From Tank Explosion to Torah: Doron Hagay’s Spiritual Awakening

"Suddenly, we heard a huge boom. I looked around and saw that the entire tank was filled with shrapnel. Some of my fellow soldiers had been killed. I was terrified. I was sure I had been seriously hurt. But when I looked at myself, I saw I was completely fine," begins our conversation with Doron Hagay, a 40-year-old former tank commander. Today, he’s a teacher, author, and creator of Torah videos for children. He lives in the holy city of Tzfat with his wife and six children.

"At that moment, I knew I had just witnessed a miracle. It was clear to me that a higher power had saved me. It wasn’t chance, and it definitely wasn’t the Big Bang theory or anything else I had believed in until then."

Was that the turning point in Doron’s life? Possibly. But the truth is, his return to Judaism wasn’t immediate. After finishing his army service, he joined the crew of an Italian cruise ship. "I was the only Israeli onboard," he recalls. He spoke fluent Italian and fit right in, no one would guess he was Jewish. Or so he thought.

One day, while on duty, someone drew a swastika on his belongings. Even worse, the captain asked him to erase it. "I was furious," Doron remembers. "I told the captain, ‘What’s your problem? I speak like you, I eat your food. Why are you treating me differently?’"

The captain didn’t flinch. He looked Doron in the eye and said coldly, "You’ll never be like us. You’re a Jew."

A week later, Doron left the ship. That painful experience made him realize something: no matter how much he tried to blend in, the world still saw him as a Jew.

Hoping to find spiritual meaning, he traveled to South America. But after four months, he returned to Israel, still feeling empty. "I saw that no place, no adventure, could fill the void I felt inside."

Doron had grown up distant from Judaism, completely secular and often critical of religion. "I used to argue with religious people all the time. I thought I was enlightened, progressive, left-wing. I even took part in protests against settlers and religious Jews."

He had studied diplomacy at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, dreaming of working in Israel’s Foreign Ministry. But he quickly became disillusioned. "None of my professors could actually teach me how to fix the world. That’s all I ever wanted, to make the world better. But I realized I was in the wrong place."

So he dropped out and enrolled in art studies at Tel Aviv University, hoping creativity might help him find purpose. One of his courses was called "Stations in Western Culture." The first station: Cain and Abel. The second: the Binding of Yitzchak (Isaac).

"These texts stirred something deep inside me. With the Binding of Isaac, I was angry at first. How could any religion demand a father sacrifice his son? But when I studied more, I learned that Yitzchak wasn’t a little boy, he was 37 years old and went willingly. That changed everything. I realized I had been taught lies about Judaism."

This was the beginning of Doron’s spiritual awakening. "I decided to read the Torah from start to finish. When I reached the Ten Commandments, something shifted in my soul. I felt: This is it. This is what I’ve been searching for all my life."

But he also realized he had to live honestly with his new discoveries. "How could I continue living my old life, pretending nothing had changed, after finding something so true and powerful?"

He started keeping Shabbat and moved into a small hut along the Yarkon River. That’s when everything started to shift even more.

"On my second Shabbat there, my neighbor, a religious Yemenite Jew invited me to eat jachnun. I joined him and was shocked. These people I used to mock were kind, happy, and welcoming. They didn’t have horns or tails. They were just normal people, filled with light."

He visited the beit midrash (study hall) that same Shabbat and started reading everything he could. "It was like discovering a whole new world. Every moment was filled with meaning. Slowly, I was drawn into the world of Torah."

But he also knew he couldn’t continue on his own. He found a class taught by Rabbi Yossi Ginsburg in Ramat Aviv and studied with him for two years. Eventually, through a shidduch (matchmaking), he met his wife, Yael. Today, they have six children and a home dedicated to spreading Torah in a very creative way.

Besides being a talented graphic designer, Yael illustrates the children’s books and videos that Doron writes. Together, the couple founded "Pnei Melech," a project that creates animated Torah videos for kids. The whole family helps, even the children.

"When we were on shlichut (a mission) in Venice with the Chabad House, we realized that today’s generation needs to see Torah, not just hear it. Visual learning is powerful, especially for kids."

Yael taught herself video animation. Doron writes the scripts and sends them to two rabbis for approval. Once the story is ready, they begin illustrating and voice recording together as a family.

"Today we have over 40 videos on our website," Doron says. "They’ve been translated into Russian, English, Portuguese, and Spanish. We get messages from Jews all over the world."

And what inspires his writing?

"A lot of prayer. I pray even about the smallest detail, about how to explain big ideas to little hearts. We don’t just create content, we create connection."

And where do they find the time?

Doron smiles. "Time is like Eretz Yisrael, the Land of Israel. Just like the land stretches to hold all its people, time expands to hold all your holy work. The more you fill your time with Torah and goodness, the more you’re able to do. It’s all from Hashem."