Shlomo Artzi Walks into a Yeshiva and Finds His Soul

Last Friday morning, while spending time in the mystical city of Safed (Tzfat), Israeli singer Shlomo Artzi took a quiet walk through its ancient cobblestone alleys. As he walked near the Ari Synagogue, he heard the sounds of early morning prayer coming from the nearby Hesder Yeshiva, a Torah study center that combines military service and learning.

Without hesitation, he stepped inside.

To the surprise of the students and rabbis, Artzi stayed not for a minute, but for three full hours, joining their prayers, listening to Torah, and sharing a piece of his heart.

Inside the yeshiva, the city’s chief rabbi, Rabbi Shmuel Eliyahu, and the head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Eyal Jacobowitz, were leading a special prayer service for the new month of Adar. It also happened to be a bar mitzvah celebration for a young boy from the settlement of Avnei Hefetz.

“At around 6:30 in the morning, we were in the middle of Hallel,” recalled Rabbi Jacobowitz in an interview with Ynet. “Suddenly, the door to the beit midrash (study hall) opened, and a man quietly took a seat in the back. No one noticed at first. But near the end of davening (prayer), one of the students leaned over to me and asked, ‘Could that be Shlomo Artzi?’ I didn’t think so, but I told him to go ask.”

To their amazement, it really was him.

They invited Artzi to stay for the learning session and gathering afterward. He happily accepted. “I’m staying at a hotel in Safed,” he told them. “I woke up early and went out for a walk. My feet carried me here as if something divine told me to come in. I planned to stay for just a minute... but I couldn’t leave.”

And he didn’t. He stayed until 9:30 that morning, three full hours of prayer, Torah, music, and soul.

During the Torah talk, Rabbi Eliyahu spoke about the music that was played in the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple) in Jerusalem, which connected to that week’s Torah portion, Terumah. At one point, he brought out a guitar and began to play. Artzi, wearing a kippah, joined in with the singing even though he didn’t know the songs at first. Slowly, he picked them up.

During the gathering, Artzi opened up about his childhood memories of his grandfather, a deeply religious man. As he spoke, he was overcome with emotion and began to cry. “I’ve never seen such light and joy in my own world,” he admitted. “Could you give me a little of that?”

Later, they discussed life beyond the walls of the yeshiva. Artzi asked the students how they manage to hold on to the spiritual inspiration once they leave the beit midrash. The students and rabbis explained that after years of immersion in Torah, it becomes part of you. Even outside the yeshiva, you begin to see the world differently, you see the good, the inner essence of everything.

The students, curious and respectful, asked Artzi questions as well. One student asked about the lyrics of his song “We Don’t Need More Than This” which says, “Give rain only in its time and scatter flowers for us in spring, we don’t need more than this.”

“Is that really all we need?” they wondered aloud.

Artzi smiled, responding with honesty. “Once, it felt like that was enough. Today, it’s more complicated. Things are harder now. I’m especially worried about the younger generation.”

That Shabbat, Artzi’s spiritual journey in Safed continued. He prayed at the historic Abuhav Synagogue, one of the city’s oldest and most beautiful shuls.

Journalist Nachman Weiss, who was also in Safed that weekend, later shared his impression in an article on B’Hadrei Haredim: “Those who know Shlomo Artzi know that he carries a lofty soul, full of depth. It’s clear that when he fully recognizes the truth, he will be drawn in. The soul yearns for it even if the person isn’t fully aware.”