Elhai Taharlev, the 20-year old Golani Brigade soldier who was murdered in a terrorist ramming attack this morning was laid to rest in the military cemetery on Mt. Herzl Thursday evening.
Elhai's father, Rabbi Ohad Taharlev, eulogized his son. "My soul thirsts for the Almighty, for Elhai (a verse from Psalm 42, ed.)." Elhai means "the living G-d."
"I remember your brit [mil.
"You were looking for life, you were looking for life in everything, you were kind, in the synagogue you grabbed candies and gave them to all the children ... You had a smile that melted the hearts of everyone around you. [Now] you flew up to heaven. It is hard for us, but we have to believe rather than fall apart."
A resident of the town of Talmon in western Samaria, Elhai was an alumnus of the Mekor Hayim yeshiva high school in Kfar Etzion and Tekoa Hesder Yeshiva. He is survived by his parents and six siblings.
Earlier on Thursday the town of Talmon issued a statement mourning Elhai’s loss.
"This is the third neighbor we are losing: Roi Arbel, father of 5; Gil-ad Shaar (who also studied at Mekor Chaim yeshiva and was one of the three boys kidnapped and murdered on their way home three years ago, ed.) and now Elhai, were taken from us by evil human beings. Spring blossoms won't bring comfort to this great pain. We embrace the family, and we ask the Creator of the Universe to put an end to our sorrows."
"We believe that we can overcome our enemies, and that we will."