Upper Schoolers Learn Life Lessons from Parents of a Fallen IDF Soldier

Freshmen had the privilege to receive a visit from Varda and Eitan Morell, the parents of a fallen IDF soldier. Varda is a close childhood friend of Ramaz Director of Guidance Dr. Zeitchik’s wife, and Eitan’s brother, Rabbi Avi Morell, taught at Ramaz Upper School years ago. It was a perfect moment to highlight that Am Yisrael is all connected.

They spoke about their son, Maoz. Two and a half years ago, he had been fighting in Gaza for 95 days. Each night, he and his unit would sleep in the destroyed houses they found. One day, terrorists found them and threw a bomb inside the house, injuring 12 soldiers. Maoz, who had been in a different room of the house, ran in to help the injured soldiers, painstakingly helping carry each one of them down to the street and to safety. All the while, they were under heavy gunfire. Students even had the privilege of seeing footage of Maoz as he helped carry a soldier through the street, and hear the loud gunfire themselves.

After successfully evacuating all 12 soldiers, Maoz returned to get his gun, a huge weapon called a mag. He climbed to the roof, where his commander and another soldier were shooting at terrorists. Maoz jumped in to help, telling them to move aside so he could shoot with his mag. He succeeded in forcing terrorists to retreat inside a building across the street, a mere 10 feet away. An IDF tank arrived and blew up the building; unfortunately, when the building went down, a large piece flew up and hit Maoz. It caused severe, irreparable brain damage. He was taken to the hospital, in intensive care, and his parents were informed that he would never wake up. They learned it was a matter of hours, maybe days, until Maoz passed away.

Despite their shock and horror, they realized that the situation was a precious gift compared to other soldiers’ families, who only learn about their deaths after the fact. Instead, the Morells had the ability to say goodbye. Over the next few days, all their children visited, as well as Maoz’s friends, teachers, and neighbors. Though Maoz remained unconscious, his family believes that he held on until his unit, his brothers in arms, were able to return a few days later and say goodbye themselves. After they visited him, his family sat around Maoz and had a special tefillah. Within a few minutes, his vital signs plummeted. Everyone prayed the shema, and when they opened their eyes, he had passed away.

The Morells told students about Maoz’s life and about important lessons everyone can learn from him. For example, he struggled with many learning disabilities, but he never gave up. He was extremely dedicated to Torah learning, insisting on understanding every detail no matter how long it took him. When he faced a challenge in school, or in life, he would break it down into steps of achievable goals, and he would ask for help. Varda pointed out that asking for help isn’t always easy to do, but that it is important and admirable. He had promised himself that the moment he felt he was unable to give 100% to Torah learning, he would join the IDF. That was exactly what he did, eventually joining an elite paratrooper unit.

After his death, his family received notebooks he had written in over the years, full of countless lists. Though the lists might seem mundane at first glance, they often contained inspiring messages. They concerned subjects including how to make his time at home more meaningful, his goals for the upcoming week, his commitments for his army service, and more. Across the lists, he emphasized important values like being more thoughtful, studying Torah as much as he could, and staying off his devices. He even wrote a list of lessons he wanted to impart to the sixth-grade boys for whom he was a camp counselor. His family considers the latter his last will and testament.

While he was in Gaza, he was able to send his family voice notes once every few weeks. After seven weeks without hearing from him, they received only a short voice note in which he assured them, “hacol sababa iti,” “it’s all good with me.” They consider this simple and casual message a perfect encapsulation of Maoz’s personality. They played the voice note at the assembly so that everyone could hear his voice. They also printed stickers showing his face and that quote, which they passed around to all the students.

One tragedy of Maoz’s death is that he will never get married or have children. Since then, almost all his friends have gotten married, underneath a special chuppah that was made in his memory. As part of their wedding celebrations, they all go to his grave on Har Herzl and dance around it. His parents told students that everyone should think of Maoz as a brother. As a result, though he has no children, “you are all his legacy in this world, and he will live on through you.” Students told the Morells that they will carry the lessons from Maoz, and from his lists, throughout their lives.