Leonard Carl | Shalom Life

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It appears that you can’t always judge a book by its television show, especially in the case of Kiss front man, and Israeli native Chaim Weitz, who some of you may know better as Gene Simmons.

Simmons, who hails from Tirah HaCarmel, Israel, recently recorded a personal message for students at the World ORT-affiliated Shifman School, in his hometown.

In the video, broadcast on YouTube, the 62-year-old Simmons, who stars in the eponymous reality show, Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels, spoke in both English and Hebrew, and told the teens of his old stomping ground to “work hard, use the tools World ORT has given you to make your own luck.”

“But don’t be fooled by fantasy and fairy tales: Success is determined by what you put into it; don’t trust luck,” Simmons urged the students.

The educational institution’s branch in Israel, Kadima Mada, or Science Ahead, helps improve learning conditions at 200 schools, training more than 3,300 teachers and serving more than 100,000 students in under-resourced areas.

Simmons left Tirat HaCarmel, and Israel, when he was just 8 years-old, moving to New York to live with his mother. The Kiss founder, vocalist, and bassist, went to Yeshiva Torah Vadaat in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, before transferring to a public school in Queens.