“Just Do It”: Berale Crombie on Fear, Faith, and Living with Integrity

A Food or Sound That Takes You Back to Childhood
“Tomato soup with yellow cheese on a rainy winter day.”

Three Items You’d Take to a Desert Island
“Tefillin, a phone, and a pillow. Even during reserve duty, when we went on house raids, I used to pack a pillow and a blanket.”

Your Guilty Pleasure
“Toast with yellow cheese.”

What Helps You Recharge After a Hard Day
“A great live performance by Bini Landau. And if there’s no show, just driving with the volume all the way up and a good Bini song in the background. His music gives me a lot of strength.”

Something People Don’t Know About You
“Most people know me from the last six or seven years, since I entered the worlds of media and political entrepreneurship — being involved in the reform protests, managing political campaigns, and so on.

“The truth is that before that, for about ten years of my life, I was deeply involved in the spiritual world. I taught Rabbi Nachman and the Yemima method, and I ran a home for single men in Nachlaot, with lots of niggunim and hitbodedut workshops. People sometimes say to me, ‘Yeah, there used to be a Beraleh Krombie in Nachlaot who taught Yemima.’ That’s what I call the hidden life of Beraleh Krombie.”

What Scares You the Most
“I deal with a lot of fear in life. What scares me most is hearing ‘no’ from donors — and that’s a daily challenge. If I want to do social action and political initiatives, I have to raise money. It’s very hard inner work — calling donors and overcoming the fear of rejection.”

When Was the Last Time You Cried?
“The last time I really cried was about a month after October 7. I was on reserve duty and came home for Shabbat. On Friday night, when I arrived at the synagogue, it was quite empty because many were in the reserves. To my right I saw the empty seat of Major David Meir, of blessed memory — a fighter in Sayeret Matkal who fell on Simchat Torah. We had prayed together for eight years.

“The tears came during Lecha Dodi, at the words: ‘Sanctuary of the King, royal city, rise and emerge from the upheaval; enough for you to dwell in the valley of tears — He will have compassion on you.’ I heard that call to Jerusalem: ‘Rise and emerge from the upheaval.’

“In general, I mostly cry from emotion. I can cry from the song ‘Jerusalem of Gold.’ It connects me to two thousand years of exile and longing for Zion, and it brings tears to my eyes.”

Something You’d Like to Improve in Yourself
“Wow, where do we start? For years I thought that if I could change one thing about myself, it would be how I deal with fear. Today I think the thing I most want to learn is how to move on and not get stuck on things.”

The Most Honest Moment You’ve Had Speaking with the Creator
“For many years I really tried to practice hitbodedut every day. Sadly, in recent years it’s happened less, but I’m a total hitbodedut addict. Of course, my biggest prayers are for my children.

“In hitbodedut, sometimes you ask for something while knowing, deep down, that it’s actually in your own hands. You know that if you just put in the effort, you could make it happen. So why are you asking? Because you want someone else to do the work for you.

“There’s a moment like that in hitbodedut when you say to yourself: don’t ask for this to happen. God already gave you the ability to bring it from potential into reality. Come on — just do it. Be honest with yourself. Know that you need to put in the effort, without waiting for a miracle or sitting back doing nothing. If you really want it, do it.”

A Dream You Haven’t Given Up On
“Earning a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in history, and maybe even continuing to a doctorate. My father earned his PhD at almost 60, so he gives me hope.”

A Trait You Value in People
“Self-discipline — more than anything. I think it’s the key to success, more than talent, ability, charisma, and many other important qualities. Simply getting up in the morning and doing what needs to be done.

“For many years I attended classes by Rabbi Yair Kalev. He would always repeat: ‘What is the truth of anything — of marriage, of parenting? That whether I feel like it or not, I act with the same integrity.’ If I do what needs to be done with the same integrity whether I feel like it or not, I’ll succeed in life.”

A Person Who Is No Longer Alive You’d Like to Sit and Talk With
“Perhaps my greatest regret is that I never merited to meet the Lubavitcher Rebbe. If I were given the chance to meet someone who has passed on, I would ask only to meet the Rebbe for a single moment — to receive his blessing and seek his counsel.”

What Would You Like to Leave Behind in the World After 120 Years?
“First and foremost, my children and family — above everything else. Second, I have several books that I’m in the middle of writing, and I truly hope to finish them soon. If there’s something I really want to leave behind in the world, it’s my books.”