At Jerusalem Military Cemetery, Staff Sgt. Nave Havshush Is Laid to Rest: “What Kind of World Is This, Where a Grandfather Buries His Grandson?”

Hundreds gathered this evening (Sunday) to accompany Staff Sgt. Nave Havshush, 29, of Geva Binyamin, to his final resting place. Havshush, an armored corps soldier, was killed in battle in southern Lebanon overnight between Thursday and Friday. Nave is the third fallen soldier from Geva Binyamin and the 64th from the Binyamin Regional Council since the start of the “Swords of Iron” war. He is survived by his parents, Chaim and Einav, and his sisters, Noam and Nesia.

His grandfather, Yehuda Havshush, eulogized his grandson: "Nave, our precious grandson. We still can’t grasp it. What kind of world are we living in, where a grandfather has to bury his grandson, instead of things being the other way around. Job says: 'For the thing I feared has come upon me, and what I dreaded has happened to me.' Since you enlisted in the armored corps, I feared this moment, this reality. Apparently, Hashem decided to include us too in the sacrifice for the people of Israel and the Land of Israel."

"I pray that you will come to me in a dream, that you will tell me that it is good for you where you are. We are believers, children of believers, and we know that Hashem does only good in His world, even if we are unable to understand it. I am certain that you are beneath the Heavenly Throne. Pray for your parents, for your sisters, and for the whole family, that we may find the strength to contain the great void you left behind."

His father, Chaim, who serves as deputy commander of the Yiftach (11) reserve brigade, eulogized him: "You so deeply wanted to make a difference and take part in the fighting. You told me how important it was to you to gain more experience before going out to officers’ course. How much I wanted to see you on the parade ground at Bahad 1. You were raised to love the land, and you loved it deeply. Only with you could I walk dozens of kilometers."

"You were a special child—kindhearted, giving, humble, and someone who loved people. An angel sent to us for far too short a time. You spoke little and did much. You were always the first to volunteer and offer help. You always saw the other person and thought about those around you before thinking about yourself. The last one to stay behind to turn off the light. And so it was in the tank too—you were the last to remain inside. Everyone else was brought back before you, and we had to wait for you until this morning."

The father said that about two weeks ago, Nave came home for what would be his final visit, and shortly afterward went to spend *Shabbat* with his two grandfathers and grandmothers, whom he had not seen for a long time because of his operational service. Yesterday at 11:00 p.m., Nave sent a message to his father, Chaim: "Nave wrote that he might be coming home on Sunday, but that I shouldn’t tell Mom, so that if it didn’t work out, Mom wouldn’t be sad. An hour and a quarter later, the tank he was in hit an explosive device, and Nave was killed."

His mother, Einav, who is in the advanced stages of pregnancy, eulogized him: "Since the morning hours on Thursday, I had intense pains like contractions, as if my body sensed it and was preparing to part from you. My Nave, today I ask one last thing of you as your mother: send me strength. Help me get up in the morning even on the days when I won’t want to get up. Help me be the mother that Noam and Nesia need right now. Help me raise them with joy and faith, even when I feel that my heart is breaking with you."

"And when your little sister comes into the world, ask for mercy for her from above, accompany her, protect her, help me be a good mother for her too. Please watch over the grandfathers and grandmothers, over your sisters, over Dad, and over your whole family that misses you and loves you so much. Give us the strength to bear this pain and go on with life when part of our heart is no longer here."