[COMMUNICATED]
Many of us spend hours of our lives dedicated to chesed. But in moments like those witnessed on Meron this past Thursday, one man’s ahavas yisroel withstood the true test of time. Yisroel Anakava used his very last reserves of strength to save a stranger and moments later, he was horrifically crushed to death:
“We were crammed there, and we couldn’t breathe. I was next to Yisroel. He was a powerful man and he could have thrown himself over the fence. But then he saw me. And with superhuman powers, he pulled me out of the pile of death and threw me over the fence.”
Binyamin emotionally explained to reporters that Yisroel saved his life, and that the two had been complete strangers. The story is so moving that Yisroel has been fondly nicknamed “The hidden angel of Meron”.
Yisroel’s friends describe him as an above-average father and a very thoughtful man who always had a warm smile on his face for everyone he encountered. He was very dedicated to his learning as well. When Binyamin paid a shiva call to Yisroel’s young widow and shared the chilling story with her, she couldn’t hold back the tears. She said to him, “If you want to make Yisroel happy, go learn another page of gemara.”
“He was a good soul, a generous heart, and was always the first to help everyone with kindness and joy,” said Yisroel’s brother-in-law. “He distanced himself from machlokes and saw the good in everyone. Yisroel loved nature very much, and especially caring for animals and flowers, with his gentle and good soul. We should all merit to learn from his ways and see each one only the good in the other.”
Yisroel’s neshama undoubtedly flew straight up to Gan Eden.
He is survived by two orphaned children and his widowed wife Ruti, whom sources reveal are inconsolable after their loss. Amidst her pain, Ruti has vowed to aspire to raise their two sons to be like the man that their father was. The father that they will never know. But they won’t be able to get there on their own. Now that her husband is gone, Ruti needs support to raise her two sons without her husband. Donations collected by the Vaad HaRabbanim here will provide Yisroel’s widow with much-needed financial relief for now, and for the many years ahead of them.
