Yeruham Hesder Yeshiva held a special Shabbat last weekend for the families of nine students and alumni killed in the war. The guests were the families of Eitan Rosenzweig, Ephraim Yichman, Ariel Eliyahu, Yakir Shankolovsky, Yinon Fleishman, Eitan Fish, Gideon Ilani, Ziv Chen and Elisha Lewinstein, of blessed memory. The yeshiva said the event was part of an ongoing relationship with the bereaved families and a way to continue carrying the memory and spirit of the fallen together.
During the weekend, students, staff and the families met for conversations, activities and shared meals. One central program was a “Questions and Answers” session in which the relatives spoke openly about their grief, memories and how they have been coping since their loved ones were killed. The yeshiva also noted that the family of Yair Hanania, of blessed memory, did not attend but remains part of its wider family.
Rabbi Achia Eliyahu, Ariel’s father, said the visit was emotionally intense but also strengthening. “Being here brings a lot up, but it is also what strengthens us,” he said, adding that standing in the place from which Ariel went to battle, and feeling the atmosphere of the group, “touches exposed nerves, but also gives strength.”
Tova Shankolovsky, Yakir’s mother, said people often think the pain fades with time, but in her view “it is not the pain that gets smaller, but us and our lives that grow around it.” David Fish, Eitan’s father, spoke about acts of kindness discovered after his son’s death and said many good people go unnoticed. “We should treat every person as someone who has amazing stories that may never be revealed,” he said.
Yeshiva head Rabbi Chaim Wolfson said the school has been on a collective journey with the whole people of Israel for the past two and a half years, and that the bereaved families have become part of the yeshiva’s own family. “We walk side by side,” he said, describing the weekend as shared pain, mutual support and admiration for the families’ resilience and choice of life.
