"I Had a Powerful Prayer and Then Knew I Would Soon Meet My Wife—And That’s Exactly What Happened"

Pleased to Meet

"Elad Tsadikof, 44, married and a father of five, deputy mayor of Herzliya and a resident of the city, CEO of 'Together' - the Baalei Teshuva movement in Israel. My fields of work are varied and are found in three arenas: business, public, and civil society organization."

A Distant Memory I Won’t Forget

"I grew up in a traditional home, not observant of commandments, but with respect for Jewish tradition. A classic Sephardic traditional home, as it's called. In elementary school, I remember a Torah class in 4th grade with teacher Nurit that became a symbolic event for a mission of future life. The teacher read a verse in the Torah and said: 'And the biblical author said'. As a nine-year-old, I stood up defiantly and corrected her: this was not 'a biblical author', these were the words of Hashem written by Moses. For this, the teacher mocked me in front of my classmates, but eventually, she appreciated my stance and refrained from saying it again."

An Important Principle I Won’t Forget

"The principle of determination and Jewish heroism. I served in the army as a fighter and officer in the Shayetet 13 unit, and among other things, I commanded one of the teams in the unit. Determination and heroism were the foundational stones of our value system, which we had to implement and prove in the field, usually under very complex conditions. When I returned to observance, these values naturally took on new expressions in the realm of Jewish sanctity, certainly in all that is involved in public activity. Audacity in holiness among the Baalei Teshuva is usually an energy that is lacking in the public sphere, and whoever chooses to bring themselves to these arenas as a Baal Teshuva can contribute greatly both in doing good and turning away from evil. Of course, everything should be guided by rabbis and the great ones of Israel."

A Moment of Divine Presence in My Life I Won’t Forget

"In my first operational activity as a young fighter in the Shayetet, I got tangled with heavy equipment on the shores of Lebanon, in a high sea state of about 3-meter shore waves. The shore waves were extreme in their intensity, and I couldn't get past the break line with the heavy equipment tied to me by a rope. After several attempts, I was left alone on the shore, with no visual contact with the team. In fact, I was not completely alone; Hezbollah operatives were about 150 meters away from me, closing in quickly. Dawn was rising, and I found myself without cover or shelter on the beach, completely at a loss.

"As stated, this was my first operational activity, and suddenly what emerged from me in a very natural and internal way was for the first time a heartfelt prayer to Hashem. I was not observant of commandments at the time and did not realize the power of prayer, nor did I grasp how powerful a prayer could be, but immediately afterward, I felt like a sort of light beam planted in my mind, infusing me with much tranquility and confidence. I was sure that Hashem had heard my prayer, and I felt that within a few minutes everything would be resolved.

"I entered the water and tried again to pass the break line. I felt how within a few moments, I would again be slammed into the shore, but suddenly I felt a strong grasp behind me on the life vest we swim with. I turned around and saw Moran Vardi blessed memory, my unit mate, who later fell in battle against Tanzim in Nablus. Moran helped me swim, and thanks to him, I was able to cross the line of waves. When we returned to the unit, we resumed an intense workload without the peace of mind to stop, reflect and internalize, but I knew that when I truly speak with Hashem and utter a prayer from the depth of my heart, Hashem hears my prayer. Over the years, I heard a beautiful explanation of the verse: 'Hope to Hashem, be strong and He will give courage to your heart' - 'Hope' from the word line. In heartfelt prayer, a direct and clear line is stretched between the prayer and Hashem. Many years have passed since then, but I do not know if I have since had the privilege to pray with as much intention as I did then in Lebanon."

A Moment of Happiness I Won’t Forget

"Each of my children's births was a defining moment for me, a moment of happiness, gratitude, and joy. Starting with my eldest daughter, who made me a father for the first time, and through my four sons. Incidentally, almost all of them were born while I was on reserve duty or a few days before long reserves or a call-up for an operation, and so the true heroine in each of these births was and is still my wife."

A Book I Won’t Forget

"The first book that connected me to the world of Judaism was a book called 'Journey to Truth', by Rabbi Zamir Cohen. The book reached me through an unusual path during a period when I was teaching a diving course with whales in the jungles on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. It was a wonderful time in which I was privileged to rediscover creation. The book 'Journey to Truth', which aims to prove that the Torah could not have been written by a human, left a deep impression on me and was a significant catalyst for the beginning of the exploration and return journey that I embarked upon."

A Prayer I Won’t Forget

"Meditation on a cliff above the beach, on Purim 5769. I was blessed with a powerful prayer and a wonderful meditation, and immediately afterward, I knew that soon I would meet my wife, and that is indeed what happened. On the night following the seventh day of Passover, we met, and Baruch Hashem we have been together ever since."

A Miracle I Experienced and Won’t Forget

"I served as a reserve fighter in Operation 'Cast Lead' in Gaza, and I was then at the beginning of my return path. This operation, which started during Chanukah 5769, about 15 years ago, was conducted with miraculous military maneuvers, truly beyond natural boundaries. To give some perspective, prior to entering the Gaza Strip, IDF Intelligence (Aman) spoke of expectations of 30 casualties per day for our forces and at least 21 days of fighting, meaning an alarming expectation of over 600 casualties for our forces. In practice, Baruch Hashem, the operation ended with only ten soldiers fallen. While each person of Israel is a whole world, and the pain is immense, nevertheless, it was an astounding miracle. Aman had not lost their minds; they simply spoke in terms of nature, while the operation unfolded on a completely different plane beyond nature.

"After one of our operations there, we were supposed to evacuate the area, and on the way out, our APCs came under heavy fire. An evacuation supposed to take 40 minutes ended up lasting over four hours, hours that were both physically and mentally challenging. After we finally managed to exit, we discovered that one of the APCs in the force took a direct hit from an RPG shoulder-fired missile that Hamas fires in the strip. The missile struck the engine area, the only area where it can penetrate the APC. We identified a deep entry hole of about 40 cm, and in the last 3 cm, in a relatively soft part of the APC, the missile's head stopped and extinguished itself. There isn’t even a theoretical explanation of how such a thing can happen. An RPG missile works on the principle of a hollow charge—it literally burns everything in its path until it reaches a free or hollow space, referring to the soldiers' compartment, where it explodes. The lives of ten soldiers were saved in a way that cannot be explained other than by an obvious miracle, and this is just one story of hundreds and thousands that occurred during Operation Cast Lead, an operation that started during Chanukah and was entirely an evident divine miracle experienced by IDF fighters."