The Miracle of Zachi Leon's Oil Cap

It is likely that Zachi Leon, author of the book 'Divine Providence', is one of the most 'colorful' and fascinating personalities you will meet: In his youth, he founded a political party to promote young people, then married his wife based on asking her how she would react if he decided to become religious one day - despite both being secular at the time. After the wedding, they left the country, he started his own business and lived like a king until... "The King of Kings, decided to pay a visit".

From a young age, Leon was interested in profound topics, engaging in philosophical debates with friends about the meaning and purpose of life. Generally, he knew that religion was the path by which he wanted to live his life. However, life took him in a completely different direction – into politics. "Twenty years ago, my father was politically involved, and I decided to follow in his footsteps by founding a party of my own. Thus the 'Zela' party was born, which stands for Young People for Their Future. We won around 40 votes".

Although this did not ensure the party's continuity, one good thing came out of the political episode – Leon met his wife. "Only in retrospect do I see that the whole political involvement was meant for me to meet my wife, who was also a young lady concerned about the future of the youth in the country. I saw she was a good person, but it was still not enough for me – I had to test her in a completely different way to see if she was suitable to be my wife".

"If I suddenly become religious, how would you accept it?" he bravely asked the secular girl who still held signs of 'Meretz'. It was only two weeks after they met, but she smiled at him and said: "I would actually be happy". Leon's eyes welled up with excitement, and he found himself saying to her, "You are my wife, and from here we are going to get married".

The words had a binding power, and eight months later, they found themselves under the chuppah. A week after the wedding, they decided to join their parents – who on a clear day sought to fulfill an old dream – sold the house and flew to America.

Book cover of Divine Providence

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It's surprising to see how a person suddenly rises, leaves everything behind, and decides to start anew in another country – this despite not speaking the language spoken there, barely knowing the local mentality, and needing to start everything... from scratch.

What about the parents, how did they handle this risk?

"There's no doubt it's a difficult decision and a tough challenge – but it's possible. To understand this, you need to know the background of the family I come from: I grew up in a warm and valued family that did not observe Torah and mitzvot – but loved trips. I do remember my grandfather going to the synagogue on Friday evenings – but whenever I asked why I didn't go to the synagogue with Dad, the answer was: 'We go on trips. You enjoy the beach, what's wrong with that?'".

"Of course, we were very far from religious values back then, so what I mainly remember from my childhood is weekend trips with tents all over the country. I guess the move abroad was a combination of both – love of trips and fulfilling an old dream my parents had for years".

So what happens in the US? Leon continues the hedonistic and empty lifestyle he was accustomed to, although something inside him always cries out for a spiritual filling. He starts his own business in partnership with another Israeli, rides the 'right wave', and for a long period, lives like a king: Brain – 'Wisdom and intellect to know where to invest and in what, business-wise'. Heart – 'Feeling like a man of the world, lacking nothing. Good wife, got. Two wonderful daughters, got. Good job, got. What more could one need?' Liver – 'The combination of brain and heart, between intellect and emotion, still didn't calm me. In everything I did, I felt a kind of heaviness that landed on me. And this heaviness told me: 'Listen, something is missing here'.

What was missing?

"That's it, even I didn't understand it until one day I was sitting in my office and browsing the internet. 'Accidentally', I clicked a button on a link that led me to a document called 'The Laws of Repentance of the Rambam'. I started reading and just got sucked in. Suddenly, it was clear to me this was what I had been looking for all along, and from there I slowly began to do teshuvah".

Personal Chanukah Miracle: "I Was Mesmerized"

Can you grasp the magnitude of this merit? Thus, from reading a few lines from Rambam, Leon started keeping Shabbat and observing mitzvot – but it was at his own pace, which was very gradual back then and with deep reflection. Yet, he still lacked the courage to visit the synagogue and pray in a minyan.

"One day, a religious friend suggested I join him on a trip to 'Cosco', an enormous chain of stores in the US where you can find everything you need at minimal prices. Since I needed a cap for my fuel tank, which I had lost, I agreed and we went.

"When we arrived there, I found myself wandering absentmindedly for a few hours, unable to find the fuel cap. I asked people, walked down the long aisles, inspected every department – and nothing. I left the store as I had entered – empty-handed. Initially, I got slightly upset, but it was clear to me it was a test from Hashem and I decided to take it in stride".

On the eve of Shabbat that week, Leon decided to visit the synagogue for the first time. "My daughter, may she live, was three years old. I bought her a dress, myself a white shirt and a prayer book, and went to the synagogue to pray. The feeling was sublime, and I loved it very much. The next morning I woke up too early, and when I arrived at the synagogue, it was still closed. I sat in the parking lot and began to talk to Hashem and thank Him. At some point, I turned my glance aside because a black object caught my attention, and when I got closer to see what it was – I couldn't believe my eyes: it was the fuel cap that fit exactly what I had searched for hours in Costco, unsuccessfully".

Zachi Leon

How did you feel?

"Mesmerized. I couldn't quite understand what exactly happened here, but I felt Hashem's providence over me and knew it was time to go all in and return to a full and inner teshuvah. Without procrastinating or making empty promises. Just start doing".

And despite initial hardships – his wife's objections, the business collapse, and more – Leon didn't give up and continued to forge forward in the stormy sea. "There were many difficulties, but thank God, there was also a great measure of Divine assistance that guided and stabilized my path in teshuvah", he says.

After ten years of life in exile, Leon decided to make aliyah and return to the land. But they did not only bring themselves back to the land – they brought 40 other couples from Los Angeles, forming a warm community and establishing their own kollel in the city of Modi'in. Over time, Leon opened a bicycle shop in the city – and began giving a weekly Torah class, 'mainly to teenagers who came to fix a flat in their bicycle tires', Leon jokes.

Then came the book's turn. "Following the reading of my friend Ran Weber's successful book, I was inspired and wanted to put my life story on paper, which I had previously only shared during Shabbat meals, to the dozens of people who visited us and were spiritually uplifted by it. When I started writing the book 'Divine Providence', I didn't believe I'd finish it within just three months. I had many reservations about whether to write it or not, but since it encompasses subjects that touch every person, especially if they are a ba'al teshuvah – I knew I had to make the effort.

"Today, after the book has thankfully been printed and in light of the many enthusiastic responses I receive – I realize how good it was that I didn't listen to the evil inclination, which tried to dissuade me from all this work. Today I know that if a person feels the urge to do something sacred – despite having many difficulties along the way – he must insist and give everything he has to accomplish it. Because not only does the reward come, it comes with the added value of strengthening fellow Jews and leading them to the true path, and there's nothing greater than that".