IDF Sgt. Ofir Cohen, 23, of Kfar Yonah, a combat medic in the Armored Corps, attended the Amit High School in Kfar Batya in Ra’anana. He would regularly visit nearby Beit Levinstein Rehabilitation Hospital to lift the spirits of patients, many whose families have lost hope of their ever leaving. The facilty deals with some of the most difficult cases due to the level of expertise in the hospital.
A day before the ceasefire agreement that ended Operation Protective Edge, the IDF counter-terrorism offensive against Hamas in Gaza during the summer of 2014, Cohen was gravely injured by a mortar shell. Doctors during the following weeks fought to keep him alive.
After his condition stabilized he was transferred to Beit Levinstein for rehabilitation, the same facility he visited regularly as a student. Now he is counted among the patients, requiring a long difficult road to rehabilitation. At present, he has not returned to his former mental state and he is not in touch with his surroundings.
Ironically, students from the Amit School visiting daily now seek to comfort him and show him that he is not alone. They are davening for his recovery and they put tefilin on him when they arrive. They speak with him in the hope that deep inside he can hear them and is aware of their presence.
Teachers from the school come to visit Ofir too, and they tell of his love and affection for others and how he made it his business to visit the patients at the rehab facility. School principal Rabbi Eren Strauss admits it is especially seeing Ofir in the bed, reminding him of this talmid who so much wanted to assist others and now, he is in need of assistance. Rabbi Strauss explains that giving is a major component of the education given to talmidim in the school and giving to those unable to reciprocate is all the more significant.
Mrs. Nicole Cohen, Ofir’s mother remains at his bedside regularly. She has not given up hope and only leaves his side for short periods of time when others are present with him.
Yonatan, a brother, explains the visits give a great chizuk to the family during these especially difficult days. He and his family feel a great gratitude to the school, its teachers and students for the chessed they do on a regular basis and they are confident that Ofir feels their love and concern for him and continue being mispallel for his recovery. Please daven for Ofir ben Nicole bsoch cholei Am Yisrael.
(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)
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6 Responses
This is on the same day that the EU declared HAMAS is not a terrorist entity, which is what the current occupant of the White House, I never call him president thinks as well. Maybe with all these young men dying and getting paralyzed we should have more people agree with the Satmar shita of not having a Zionist army, we are in Hash-ms hands not in the IDF. The Satmar rav was right.
@1:
If these young men weren’t dying and getting paralyzed, there would probably be no State of Israel….
the state of Israel, has 2 million goyim, thousands of Jewish women are having babies with Arabs and naming their children Mohamed and Fatima, millions of Jews are not anymore Jewishly educated than the average Russian Jew/reform Jew in America, what are they dying for then?
Did Moses have an army?
Did Joshua have an army
Did david have an army?
Did the maccabim have an army
Embrace emunah, make aliya already
If all of the Orthodox jews made aliyah Mashiach would come
Learn the true sources, Rabbi nachman, rav Kook if you stay in USA you are holding off the Geula
2.
If HKBH didn’t want a state, there would be NO state. It has NOTHING to do with the “young men.” You would be better if you looked toward HKBH and stayed away from the pitfalls of כוחי ועוצם ידי.
#5 is correct, it is not the Yiddish way to play with guns and tanks, a Yid’s weapons are his learning.