Skis on Ice

“Maybe today I wouldn’t be married or I’d be divorced or married to a non-Jew. Or I’d have killed myself in a ski or motorcycle accident. Today I have five children I’m learning and teaching and writing” (Photos: Lior Mizrachi Family Archives)

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privileged young man in Argentina Leonardo Berenstein led a charmed life: sports horses skiing. He left university to follow his passion for skiing traveling all over Europe in the winters and returning to Argentinain the summer months (the Argentinian winter) to ski at home. He opened a business in Miamiand did stints as an extra in movies.

He was having the time of his life. But once he tasted Torah his soul began to realize what it had been lacking and he began a slow but steady path to teshuvah. Today the father of five and an avreich in Bnei Brak he has published a book of divrei Torah another book about different people’s teshuvah tales and yet another comprised of stories of Hashgachah pratis. He publishes a weekly devar Torah and is a kiruv activist in the Spanish- and Hebrew-speaking communities.

“Many people assume that baalei teshuvah find religion because they’ve had a hard time in life that they turn to religion for a solution” he says. “I was very happy with my life. The teshuvah stories I collected are also stories of people who were happy and successful before they found Torah. They had everything. But spiritually they had nothing. I want people to see that you can choose Torah for positive reasons.”