The Shattering Eulogy Fallen Soldier Naveh Habshush's Mother Gave
At the funeral of fallen soldier Naveh Habshush, his mother revealed she is pregnant at 46, saying the new life within her gives her the strength to keep going.
Thousands gathered Sunday to accompany Corporal Naveh Habshush to his final rest, the armored corps soldier who fell in combat. But it was his mother's eulogy that left the crowd unable to breathe.
Einav Habshush revealed at the funeral that just months before Naveh was killed, she discovered she was pregnant, at the age of 46.
"It was a complete surprise," she said. "We did not understand how, at 46, I would be carrying this pregnancy, and we wondered what the Holy One Blessed Be He wanted from us. And from the moment the officers knocked on the door and delivered the bitter news of Naveh's fall, inside the great darkness that descended on our lives, I carry within me new life."
In the unbearable pain of losing her only son, she said, that life has become the reason she keeps going.
"When my beloved child was taken from me, my only son, between the tears there is within me a pulse of life that forces me to get up in the morning and keep living."
The most shattering moment came when Einav turned and spoke directly to Nave.
"Naveh, my Naveh, I am asking you today for one last request from your mother: send me strength. Help me get up in the morning even on the days I will not want to get up. Help me be the mother that Noam and Nesia need right now."
"When your little sister arrives in the world, pray for her from above. Walk with her, protect her, and help me be a good mother for her too."
Nave's father Chaim also spoke, and read aloud the last message he received from his son, sent the night of the battle.
"The last message from you was written on Thursday at 23:15," he said. "'How are you, Dad? There's a chance of leave next week on Sunday, but don't tell Mom so she won't be disappointed if I don't end up coming.' About an hour later, the worst happened."
Chaim described his son as a modest and quiet young man who always thought of others before himself. "You were an angel sent to us for too short a time. You always saw the other person, you always thought of those around you before you thought of yourself."