Barak, the oldest of our 8 children was killed towards the end of his 3rd year of service in the Israeli army. He was the last soldier to fall serving his country in Gush Katif. He was 23 years old.

Barak studied in the National Religious education system's elementary schools and his high school years were spent in the Yeshiva High School in Kiryat Arba. After high school, he spent 3 years studying in the Shavei Hebron Yeshiva in Hebron. Barak exemplified the outstanding combination of dedication to Torah ideals and Zionistic ideology.

Wherever Barak studied he stood out as not only a gifted student, but also as an extremely responsible young man with an extraordinary sense of social responsibility.

In whatever framework Barak was in - as the firstborn son, as a student or as a commander in the army, Barak cared deeply and sincerely for the physical, emotional and spiritual welfare of those around him.

Barak served in the Golani Brigade for 3 years. He had a special love for his soldiers and cared for their every need, whether related to specific army issues or very personal needs.

Besides school activities, Barak was very involved in the Religious Zionistic Youth Organization in Efrat called "Ezra". When Barak got older, as an adolescent and young man, he became a counselor in this organization. He met with his group of boys during the week and on Shabbat afternoons for fun and educational activities. It was important for him to instill in the boys a love for Torah and the land of Israel. Barak became a pivotal leader in the Efrat Ezra group.

Along with the "fun" activities, the Ezra group prays together in a special minyan for all of the children on Shabbat afternoons. Part of that service is reading from the Torah. The Ezra group minyan does not have its own Sefer Torah (Torah scroll) and every week they have a renewed problem of how to read from the Torah.

Knowing Barak's deep love for our eternal Torah, we would like to eternalize his memory by writing and donating a Sefer Torah for the Ezra group in Efrat. We feel that this will be a significant way of honoring the memory of our dear son, by combining Barak's great loves and ideals- Torah and the love of his fellow Jew.

"His lighting bolts will light up the world"
(Psalms 97, 4)

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