He spread light and joy: The generous heart and heroism of Staff Sgt. Daniel Shaferber
Staff Sgt. Daniel Shaferber, a combat soldier in the Border Defense Corps, was only 20 when he fell on the dark day of Oct. 7, 2023. He left behind a loving family, friends and an unforgettable legacy of kindness, extraordinary determination and supreme courage.
For his mother, Liat Etzioni, Daniel was the firstborn, making her a mother at just 23½. “From the day he was born, he was such an easygoing child,” she says. “He was our first child and my parents’ first grandchild. He was our whole world.”
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An extraordinary child who “never said no”
Daniel was born by emergency c-section on the eve of Yom Kippur, a month premature. His parents drove to the hospital exactly 30 years after the Yom Kippur War, and in those moments his mother feared for his life, never imagining that she would lose him so tragically just one day after his 20th birthday.
His father, Gil Shaferber, smiles as he remembers a stubborn and opinionated yet extraordinary and charming boy who spread joy and light wherever he went. His aunt Orit fondly recalls a small toy turtle she bought him that could speak and say, “I love you.” Daniel was “crazy about it,” and the family has kept it to this day.
When Daniel was 7½, his parents separated. His grandfather, Gideon Etzioni, and his grandmother played a central role in raising him, and he was deeply attached to them. Their bond was so close that, as a young child, Daniel would sometimes mistakenly call his grandfather “Dad.”
Daniel’s generosity and devotion to his family were among his most defining traits. “He never said no,” his father recalls. Even after a month without speaking, Daniel would still be there whenever help was needed. On returning from the army, he would drop off his belongings and head straight to visit both sets of grandparents, making sure everyone was doing well.
Daniel also showed remarkable determination. Having set himself a savings goal before beginning his military service, he worked every day after school. His grandfather recalls that Daniel would wake at 5:45 a.m. and walk 2 kilometers, about 1.2 miles, to work, displaying an extraordinary work ethic for someone his age.
While working, he often helped older customers, carrying their shopping bags home without expecting anything in return.
A sense of foreboding on his final birthday
Daniel loved the good life. He enjoyed designer brands, treating himself and traveling abroad. A year and a half before his enlistment, he traveled with his family to Slovakia and Krakow, where he had a wonderful time and bought anything that caught his eye. As his enlistment approached, he developed a strong interest in computers and enthusiastically shared his plans for the future with everyone around him.
On Friday, Oct. 6, 2023, his mother and his brother, Noam, came to his base to celebrate his 20th birthday. But the joyful occasion was clouded by an uneasy feeling. “When I said goodbye to him and hugged him before we left, my stomach turned,” his mother recalls. “His service there had been weighing on me.” She says the two had always shared a special, almost telepathic connection.
The fighting broke out the following morning. Under rocket fire and amid blaring sirens, the soldiers grabbed their weapons and ran to a fortified shelter before they had even had time to put on their uniforms.
There, five soldiers held off dozens of terrorists in a fierce battle lasting 80 minutes. They repelled two attempts to breach their position before eventually running out of ammunition. The five soldiers were found together, without a single bullet remaining in their magazines.
“I keep asking myself, why didn’t you run?” his father says. “But that wasn’t how he was raised. They knew it might be their final battle, and they chose to stay and fight. So I am proud. I am in pain, and I am proud.”
“He is always present”
The loss left an immense void. His grandfather, Gideon, still struggles to accept that Daniel is gone and says that, for the past two years, it has felt as though he has merely been “delayed from coming home.”
For Liat, it feels as though a part of her body has been torn away. “As far as I am concerned, he is still here, and I feel that he is watching over me,” she says. “He is not physically present, but he is always present, whether in the town square, in the book or in the photographs.”
Daniel was raised in an open and accepting environment that allowed him to become whoever he wanted to be. In his own unique way, he proved that he truly could do anything until his final breath.
Staff Sgt. Daniel Shaferber, a soldier in the Border Defense Corps, fell on Oct. 7, 2023. He was 20 years old.
May his memory be a blessing.
Staff Sergeant
Daniel Shaferber