Pain, Journey, Continuity – Within Shikma and in the Light of Shay

I write these lines as a bereaved person.

Every time I leave the house since then Shashi fell as a war hero Feels like the Red Sea is parting.
Every movement, every word, every encounter is wrapped in a pain that refuses to let go and a sense of mission that intensifies from the understanding that there is no choice but to continue.

When I joined the program that was established along with the project In the light of Shay‘ I came to the program through a beautiful path, which I had encountered several times, in the military section and also in the bereaved parents’ journey to Cyprus. I wasn’t looking for another project.I was looking for air, a grip, a way to live with the impossible.. I didn’t know if I would make it. I didn’t know if I was ready. I didn’t know if I would be able to speak out loud without breaking down. I didn’t know if anyone would really understand.

But then I met another Seventeen families. Each with a similar but unique pain. Together with them we embarked on a journey of fourteen meetings that spanned long weeks of wondering, pain, memory, and a small light that shone anew each time. Then in Neot Kedumim, where the earth tells stories, I suddenly received confirmation that my life has a continuation. Not only in my heart but also in the world.

Meeting with mentors, conversations, learning, precision and guidance not only sharpened the project. They sharpened me. They reinforced the understanding I already had that Shay’s memory should not be kept only at home, on the wall or in an album. It needs to go out. Become an action, a value, an example.

The transition from dispersion to focus wasn’t technical. It was emotional. I found myself moving from a space of narrowness to a path of breathing.

In the middle of the program, the war with Iran broke out. It didn’t make me rush. On the contrary, it made me realize that this is a long journey. That there is no reason to rush. This is a project that will continue for years to come. Its time is measured not by program schedules but by deep breathing and patience. In fact, I started ‘In Shay’s Light’ immediately after the fall of Shay the Hero. And the program that emerged is just one chapter in this journey. An important and significant chapter, but one of many to come. What I found in the program is Partners in the journey People who walk, hurt, and build with me. Bereaved families whose phoenix rose from the fire.

In the final stages of the program, Orly, my wife, also joined. Despite the enormous difficulty, despite the daily pain she carries, She chose to get up.. To lift herself from the abyss and be a part. Her presence there, for me, was a moment of grace, strength and hope. This project is also for her – so that she knows that she has a place, a path and meaning. And it is also for Shir, my wonderful daughter, who was left alone without her other half in the world. May she grow up in a reality that has pain but also hope, inspiration and light.

כאב, מסע, המשכיות – בתוך שקמה ולאורו של שי The meeting at the President’s House was not just a ceremony. It was the testimony that we are not alone. That we are building something new out of the rubble. And the concluding activity did not mark an end but another step on the path. A path that is sometimes difficult to impossible, but it is my path.

Just before the end, a deep thank you to the wonderful team of the Shikma program: Barak, Hila, Osnat, Revital, Avital, Avia, and a special thank you to Guy the photographer, who documented us with a sensitive eye along the way. Thank you also to the wider team at the Hive and the supporting organizations that make this space possible. Thank you also to Yigal, who was another supportive shoulder on this journey.

‘In Shay’s Light’ is not just a project. He is a breath. He is my way of telling the world that there was a man here. He loved, he acted, he gave and he continues. My way, our way, the way of everyone who encounters his spirit and his values.

And me? I continue. Every step from home, every look ahead, every plan and every meeting are another sea that I try to cross. Sometimes in waves, sometimes in silence. But always, in the light of Shay.

Thank you, Shay.