I didn’t expect a Stanley Cup run by the Florida Panthers to push me toward a Beit Midrash in Jerusalem. But Judaism, I’ve learned, doesn’t always knock politely. Sometimes it shows up wearing hockey skates.
I grew up in Boca Raton, the product of a relatively short-lived marriage between my Israeli father, who moved back to Israel after my parents divorced, and my American mother. I attended a religious school from pre-K through fourth grade, then switched to public school. After my mother remarried, our family joined a Reform community. Shabbat dinners happened here and there, but without much consistency.
Avi Dahan grew up in Boca Raton and is currently studying at Aish HaTorah, an international Jewish learning institute in Jerusalem. (Avi Dahan/Courtesy)
I graduated from the University of Florida in 2020, right in the middle of COVID chaos, and soon landed in the finance world in New York City. While working in Manhattan, I’d occasionally stop by Olami events, initially just to meet people and decompress after work. But the more I showed up, the more the learning pulled me in. Those casual drop-ins quietly became a steady part of my week.
In April 2024, while walking to a Shabbat dinner with a friend, someone who had grown up religious, drifted, and then came back, I was hit with a blunt question: “Why don’t you try keeping Shabbat?” My answer was just as blunt. I loved sports, and if the Florida Panthers were playing on a Friday night, I wasn’t missing it.
My friend didn’t let it go. “Make a deal with G-d,” he said. “If the Panthers win the Stanley Cup, keep Shabbat for the entire off-season. You won’t miss any games, and who knows? You might actually like it.” It sounded almost too reasonable, so I agreed.
Three months later, the Panthers won the Stanley Cup.
True to my word, I went cold turkey: no phone, no TV, no games; just Shabbat. To my surprise, I loved it. When I told my rabbis about the experience, they suggested I try a year in yeshiva. A year felt like a drastic move, so I countered with something I could commit to: five weeks at Aish in Jerusalem.
The choice wasn’t random. I had visited Aish during an Olami Manhattan trip back in December 2022, and if I was ever going to try yeshiva life, that felt like the right place. Five weeks quickly turned into seven. I flew back to New York briefly in early 2025, then returned to Jerusalem after Pesach—this time for real—where I’ve been learning ever since.
While I was in Israel, the Panthers made the finals again, so I flew back for the games. When they retained the Cup, it felt like a wink from above—a quiet kiss from Hashem that only deepened my drive to keep learning and growing.
My time at Aish has been nothing short of unbelievable. I’ve been especially involved with Aish Sephardi, led by Rabbi Adam Abergel, and that community quickly stopped feeling like a program and started feeling like home. I’ve built friendships, with rabbis and peers alike, that I expect to keep for life. I know that the foundation I’m laying now will shape the kind of Jewish life I want to build going forward.
Aish didn’t just give me classes; it gave me a reset. I arrived expecting to sharpen a few skills and walk out a bit more knowledgeable. Instead, I found myself pulled into a rhythm of learning, thinking, and living that I hadn’t even realized I was craving.
There’s something powerful about being surrounded by people who genuinely want to grow, not because someone told them to, but because they’ve seen enough of life to know that coasting is a waste. I’ve been at Aish for almost a year, and it has already reshaped how I think about my priorities, my community, and the kind of Jew I want to be.
I never planned on making a bet with G-d over hockey. But sometimes growth doesn’t start with certainty. Sometimes it starts with a risk you’re finally willing to take—and a Shabbat you didn’t expect to love.
Avi Dahan grew up in Boca Raton. Before commencing his studies at Aish in April 2024, he worked in New York City as a Senior Equity Research Associate at RBC Capital Markets, after holding similar roles at SVB Leerink and Truist. Avi earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in finance from the University of Florida in 2020.