"I Am a Secular Person, but I Gave Up 90,000 Shekels for the Sake of Hashem"

The meeting between Avraham Moran, manager of the 'El Sirokolo' conference and events center, and representatives from a large company who wanted to rent one of the conference spaces, seemed very promising.

The representatives sat across from him and agreed on renting the hall for five days a month over the course of four months – which meant a payment of about 13,000 shekels each month. "From my perspective, this came at exactly the right time," he notes, "since during the pandemic, my financial situation was terribly bad. For two years, the venues were closed almost all the time, and the losses were very severe. Even now, I'm trying to recover the business. Such a deal seemed definitely promising."

Of course, such an extensive transaction is not closed in one day, and to the first meeting additional meetings were added, attended by the company's CEOs and senior officials. They discussed the details with Moran and how the hall would be rented, and only at the fourth meeting, when they wanted to talk about the rental days, did they mention in passing that one of the planned days each month would fall on Shabbat.

The response from Moran was unexpected. At that moment, he stood up and declared decisively: "No way, I will not rent out the hall on Shabbat, it's a day of rest." The people were momentarily puzzled – why wouldn't he rent them the hall? But for him, the matter was clear and definite. "I don't care if there's a loss of 90,000 shekels, I do not open the venue on Shabbat, period."

For the Sake of Our Father in Heaven

When discussing this with Moran, he sounds very confident, at least as he was during that fateful meeting. "It's true that I am a secular person," he notes, "unfortunately, I do not observe Shabbat, but I completely believe in our Father in Heaven. My event venues are located across from Bar-Ilan University, and during the week, they are rented for courses and various meetings, but on Shabbats, they are closed. There is no situation where I would open them."

How do you explain that as a secular person you observe the sanctity of Shabbat?

"Originally, I was a DJ and for years I ran clubs on Shabbat. I saw firsthand that there is no blessing in working on Shabbat, and for the last nine years, I haven't attended events on Shabbats at all, not even at events on Friday afternoons that could extend into Shabbat. I simply do not believe there's a blessing in that money. Additionally, it's important to me not to lead others astray, and in general, I believe in our Father in Heaven and simply love Him. I don't want to disappoint Him in any way. Everything I do is for Him and because of Him."

And honestly, wasn't it hard to give up?

"The truth is, when I left the meeting with those disappointed representatives, I entered my studio and cried with emotion. I felt so whole with myself that I was strong enough and did not fail."

What is amazing about Moran's story is that in the end, the representatives contacted him and asked to replace the 20 meetings that were supposed to be held with 100 meetings. "It turned out they were renovating the place where they were located, and would need an alternative place for the next four months. Initially, they thought of using me only for a few meetings a month, but later they decided to rent the venues for 25 days a month, excluding Shabbats. When I found out about that, I really got chills, here Hashem is embracing me and being with me all the time."

Nonetheless, Moran wishes to emphasize: "When my friends heard about the renouncement, they told me: 'Just wait, wait, you'll see what a great livelihood will come to you thanks to giving up work on Shabbat.' But I clarified to them that I am not doing it for the livelihood at all, but because I believe it is the right thing to do. Of course, I'm happy that the venue was eventually rented, and on better terms, but I'm happier that I fulfilled the will of the Creator. This is my true satisfaction."