Living Legacy
A Living Light: Sefer Torah Dedicated in Memory of Heroic Soldier Segev Schwartz
He fell on Simchat Torah while saving his comrades. Now, just before Shavuot, a Sefer Torah was dedicated in his name, ensuring his soul dances on with every scroll.
Just days before the festival of Shavuot, a powerful moment of remembrance took place in Beit She’an: the dedication of a new Sefer Torah in memory of Staff Sergeant Segev Schwartz, who gave his life shielding fellow soldiers from a grenade during the October 7 Hamas attack at the Sufa outpost near the Gaza border.
The Sefer Torah was commissioned by “Ayelet HaShachar”, a longtime organization working to strengthen Jewish life across Israel. The initiative began when Shegev’s mother, Sarah Schwartz, approached Rabbi Shlomo Raanan with a simple, heartfelt request: “We didn’t want a silent memorial. We wanted something alive, something that would illuminate his memory.”
And illuminate it did.
From Heroism to Holiness
On Simchat Torah, the day Jews around the world dance with the Torah, Segev was fighting for his life and the lives of his comrades. A soldier in the Nahal Brigade’s Battalion 50, Shegev and his unit took cover in the outpost’s dining hall as dozens of terrorists stormed the base. On his way to the hall, he saw a grenade tossed toward his friends. Without hesitation, he dove onto it, sacrificing himself to save them.
This week, his bravery was honored in a celebration of Torah, unity, and enduring love.
Hundreds gathered at the junior yeshiva affiliated with the local yeshiva high school in Beit She’an. The Sefer Torah was carried in a joyful procession from the Schwartz family home to the beit midrash, accompanied by Shegev’s fellow soldiers, yeshiva students, rabbis, residents, and dignitaries. Music, dancing, and open hearts filled the streets.
A Timely, Eternal Connection
The timing was no coincidence. “Segev fell on Simchat Torah, as the Jewish people danced with the Torah,” said Rabbi Raanan. “And now, just before Shavuot, the holiday of the giving of the Torah, we dedicate one in his name. In a place of Torah study, prayer, and life, Segev continues to live. This is a precise and powerful answer to the day his life was cut short.”
Ehud Schwartz, Shegev’s father, said the support of the community gave the family strength:
“The warmth and love we are receiving here today wraps around the pain and fills it with meaning. To know that Segev’s name will be carried with every reading from this Sefer Torah, that is a comfort for us.”
Segev’s mother, Sarah, shared a deeply emotional moment:
“When I hugged the Sefer Torah with my two sons at the entrance to the yeshiva, I felt Segev inside the scroll. I told him: Watch over your father, your mother, your brothers and all of Am Yisrael. That was the moment I realized he hadn’t left us. He just moved somewhere else, higher up.”
A Broader Vision
The dedication is part of Ayelet HaShachar’s national Torah scroll initiative, which for nearly 30 years has strengthened Jewish life in towns, kibbutzim, and communities throughout Israel. Each Sefer Torah placed is more than a ritual item it’s a living beacon of memory, faith, and connection.
In this case, it’s also a tribute to a young hero who gave everything and now, in the house of Torah, receives back a portion of eternity.
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