Ronen was born and raised in secular Kibbutz Ein Carmel, at the foot of Mt. Carmel, near the sea. Having had no particular connection with Judaism, he did not receive an Aliyah to the Torah when he became Bar Mitzvah at age 13, nor did he put on tefillin. In fact, the first time in his life he ever wore tefillin was when he was 25 years old, in a Beit Chabad in Los Angeles, after his grandfather passed away.

About a year ago, he felt a desire to learn more about his Jewish heritage and roots, and to be more connected to Judaism – but he never translated this desire into action. But when the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023, the yen for Judaism reawakened – and this time, Ronen did something with it. He decided that he needed to study Torah regularly, and to wear tefillin as well. The rabbi with whom he started to learn turned to me, asking if I could get tefillin for him. I got to work right away and was soon able to find a pair of high-quality tefillin, which was personally delivered to Ronen in the kibbutz. When he called me with great excitement to thank me, he revealed that he had never before visited the Western Wall – and invited me to come along with him on his first visit there ever.