Actor Israel Atias, Meir Savag of Shavnanikim, said over the weekend that he studies the books of Rabbi Nachman of Breslov and makes sure to regularly immerse himself in a cleansing mikveh. In an interview with journalist Miri Ben-David Levi on Ynet, he spoke about his process of becoming stronger.
""My parents are people of tradition, values, and faith. There was always respect in the house for tradition, holidays, Shabbat, and Kiddush, and on the other hand there was openness - for example, when I was a teenager, we could watch TV in the room on Shabbat, and during that time I didn't keep Shabbat.".
""At the age of 22, I returned to keeping Shabbat, and I think Shabbat is the best thing that happened to me in my life. When people ask me if I keep Shabbat, I say that it is what keeps me going. It gives me my space with my family. I need it the most, and we haven't even said a word about disconnecting from the phone. It is a huge gift.".
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Regarding the connection with Breslov, he said, "Another thing that is spiritually important to me is joy. I try to bring it into our lives as much as possible - music and dancing at home, so that the walls absorb joy and goodness. I am influenced in many ways by Rabbi Nachman, who in my opinion is the most significant philosopher who was here. With such an approach in life, everything is much easier.".
""What calms me down the most is study. I study books by Rabbi Nachman, but also books that are not holy books. I don't do meditations or anything like that. For me, the mikveh experience is powerful, and just recently I started going every Friday.".
