“I Am Eli Cohen” – A Guest Reflection by Mordechai Kholdarov

✍️ Guest post by Mordechai Kholdarov

I once watched a gripping Netflix series called The Spy, starring Sacha Baron Cohen as Eli Cohen, an Israeli spy whose story is rooted in historical truth. Eli, an ordinary accountant in Israel, is recruited by the Mossad in the 1960s to infiltrate Syria’s political and military elite under the alias Kamal Amin Thabet. His mission is to gather vital intelligence to protect Israel, saving countless lives through his covert work. At home, Eli is a devoted husband and father, but in Syria, he dons the persona of a charismatic Syrian official, earning the trust and affection of the elite. As he immerses himself in this double life, Eli begins to lose sight of his true identity. The allure of Syrian society—its prestige, camaraderie, and even a romantic connection with a Syrian woman—pulls him away from his mission. When he returns to Israel, he’s torn, caught between his real life and the seductive fiction he’s created. Eli’s purpose—to serve Israel—clashes with his perceived purpose of basking in Syrian approval. Living this dual existence, he struggles to remember who he truly is.
Eli’s story takes a tragic turn when Soviet spies (those darn Russian spies!) aid in his capture in 1965. Sentenced to death by hanging, Eli faces his final moments with a powerful act of reclamation. Before his execution, he inscribes on a wooden table, “I am Eli Cohen.” In this defiant declaration, Eli resolves his identity crisis, affirming his true self and purpose despite the cost.
This narrative resonates deeply with a spiritual truth we recite each morning in the Jewish prayer Modeh Ani: “I am grateful before You… that You returned my soul to me.” Like Eli Cohen, our soul is a divine spark, sent into a foreign land—the physical world—where it does not naturally “belong.” The soul’s mission is to elevate this world while staying connected to its divine Source. Yet, the physical world tempts us with its own “Syrian elite”—the lies of prestige, money, success, and external validation. This creates a constant tug of war between body and soul, a battle over identity. The soul yearns to fulfill its eternal purpose through acts of meaning—mitzvot, kindness, and spiritual growth—while the body craves survival, pleasure, and approval. In a world obsessed with identity—political, cultural, sexual—the real question is: Who am I? Am I truly grateful for the eternal soul God gifted me, or have I cut myself off from my true purpose, seduced by the world’s fleeting promises? Will my soul serve my body, or will my body serve my soul?
In Jewish thought, the soul is “a part of God above” (Job), inherently pure and tasked with a unique mission. Like Eli on his mission for Israel, our soul descends to refine the physical world, transforming it through purposeful action. Yet, the “affection of the Syrians”—the world’s distractions—can blur our identity, making us forget our divine calling. The soul descends to this world not as a punishment but as a spy on a mission, to elevate the mundane through sacred acts. Modeh Ani is our daily chance to inscribe “I am a soul” on the table of our hearts, recommitting to our mission with gratitude for the divine gift returned to us each morning.
Eli Cohen’s final act of inscribing his name was a triumph of identity, a refusal to let the world’s lies define him. Similarly, each Modeh Ani is our moment to declare: I am a soul, created for a divine purpose. In a world of “Russian spies”—distractions, pressures, temptations—we must hold fast to our mission. Don’t say “no” to your true purpose. Say “yes” to the gift God gave you, for it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to live as your authentic, eternal self.