Staff Sergeant
Noah Oren Simcha

Chava Raichel Weigal’s son. Born on the 10th day of Nisan 5772 (April 13, 1992) in Kibbutz Ma’ale Gilboa. Third child in the family, brother to Yochai, Aloma and Harel.

Oren was a handsome boy, blue eyes, with a captivating smile and playful dimples. From childhood he was a bad friend to his brother and sister. “We are close in age and naturally we were a hot couple,” Aloma his sister shared from her memories. “We played pretend games outside, rode bicycles in the moshav and spent our time playing games in the afternoon and for whole Saturdays. … When we were in kindergarten we couldn’t understand: if you have a birthday before me, then how am I older than you? So we developed a theory that you are born first, but I grew up very fast.”

He spent his early childhood in Moshav Sde Ilan, and he studied and was educated at the state-religious elementary school in Kibbutz Lavi. Following his family’s decision to move to Hosheya, Oren moved to attend the “Nativ” religious state school in Hosheya. From the 9th grade, Oren continued his studies at the “Ort” high school in Tiberias, majoring in computer science.

The director of the yeshiva, Eitan Kalef, told about his student: “A handsome guy, with good blue eyes and a shy smile. Oren had a huge heart that knew how to accommodate and help others. He did everything quietly and with great humility. He set himself educational and moral challenges and did not rest until he finished them in full. Friends loved At the same time, he was loyal and most loved. Salt of the earth, loving and loved, a man of Torah and work, with a great soul.” Oren loved the Yeshiva and considered it a home. “It was important to him for the yeshiva to be beautiful and well-kept, to have flowers and trees in it,” Kalef adds, “so he took the initiative to maintain the gardens and lawns. For this purpose, he recruited additional students who came to work in shifts every week. This tradition still exists in the yeshiva, and will continue to exist.”

In the house, Oren was the right hand of his mother and father, a full and active partner. He was easy going and knew how to do any task in the house and garden: painting, gardening, shopping, washing or ironing.

Upon completing his yeshiva studies, he chose the “Otsam” pre-military preparatory school on his own, and after a year decided to continue studying a little more, in order to strengthen himself for military service.

His friends tell of a special man, with a heart of gold, a strong and steadfast guy who never expressed any difficulty but showered help on those around him. Always act for others, it is right to help everyone by doing, giving, with good advice. When he felt it was necessary, he gave or lent to others without thinking twice his personal equipment, his clothes and distributed his money to those in need. He loved spending time with his friends and being there for them, listening and supporting at all times, he knew how to encourage from a true and deep place. In his youth, the nickname “Jamus” stuck to him due to his strong and broad shoulders that carried friends and equipment when necessary.

During high school he helped a friend whose family needed help with the farm, and in the preparatory school he invested in moving it from the temporary site in the stake to the permanent buildings. When the prep school class decided to buy Rabbi Aharon a parting gift – a standing reading table (a stand), Oren ordered the gift, bought it and also carried the stand on buses and trains from Tiberias to Moshav Neve in the Negev. And when the friends went for a walk or just sat on the beach or by the edge of the spring, Oren was the one who volunteered to make coffee and cook on the fire.

“You always gave your soul and heart,” said his mother. “Giving with you was in every breath you took, and together with the love in you, you turned it into art for its own sake… You always did all this with joy, with a whole heart, with a bright face, a smile and a twinkle in your eyes.”

As his second name is Simcha, Oren knew how to be happy and enjoy the little things of everyday life, for example a cup of cold coffee filled with ice. It was easy to get the famous smile with the dimple, and his nephews also loved him for his games with them and the rolling laughter.

Oren was a man of nature and traveled extensively in many regions of the country. As someone who loved the sea very much and regarded water as a source of life, he spent every free moment on trips to water sources in the country, paddling his kayak and that of his friend Boaz and dipping in a spring or the sea. Not only that, for two years he was a water polo player in the HaPoel Yakneam team.

Since the 11th grade, Oren has been aiming for combat. His first choice was the sailor because of his love for the water, but after the two formations he realized that he had to move on. On March 11, 2012, Oren enlisted in the “Golani” patrol company and served as a fighter in the “Golani” cruiser. He later moved to the assistant of the 13th battalion, successfully completed the platoon commanders course and continued in the battalion as a platoon commander in the 5th platoon. Oren was a revered warrior and commander, an example and model in helping others, his soldiers and commanders. With his great physical strength he carried a stretcher with a friend who had a broken leg on it, carried friends who had difficulty standing the journey and their equipment, and ran back to help others finish the route. Since he did not complain, only a few knew that he had walking and stress fractures in both legs and that he was in severe pain.

“The thing that stands out throughout your life is the love of the person whoever he is,” said his mother. Oren loved and accepted every person – wearing a kippah or not, from the city or the village, young or old.” He saw in everyone the special in them, the good, it doesn’t matter where they studied or what they wore. He was loving and pleasant to everyone, caring, smiling and sensitive.” You fulfilled the commandment of ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ with all your heart,” added his mother, “and everyone returned your love. … in the yeshiva in Tiberias or in the preparatory school in ‘Otsam’ or in the courses during the military service, you were surrounded by friends from all over the country, and you gave each of them the feeling that he was unique and special only to you. … I was always impressed by how you managed your friends’ military affairs from your mobile phone, and despite the limitations of the army, you kept in touch with everyone.”

Thanks to Oren’s ability to remember his many friends, to communicate with them and connect with each one’s soul, he settled in everyone’s hearts. He went through many circles in his twenty-two years and in all of them he kept in touch with friends who live in the area, friends from water polo training, from his volunteering in the “Hashomer New Guard” organization, from his studies at the preparatory school, from the formations and from every stage of the service: in Pelsar, the “Gil” department, the 13th battalion, the Loter course (war on terrorism), reconnaissance course, sniper course, parachute course and anti-aircraft course. No wonder his calendar was full of birthday reminders. Almost every day of the year, three or four members’ names are listed.

In June 2014, rocket fire from the Gaza Strip into Israel increased, and as a result, Israel embarked on Operation Rock Ethan against Hamas. The operation began on July 8, 2014 with aerial bombardment, and nine days later, on July 17, IDF ground forces began entering the Gaza Strip with the aim of hitting the firing points, locating and destroying combat tunnels leading to Israel and damaging the terrorist infrastructure of the Hamas organization. Oren – a fearless fighter – set out at the head of his soldiers for the operational missions in the Gaza Strip.

At the beginning of the battle in the Sajaiya neighborhood on the 22nd of Tammuz 574 (July 20, 2014), nine soldiers from the patrol division of the 13th APC battalion (carrying armored troops) entered the area. The APC got stuck in one of the streets of the neighborhood as a result of a mechanical malfunction, and during Trying to rescue him, he was attacked with anti-tank (anti-tank) missiles. Oren fell in battle as a platoon commander alongside his soldiers. He was twenty-two years old when he fell. In the same battle, six more “Golani” fighters fell – First Sergeant Daniel Pomerantz, First Sergeant Oron Shaul, First Sergeant Shahar Tasha, Sergeant Ben Yitzhak and Anuno, Sergeant Shawn Mundschein and Sergeant Max Donald Steinberg.

Oren was laid to rest in the Hosheya cemetery in the Lower Galilee, where he lived. Survived by parents, two brothers and a sister. On his tombstone, the family members inscribed the verse: “Light shines on the righteous and the upright have joy” (Psalms 16:11), and added: “A pure heart, loved by mankind, full of joy.”

His father said goodbye to him with the words: “Oren Simcha – my dear and beloved son. My son is dear to me Ephraim… You were a smart and curious child. You acquired a lot of knowledge in many subjects and fields. You were a strong child and man. You are a soldier, a warrior and a man made without fear. But you are also sensitive . Just turn to God and thank Him for choosing us to receive this wonderful deposit into our hands. … you will be among us forever! We love you and miss you very much!”

“My Oren,” wrote his mother, “from the moment you were born, you were my soul. Sensitive, gentle, smiling, loving and loved by mankind. I was privileged to see you grow up, solidify your identity and become a cutie. You learned to look at every difficulty as a challenge, take out the The sweetest of the goats. You learned to look inside yourself and listen to the murmurs of your heart, to find your inner truth and follow its path. You always remembered where you came from and where you are going. … and I am waiting for you to come and give me a strong and enveloping hug like only you knew how to give me with a smile and a twinkle in your eyes. “

Aloma his sister told about her last conversation with him: “Everything is expressed in one sentence you said before you died. A sentence that is actually a farewell, but also the greatest and best gift you could have given us before you left. A gift that is very characteristic of you! … You called me on Friday … I was In the middle of the Shabbat cleaning and when the four children are walking around between my legs. We talked … and then you said to me in your calm voice: ‘Well, so I called to say Shabbat Shalom.’ Then there were a few seconds of silence and you continued: ‘And I love you.’ A few more seconds of silence. I start to choke on tears and then you burst into tears. I heard it clearly on the phone. … I tried to strengthen your spirit and encourage you that we are with you! Praying for you and all the soldiers. … Then I realized that you called all of us: father, mother, Yohai And to me, one by one give us your last gift! Oren is you! A loving person!”

Thirty years after his death, his father said: “I can still hear your voice in my ears. Your voice that tells what has happened to you in recent times. The voice that jokes. The voice that opens in the Shabbat chants. I still feel my hand on the back of your head with the little chafecha after I finish blessing you the blessing of the sons. During the funeral I said that you are a happy pine tree, you finished correcting your mistakes in this world and your soul rose in the heavenly storm. … During the past month we were visited by dozens of your friends from all years and from all backgrounds. The stories we heard from them, your relationship with each And one, the strong impression you left on everyone, your actions. … Throughout your life you left a good, strong and deep impression on everyone you knew. You completed your role and your correction in this world. … You will be with us forever! We love you And miss you very much!”

Following these words, Elazar Pinkovitz wrote the song “Tikhonim” in Oren’s memory and composed by Yoel Copeland: “To correct corrections, the vocation of a person / corrections that only he has the right to correct // his friends and parents, his family to glory / for them he is a deposit, a deposit for the shift // and from the moment you leave to correct his corrections / Then God’s hand will reach out and they will take him to him // His friends and parents, his family to glory / They will return his deposit, finish the shift…”

After your fall, we heard a story that in your modesty you didn’t tell,” his mother said in his eulogy, “how you saved a girl from drowning in the middle of the sea who was swept away in a whirlpool, and you – a swimmer from the womb and by birth – swam in a raging sea … and returned her safely to shore.”

Aloma his sister paid tribute to him: “Oren, I know that what separates us is only the door. You are here with us. I feel you so strongly. I feel you really live our lives.”

Later, and inspired by the story of Rabbi Nachman and his conversation with his daughter before his death. She wrote a song: “The door slammed shut / You ascended in the heavenly storm, to a world that is all pure / The longing for joy, the longing for a hole / The longing for a broad shoulder and your embrace / Oren, a door is what separates / Open it and come to me / Longing alienates, and prays that I feel / you and your smile / / And now I stand and wonder / Will I overcome and be able to open the door / Maybe break it / Maybe break its lock / Lord of the world open a gate for us when a gate is locked! // Oren, a door is what separates, / Open it and come to me / Longing alienates and prays May I see / you and your smile / / beautiful angel, pure angel / smile at us from above above the closing door / strengthen us and protect us / and we will be surrounded in our hearts / what separates us is only the door…”

Rabbi Yoram Kofman of the “Otsem” seminary paid tribute to him: “Today you came up in the heavenly storm, taking with you the unforgettable smile, you were really good to God and good to mankind. … We are blessed that we had the privilege of being in your presence, to rejoice, to laugh, to learn … to internalize the great light and the purity of your soul. … When they remember you, the first thing that comes up is a sweet smile that never fades. A sturdy, strong guy, and at the same time kind-hearted, and sensitive, and always the first to help. Anyone you ask will tell you straight up that you are the best friend. A fighter without Het in the war of Torah and on the battlefield. When you set a goal, there is nothing that can stop you, and every difficulty disintegrates until it disappears. Now you are an angel in heaven, very similar to what you were when you were here.”

In the circle of those who plan how it is appropriate and correct to commemorate him, sat with his parents friends from Hosaya, from the preparatory school, from the military service, religious and secular. “Once again you are the unifying factor,” his mother wrote to him. In this forum it was decided to commemorate him by establishing a “Mitzpe Oran”, which will serve as a stopping point and refresh on a bird ridge for those walking the “Israel Trail”. The trips and navigations in the field were close to Oren’s heart and he really liked this observation point where the friends used to meet every Friday for coffee. For the establishment of the observatory, his friends organized a fundraising evening and the sale of silicone bracelets. His friends at Atzmona Preparatory School initiated a study program in his memory; The water polo team in Kneam held a tournament to commemorate him, in which the players and their families, friends from the settlement and the surrounding area participated; And on Facebook we opened a “page in memory of Oren Noah the 14th century”.