Interior Minister Gideon Sa'ar on Sunday attended a farewell party for him in Modi’in Illit, during which he provided some insight into the process which led to his starting to observe Shabbat.
Sa’ar revealed that his spiritual strengthening began during the Brit Milah (circumcision) ceremony of his youngest son, David.
“I’ve been observing the Sabbath since my son, David, was born. It’s a vow I made during the Brit ceremony,” he said.
Sa’ar continued, saying that the decision to observe Shabbat, while not an easy one, was the right thing to do.
“No one around me observes Shabbat, but nevertheless I think that I made the right decision in all the criteria,” he said.
"It is well-known that I am a fan of the Real Madrid soccer team. Before the most important game of the season between Barcelona and Real Madrid, the president of Real Madrid invited me to attend. After I arrived in Spain I realized that the game was scheduled for Shabbat. I called a friend of mine in Israel, an Orthodox Jew,” recalled Sa’ar.
"I told him, 'Look, this is what’s going on. Before I call a rabbi, what do you say?', And he said, 'Look, are you going to walk to the game? Is your hotel close to the stadium? Are there no Jews playing? I think it’s halakhically fine.’ So We started talking about the importance of Shabbat. In the end we concluded that in terms of honoring the Sabbath, one cannot go to the game, and indeed, I ended up not going to the game,” he said.
Earlier Sunday, Sa’ar officially submitted his resignation letter to Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's office, several weeks after he unexpectedly announced he would be stepping down.
Later at the farewell party, Sa’ar told the participants, “You said you are sad that I am leaving my job, but I'm really not sad. Is it better to leave when you’re popular among the public, at the height of power, or is it better that the public sends you home? The first option makes a lot more sense to me. I feel, thank G-d, that I am doing it at the right moment."