From Soccer Star to Glass Artist: How Injury Changed My Life

There are moments when life’s fast track suddenly crashes into an invisible wall, forcing a person to stop. That is exactly what happened to Yosef Wasse, today 28 years old.

As a child, Yosef was already considered a rising star in soccer. Talent scouts quickly noticed his abilities, and an agent soon arranged for him to join a professional league in Ashdod. Promises of a bright future filled the air: lucrative contracts, matches in Israel’s top leagues, and perhaps even international success.

But everything came to a sudden halt.

One bright day Yosef suffered a serious injury to his hands and legs. Then it happened again. The second injury shattered not only his body but also his dream.

“I found myself at fourteen stuck in a room in Kiryat Gat, covered in casts and walking on crutches,” Yosef recalls in an interview with Hidabroot. “When you are a teenager, you cannot understand why something like this happens to you. I was angry. I saw my dream collapsing and there was nothing I could do.”

At the time he had no idea that the fractures would eventually lead him to his true mission.

“Today I understand that the injury was not meant to punish me,” he says quietly. “It was meant to show me that the Creator never closes one door before opening a hundred others. Through that injury I discovered Hashem and began to grow closer to Judaism.”

The Torah Class That Changed Everything

When Yosef could no longer play soccer, he spent most of his time at home on crutches.

“One day a man from a local Torah class came to the soccer field and invited the boys to come for candy and a short Torah lesson,” Yosef remembers. “He told us it would be fun.”

Curious, Yosef went along.

It was the first Torah class he had ever attended.

“I could not eat the candy or snacks, so I ended up listening very carefully to the lesson,” he says with a smile. “The more I listened, the more fascinated I became. I was hearing ideas I had never encountered before.”

From that moment he began attending the Torah class regularly.

Growing Up With Simple Faith

To understand Yosef today, you must return to the modest home where he grew up in Kiryat Gat.

“Our home was a classic Ethiopian traditional home,” Yosef recalls warmly. “We kept Shabbat, respected our parents deeply, and lived with humility. We did not talk about values in slogans. We simply lived them.”

His father rarely spoke about the hardships of the journey from Ethiopia through Sudan. But when he did, Yosef remembers that he compared it to the story of the Jewish people leaving Egypt.

“They left their homes and everything they owned with one dream in their hearts: reaching the Land of Israel,” Yosef says. “That simple faith still drives me today.”

Yosef Wasse at the Western Wall

When the Dream Shattered

Yosef discovered soccer at the age of nine and quickly fell in love with the game.

“It was my entire world,” he says. “I breathed soccer.”

Recognizing his talent, his father invested everything he could to support his son’s dream. He bought equipment, clothing, and shoes, always encouraging him to succeed.

Then came the injuries.

“When it happened the second time, I understood something deeper was going on,” Yosef says. “It felt like Hashem was sending me a message.”

Although he was still very young, he realized he needed to reconsider the direction of his life.

“I felt that I could not continue living without thinking about my purpose.”

Finding Meaning in the Break

Sometimes, Yosef reflects, the Creator quiets the applause of the crowd so a person can finally hear the voice of his own soul.

The injuries forced Yosef to stop chasing one dream and begin searching for another.

“Without the injury I would never have gone to that Torah class,” he admits. “I went there on crutches just to pass the time, but slowly the words entered my heart.”

Eventually Yosef made the painful decision to give up soccer.

“It was very difficult because I felt I was disappointing my father,” he says. “He had invested so much in me.”

But when Yosef saw that his father supported his new direction, a great weight lifted.

“He told me that what mattered most to him was that I do something I truly love.”

Faith Tested in the Army

Later Yosef enlisted in the army and chose to serve in the Border Police.

Being a combat soldier created new spiritual challenges.

“My rabbi warned me that the army environment is not easy for someone who keeps Shabbat,” Yosef explains. “Many of my friends who had been religious before removed their kippah and stopped observing.”

One particular moment tested Yosef deeply.

During a tense security situation on Shabbat, soldiers were instructed to keep their phones ready in their pockets in case of emergency orders.

“That Shabbat was nothing like the peaceful Shabbat I knew,” Yosef recalls. “There was no Kiddush and the atmosphere was very stressful.”

At one point he almost reached for his phone.

“Just before I did, a friend suddenly said to me, ‘Wait Yosef, you keep Shabbat. Do not touch the phone.’”

The words shocked him.

“I felt as if Hashem was speaking to me through him,” Yosef says. “If I had failed that test, I might have lost everything I had built spiritually.”

Turning Broken Glass Into Art

After completing his military service, Yosef began searching for a way to combine his love of creativity with his spiritual world.

Art had always been part of his life.

“Even in kindergarten the teacher would sit me at the table with colors and ask me to draw while the other children played,” he says.

At first Yosef painted on canvas. Then one day he encountered a completely unusual artistic technique.

“I saw a video of an artist who created paintings by breaking glass with a hammer.”

At first the idea seemed strange, but when his wife encouraged him to try it, something clicked.

Yosef creating art with broken glass

Creating Beauty From Broken Pieces

Yosef soon realized that this unusual technique perfectly reflected his own life story.

While most people throw broken glass into the trash, Yosef carefully shapes each shard into a meaningful work of art.

“The smallest mistake can destroy days of work,” he explains. “You can spend hours creating a piece and one wrong strike ruins everything.”

The delicate technique requires patience, humility, and prayer.

“When I first tried it, I broke many pieces of glass before achieving the right result,” he says.

But the symbolism was clear.

“The breaking reminds me of the fractures in my own life. Not only my personal story, but also what our people experienced on October seventh.”

An artwork by Yosef Wasse made by breaking glass

Art as a Mission

For Yosef, every piece of art carries a spiritual message.

“In every creation I reconnect to Hashem,” he explains. “You realize how much you depend on Him for everything to succeed.”

His works often include verses, prayers, and spiritual themes.

Through social media, many people have encountered his art and its message.

“Some people even wrote to me that they began putting on tefillin or keeping Shabbat after seeing my work,” Yosef says with emotion.

For him, that is the greatest reward.

“Hashem does not make mistakes in a person’s path,” Yosef says. “Sometimes He simply changes the playing field.”

Yosef Wasse

Today Yosef thanks Hashem every day for the journey that began with a broken dream and led him to a deeper purpose.