Bringing Spiritual Life to Florida's Heartland

Many times, life's waves carry a person to far-off and remote places, ones that nobody truly understands why someone would go there, and that nobody would really want to spend the rest of their life there - far from their natural and familiar environment, often exposed to real spiritual danger.

Guy Ohayon, 28, a ba'al teshuva from Rishon LeZion and graduate of Rabbi Zamir Cohen's yeshiva in Beitar Illit, never imagined that one day this wave would sweep him away too, along with his wife Dana, 26, and their one-year-old daughter, Sara'le, to become the rabbi of a small Jewish community in Panama City Beach, Florida, USA. Guy's acquaintance with the Jewish world began two years after completing his military service, around the age of 23, when he was exposed to many lectures on Judaism online, and gradually began to change his secular lifestyle and pave his way to repentance.

"My serious leap in spirituality," Guy recalls, "occurred when I discovered the fascinating lectures of Rabbi Zamir Cohen, thanks to which I decided to enroll in Rabbi Cohen's yeshiva in Beitar Illit as a full-fledged yeshiva student. I studied there for two years. Immediately after, I met my wife Dana through a match, who also returned to Judaism and studied in a seminary for ba'alot teshuva, and we got married. After the wedding, upon Rabbi Zamir Cohen's advice and guidance, I began studying for a year and a half in the 'Ma'amar Mordechai' halacha kollel in Jerusalem, led by Rabbi Shimon Dror."

How did you become a community rabbi abroad?

"In general, I always loved activities related to bringing people closer to Judaism and strengthening others. Even when I was a yeshiva student, I tried to stick close to the new guys and help as much as I could. While studying at the halacha kollel in Jerusalem, I simultaneously worked with the 'Lev L'Achim' organization, where we were sent, among other avrechim including myself, to the Western Wall. Our role was to randomly approach Jews who didn't look religious and try to get them to attend Torah study sessions held across the country. This activity lasted for half a year until one day I 'randomly' met Rabbi Zamir Cohen at a singles conference at the Kotel, and Rabbi suddenly asked me if I wanted to fly to the United States to serve as a community rabbi. At first, I was shocked. I asked the Rabbi why he thought I was suitable for the role and his answer was: 'Ask Hashem.'

"I returned home and consulted with my wife. I was sure, as an only daughter to her parents, she wouldn't agree to leave them and they wouldn't agree to part from her, but I was quickly proven wrong. It turns out I married a righteous woman who does what needs to be done for others, understanding the great role given to her as the wife of an avrech dedicated to Torah, with the attitude of 'wherever you go, I will go.' It was not an easy decision for me - on the one hand, I wanted to stay in Israel since I was happy here and it was hard for me to see myself leaving everything behind, with a wife and a six-month-old child, but on the other hand, Rabbi Zamir gave his blessing. Only when we received simultaneous support from our families did I understand that Divine Providence was guiding this endeavor and that this was Hashem's will for me, and I began to mentally prepare for the journey. Although the decision was made relatively quickly, we had to wait about a year until the entire procedure of obtaining visas, finding an apartment, and other preparations was completed."

So what does the role of a community rabbi entail? What activities do you and your wife engage in for the Florida community?

"First, it's important for me to mention that despite the many fears that accompanied my wife and I before the trip, thank God, we were warmly and lovingly received by the community members, even the less religious ones. When we arrived here, we were surprised to find that while there was indeed a synagogue, it was almost never populated. The few individuals who visited it didn't constitute a minyan. We were uncertain whether it was permissible to pray there, so we consulted Rabbi Zamir, and to our amazement, his response was that it was better not to pray with a minyan even for an entire year, so that at least one woman would merit to immerse in a mikveh of purity at least once in her life. At that point, we understood the magnitude of the role given to us and its importance, and we began to work diligently to revive the spiritual desert and strengthen the community as much as possible. I must also mention the synagogue's gabbai, Mr. Danny Sade, who does holy work and contributes a great deal of his time for the strengthening of the community. I myself give daily lessons on various topics to both men and women, in addition to private lessons in Hebrew and Judaism for children, which is greatly needed here as most children speak only English. Additionally, during the first month after our arrival, we were introduced to the generous person who donated the location for our new mikveh and has since been an active partner in all construction processes, Mr. Sunny Asseraf. Already from our first month here, we found a place for building the mikveh, and although we began construction and completed the plumbing stage, unfortunately, at this point, the construction has come to a halt."

Were there any specific conflicts you encountered?

"Since I feel responsible for every person who comes to me, my greatest challenge is absorbing the disappointment from investing several months in a secular young man, distant from Torah and mitzvot, who unfortunately, despite having discovered the truth and starting his first steps in repentance, couldn't hold up against societal temptations and relapsed. It's a very tough feeling to invest in a tree - to plant the sapling, water the earth, pray for rain, make grafts, hope for fruits - and finally see the sapling uprooted. Other challenges we experience here include the distance from family and the familiar and beloved surroundings, as well as the distance from a surrounding of Torah and holiness. Living among non-Jews is no small matter and the spiritual level you think you have achieved is tested in reality every day. It's important to recharge our own batteries so that we can give and strengthen, but it's not always easy to do so, especially in an environment that doesn't observe Torah and mitzvot."