She Chose Shabbat and Everything in Her Life Changed

“Open for Me an opening the size of a needle, and I will open for you an opening like a grand hall.”

That’s how Victoria begins her powerful letter. She grew up in a home where Torah and mitzvot weren’t part of daily life. Becoming closer to Judaism never even crossed her mind. But then, without anyone teaching her or trying to convince her, something stirred deep inside.

“With everything happening in Israel and around the world,” she wrote, “I just knew I couldn’t stay the same. I felt, from somewhere deep within me, that Judaism holds the answer not just for me, but for every Jew.”

A few months ago, as the situation in the country worsened and her own life became more difficult, she came to a turning point.

“I felt like that was it. There was nowhere else to run. I knew it was time to return to Hashem. All my life I had been searching for truth, and now I wasn’t going to let it slip away. People say, especially in times like these, that it’s important to take something upon yourself, to strengthen a mitzvah like wearing a kippah, putting on tzitzit, lighting Shabbat candles, or family purity. I thought, if I’m already going to take on something, why not go all in?”

So she began with Shabbat.

That very day, Victoria told her boss about her decision. From now on, she would finish work at least two hours before Shabbat started and she wouldn’t work on Shabbat anymore, no matter what. Her boss, who runs a hair salon, was shocked. “He nearly had a heart attack,” she recalled. “Saturday is the busiest day in this line of work.”

He threatened to fire her, but she stayed strong. “I only saw one Boss in front of me, my true Boss, my Father in Heaven. Of course I was scared. No one wants to lose their income while trying to grow spiritually. But I believed that if I took this small step toward Hashem, He would take care of me and place me exactly where I needed to be. He had waited so long for me, with such patience, to come back to Him.”

At first, it wasn’t easy. “I’m a mother of two little children,” she shared, “and I didn’t know how I was going to keep them busy for a whole Shabbat without phones, games, or outings. But with time, thank G-d, the challenges faded in comparison to the spiritual joy I began to feel.”

She started going to the neighborhood synagogue for Tehillim (Psalms) gatherings and Torah classes. “I felt like my soul was floating. There was a happiness I had never felt before.”

Over time, Victoria took on more mitzvot, and today she keeps all of them with love and care. “I’ve never been happier. I thank Hashem every day for bringing me closer to Him and letting me taste the sweetness of Shabbat, which I now long for all week.”

Her message to others is clear and filled with heart:

“If you haven’t yet started keeping Shabbat, try. Start with something small, and don’t give up if you fall along the way. Hashem is always helping. He helped me, He’s helping me now, and He’ll help anyone who wants to take even the smallest step toward Him. Just begin and He will take care of the rest.”