Eden Goldman Shares Spiritual Journey That Transformed Her Life at 14
In an interview with Dr. Hannah Katan on Channel 7, Israeli creator, lecturer, and singer Eden Goldman recounted a pivotal summer trip to the United States at age 14 that profoundly reshaped her identity and spiritual path. Raised in a "Dati Lite" (modern Orthodox-lite) household that observed Shabbat and kashrut but lacked deeper religious commitment, Goldman described three transformative events during her visit to her grandparents in the US that she calls "three slaps of love from God."
The first occurred when she noticed a boy near a hotel jacuzzi and, upon seeing a cross on his mother’s necklace, questioned how he could know she was Jewish and whether she truly understood her own identity. The second was an unplanned visit to a Holocaust museum, which exposed a painful disconnect between her internal sense of belonging to the Jewish people and her external expression of that identity. The third was a visit to a Conservative synagogue, where she realized she was selectively choosing which commandments to follow and questioned if she wanted to accept the entire Torah, concluding that she did not.
Returning to Israel, Goldman decided to stop "shopping for mitzvot" and instead pursue a full spiritual commitment, a process she describes as ongoing. She also emphasized a positive view of the traditional public, noting a surge in Jewish spiritual awakening since October 7, visible in soldiers and youth seeking mitzvot like tefillin and tzitzit.
Goldman also shared how her husband, Matan, encouraged her professional pursuits in lecturing and music. When he sought his own path, she had a realization that he should become a nurse, which he did, now working in Shaare Zedek Hospital and lecturing in nursing. A rabbi advised her to return to being a wife rather than a mother or educator, a moment that brought clarity and tears. Goldman concluded with a message to women about the power they hold to build and strengthen their homes from within, citing the phrase "Kol Kevuda Bat Melech Pnimah" to emphasize inner strength rather than seclusion.
