From Soccer Star to Spiritual Leader: Nili’s Remarkable Journey

Fifteen years ago, if you had asked Nili Gingold Elsheikh what she wanted to be when she grew up, she would have answered without hesitation: a successful soccer player. She wasn’t just dreaming, she had real talent. From a young age, she played competitively and even made it to the European Championship finals.

Everyone expected great things from her. So when she was finally accepted as a regular player on the Israeli national team, it should have been her happiest moment. But Nili remembers that day differently.

“It was the saddest day of my life,” she recalls. “I felt a deep emptiness, like something was missing inside. I didn’t know what could possibly fill that hole.”

That’s when her spiritual search began. Nili, who had grown up in a religious Zionist home, already believed in Hashem. But something deeper was calling her.

“I didn’t understand the deeper side of emunah, faith. I kept asking myself hard questions: Why does suffering exist? Why is there evil in the world? I knew the people around me didn’t have the answers because they were struggling just like I was. So I searched for the truth on my own. That journey took time.”

Over time, the cheerful girl who once ran across noisy soccer fields became a thoughtful young woman, determined to live with purpose, not just to follow routines because that’s what was expected.

After a year of spiritual growth, she met her husband, David Elsheikh, through a shidduch (matchmaker), and they got married when she was 22. “I told him clearly: our life has to have a purpose. I didn’t want to live an average life, I wanted a life of giving and meaning.”

Today, Nili is a mother of two, a writer, a poet, and the wife of a U.S. military rabbi. Together, she and her husband are known for their remarkable outreach work, first in Japan and now in Savannah, Georgia.

Building Jewish Communities From Japan to Georgia

How did they end up in Japan?

“When David finished his training to become a military chaplain, there were different options for assignments, Greece, Japan, China, and the U.S. I immediately crossed off the U.S. I wanted something more challenging. At first, Japan didn’t excite me either. I remember thinking, ‘What will I even do there, sit in a pagoda all day and eat rice?’ Something about it didn’t feel right.”

But as the other options were ruled out, they agreed to go to Japan. David became the rabbi of the Jewish community in Kobe, and their daughter, now five, went to a Japanese kindergarten because that was the only option.

After four difficult years, they decided it was time to leave. “The hardest part was the loneliness. There was no real Jewish community, no shared culture or language. We had the only steady minyan (prayer group) in the area.”

But even in that isolation, they made a real impact. They hosted countless Israeli travelers, held meetings with United Nations representatives, and even helped a young Israeli woman imprisoned in Japan.

“She wasn’t allowed to see anyone except us. We became like her family. After long negotiations and a lot of tefillah (prayer), Hashem helped us bring her back to Israel. It was truly a miracle.”

Before leaving Japan, they were even invited to represent Israel at a peace conference in Nagasaki.

Then came a new mission: Kansas, USA. David was now a military chaplain on a U.S. Army base.

Life on Base: Raising Jewish Kids Without a Jewish World

Life in Kansas was far from easy.

“There was no synagogue, no kosher food, no Jewish school,” Nili recalls. “David was often away, sometimes for weeks, and once even for half a year during a war. I raised the kids on my own, far from any Jewish community. The closest one was three hours away.”

Even when they could have gone to a community for Shabbat, they often stayed home for the sake of just one Jew who might come to them.

“Imagine this. A soldier who isn’t religious could easily go out for a regular Friday night meal. But instead, he chooses to come to us to hear Kiddush and taste a bit of Shabbat. Can I really say, ‘Sorry, we’re not hosting this week’? Of course not.”

A Pastor with a Jewish Soul

Each month, military chaplains from different faiths gather for a conference. At one meeting, a pastor stood up to speak and something about him immediately struck Nili.

“The second he opened his mouth, I just knew he was Jewish. I can’t explain how, I just felt it in my soul.”

The more he spoke, the clearer it became. Eventually, the pastor shared that his grandmother was Jewish.

Later, the Gingolds visited his home. Right at the entrance, Nili sensed something different. It didn’t feel like a Christian home, it felt familiar. Her eyes landed on a picture of the pastor’s grandmother, and above it, the Hebrew letters of Hashem’s name.

“I asked if he knew what it meant. He didn’t. All he knew was that he was Jewish.”

She gently told him, “Edgar, you have to come home. Hashem never gives up on you.”

He cried. It wasn’t easy, he was married to a non-Jewish woman, used to a certain life. But slowly, with their encouragement, he began reconnecting to Judaism. Today, he puts on tefillin every day.

“He may still be in the same job, but at least he knows who he is. And that’s something we’re incredibly grateful for.”

A Month Later, They Were Transferred

Just one month after Edgar began putting on tefillin, the couple was sent to a new base. “I truly believe that we were sent to Kansas just for him,” Nili says. “Hashem had a reason.”

What is it like to be the wife of a rabbi in the military?

“My job is to host Jews, soldiers, civilians, anyone who crosses our path. David handles the spiritual support: answering halachic (Jewish law) questions, giving guidance, and strengthening others.”

They started a website called “By Women’s Merit,” which supports Jewish women in the military. It includes sections for questions from soldiers, how to find kosher food, observe yahrzeits (anniversaries of loved ones' passing), hold a Passover seder, and more.

There’s even a section called “From a Female Warrior’s Diary,” featuring a personal column from a Jewish woman in uniform, along with Torah thoughts from the weekly parsha (Torah portion).

Recently, Nili received recognition from a high-ranking officer, a Colonel, for her important work.

“The site doesn’t just connect Jewish female soldiers, it also helps the wives of Jewish chaplains around the world. That’s no small thing. Usually, no one gives out personal contact information in the military. But now, thanks to this initiative, these women know they’re not alone. We’re here, whenever they need us.”