Linor Abargil: "Hashem Saved Me"

She is only 34 years old, yet she seems to have lived a full life that would put much older women to shame. As you may recall, her public journey began at the age of 18 in 1998 when she was invited to participate in the Miss Israel pageant. Initially, she refused the offer, but eventually accepted it. Little did she know how this decision would ultimately change the course of her entire life.

Soon enough, she was riding high on the waves of success and wealth, having been crowned as Miss Israel, followed by winning the Miss World competition and being named the most beautiful woman in the world. Overnight, Abargil lost her anonymity, and her name appeared in every newspaper and media outlet possible.

Linor Abargil. Thankful to Hashem

Since then, Abargil has experienced several transformations, including marrying Shaaras, the non-Jewish basketball player, going through a severe trauma that deeply affected her, marrying Oron Kalphon, who is her current husband and the father of her three children, and notably her significant turn towards Jewish faith, all of which she discussed in a recent interview with a women's magazine.

Abargil describes her introduction to Judaism as starting through the couple Noa and Yuval Dayan, attending their regular classes at a spiritual center in the heart of Tel Aviv called "Hithavut." Her journey towards faith was, according to her, well-received by her family. "My parents had a bit of a hard time at first," she explained, "because when you raise a child in a certain way and they choose a different path, it's not always easy for you. But my parents always accepted me, regardless of the situation. Now they're very happy about my decision, seeing how good it has been for me, and they understand that I've gained my true self."

When asked about her feelings today as a religious woman regarding her past marriage to a non-Jew, Abargil responded: "We weren't really married. Civil marriage isn't considered a real marriage. I was young, naive, didn't really know what I was doing, and today, looking back, I can't even believe I was in that situation. I see pictures, and I can't believe it's me. The whole story seems surreal to me. I believe one thing leads to another, and this event needed to happen for me to find my path back with my husband today. To me, my first and only marriage is to Oron. I was not married before him."

Additionally, she shared her acquaintance with her current husband, Oron Kalphon, who is also the father of her three children. "When I met Oron, he had just stopped working on Shabbat," she recounted. "And today, he observes everything, and together we've been blessed to build a home in Israel, with God's help."

Regarding the sacrifices she chose to make by drawing closer to Judaism and giving up a modeling career, she was clear: "I gladly gave up modeling. I never enjoyed it. I never saw it as a career or a respectable profession, despite the large sums of money I made. Money doesn't move me. I could have earned millions, but I never followed the money. Money comes along when you're doing what matters to you. I gave up the money to gain myself, my husband, and my family. Is there anything better than that?"

Furthermore, when asked how she feels seeing old modeling pictures of herself, she said: "I'm ashamed of it, but there's nothing to be done. It's part of who I was and part of what I've been through. That's why I have this role today."

Built a home in Israel

When asked how she would react, as a religious woman today and a mother of two daughters and a son, if one of her daughters wanted to become Miss Israel like she was, Abargil replied emphatically: "Heaven forbid. There's no chance she would want such a thing, not with the values I'm raising her with. Her mother will explain very well why it's not advisable. It's not a profession. What, to sell your body and soul for a few bucks, or in my case, a few hundred thousand?"

During the interview, Abargil also recounts a severe trauma she experienced before becoming Miss World. She later decided to transform that trauma into a film and share her story with the world, raising awareness about violence against women. She worked on the film for years, collaborating with various figures from the global film industry. In the end, when the film was released, Abargil learned that it had been chosen as one of five films nominated for the prestigious Emmy Award. "When we traveled to the Emmy ceremony, I told my husband, 'Look at this, I returned to faith and brought you to the Emmy.' I believe you can do everything within faith."

When asked if she feels she will be able to share her trauma with her daughters, she answered: "It's on my mind all the time. It's very scary to raise daughters today with everything happening, but aside from praying for them, there's not much I can do."

Finally, she addressed the trauma in the context of faith that she gained over the years: "I believe everything that needs to happen, happens, for better or worse... the trauma I experienced made me a better person. It's true that if I could choose, I wouldn't have chosen it, but I believe everything I went through made me who I am today, and everything happens for the best. I look at the good that came out of it, on the fact that I'm helping women around the world, that I stayed alive and learned to appreciate all the good things I have. Yes, I went through trauma, but I'm a happy person despite it, and maybe even because of it."

To conclude, she ends the interview with uplifting words, "Hashem saved me," she declares firmly. "If He hadn't wanted me to live, I wouldn't have lived. Even though I wasn't religious then, I knew only He could save me, I prayed to Him in my heart, and He heard my prayer. He gave me the right thoughts and words to get out of it. There isn't a day that goes by where I don't think about how I could have died there. How could I not?"