn't taught that the Creator of the world is my father"

"My Whole Life Changed: From the Abyss to Knowing I'm a Child of the Creator"

How did returning to your faith change your life?

"My whole life changed. From the abyss to realizing I'm a child of the Creator. Suddenly, it was the boundaries that let me live, unlike in the jungle. In the jungle, there are predators and many bad things, but suddenly the Torah teaches me to be human, to learn morals and to respect parents. In school, we were taught that humans are perfect and should be accepted as they are, and whoever doesn't agree is the problem. The family isn't good, only I am perfect. But in the religious world, I understood that the message is different, more calming: the problem is with me, and the solution is also with me."

How did your environment react to your journey of faith?

"There are challenges, but my family sees that I’m happy, so they are happy too. Additionally, they started strengthening their own faith: my grandpa started saying the Shema, my grandma uses a Shabbat plate. My sister shows sparks of interest, coming to Friday night services at the synagogue, and my brother comes to lectures. Everyone has their own sparks, and they see that this path is the right one, so they are happy. Even my grandpa watches Hidabroot videos on social media."

Linor speaks with maturity, and it's clear that life in the world of Torah has given her meaningful insights, which she gladly shares: "I started working in kindergartens. Before that, I worked in event halls. I would come home from school in the afternoon, and work at events until 4:00 AM. After my return to faith, I started working in kindergartens."

Many Jews are still deeply immersed in TikTok and far from Judaism. We can reach their hearts thanks to you. To participate in the great mutual responsibility initiative ofHidabroot digital,click here >>

"The Chance to Leave Social Media Mentally Unscathed is Slim"

"I see that as soon as a parent comes to pick up their child, the child drops everything and runs to their parent. That's exactly how it is with returning to faith. The Creator came to take me back. I dropped everything, they were just games, and ran to the Creator. I'm speaking from my heart. I came from a broken home. My mom raised us alone, and it was precisely from there I saw how homes had fallen apart in a reality without Torah."

Several months ago, Linor completed an important chapter in her life by enrolling in a seminary for girls. Part of the seminary experience includes staying with Orthodox families on Shabbat to truly feel the joy of Shabbat.

"I'm here in Jerusalem, visiting Orthodox families, and I can't express how amazing it is. I see Orthodox girls asking me how I strengthened my faith, and I feel like crying. If only I could show my life story on a screen and shout that there's nothing out there. I tell you this from my heart, for the sake of heaven. If heaven asked me to choose one thing to happen, I would pray for all of Israel to return to their faith. You at Hidabroot have a crucial role in Israel's return to faith in the era of the coming of the Messiah, especially among children, youth, and people on social media, where the chance of being exposed to Judaism is only through social media. A child, teenager, or young adult with TikTok or Instagram has a slim chance of emerging mentally healthy. Your mission to spread the word of Hashem even on social media saves lives. Look at how I have changed."