Avi Suissa: 'I Once Made a Lot of Money, But I Found True Happiness in a Poor Jerusalem Neighborhood'

Avi Suissa was a young Israeli after military service when he decided to try his luck overseas. "I felt Israel was too small for me," he says in a conversation with 'Hidabroot'. "That was the reason for heading to the USA, with the aim of trying my luck there."

Suissa, now almost thirty, arrived in the USA at the age of 22. "I landed in New York with ambitions to 'conquer America'. I had barely a few hundred shekels, and I didn't even know the English language. No wonder I initially faced adaptation difficulties, but after a time I succeeded in integrating into America as if I was born there," he says with a smile.

He then went on to work in cart sales, marketing various products to Americans and earning a fortune. "I would close between 5,000 to 15,000 dollars a month," he recalls. It's obvious that in this race of life he had no room for matters of faith. "I felt distant from religion at that time. My opinion of the religious was not good, like unfortunately many others who are exposed to the inciting and generalizing Israeli media."

At what point did you change your mind about Judaism?

"It happened unexpectedly," he replies. "One day, a Hasidic Jew entered the mall where I worked. In Israel, I would see him as the 'parasite' that the media and various inciters portray. But in the USA, he was nonetheless a figure closer to me than the American crowd around. I decided to approach him, identified myself as a Jew, and a conversation developed between us."

The American Hasid turned out to be a pleasant and well-mannered person, and for Suissa, an isolated Israeli among millions of Americans, this was a rare opportunity to bond with a Hebrew-speaking Jew. "At one stage, we exchanged phone numbers. I didn't think I would continue the connection, but shortly afterward, I was invited to spend Shabbat at this dear Jew's home. The woman I planned to marry refused this firmly, and I had to decline.

"Instead, we continued to keep in touch and even set up a weekly Torah lesson. After almost a year of learning, during which we completed the first tractate of the Talmud, I began to feel something inside me wanted to advance further towards the Creator. I approached my study partner from the airport, now also my friend, and told him: 'Something in my soul is troubled, I want to attend Shabbat; to strengthen, but my family opposes.' His response surprised me. Gently, as was his way, he pointed to the Holy Ark and said to me: 'There you will find your solution. Go there and talk to the Creator about it.'

"I decided to take the suggestion, and after the last worshipers left the synagogue, I approached the Holy Ark. I cried as I never had before, asking the Creator to help me draw closer to Him. Moments later, I decided to sever the relationship with that woman. For her part, she insisted on marriage, but with much Divine intervention, I managed to break away and start anew."

The Arguments Against the Religious Disappeared

A period later, Avi was already spending Shabbat at the home of the scholar. "On the first Shabbat, I had to pinch myself to believe I was in such a rich spiritual world. For the first time, I felt the light of Shabbat. It was a special Shabbat," he says with feeling. "I started it with immersion in the mikveh, studying the weekly Torah portion, and overall – the whole Shabbat passed with an exceptional and elevated feeling."

Didn't you face difficulties in observing Shabbat?

"Honestly, at first, it seemed frightening to leave my phone for a whole Shabbat, but during the Shabbat, I almost forgot about the device that managed my daily life until that Shabbat. Only once I stepped into the deep waters – did I discover they weren't that deep," he describes the feelings he experienced after Shabbat ended.

"Then I said to myself: why not share this light with other Israelis? One must know that Jews who reach low places can fall into very difficult places. I saw many Israelis, who worked in the USA, distanced from any Jewish spark. At that time, I was already observing Shabbat and praying in a synagogue. The first buds of repentance passed through my heart. I was between small and medium religiously," he laughs.

And what do you do with this thought?

"I decided at that time to spread the light of Shabbat among friends. Since then, gradually, more and more friends began connecting to the Jewish communities in the area and coming to spend Shabbat – with all its implications for observing Shabbat."

With Shabbat hospitality, the light of Judaism began to positively change the young Israelis. Suissa is particularly moved to remember one outstanding example of change in a young woman: "She was planning at that time to marry a local non-Jew, but thanks to Shabbat observance, that Jewish woman retracted that intention and decided to marry a Jew."

And what happened to those young people afterwards?

"Today, a large part of those young men are in yeshivas," he replies, satisfaction woven into his voice.

Suissa himself decided to continue the change. Around that time, his green card (a permit for residing in the USA) was approved, and he decided to return to Israel for a visit. Of course, on the agenda was visiting his parents' home, whom he hadn't seen in a long time, but he had another, more important goal in his mind: "I wanted to see if a full Torah life suited me. So, when I landed in Israel, with none of my family members knowing I was there, I took a cab to 'Ohr HaChaim' yeshiva under the presidency of Rabbi Reuven Elbaz shlit"a.

"I remember how I arrived in the Bukharim neighborhood of Jerusalem. It was a cultural shock for me: from the luxurious neighborhoods in which I lived in the USA, I suddenly landed in a completely different world, a poor neighborhood in Jerusalem. But very quickly it became clear to me that the truly poor were my previous neighbors... while happiness and peace of mind rested on the faces of the Bukharim residents. I know well, thanks to my past as a salesperson in the USA, the most popular sales industry in the world's strongest powerhouse is antidepressants. The most important thing there is – happiness – is found precisely in Jerusalem, not Nevada.

"When I arrived at the yeshiva, I was accepted at Rabbi Elbaz's residence, who convinced me to leave everything I supposedly had and come study at the yeshiva. I returned to the USA after a few days just to liquidate my business, and from there, I quickly continued to the land. Since then, I have been in 'Ohr HaChaim' yeshiva for several years now, counting every moment as a treasure; sitting in front of the open Torah scroll, knowing that the future stands on my shoulders and my friends'."

How did the family react to the change you made?

"They thought I had woken up on the wrong side, convincing themselves it would pass. But when they saw that I was persistent in the path of Torah and commandments – other winds began to blow. They asked how I would make a living, and some acquaintances even recalled the common public opinions against the religious. Fortunately, today they also know how false all the accusations against the religious community are.

"Moreover, following my step, through my path, my family members began to see the light, and suddenly they discover my happiness, my pleasantness, and responsibility, and understand that the Torah actually benefits a person. I do not preach to anyone, and if someone asks how to make Shabbat – I explain gently, with a smile; suggest changing the atmosphere on Shabbat to not get carried away, and mainly strive to serve as a personal example."

And how do you define life after returning to faith?

"Although a few zeros have left my bank account, and instead I was left with a few zeros," he says with a cheeky smile, quickly qualifying: "My financial situation is fine, thank Hashem, even though I don't have the material wealth I had in the past. But more importantly – I enjoy a lot of spiritual wealth which, unfortunately, I was poor in until I discovered the wonderful world of Judaism."