Yosef bridged worlds, Yemenites, Iraqis, Dutch, Germans, within his family, reading Torah in varied styles, spreading joy with his djembe.
By Gila Isaacson, JFeed
Seven months ago, 22-year-old IDF soldier and hesder student Yosef Yehuda Chirak married Emuna. Chirak was combat engineer in the IDF’s 601st Battalion.
Tragically, he fell yesterday, the first to die in the “Gideon Chariots” operation, joining the 857 soldiers lost since the war’s onset.
Hours before, he spoke with his father, promising an evening call. “Yosef, keep your joy: that’s the most important thing,” his father said. But by dusk, a knock at the door brought the unbearable truth to his family in Harsha, a settlement in Binyamin.
Yosef’s life was a miracle from the start, born to parents told they’d never have children. “When I have hair on the palm of my hand, you’ll have kids,” a doctor scoffed.
“He was born through a medical miracle,” his mother shared on Kan Bet, “We received an amazing deposit, 22 years.”
Yosef bridged worlds, Yemenites, Iraqis, Dutch, Germans, within his family, reading Torah in varied styles, spreading joy with his djembe.
His aunt Gila Shai, speaking from London on Ynet, recalled dancing at his wedding, now forced to mourn from afar.
“He was only good and did only good,” she said, sharing his Holocaust Remembrance Day post: “During the siren, I stood on the armored vehicle facing the Gaza fence with my uniform and weapon, thinking of my grandparents. I wish they could see me now. I’m part of the spearhead of this nation.”
For Yosef, there was no right or left, only togetherness. “The enemy isn’t from within; the enemy is beyond the fence,” Shai quoted him, a testament to his focus on bringing hostages home.
Chiral studied at Mitzpe Ramon’s “Meadow Like Eden” yeshiva for three years. He came to visit after he got married to “strengthen and bring joy,” his friends recalled.
Rabbi Amir Katz mourned, “Meeting Yosef was meeting joy… a faith that everything is for the best, even in pain.”
His friend Hoshaya Hajabi added, “He didn’t think of himself – only of those around him… a true professional, a leading soldier.” Israel Ganz, head of Binyamin Regional Council, grieved a life cut short: “Just months ago, we danced at his wedding… he went out to destroy the enemy.”
Yosef leaves behind his wife of seven months, Emunah, his parents, and three sisters. His mother vowed to carry forward his light. “No falls, just keep moving forward,” she said.
