Two Weeks of Growth, Blossoming, and Love in Shay’s Light

That same day, although we could not be there in person due to our intense schedule, his battalion, classified Battalion 5114, planted a tree in his memory in the “Swords of Iron” Forest established near the Gaza border.

Again, a tree. Again, the earth. Again, roots reaching deep into the soil.

That knowledge connected worlds and reminded us that his light touches ever wider circles, meaningful and deeply moving.

Then came the following week.
A week of love. A week in which the land was painted in breathtaking blooms of anemones, in red and also white and purple, delicate cyclamens, and fresh winter green. We went out to the trails, to Hurvat Sherisha, to the Sargel Anemone Forest at the Megiddo airstrip, to Pura Nature Reserve, and to Beit Guvrin. In each of these places, the heart expands. The longing is there, and it always will be. But there is also breathtaking beauty. There is life. There is renewal. And there is the knowing that for us to have moments like these, Shay fell.

And amid all the activity and nature, there was one very special moment.
We inaugurated “Shay’s Library” at Be’eri Elementary School, where Shay studied as a child, quietly yet with great pride. To return there, to the hallways of his childhood, to curiosity, to books, was deeply moving. A library is a place of imagination, of knowledge, of quiet, of inner growth. To know that children will walk in, open a book, and encounter Shay’s name through words, through thought, through dreams, through his story hanging on the wall, is a living, breathing continuation.

At the end of the week, in front of a full hall at Idan Haviv’s concert, a spontaneous and deeply moving moment unfolded.

Orli spoke again. She spoke in Shay’s name. In the name of the love we hold for him. In the name of the longing that never leaves. And within the music and the open hearts around her, she brought his values to the forefront.

And the audience listened. Truly listened.

Two more weeks in which the light of Shay, a hero of Israel, continued to spread.

Through a young mulberry tree.
Through a chessboard.
Through a library in an elementary school.
Through blooming trails.
And through a brave heart that continues to speak in his name.

We continue to plant.
We continue to walk forward.
We continue to choose growth.
We continue to choose love.
And we continue to spread Shay’s light.