From Shlomo Artzi to King Solomon: The Fascinating Life Story of Saxophonist Oren Ben Avi

"An interview for Hidabroot cannot start without a crazy story that happened to me with you. It was one of the strongest moments of divine providence I've experienced in my life," Oren Ben Avi tells me excitedly at the start of our conversation. Oren (35), married and father of two living in the area, is a musical arranger and one of the most talented saxophonists in the country, which likely brought him to play and perform with Israel's best singers, including Shlomo Artzi, Yehuda Poliker, Eyal Golan, David D'or, Moshe Peretz, Omer Adam, and others.

"One day Hidabroot called me and offered me to donate money for writing a Torah scroll. I asked what amount was involved and they told me it was a standing order of 150 shekels a month, for a year, eventually totaling 1,800 shekels. I told them I'd like to consult my wife and get back to them. This was relatively at the beginning of my return to faith, and the people around me didn't quite know how to handle the new situation. I was sure my wife would refuse.

"I approached her and told her about the matter, and suddenly, out of nowhere, she told me that when she was little, her dad used to buy her and her sister letters in a Torah scroll, and she actually connects to the idea and just asked how much it costs. I said it was 150 a month. She said no problem. I was simply on cloud nine. I couldn't believe she agreed. I thought the ground was turning over on me. I immediately called Hidabroot and said I want to pay the amount in cash and would come next Thursday to the offices in Petah Tikva to arrange it.

"On the morning of that Thursday, I told my wife I was going to Hidabroot to bring them the money. She said it might be a bit tight that day and that I could bring it another time. I told her it was money for a Torah scroll, a significant mitzvah, and it's not good to put off such things. She listened but said: 'Come on, what's the big deal... just 150 shekels... why the rush...'.

"At that moment, I realized there was a misunderstanding between us. I gently explained to her it's 150 a month, not a one-time payment, lasting a year, and totaling 1,800 shekels. She was stunned for a moment and said: '1,800 shekels? So much money?' She thought it was a one-time payment of 150 shekels. Anyway, a person's word is crucial to her, so she said: 'If you promised, then there's nothing we can do'.

"The moment we parked the car near Hidabroot, I got a call. On the line was a secretary for some producer who owed me money for more than three years. At first, I tried to fight and get the money, but at some point, I just gave up. I had no energy to argue with him anymore. He wasn't willing to pay me and other musicians who worked with him. He said he got scammed, made up all kinds of lies. In short, the secretary on the other end says to me: 'Hi Oren, I have no idea what happened, but suddenly he decided to pay you the money. I have a check here in your name, when can you come to pick it up? The amount, by the way, is 1,800 shekels'."

Heart Attack at the Peak of the Wedding

This story, Oren says, left a certain impression on those close to him, but on him – it had a powerful effect. Another sign from Hashem that He is constantly with him. Another sign among many that created a long journey, taking him back to his childhood. "I was born into a classic secular family. We lived in Holon. I was drawn to music from a very young age, and by age six, I started playing the cello.

"I played in various orchestras, and we performed a lot in Israel and around the world. At 15, I began studying at 'Thelma Yellin' (School of Arts in Givatayim, A.S.), where I played the cello for a year and then switched to the saxophone. I practiced a lot until I reached a very high level, and after high school, I was accepted into the IDF Orchestra. During my service, we traveled a lot abroad to raise funds for state institutions and organizations. We raised a considerable amount of money.

What did you do after your discharge?

"Immediately after the army, I started playing with Israel's top artists. David D'or, Shlomo Artzi, Natasha's Friends, Eyal Golan, Moshe Peretz, Omer Adam, Yehuda Poliker, and many others. With most singers, I was a regular part of the ensemble, and with some singers, I joined large performances and special events along with other wind players. In between performances, I did a lot of recordings and musical productions in my studio.

"After that, I took a break from all the performances and flew with a trumpet-playing friend to the United States. I came back at some point, but he's still there, even now for 11 years. Anyway, we flew because we wanted to conquer the world. To play with the biggest. So we flew to Los Angeles because there are the most significant productions in the world. We wanted to save money, so at first, we lived for two months at his aunt's. By the way, a not simple story happened to us then – the first night after we landed, we already had a gig. A religious wedding. At the peak of the wedding, the bride's father had a heart attack, fell, and died on the spot. It was unimaginable.

Amid all this, Ben Avi discusses an agreement he had with his now-wife, regarding him settling in the US for several months, and then she would join him. The plan was indeed carried out, and shortly after, she joined. "We lived in the US for a year, but there was a big longing for family, so we decided to return to Israel. We stood at a crossroads of either staying in America for several more years or returning to Israel. When we got back, I returned to all the performances and affairs, and simultaneously, we got married. Shortly after we married, I started to become stronger in faith.

Ben Avi says there were several reasons for his return to Torah and mitzvot precisely at that time, but still, he wishes to put his finger on the central point in his view. "Before I left the country, there were a few years when I was putting on tefillin. I started after a bad period I went through.

One day, a friend tossed this to me: 'Maybe put on tefillin, I know it helps.' I began to put them on, but was very embarrassed. For example, I would come to rehearsals and be so shy that I would go into the bathroom and put on tefillin there, just so no one would see me. I didn’t even know it was forbidden. I was determined to do this mitzvah in any way and every day, and truly, Baruch Hashem, I succeeded almost every day.

"But the climax was after we came back from the honeymoon. I thought to myself, 'How is it possible that for seven years I’ve been putting on tefillin and reading only two pages out of the whole prayer book?' And I couldn’t understand how all religious people deal with reading the entire siddur.

"So one morning I got up, my wife was already at work, and I started from the morning blessings until Mincha, everything. I had no idea what Shacharit prayer really is, so I just read everything. Including Tikkun Chatzot and all the Kaddish prayers. I even read all the names of Hashem with the special vowelization of each blessing. It took me more than three hours.

"It felt like eternity and I was really upset, so I called one of my best friends, who is an experienced return-to-faith individual, and asked him: 'You guys do this every day, pray for three hours in the morning?' He burst out laughing, said definitely not, explained to me what needs to be read, and added that in any case, Hashem is surely delighted with my prayer because it was indeed innocent.

"I think this is a really sad reality. It’s unbelievable how far I was from Judaism. A 30-year-old guy who doesn’t even know what the name of Hashem is, what Shacharit prayer is, what Kaddish is. After this happened, I wanted to learn how to pray Shacharit, and I came across a video of Rabbi Zamir speaking exactly about this. From there, B"H, I watched more and more videos, learned a lot, just absorbed the material, took on more and more things, one thing led to another, and a mitzvah brought another mitzvah".

"I Made Mistakes Along the Way"

Ben Avi says, his return to Torah and mitzvot has invited much light and joy into his life, but it also brings along challenges with complex situations. "Today, B"H, I keep Torah and mitzvot, and also strive to study Torah as it should be, but for example, I walk around a lot with hats instead of the kippah, trying as much as I can to respect my wife’s wishes.

"Not infrequently, returnees to faith face difficulties from those close to them because they truly live in a problematic situation. This is for the simple reason that those who aren’t into Judaism, and it’s nevertheless introduced into their lives, it can disturb their normal life. Many times there’s no understanding regarding all the mitzvot and prohibitions, and it's very challenging.

"I once heard a lecture from Rabbi Meir Eliyahu, where he mentioned 'Nefesh HaChaim' (the renowned book by Rabbi Chaim of Volozhin), which compares a person returning to faith to someone entering a tunnel with trains passing through it and suddenly realizes a train is coming, so he grabs onto the wall with his nails with all his might and just prays for it to pass. And if it was so in his generation, what shall we say about ours.

"And I feel this complexity all the time. It accompanies me always. And the truth is that it's interesting to see that for traditional people, it's even harder to accept spiritual strengthening than for secular people because they think they have the right formula and don’t understand why all the rules and stringencies are needed.

"Indeed, at the start of the return, it was very hard. A returnee to faith already has to deal with themselves, what they did and missed, and all the learning they're trying to make up for. Add to that resistance from the surrounding who don’t understand what’s come over you, and you've got a person under a tremendous and constant load".

How does this lack of understanding manifest in reality?

"For example, my parents asked me more than once why I take on so many things. The process is such – at first, they try to convince you you’re in the wrong direction. After that, when you continue and survive, they treat you like a little child, saying: 'Okay, let’s not talk to him about it, and it’ll pass on its own.' After that, when you continue on your way, there's a stage where they already say: 'Okay, this is becoming serious, let's start understanding what’s happening with him.'

"At this stage, the real work begins, and indeed, things start to move. For example – on Passover, my mom made her house kosher so I could come. And this is something that in general doesn’t speak to them at all. They do it just for me. Today even my dad, whom I never believed would accept me this way, already does accept it.

"I think it's an amazing thing, that love truly is stronger than difficulty and differences. My in-laws are wonderful and amazing people, and they also try to help me and respect my needs. I'm really blessed, B"H. Here, I must say that my beloved wife is simply wonderful and worthy of admiration. Besides the parents and in-laws who see me once in a while, my wife lives with me every moment, 24 hours in the same house.

"It’s so not simple to live with someone who 'changed the rules' in the middle of life after the wedding. All the manners and endless halachot on every imaginable topic. And she, B"H, accepts, tries, and respects, and that's just amazing. I'm blessed, and it’s not taken for granted.

"Nevertheless, it’s important for me to say that I also made many mistakes along the way. For example, the story with the donation to Hidabroot opened a window for my wife and a desire to get closer to Torah and mitzvot. She also agreed to watch Rabbi Zamir’s lectures, but as I said, I made many mistakes along the way, like many other returnees to faith. I took on things I shouldn’t have taken, and it created opposition in her.

"Therefore, it is very important at the beginning of the road, and of course all the time, to consult with an experienced rabbi about what to do and what not to do. Also for peace in the home and in general, for life. A person reads something in a book and doesn’t know exactly what to do with it, and what other interpretations are for that thing.

"Beyond that, in the past year, I decided to make another move for the benefit of our family. Until now, I worked nights very late and barely saw the kids. When they come back from nursery, I’m getting ready to leave for a gig, and I come back very late, when they’re already asleep. These are not family life fitting me and my desires."

"So I decided to make a switch. I started studying computer programming and web development. I completed a very comprehensive course at John Bryce College, and I’m looking for someone to give me the opportunity. It’s very difficult to join a company in this field without experience, but I trust Hashem that He will send me the right person if it’s really the good thing for me. And who knows, maybe even through this article, the connection will come.

"Until this happens and I succeed in really turning the night work into a proper day job, I’m increasing the work in music production in the studio. Music is an inseparable part of my life, and I am happy I have the ability to create, record, and engage in art. The feeling you have a melody in your head and you translate it into a song, record it, and play it for other people and they are moved, is a very rare feeling.

"As the Vilna Gaon said," Ben Avi concludes, "that the world of music is on a level close to the world of Torah. It is pure, divine, and an amazing spiritual connection. And yet, I sincerely hope I can spend more time with my wife and children. The more I get closer and learn, the more I understand this is the most important thing."