"I Studied Bible Six Hours a Day Standing, Sometimes Whole Days, and Fell in Love"

It all started on Independence Day three years ago. Emunah Cohen was just 14, a student at the Ulpana Bnei Akiva Nir in Gadera, when she learned that Ruth Cohen, one of the school's students, won the International Bible Quiz. "My dad laughed and said: 'So, when's your turn?' and I became alert. I thought to myself: 'Wait, why not me? If she can, then I can too.' That's when I decided to go for it".

Since then, three years have passed and Emunah's life has changed beyond recognition. "I started from scratch, first Googling to even understand what the Bible Quiz was, as I knew nothing. Then I contacted past winners who mentored me, and slowly I developed my independent learning methods and began to study the Bible deeply".

What started as a desire to win the Bible Quiz quickly became an unbreakable bond. "I arrived at the Bible Quiz without a connection to the Bible, I didn’t have a special love for it, not even in Torah classes—quite the opposite... But over time I fell in love with the Bible beyond the competition," she describes excitedly. "It followed me everywhere. I began studying with friends at the Ulpana, with family. It simply became a way of life for me, to be connected to it and learn from it".

A Girl from Gush Katif

Emunah Cohen was born to her parents, evacuees from Neve Dekalim, a year after the expulsion, the fifth child out of nine. "They named me Emunah, truly in the belief we would return there," she explains. Today, the family lives in Nitzan, a community established for the evacuees. Her father is a farmer and educator at a school. Her mother is a writer and couples counselor, who wrote books about the expulsion and is currently writing new content for children and adults about the experience. Over time, they fully supported Emunah in her Bible Quiz journey.

(Photo: Flash 90)

Learning for the quiz was arduous. "Over the years, I balanced it with studies and friends. It was about 6 hours of daily study(!), attending classes and studying with groups of girls. In the final months, just before the quiz, it was from morning till night. It filled my entire day, and I wasn’t even in school at the Ulpana". Most of her study was done standing. "I always study standing, I can't do it any other way!" she says. "For me, all this learning is drama and energy—I can’t do it sitting down!"

How does the quiz process work?

"Overall, it starts around Chanukah. There are filtering stages: initially, a school selection process from which only three girls advance, then a regional written exam from which 16 candidates advance from each region. Next, another filtering exam from which only one candidate proceeds to the national quiz from each region, followed by a national written and then public quiz from which four candidates from Israel progress—two religious and two secular. In the final stage, two days before the international quiz, there's a filtering exam including candidates from abroad, from which only 16 out of 40 finalists advance.

"The international quiz itself has four stages: the first is an open question, the second is lightning questions—five quick questions in a minute. The third is the Prime Minister's question—16 questions for everyone, time to answer which adds to the score. The two highest scorers advance to 'head to head', scores reset, and the winner after 10 questions wins the international quiz."

Her studies are a transformative experience, giving her profound personal change. "Firstly, the discipline you build when preparing for the quiz, setting goals and meeting them, studying day after day without giving up is a process that greatly built me.

"Additionally, studying the Bible with a 'learn-from-it' perspective changes your life. Without delving too deep, even basic knowledge, you're reading about our nation’s greatest figures and seeing how they handle numerous stories, and you simply learn from that. You start talking and behaving differently; it automatically impacts you.

"There are also Proverbs and chapters that are life guides, but for me, the most powerful experience was studying the prophetic books, especially Isaiah. We live in a confusing, unclear time, learning about prophecies of redemption and destruction about what will unfold here, and realizing you’re part of a people's process. During terror days it was really strong for me, realizing it's a process, understanding that all of the Bible's prophecies aren’t just light but also chaos from which redemption will eventually arise, giving me a lot of hope and joy during such times."

(Photo: SHALEV SHALOM/POOL)

Within this, Emunah also describes a deep connection she discovered with the Bible’s characters. When I try to ask whom she is particularly attached to, she struggles to answer: "It's a tough question because I'm very connected to all the characters in the Bible I studied. But maybe especially to King David because he went through so much, one challenge after another, from all sides, yet went through life with blind faith, feeling like a puppet on a string in this world, doing his best efforts—yet in the end, it’s in Hashem’s hands. I learned how important it is to do my utmost, but the outcomes and life events are not ultimately in my control. I also strongly connect to his sense of mission and not seeing life as just a private, personal journey—it's truly inspiring."

Did you think you'd win?

"Yes! I greatly believed in it, if I didn’t I wouldn't have had any motivation to study. I saw it all the time, and that's what gave me strength".

You won after someone else made a mistake, how did you feel?

"Our shared desire was to win together, but it was Hashem's will. At that moment, I wasn’t thinking she didn’t win or thankful for it, but just felt, 'Oh my, it's a dream come true!' It's the moment you wait for, and here it happens, and it's very exciting. Neta, the runner-up, was very happy with her place, and I knew she would be happy for me. It was a moment of shared joy, but there was also a bit of disappointment we didn’t win together."

What do you plan next after winning? Are you considering continuing in this field?

"The quiz covered all the Bible books but not all the chapters, focusing only. So firstly, I want to learn what I didn’t study yet. Beyond that, today I see my connection to the Bible as a mission to spread it to the people of Israel, far beyond the honor in this win, encouraging more people to love it, maybe through a course and learning, and in the future perhaps becoming a Bible teacher. Unfortunately, I think people today see less value in the Bible. In secular schools, it’s even the least favored subject. I believe this is because the teaching method doesn’t promote the Bible as a way of life but just another subject. But once you understand that you can understand how to live your life through it—it’s entirely different."

Finally, do you have advice for someone wanting to start a deep acquaintance or study of the Bible?

"I began with Genesis, the story of creation, from the basics, and that’s my recommendation: dedicate 5 minutes daily, it doesn’t need to be as intense as what I did. Give yourself a chance to sit, get to know it, learn. It's simply captivating, and you'll get drawn into it."

Emunah Cohen will soon appear for a personal interview on Moran Kours' show 'Not Taken For Granted'