Avi Gilad and Judaism: 10 Surprising Quotes by Avi Gilad on Judaism

1. Although Gilad does not define himself as religious, he "knows the weekly Torah portion, performs *Kiddush*, studies Chassidut, holds friends on the religious spectrum, and this adds a lot to me. It strengthens my connection to this land and gives me hope that even in the face of terrible difficulties that may come from our neighbors - we will stand together. Without Judaism in its historical, ceremonial, and cultural aspects - we have no common root and each group is on its own. This way we will not survive and this way we will not thrive here."

2. During a discussion he held on Channel 2, he expressed his firm opinion in favor of the Jewish people's right to Jewish heritage content, saying: "I am secular, and I want my children to learn about Judaism. We are here because of Judaism, without a root, no tree will rise," and he added: "I agree with you on every word, as a lecturer and teacher in preparatory courses, we are here because of Judaism, and it will only bring all of us to great cultural wealth that there's no reason to erase because there is so much to learn from it."

3. The fact that I dared to declare myself as someone who seeks a root, drawing from a root and connecting to a root - has turned me into an outcast." Watch what he said to Zvi Yehezkeli on Channel 20:

4. "I perform *Kiddush* on Friday evening. My wife brought this home. But beyond that, for over a year now my Shabbat is without cell phones. It's very important for me to cleanse my mind once a week. It's simply a day for home and family. As little activity as possible, if possible. But the truth is, regarding screens, in our house, it's much more than abstinence on Shabbat. Television is not the center of entertainment in our home. Nor is the smartphone. My daughters don’t have smartphones, and they don't touch the parents' phones. They do a lot of creative work, hikes, rides on bicycles. We try as much as we can to keep them away from screens."

5. "I believe I have a mission, and that everyone has a mission. I believe that a person cannot know, until the very last moment of their life, what their mission is exactly, but at the same time they must strive in every moment to fulfill it."

6. "I think every person needs a people. To keep sanity, one must be connected to their people. The liberal and secular attempt to skip over the circle of belonging to the people creates miserable individuals who turn harassing their own people into a profession. By the way, regarding the mission - messenger in Gematria is joyous. Not by chance."

7. "When I read the writings of Rabbi Kook - it just massages the linguistic center of my brain in *myrrh oil*. His way of expression is sublime in my eyes. His ideas speak to me so much. To me, he is the honey of Judaism."

8. I am very mindful of the issue of *Lashon Hara*. I 'live' in the media, which is a land of *Lashon Hara*. I work in the environment I operate in, trying to cleanse as much as possible. But before I act to cleanse the environment, first of all, I act to cleanse my speech, which was once very adversely affected."

9. "One of the reasons I refused to take on hosting 'Big Brother' is that I feared the aspect of undesirable talk. And on the other hand, if I were doing it without mockery and cynicism, I wouldn't be doing it 'well'. The truth is I gave up a lot of money for this."

10. "The main thing is to give up what I want to do, to give up my own good and do what is expected of me. To dedicate myself to the general cause. The point is that I belong to the collective, and that the purpose of my existence is inclusion. In my eyes, this is a big and very important Jewish point. The understanding that first of all, I belong to my home, then to my community, then to the people of Israel, and then to humanity as a whole."

How did Avi Gilad react when he first heard about the 'Sheva Brachot' website? Watch: (Courtesy of 'Reshet')