Overcoming yourself: Sgt. First Class Eviatar Ben Yehuda OBM turned personal struggle into a life lesson
Some people’s life stories are not measured by the number of years they lived, but by the light they spread while they were here. Sgt. First Class Eviatar Ben Yehuda, who was killed in combat on the 20th of Tevet 5785 (January 20, 2025), was such a person. He was 31 when he fell, but the legacy he left behind, a legacy of an unceasing smile, limitless giving and the victory of spirit over body, will accompany those who loved him forever. Eviatar was the son of Tzila and Avihud. He was a brother to Orit, Efrat, Il, Eitan, Elisheva, Ruth, Yonatan, David and Elhanan. Eviatar married Rivka, and the couple had two children, Netai and Tehel.
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The child who broke the rules with a smile
Eviatar was born into a large family, the fifth of ten siblings. His brother Eitan recalls that until Eviatar arrived, the household operated according to certain rules, but Eviatar, with his bursting energy, simply “broke the rules.”
He was a lively child, full of vitality, but above all, he was a man of character. “As many foolish things as he did, he always knew how to take responsibility,” his brother recalls with longing. “When he was caught for some prank, he never tried to evade it. He would honestly say, in his typical way, ‘Well, I deserve a punishment.’”
More than any other trait, what characterized Eviatar was the combination of a broad smile and kind eyes. He was extraordinarily sensitive, someone who could not walk past a neighbor carrying bags without being the first to take them and carry them upstairs.
The personal victory, ‘overcoming yourself’
Eviatar’s story is first and foremost a story of mental strength. From the age of three, he dealt with alopecia, a condition that caused the loss of all the hair on his head. His friends say that at first, the social challenges were not simple, and there were difficult moments. By the end of 10th grade, Eviatar made a decision that changed his life. He chose not to let his external appearance define him.
He developed rare inner resilience and decided to ignore background noise. The sentence that accompanied him was: “I am not dependent on what others think of me, but on what I do. What I do is who I am.” Friends recall how people would joke that he looked sick, while in reality he was the healthiest, the fittest and the strongest in every sense. Eviatar distilled these insights into a series of lectures he delivered shortly before his death, which he called “Overcoming Yourself.”
Giving as a way of life
Eviatar’s giving was not a one-time act, but a constant pulse in his life. From the age of 14, he volunteered with the Hesed VeRachamim organization. Members of the organization said Eviatar was not just another volunteer. “He arrived first and helped until the very last piece of cardboard was lifted off the floor. The word ‘no’ simply did not exist in his vocabulary,” they said.
Eviatar completed courses in acting, gym training and basketball coaching, and he harnessed all of these skills for work with youth. As a religious youth coordinator in a moshav, he knew how to identify teenagers who were standing on the sidelines and connect them to the center of activity. He expanded the youth branch thanks to his rare ability to see others and approach them at eye level.
Eviatar’s big heart
When Eviatar felt he had exhausted his studies at yeshiva, he enlisted in the Netzah Yehuda Battalion. There, within the battalion’s unique DNA, he found a family. Eviatar was a different kind of fighter. On long marches, he would bring a rope to tie himself to those who were struggling and pull them forward. He would complete the march twice, going forward and then turning back to help someone else, and then advancing again. He felt a deep commitment to helping others, stemming from a belief that a comrade’s difficulty was his own personal responsibility.
On October 7, Eviatar did not hesitate for a moment. He called his friends and asked, “Where am I needed?” When he understood that the people of Israel were in danger, it was clear to him that he was there, fighting on the front line.
Farewell and legacy, ‘a family that can’
The most painful part of Eviatar’s story is the timing. He fell precisely when life seemed more complete than ever. He had married, was a proud father to a young son, and shortly before his death, his daughter Tehel was born. His wife tried to convince him to stay home after the birth, but Eviatar replied gently yet firmly, “The people of Israel need me too.”
On the 20th of Tevet, during an operational activity in Judea and Samaria, an explosive device struck his vehicle and Eviatar was killed. His death left an immense void, but his family chose an extraordinary way to cope with the loss. His father asked to add the letter yod to the Hebrew word for bereaved, defining themselves as “a family that can,” a family that chooses life despite everything.
Eviatar’s legacy continues to live on everywhere. In the moshav, where the youth group is now called “Eviatar Youth.” In the initiative “In Eviatar’s Way,” in which six trailers travel between people who are moving and need help, exactly as Eviatar would have done. Above all, it lives in the hearts of everyone who knew him and learned from him that it is possible to overcome anything, with a smile, with love and with endless giving.
Sgt. First Class Eviatar Ben Yehuda of the Infantry Corps fell on the 20th of Tevet 5785, January 20, 2025. He was 31 when he fell.
May his memory be a blessing.
Sergeant First Class
Eviatar Ben Yehuda