The Guru Who Became a Rabbi: The Inspiring Journey of Gutman Locks

Gutman Locks was a wealthy American Jew from Arizona who made millions. Over time, Locks fell into depression as he searched for the meaning of life, questioning whether he was meant to just earn millions and buy homes.<\/p>

Due to his depression, Gutman started using drugs for inner joy, but he then wondered if drugs were the ultimate purpose of life. After much contemplation, he decided to find himself in southern India, on a journey to a large sect leader of about 5,000 followers who awaited him daily.<\/p>

Gutman recounted thinking the guru would meet him first since he came from faraway America, but he actually waited for weeks. After three weeks of waiting, something unexpected happened: the guru's elephant ran amok, endangering the lives of hundreds.<\/p>

Calmly, Locks approached the elephant and said, "Stop," and the elephant halted. Impressed by Locks' way of stopping the elephant, the guru invited him to his home. For many weeks, the guru taught Locks the "secrets of the trade."<\/p>

After five months of mystical practice, all of India began bowing to Locks. A year after becoming an Indian deity with "mystical qualities," he decided to return to America and continue his "spiritual leadership."<\/p>

Arriving at Central Park in New York as a guru himself, hundreds of people bowed to him, including celebrities and well-known figures. After becoming a guru in America, Gutman continued meditating, remaining silent for three years and communicating only through hand gestures.<\/p>

At a certain point, Gutman began sinking into depression again, feeling on the brink of madness. He ventured into another field – Christian healing. Locks learned Christian healing techniques and became an expert in that too. Nevertheless, after a long period of "healing" people in America, Gutman's feelings of depression and lack of meaning returned.<\/p>

After being a millionaire, an Indian and American guru, and a Christian healer, Gutman decided to try the one thing he hadn't yet – "being a Jew who follows mitzvot." He boarded a plane from the U.S. to Israel, arriving at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, where he asked Hashem to send him a holy person to teach him what to do.<\/p>

While Gutman continued his prayers, a person approached him and asked if he wanted to put on tefillin. From that moment until today, for about thirty years, Gutman has lived in Jerusalem, going to the Western Wall in the afternoons to help Jews put on tefillin. "I've become quite good at it," he says, "I've learned how to measure Jewish blood pressure."<\/span><\/p>

According to him: "If you only focus on the physical aspects of mitzvot, they become burdensome. The problem is that Israelis haven't found the spiritual side of mitzvot yet, which is why they flee to India and the East. If they found spirituality in mitzvot, they wouldn't think of leaving Judaism to search for other things."<\/p>