Daniel Shefferbar, 20, Remembered for Kindness and Heroism
“He spread light and joy around him”: the warm heart and bravery of Sgt. Daniel Shefferbar, of blessed memory
Sgt. Daniel Shefferbar, of blessed memory, a fighter in the Border Defense Corps, was only 20 when he fell on the black day of October 7, 2023. He left behind a loving family, friends, and an unforgettable legacy of kindness, exceptional determination and supreme courage. For his mother, Liat Etzioni, he was the eldest son who made her a young mother at the age of 23 and a half. “From the day he was born, he was just, first of all, so easy,” she says. “And he was also the first child, the first grandchild, to my parents. And he was our whole world.”
A wonderful child who “never said no”
Daniel was born by emergency surgery on the eve of Yom Kippur, a month early. His parents went to the hospital בדיוק on the 30th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, and at those moments his mother feared for his life, without knowing that she would lose him so tragically, just one day after his 20th birthday.
His father, Gil Shefferbar, remembers with a smile an stubborn, opinionated boy who was nevertheless amazing and charming, and who spread joy and light around him. His aunt, Orit, fondly recalls a small turtle toy she bought him, one that talked and said, “I love you,” a toy Daniel was “crazy about” and which the family still keeps to this day.
When he was seven and a half, his parents separated, and those who played a major role in raising him were his grandfather Gideon Etzioni and his grandmother, with whom he was very close. Because of that deep closeness, little Daniel would sometimes mistakenly call his grandfather “Dad.”
Daniel’s generosity and love for his family were among his most striking traits. “He never said no,” his father says wistfully. Even if they had not spoken for a month, Daniel always showed up for any task or help. When he came home from the army, he would throw off his clothes and hurry to visit both sets of grandparents to make sure everyone was all right.
At the same time, he was defined by iron determination, when he decided to enlist with a certain amount of money, he worked every day after school in high school. His grandfather says he would get up at 5:45 in the morning and walk two kilometers to work, extraordinary diligence for someone his age. At work, he would help elderly people and carry their shopping bags home on a completely voluntary basis, without asking anything in return.
The heart sensed trouble on his last birthday
Daniel loved the good life. He liked brands, spoiling himself, and traveling abroad. A year and a half before enlistment, he traveled with his family to Slovakia and Krakow, enjoyed himself and bought everything he could lay his hands on. As enlistment approached, he began to take a strong interest in computers and “infected” those around him with his plans for the future.
On Friday, October 6, 2023, his mother and his brother Noam came to the base to celebrate his 20th birthday. But the moments of joy were mixed with a painful feeling. “When I said goodbye to him, when I hugged him before we left back, my stomach turned over. His service there did not leave me alone,” his mother recalls the special telepathic bond they had always shared.
The next morning, the fighting broke out. Under barrages of rockets and air raid sirens, and before they had time to put on uniforms, the fighters grabbed their weapons and ran to the reinforced shelter. There, five fighters waged a heroic and prolonged battle for an hour and 20 minutes against dozens of terrorists. They stopped two infiltrations and at one point ran out of ammunition. The five fighters were found together, with zero bullets left in their magazines.
“I keep asking myself, why didn’t you run?” his father says. “They were not raised that way. They knew it could be their last battle, and they chose simply to stay and fight. So I am proud. I am in pain and I am proud.”
“He is present all the time”
The loss left an enormous void. His grandfather, Gideon, struggles to absorb it and has felt for two years that Daniel is merely “delayed in his departure.” For Liat, it feels as if an organ were torn from her body. “For me, he is still here, and I feel that he watches over me. He is not physically present, but he is present all the time, whether it is in the square, or in the book and the pictures.”
Daniel was raised with permissive values that allowed him to be whoever he wanted to be, and in his unique way he proved that he could indeed do anything, until his final breath.
Sgt. Daniel Shefferbar, Border Defense Corps, fell on 7.10.2023, aged 20 at the time of his death. May his memory be blessed.
