Don't Forget his Smile

Darah Ginsberg grew up in Johannesburg, making Aliyah to Raanana with her family when she was younger. She is 21 years old and her boyfriend Yaron was serving in Gaza before he was killed in December 2023.

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Yaron and I have always known each other, we davened in the same Shul.

In April 2023, my community organised a shabbat dinner before Pesach, Yaron and his mom were at this meal. My family were also here, I ended up sat next to Yaron at the table and we got on really well. On motzei Pesach, Yaron sent me a message on Instagram asking if I wanted to go out.  I ended up saying yes, I thought what do I have to lose and from that moment the rest is history. We were close from the minute we spoke. Yaron and I had a spark right from the beginning and we knew this was it, it was meant to be.

Yaron was in Gaza for over 80 days, he hadn’t been home since before the war started. There were a few times when I got to go visit him on base to say hello or get a hug and then I would leave and go home. On the 21st December Yaron came home for the first time for shabbat. We spent the whole weekend with his friends and family. Yaron was a person who made time for everything that was important to him always, never letting anything wait and it was a really special weekend.

On the 26th December Yaron was killed in Gaza, after he had been home with all of us and said goodbye, without us knowing that weekend was our goodbye to him.

Yarons smile is something that no matter what’s going on around you or how you feel the second he walks into a room you feel like you must smile, no matter what’s going on in your head.

Since Yaron was killed his family and friends have been doing barbecues in his memory, Yaron was a person who loved to barbecue and he loved to be surrounded by his friends.

These are a few things about Yaron, a few things that you can do in his memory

1.    Smile, a smile on your face, we remember him by his smile

2.    Live your life to the fullest, as he was a person who seized every opportunity in life

Follow @Yaronibbq on Instagram, which was set up in Yarons honour. They aim to give back love to heroic soldiers who are currently serving, by organising BBQ’s at different bases.

By Darah Ginsberg