It was another ordinary winter day. The rain didn't stop falling that day. It was as if the sky was crying and refusing to be comforted.
It was two in the afternoon and we were sitting in the neighborhood restaurant, enjoying lunch.
Talking in vain, a smile for a little one, and a hand caressing a pregnant belly that was months along. The cell phone rang with a long, ominous ring that wouldn't let up... I looked at the screen and saw that it was Mom. I just wanted to answer her and tell her I'd get back to her as soon as I could. I answered... and no one prepared me for what was coming.
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I answered and didn't know that she wasn't a woman of good will...
Instead of a normal greeting from the other end of the line, I heard a sob. I couldn't understand or hear a word... and again a broken voice screams in pain and cries from the other end of the line.
It took me a few more good moments before I was able to hear the words that were burned into my memory and will probably remain in my memory forever. "Eli, he fell." There was silence for a second on the line. For a moment I didn't understand where he fell, how he fell. I couldn't connect the word to the future. And again the wailing cry that screams from the other end of the cell phone. "Eli, he's gone....""
The drinking glass I was holding shattered into pieces in all directions, my hand trembled and was barely able to hold the ominous device. Eli... Eli... My beloved cousin is gone... I cried out, trying to hold back the tears that managed to flow uncontrollably.
And the sky continued to cry with me. My God. Our dear God, ours, is gone.
My heart refuses to believe that only the other day we met at our cousin's engagement party. As if you knew, you watched and came to say goodbye to all of us. And then, the funeral, lots of soldiers in uniform. Dad is broken, mom is collapsing. Loving sisters who don't stop sobbing and an older brother in uniform stands and cries.
It is impossible to console. And tears, tears from heaven mingle with the tears of all of us. Our Ellie, Ellie with the eternal smile. Our beloved Ellie. You were cut off prematurely. You were plucked like the most beautiful flower in the family. You left us all with many longings, memories, pictures, and again tears.
To whom the eyes were drawn
Eli was a charming, active and lively boy, always surrounded by friends and activities. He was a member and later a guide in the 'Ezra' youth movement, and later a guide in the 'Bnei Akiva' movement. He invested a lot of love and effort in the movement. His members loved him, and enjoyed the activities with him on trips, camps and organization Shabbats, as he instilled in them Zionist and religious values, and educated them in love of their homeland and the importance of giving.
One of the things that really characterized Eli was his strong desire, from a very young age, to independently finance his expenses. To this end, he looked for jobs in his spare time, and even as a child he had plenty of ideas and 'commercial' initiatives - he sold writing instruments for children or organized a magic show. Later, he worked in a variety of jobs, was a delivery boy in a flower shop, cleaned a synagogue and more, until he reached his famous occupation - organizing the Four Species Market for Sukkot. In this job, he began as an employee and developed into an employer, and thanks to his profits from this occupation, he financed a trip abroad that lasted over a month, before being drafted into the army.
After completing his studies at the high school yeshiva, he decided that he wanted to serve full military service and not through a heder yeshiva. To be prepared for the army, he studied for a year at the Magen Shaul pre-military preparatory school in Nokdim, from where he continued for several months at the Meir Institute to strengthen himself spiritually, and after completing his studies, he enlisted in the IDF.
In March 1999, Eli enlisted in the IDF, in the 'Golani' Brigade. He served as a soldier and as a squad commander, mainly in the Hebron area, and at the end of 2000, an officer course began. His commander, Colonel Amos, said: "Eli managed to complete half of the officer course. During this period, he stood out as a person of values, who had a critical and sober perspective, which characterizes only him. Eli was creative and had a unique way of thinking, which gave him the ability to pass on constructive criticism and propose alternatives. The position of commander of the recruit section in the 'Golani' Brigade was a goal he sought to achieve, out of a sincere desire to educate and shape a generation of fighters.""
On the 14th of Kislev 5761 (11.12.2000), Eli passed away after collapsing during training in the Golan Heights. He was twenty-one years old when he fell. After his death, he was promoted to the rank of second lieutenant. Eli was laid to rest in the Segula Military Cemetery in Petah Tikva. He is survived by his parents, two sisters, and a brother.
Eli's uncle, Rabbi Shlomo Dichovsky, director of the courts, spoke of six principles that guided Eli in life, and especially in the army: "First principle - strict observance of the commandments, especially when he was among secular members of the army. Second principle - 'Everything in the head.' Any physical limitation can be overcome with willpower. Third principle - to understand everything from its root, not to carry out orders mechanically without understanding them. Fourth principle - helping others.".
""Eli was a natural address for requests for help and assistance from family, rabbis, friends, movement trainees, subordinates and commanders. Fifth principle - true friendship. Eli took upon himself the work for others in general, and his friends in particular. Sixth principle - leadership. At every meeting and event, Eli was the man to whom eyes were drawn, from whom leadership was expected, and he did not disappoint.""
