Two years after the October 7 massacre, Bar and Ido Einhorn from Kiryat Ata welcomed their second daughter at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa — a baby girl born on the very date that changed Israel forever. They named her Adar, after Lt. Adar Ben-Simon, who fell defending the Zikim training base during the Hamas attack.
“At the start of my pregnancy, when the due date was in early October, I was afraid to give birth on October 7,” said Bar, 30. “But as the day approached, my feelings changed. I felt that giving birth on that date was a reminder of life — a reminder that we are the eternal people, a people who never break.”
Lt. Adar Ben-Simon, 20, from the Galilee community of Neve Ziv, was a platoon commander at the Home Front Command’s Zikim training base. On the morning of October 7, she and three other officers ran to the guard post to confront the Hamas terrorists who stormed the base.
In her final messages to her sister on WhatsApp, she wrote: “They’re shooting at us. Nine terrorists in front of me. My soldiers are wounded. I’ve got a bullet in the chamber. ‘Shema Yisrael.’”
For 50 minutes, Ben-Simon and her comrades fought heroically, preventing the terrorists from overrunning the base. She and six other soldiers were killed in the battle, but their actions saved 120 people — recruits, staff, visitors, and civilians who had fled to the base from the nearby Zikim beach.
The Einhorns never met the Ben-Simon family, but Adar’s courage deeply moved them. Ido, 33, knows something about sacrifice himself: he was called up for reserve duty when the war began, fought in Gaza, and was seriously wounded in January 2024 when a blast sent shrapnel into his face. “A fragment entered through my cheek and stopped near my jaw,” he said. “It’s still there. I’ve been in rehabilitation since.”
“We debated between two names, but ultimately chose Adar,” Bar said. “It’s the month when light overcomes darkness, and Adar Ben-Simon’s bravery strengthened our decision.”
Ido added, “Our daughter’s name commemorates Lt. Adar Ben-Simon. The choice was completely inspired by her. We send a hug to her family. Their daughter was a real-life superhero. Adar is the name of a hero.”
Zehava Ben-Simon, Adar’s mother, was moved to tears upon hearing the news. “I was deeply touched by their decision,” she said. “We plan to reach out to these wonderful parents.”
She added that this is not the first baby named after her daughter. “A family from the U.S. we don’t even know heard her story and decided to name their daughter after her. They sent us a video talking about ‘their Adar’ and ‘our Adar.’ It was incredibly moving.”