From London to Bnei Brak: One Man’s Journey to Torah

He stood at the heart of London’s Victoria Station, surrounded by thousands of strangers, when something unexpected happened. Ziv Cohen, just 26 at the time, had flown abroad for the first time in his life. He wanted to see the world, take a break from Israeli life, and maybe learn something new about different cultures. Everyone said London would be amazing. But standing in that massive crowd of people, Ziv was struck by something much deeper.

“I remember looking around and feeling overwhelmed. There were people of every color and background, Pakistani, American, Chinese. A real mix of humanity. But suddenly, I felt something I hadn’t expected. A quiet realization hit me: I don’t belong to them. I’m different. I didn’t know how to explain it, but I knew it in my bones. I felt like I was made of something else.”

Ziv had been living what many would consider a dream life. He had served in an elite IDF unit, earned a degree, launched a profitable business, and traveled. But at that train station, in a moment of silence amid the noise, something changed. “It was like a light turned on inside. I didn’t connect it to Judaism right away, but I knew I needed to explore this feeling.”

Later, while walking down Oxford Street, he felt it again. “Why do I feel this pull toward someone just because they speak Hebrew? What is this invisible thread that ties us together as Jews, no matter where we are in the world?”

Then came the flight home. A small plane from a lesser-known airport. Half the passengers were Orthodox Jews. “At one point, the turbulence got really bad. People were visibly shaken. But I looked at the Jews quietly reading Tehillim (Psalms), and something about them calmed me. They felt safe, grounded. Watching them gave me peace.”

Back in Israel, the feelings lingered. Ziv continued chasing success, surfing, studying, running his business but his soul still felt empty. “I had everything on the outside, but inside, I was still searching.”

One day, he found himself listening to Torah classes online just out of curiosity. “I watched a few clips, nothing serious. No kippah, no intention to change my life. But something about it kept pulling me in.”

Eventually, he was invited for a Shabbat meal. “It wasn’t the food or the customs that moved me, it was the peace. The simplicity. The sense of truth in that family’s home. I couldn’t ignore it.”

Still, Ziv didn’t fully commit. For three years he kept his distance watching from the sidelines, learning a little here and there, but not stepping into a full Torah lifestyle.

Until one difficult day, feeling aimless and down, he got on a bus to Jerusalem. He didn’t know why. He just started walking. That’s when he found himself outside the “HaShalom” Yeshiva in the religious neighborhood of Mekor Baruch. He walked in.

Inside, dozens of people were waiting to meet a well-known Kabbalist. The assistant told Ziv it would be impossible to get in without an appointment made months in advance. But after hearing Ziv’s story, he softened. “You’ll be last,” he said. “Wait.”

Three hours later, Ziv entered the room. The Kabbalist looked at him and smiled a warm, knowing smile. “It felt like he knew me. Not just who I was, but everything I had been through. Everything I hadn’t said. He spoke to me about my life in ways I couldn’t explain.”

And then came the moment that changed everything. “You must learn Torah,” the rabbi told him gently. Then he handed Ziv his personal Gemara. That single act of love and trust opened a new chapter in Ziv’s life.

But it didn’t end there. Before Ziv left, the Kabbalist called in another rabbi, Rabbi Yaakov Ades. Though Ziv didn’t know who he was at the time, he felt his presence was extraordinary.

Rabbi Ades later connected him with Rabbi Ben Zion Abba Shaul, who took Ziv under his wing and opened a private learning program just for him in Bnei Brak. “He taught me how to learn Torah from scratch. He believed in me. And slowly, I became a full-time Torah learner.”

Ziv eventually married a righteous woman and built a Torah home. His children are learning in Torah schools, and his life has completely transformed.

So what does he say to someone who’s searching but unsure? “It wasn’t easy. But I see now that Hashem guided me every step of the way. I had everything money could buy, but nothing could fill the emptiness like Torah and mitzvot. If someone like me could come back, it’s only because this path is real. And once you taste truth, you can’t let it go.”