A True Concern for One’s Former Colleagues
By Yoni Schwartz
Rabbi Uri Zohar, zt”l
The kiruv journey of Rabbi Uri Zohar, ZT”L, is one that has inspired tens of thousands. He went from being Israel’s most famous actor to becoming a tremendous mashpia (influencer) and talmid chacham.
Later in his life, he was interviewed by one of the most ferocious and feared interviewers on Israeli television. She asked him, “Isn’t a big part of religion caring about your neighbors and friends? How could you just turn your back on all your colleagues, your fans, and all those who invested in your acting career? Is that what these Chareidim teach - to turn your back on your fellows? Is turning your back on everyone in your past life proper?” To make this even more difficult, he was being broadcast live to the entire nation.
Rabbi Zohar responded, “I actually care and do things for my former colleagues on a regular basis. I care enough to take practical steps to help them out - that is more than most others care about them.”
With a look of arrogant intrigue on her face, the interviewer squinted her eyes and said, “If you don’t mind me asking, what exactly do you do?”
On the spot, he took out a little notebook. The camera zoomed in as he opened it to show the interviewer a list of all the names of his former actor colleagues.
Uri Zohar (1935-2022) as a popular Israeli entertainer before he became a religious baal teshuva who devoted the rest of his life towards inspiring other secular Jews to follow in his footsteps. He became religious in 1977.
He said, “Most of my former colleagues have passed without leaving behind anybody to say Kaddish for them. I make it my business to run around getting every single one’s Hebrew name and yahrtzeit. I carry this around every day so I can always be prepared to elevate the souls of my former colleagues, whom I cared so deeply about, should the situation call for it.” This story influenced Israel’s non-religious community, bringing many back to Yiddishkeit and making a tremendous kiddush Hashem.
Reprinted from the Parshas Toldos 5786 email of Torah Sweets.
