Yedidya Meir on Faith, Fear, and the Power of Jewish Joy

A food that takes you back to your childhood.

"On Friday afternoons, we used to eat rice with corn at my parents' house. It was the simplest dish, but of all the foods I remember, that one brings back the most magical memories of days gone by."

Three things you would take with you to a deserted island.

"A Schottenstein Edition Gemara, so I could study Daf Yomi; a copy of Dvar Malchus, so I could keep up with my other daily Torah studies; and a music player to listen to songs."

What's your guilty pleasure?

"Klik Pillows, the chocolate snack. In the past, whenever I stopped at a Yellow convenience store and saw a two-for-one deal on Klik, I'd immediately buy two packages and eat both.

"Over the past three years, though, I've made a dramatic change in my life. I joined the Abba Chatub ('Fit Dad') program, and thank G-d, I've managed to break the habit completely."

What helps you recharge after a difficult day?

"Stories about the life of the Chafetz Chaim from a hundred years ago. I find them more relevant than ever to the public challenges we face today, as well as to personal struggles."

What's something people don't know about you?

"That I have stage fright. Sometimes I experience tremendous anxiety before going onstage to deliver a lecture."

What frightens you most?

"Beyond the usual fears about health and life, I'm afraid of becoming intellectually complacent, to the point where I might start saying things I don't actually believe.

"It happens to media outlets. Some of them were once driven by tremendous ideals, passion, and even self-sacrifice, but over time, they underwent ideological deterioration.

"I'm afraid of becoming too comfortable with my position and losing the drive to keep growing and moving forward."

When was the last time you cried?

"Today, when I watched Shas's election campaign advertisement. It shows a father attending a parent-teacher meeting, where he hears about a curriculum filled with progressive ideology, but he doesn't have the courage to speak his mind.

"People often talk about the cutting off of religious Jews' peyot (sidelocks) during the early years of the State of Israel. But every evening, the Israeli media is metaphorically cutting off peyot. They've taken Judaism and tradition, things people once took pride in, and turned them into sources of shame."

What's something you'd like to improve about yourself?

"There are many things, but one of the main ones is my ability to concentrate. Right now, I'm fighting a battle with WhatsApp and trying to break my dependence on it.

"Recently, there were some unexpected WhatsApp account suspensions, and I happened to be among the first people affected, several months ago. My account was suspended just as we arrived at the Nir Etzion Hotel for a vacation, right at the very beginning of our stay. And it was amazing. I experienced things I hadn't experienced in years.

"Unfortunately, my WhatsApp account was eventually restored," he laughs. "But I asked myself, 'Why should I only experience this freedom on vacation?' So I decided to remove the app from my phone. Since then, I've only used WhatsApp on my tablet.

"I find it amusing when people criticize the Haredi education system for not teaching core secular subjects. In my opinion, the last people left who will still be literate, focused, and attentive will be those who use kosher phones. And I'm saying this as someone who actually finds it difficult to communicate with Haredim because I don't have the patience for phone calls. But smartphones come at a cost."

What was your most sincere moment in a conversation with G-d?

"My favorite part of the morning prayers is the passage recited before the section of the offerings: 'Therefore, we are obligated to thank You, praise You... and offer praise and thanksgiving to Your Name.'

"These are incredibly moving words to say first thing in the morning. But what I love most is the beginning: 'Therefore, we are obligated.'

"In other words, you're being commanded to do something emotionally uplifting. And why do I love that? Because I don't believe in relying on inspiration or emotional highs. They're wonderful, of course, and they can give you strength and energy. But ultimately, I'm a believer in routine and consistency. The real challenge is to pray with genuine intention even when you're not feeling inspired. Why? Because it's an obligation."

What's a dream you haven't given up on?

"Learning English. It's my greatest failure. We spent almost a year in the United States, and somehow I came back with worse English than when I left. Neuroscientists are still trying to figure out what happened there," he laughs.

"I have absolutely no excuse. I even took private lessons with the best English teacher in Israel, a highly experienced teacher named Yair Tzin. But for some reason, the language just refuses to sink in."

What quality do you most admire in people?

"Inner depth. When you discover someone with a rich, genuine inner world, someone deeply connected to reverence for G-d, faith, and joy. Incidentally, joy is another quality I greatly admire because it reveals so much about a person. In my eyes, someone who is genuinely joyful demonstrates a real connection to G-d.

"I try not to be judgmental because I don't know what other people have been through. But let's say I meet someone who has become religious, who has discovered the light of Judaism, yet is terribly unhappy. It makes me wonder: What's missing here?

"And speaking of inner depth and joy, I'd like to share something from the war. We lived near the Gevurah Tent, an encampment established by families of soldiers killed in the Swords of Iron War. They were calling for a decisive victory over Hamas and for the military's failures to be addressed.

"I would go there on Shabbat to pray. During the most difficult times, that was precisely where I went to draw strength and faith, from families who had endured the most terrible loss imaginable."

If you could sit down for a conversation with someone who is no longer alive, who would it be?

"The Lubavitcher Rebbe. He has an enormous influence on me. Whenever I'm broadcasting on The Patriots, I always have a copy of Chabad's Dvar Malchus in front of me.

"I believe it's impossible to work in the media, with all its challenges and temptations, unless you're genuinely connected to a sense of mission rooted in the Torah. When I hear a politician talking about 'unity,' it's often a kind of unity that deliberately excludes someone. In reality, they're using the language of unity to take a jab at people like us.

"To me, the Rebbe is the defining symbol of genuine unity in our generation, of caring for others and loving every fellow Jew. When you possess that kind of love, you can, on the one hand, strongly criticize what needs to be criticized, while on the other hand, still believe in the power and potential of every Jewish soul. These are principles I constantly try to connect with and keep in mind."

What would you like to leave behind in this world after 120 years?

"On a personal level, Torah, mitzvot, and good deeds. Descendants who observe Torah and mitzvot, and the blessing of genuine Jewish nachas, until the coming of Mashiach.

"On a public level, I hope to inspire as many people as possible to begin studying Daf Yomi. Rabbi Eli Stefansky gives a Daf Yomi class that's broadcast live around the world. He manages to keep even people with attention difficulties engaged in his lessons.

"Sometimes, getting these individuals to study Torah is even harder than encouraging a secular Jew to begin learning, because some of them carry painful experiences from their earlier education.

"I managed to encourage journalist Kobi Sela to join Rabbi Stefansky's class. He became so enthusiastic that he brought other people along with him, creating a third generation of students. When we speak, he jokingly refers to those students as 'your grandchildren.' And I believe that eventually, they'll bring me great-grandchildren too.

"Whenever I talk in the media about Daf Yomi or any other form of consistent daily Torah study, I tell my wife that it's an investment worth making. I feel as though I'm marketing real estate. Even if I manage to bring in just one client, all the effort is worthwhile."

Yedidya Meir is a panelist on The Patriots, host of the morning program on Radio Kol Chai, and a weekly columnist for Olam Katan.