Upon his arrival in Israel from Poland at the age of eight (1917-1994), Goren studies in various religious schools, including the Hebron Yeshiva. Joining the Haganah in 1936, he is later appointed as a military Rabbi during the War of Independence. In this position, he provides religious services to soldiers in the Sinai Campaign (1956) and the Six Day War (1967). 1961, he is awarded the Israel Prize for Judaism.