Avraham Zamora: "Heaven Guided Me to Illustrate a Book of Baal Shem Tov Stories"

Six years ago, animator and illustrator Avraham Zamora felt a strong desire to create an illustrated book of Baal Shem Tov stories. At the time, Zamora was not religious, but the urge was persistent. "I felt as if I was encountering the name of the Baal Shem Tov everywhere," he recounts. "From websites I browsed to books I read. Eventually, I succumbed to this impulse."

Succumbing to this urge wasn't a side project; Zamora, a well-known animator, left his job to follow his heart. "I spent nine months at home, illustrating the book. This work completely absorbed me. I found so much depth and meaning in the stories."

Once the book was finished, Zamora decided to publish it, but faced a dilemma: he believed with secular eyes the book would seem too religious, yet he was unfamiliar with the religious market. After consultations, he partnered with Rabbi Avraham Ohayon and Rabbi Meizlik from 'Meizlik Books', who agreed to publish it together. "They gently taught me the ways of the religious world so I could make some adjustments to the illustrations. They accepted me warmly, even though I didn't wear a kippah yet." But the kippah wasn't far off. Meet Avraham Zamora, the man who drew himself closer to Judaism through a book he created.

Avraham Zamora from the show 'In a Different Direction'

"I've Always Felt a Guiding Hand"

Avraham Zamora, 46, was born and raised in the former Soviet Union and immigrated to Israel in 1991 during the Gulf War. He acquired his artistic background in Russia. "After 10th grade, I studied two years in a program where I earned a certificate as an 'artistic carpenter' – someone who creates artistic handmade furniture. Later, I joined the army, where I often drew, mainly airplanes, but also posters for soldier training." After his military service, Zamora studied animation for two years and worked at the first private animation studio in Russia.

Upon his immigration to Israel, he found work surprisingly quickly. "Within ten days, though I knew just three words in Hebrew, I was working as an animator in a studio." Later he started his own studio, producing animations for children's movies and advertisements. Among other projects, he created clips for advertisements for Cheetos, Bissli, and Carlo.

After nearly two decades in the field, Zamora grew weary. "I felt what I was doing was void of content. It wasn’t helping or advancing anyone." This feeling sparked the desire to illustrate the book about the Baal Shem Tov. "I can't say I decided to do it – I just feel that heaven had me sit and draw the book." The creative process soon became a spiritual journey.

Zamora says he's always felt a guiding hand throughout his life. "Even as a secular person, I wasn’t allowed to sin too much. There was always a kind of 'stop' that said to me, no further." For instance, he stopped working on Shabbat long before he embraced religious life. "I just noticed that everything I created on Shabbat didn't sell or go anywhere. So I decided no more working on Shabbat. Even in my field, where tight deadlines often mean people work on Shabbat to meet them."

When he began strengthening his faith through the 'Stories of the Baal Shem Tov', Zamora found himself in somewhat familiar territory. "My uncle is ultra-Orthodox – he immigrated to Israel in the seventies and became religious over the years. When my wife and I immigrated, we stayed with him for two months." During their stay in the ultra-Orthodox Jerusalem neighborhood, they tried to respect their hosts. "We did everything we saw them do, out of respect." But despite the respect and fondness for his uncle, the couple returned to their usual lifestyle once in their own home. "When I decided to strengthen my faith, I already knew some things. I started by not smoking on Shabbat, and progressed from there."

Zamora says the process of religious strengthening never ends. "I'm still in progress, strengthening step by step. The most important thing is to keep moving forward, not backward."

Since the Baal Shem Tov book, there have been many collaborations between him and Rabbi Avraham Ohayon. Other authors seeking to publish comic books have also approached Zamora, and soon Jewish comic journals knocked on his door: Zamora illustrates for 'Kinderline', a Yiddish comic magazine in the U.S., and for 'Marshmallow', an Israeli one.

Is there a particular book you especially love amongst those you've illustrated?

"The Stories of the Baal Shem Tov are closest to my heart for obvious reasons, but all the other books are equally important to me. I love all the books because I invest everything I can in them."

How do you compare your current work to your previous occupation as an animator?

"I mainly feel I'm involved in things with substance now. The focus is not just on amusing children. Even when I illustrate adventures and imaginary stories – they are based on Torah and Jewish principles, which is very important. That's exactly what I missed in my previous work."

Besides the meaning he finds in his work, Zamora appreciates another aspect of illustrating books for the ultra-Orthodox community: "Thanks to all these books, I've started studying much more Torah. If it's a biblical story, for instance, I study the commentators well. After all, if I have to illustrate the Temple, I need to know what it looked like. And if it’s a historical story about the Second Temple, I also have to read many sources – otherwise, how would I know whether all Jews wore tefillin all the time during the Second Temple era, or only the scholars? This way I learn a lot, and the knowledge is embedded in my memory."