"I Came to Hollywood, Became a Rock Star, and Then Hashem Showed Me the Truth"

When you look at a photo of Eitam Yaakov from over a decade ago, it might seem at first glance like just another excellent Photoshop work he does as a graphic designer. Any connection between him and the character in the picture seems random and impossible. The long hair, the outfit, and overall the appearance of an American rock singer. How do all these relate to Eitam Yaakov's current appearance in traditional attire, with a beard and a large kippah?

"Does it seem impossible to you?" he asks with understanding, then adds with excited candor: "The truth is, sometimes I also stop and can't believe I'm here. It's clear to me that Hashem was with me all along, He's the only one who led me on this impossible path."

A Hollywood Dream

Eitam was born in Yehud, spent a short time in England with his parents during their mission, and eventually returned to Israel, living with his family in Givatayim. As a child, he drew a lot, but music occupied a central place for him, and by the age of 17, he was already performing with bands and top artists on stages across the country. "Although I lived in Givatayim, on the border of Bnei Brak, my connection to the religious world was completely negligible," he notes, "and in fact, I never spoke with any religious person until I joined the army."

During his military service, something interesting happened. He did night shifts with a reservist who wore a kippah. "Naturally, we had conversations," he notes, "When I first told him my name was Eitam, he asked if I knew the origin of the name. I confidently answered what I've always been taught: Eitam is a bird of prey. But that guy quickly clarified I was wrong, explaining that the spelling for the bird of prey is different, and then he enlightened me—'The origin of Eitam is in Psalms, chapter 19.' It was a small moment of shock, a bit surprising to discover my name derives from sacred texts. Of course, I continued with life as usual, but in hindsight, I think it might have been the first seed of spiritual closeness that came many years later."

Eitam continued his military service while also honing the two fields he loved—music and graphic design. For those wondering how to combine them, he explains: "I performed with singers, and I also created the flyers for the shows and the album covers. Overall, I did what I loved, but I wasn't satisfied. My big dream was to get to Hollywood and perform across America. I dreamed big."

When he was 26, living in Tel Aviv with his artist and musician friends, the dream began to materialize. It happened when he connected with a partner from Los Angeles—an Israeli who lived there to pursue music and returned to Israel to form a rock band. "For me, this was the real fulfillment of the dream," says Eitam, "Although the style of the songs I performed was entirely different from that of the musician, when we met, we immediately felt the connection and concluded we could form an excellent band. It was clear to us we wanted to work together. We also added a drummer to our lineup, and for about a year, we rehearsed the songs."

Feeling they had something to offer, they made their way to Los Angeles, where they rented apartments in Hollywood. With great faith in their shared creations, they bravely started performing. Initially considered green and inexperienced, they quickly began to conquer stages, realizing the more they performed, the more famous they would become. So they continued to accelerate the pace. "Our days were very intense," Eitam details, "From morning till night, we rehearsed, and in the late night hours, we went out to perform. We signed with Universal, had a manager who believed in us, and we believed in ourselves. We became famous; suddenly, our songs were played on the radio, people recognized us on the streets, humming our songs and hits, articles were published about us, and we became a successful rock band with a bright future."

Externally, they invested in themselves too. "In the world of Hollywood, you have to invest in your clothing and appearance," he explains, "So I found myself with long hair and brand-name clothes, going out with my friends daily to various shows, and our presence dominated all the possible clubs and venues. I felt that my dream was coming true."

"Suddenly, My Eyes Opened"

After six years in Hollywood, Eitam had the chance to visit a very famous building in California, a spiritual center with a Buddhist nature where yoga classes were held. "The activity didn't interest me religiously," he clarifies, "as I was far from all things related to spirituality in any sense at the time. But I understood it could be a nice sport, and I thought it was worth exploring."

Thus, Eitam started regularly visiting the famous center, encountering people wearing turbans, encountering Buddha statues everywhere, and for the first time in his life feeling a connection to his inner self. "Until then, I had no internal contemplation, and apparently, I needed that," he explains.

As someone used to immersing himself in any subject he enters, Eitam also became a regular practitioner in yoga, attending the center several times a week. "The person who was my role model during that period was a 60-year-old American with white hair and a long beard, muscular and impressive in appearance," Eitam describes. "He was our yoga teacher, and I was his loyal student."

Meanwhile, he did not abandon the music world and even began working with his partners on a new and unique album. They also managed to conquer a huge milestone when they collaborated with one of the most famous figures in the U.S., Chad Kroeger from Nickelback, who assisted them in producing the album. The future seemed very promising.

Eitam's already intense life routine became even more accelerated. It included yoga, rehearsals, performances, and a lot of hopes. Then one day, he received a phone call from Israel. "My mother told me they were clearing out my grandfather's apartment, who had passed away, and asked if I wanted to take something as a memento," he recalls, "I didn't know what to answer, so my mom suggested I take my grandfather's tefillin. I agreed, and during one of my visits to Israel, I took them with me. It's not that I started putting them on, but perhaps the presence of the tefillin with me had such a profound impact on my soul."

Eitam wanted to continue attending yoga classes, but something had apparently changed in his heart. "I remember myself sitting in class, under the guidance of our spiritual teacher, with my eyes closed, focused on yoga exercises, and suddenly feeling a strong thought enter my mind: 'What are these nonsense things this man is talking about?' I opened my eyes, contrary to my habit, and suddenly saw the truth around me—a bunch of idol worshippers, all clinging to nonsensical instructions. I couldn't understand what I was doing with them. My perspective on reality completely turned, and I felt, for me, the connection with that spiritual center was over, and I did not intend to return there."

He left the class, but the thoughts persisted. "I thought to myself what makes people cling to one religion or another," he recounts, "And in general, what is it about religions that engage all the people in the world, especially Judaism from which all religions are known to derive. The more I thought about it, the more I felt my connection to the spiritual world, even though I was not part of it, something in my soul was likely searching for it. I don't know if the tefillin I received had a part in this, or perhaps it was due to the fact that it was close to the evening of Yom Kippur, but something in my soul had changed, I was no longer the same Eitam Yaakov."

Holy Images

While still in the shared apartment in Hollywood, with long hair and the look of a rocker, Eitam began surfing the internet and searching for Torah lessons. "I found a series of lectures by Rabbi Zamir Cohen and started to eagerly absorb his lessons," he recalls. "From that moment, I felt I was on an unending thirst for words of learning from morning until evening. My daily schedule became completely surreal—I would go out with my partners to perform, and throughout the journey, listen to lectures and Torah speeches. These things impacted me and my soul, to the point where I could no longer enjoy what lacked holiness."

"It wasn't a momentary turnaround," he clarifies, "It was a process, where on the one hand, I was drawing closer to Judaism, and on the other hand, distancing myself from everything I had built in Hollywood. At some point, I decided to part with my long hair, and the day I got my hair cut was a shock for everyone who knew me. People around started understanding that I was changing course entirely, and I already knew that the Hollywood dream had come to an end. I knew that by that, I was preventing myself from being a famous rock star, but somehow it didn't really bother me. Suddenly, all the songs, movies, and shows seemed uninteresting to me, they stopped speaking to me. It took time until I admitted to myself that I was returning to my faith."

Then it was time again for the realization of a dream, this time from a spiritual and Jewish perspective.
"After recording the album, I decided I wanted to get married, establish a Torah-observant home, and sought a partner for my new life. I knew my wife Shiri from afar, we talked for two months over Skype from Los Angeles to Israel, and it was clear to me from the beginning that I would marry her. I told her I was coming to Israel, bought a wedding ring and a flight ticket, and on our third meeting in Israel, I proposed to her."

The two found their way to the Chabad community. "The path of Chabad, the love of Israel, really spoke to me," Eitam explains, "At the beginning of my journey into the Jewish world, when I was invited by friends for Shabbat and experienced the ultimate peak of spiritual elevation, I realized that this is exactly how I wanted my home to look."

Today, Eitam and his wife Shiri are happily married, and Eitam finds himself mainly pursuing his talents in graphic design through various interesting projects. He also has a special project underway—a hardcover children's book with stunning images from the world of Judaism. In the book, one can see pictures of holy items, Torah scrolls, a prayer shawl, pure animals, the seven species, and more—all categorized by topics and themes like holidays, holy items, and so on.

"The idea for the book started when our first son was born," he says, "My wife and I were looking for a book that teaches first words, and as Torah-observant parents, we preferred a book with eye-catching pictures, one that would also provide educational content and introduce the child to terms familiar from the Jewish world. After an extended search, we realized there wasn't such a book, and so we decided to create it ourselves."

And what about the music? Did you leave it entirely?

"Today, I mainly play for my own enjoyment, sometimes with friends. Music runs deeply in my veins, it doesn't disappear anywhere. As for performances? Everything is open. At least for now, I plan to record a few new songs that will be released soon without a vow, only this time from a place of closeness and understanding of my true purpose in life."