Nechama Orbach, the widow of Maj. (res.) Eitan Orbach, says her husband left behind a legacy of action, vision, Torah, and love of Israel after he was killed in an operational accident in the Jordan Valley. In an interview with Channel 7, she spoke about his absence, the inspiration he gave her, and the family’s effort to memorialize him by establishing a yeshiva to strengthen the hilltop farms he had supported.
Orbach said people who did not know him saw only a friendly, hardworking, straightforward man, but he was also exceptionally curious and deeply self-taught. She said he studied every field he entered, including communications, Israeli history, and current affairs, and that his books reflected those interests. Before his death, he managed the magazine World Small for years and was known as a man of Torah, work, and devotion to the land.
After the outbreak of war, Eitan volunteered to guard farms in the Jordan Valley when a WhatsApp message went out seeking an armed replacement for a farmer whose husband had been called up. He ended up serving there for six months and later returned home for Shabbat before going back to guard duty. Nechama said that after October 7 the army realized how neglected the area had been, with scattered one- or two-family farms along Israel’s longest border, surrounded by Bedouin communities and left vulnerable. She added that the army underwent “a mental revolution” and now sees the farms as extensions of the State of Israel.
She said Eitan grew attached to the work, learning to help with births, build light structures, and move into shepherding and grazing. He also helped recruit volunteers for farm security. Inspired by one such volunteer, Rabbi Shoval Shushan of Beit Shean, who told him the farms needed more Torah, the family and farm owners decided to found a yeshiva there. Nechama said the fundraising campaign is emotionally difficult because it brings Eitan back to her in a vivid way, but she sees it as true memorialization and a contribution to the Jewish people. She added that the family is still in deep mourning and that living beside him was “an incredible choice.”
