The lighthouse of the home, the wheel of the unit: The story of Capt. Oshri Moshe Butzhak
Some people’s presence is not measured by the noise they make, but by the powerful quiet they bring to those around them. Capt. Oshri Moshe Butzhak, a team commander in the Nahal Reconnaissance Unit, was such a person: a quiet, humble leader who always chose to be first into the mission and last to take credit for it.
On Dec. 23, 2023, during a heroic battle in the Gaza Strip, Oshri fell at age 22, leading his soldiers and preventing, with his own body, a far greater disaster.
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‘Oshri made me a mother’
For Reut, his mother, Oshri was the fulfillment of a long wait. “Oshri made me a mother. We waited so long for him,” she recalled, with a smile mixed with pain. Even as a small child, he showed a spark of mischief blended with determination. “One day he jumped from the rug to the floor, barely an inch off the ground, right?. ‘Mom, look, I’m jumping.’ He really was a sweet child, such a sweet child.”
His father, Eyal, described him as “the lighthouse of the home,” the eldest son who showed the way for his younger siblings.
Oshri was an unusually curious child, someone who absorbed knowledge from every possible source. “He read a lot,” Eyal said. “His mother always laughs that he would read the ingredients inside the cereal box. He was always devouring books. He read endlessly.” Reading was not only a hobby but part of what shaped him as a man of books and values.
The leader behind the scenes
Oshri’s influence on those around him was magnetic, but effortless. “His siblings regarded him as a role model,” his father said. “What Oshri said was ironclad. It was enough for him to look at them or say one word, and they understood they had to fall in line.”
Despite his natural charisma, Oshri stayed away from the spotlight. “He was a kind of quiet leader,” his mother said. “He didn’t raise his voice, he didn’t sweep people along by force, but by doing.” He always chose “we” over “me.”
The sentence that followed him more than any other came in a conversation with the head of his yeshiva. Asked what he was taking with him from the journey, Oshri answered: “When there is no wheel, I am the wheel.”
That phrase became his trademark: the willingness to fill any gap, to be the one who carried the burden when things were hard, without asking for recognition.
“They would laugh when he walked into class and say, ‘Here comes the wheel,’” his father recalled. “But that says something about the boy. And that is truly my Oshri.”
Love and combat
Oshri met Ravid Damti, his partner, at school. “He was a very calm and easygoing person, always with a smile,” she said. At first, she did not think anything would develop between them, but his quiet and self-confidence won her over. “Slowly, he just drew my attention,” she said. “I discovered all the things I loved about him, and they were impossible to ignore.”
Oshri’s military service reflected his determination. He changed plans and enlisted with a different yeshiva just to fulfill his dream of reaching the Nahal Reconnaissance Unit.
His teammates described a meticulous, organized and unusually optimistic soldier. “No matter when we looked at him, he was smiling and in good spirits, with faith,” said K., a member of his team.
As a commander, Oshri lived by his own definition of leadership: “the ability to move people not through authority, but through inspiration.”
He was especially sensitive to the quiet soldiers, those on the margins, and always made sure to bring them closer. “They were his, 100%,” his mother said proudly. “If Oshri said something, they followed. No arguments, no questions, they simply did it.”
The final proposal and the last battle
On Oct. 7, Oshri was called to the south. Amid the inferno and the heavy fighting, he found a moment of hope. In the staging areas, by a base fence decorated with photos, he proposed to Ravid. “It was the most embarrassing thing I have ever experienced,” she recalled with a sad smile. “I didn’t even let him get down on one knee.”
Shortly after, he entered the Gaza Strip with his team. On Dec. 23, while clearing a building, Oshri’s devotion became unmistakable. As always, he went in first, entering through a breach in the wall. Inside, terrorists lay in wait, hoping to pull the entire force into a deadly ambush.
Oshri was killed on the spot by terrorist fire, but his decision to enter first and his quick response prevented the entire force from walking into the ambush, saving the lives of the 12 soldiers behind him.
“Instead of planning a wedding, we are planning a funeral,” his mother said in pain. But she added with resolve: “It means choosing to live. And every day, we choose to live.”
Ravid described the man she loved as impossible to sum up in one trait: “He had everything in him, a colorful figure you could never reduce to just one thing.”
Oshri left behind a legacy of a smile, generosity and leadership that came from the heart.
“We lost a great man,” his parents said. “That was simply his essence: ‘I will do it. The others will follow.’”
Capt. Oshri Moshe Butzhak, of the Nahal Brigade, fell on Dec. 23, 2023. He was 22.
May his memory be a blessing.
Captain
Oshri Moshe Butzhak