Tehilla, girlfriend of fallen soldier Uriel Silberman, who was killed Friday in Gaza, eulogized him at his funeral.
“The love of my life. My other half. It’s not real. None of the words that we say here will be able to describe who you were. You were so good for the world. You were good to me, good to your family. Good to your friends. I have no idea how to carry on,” she said.
“You had a heart of gold. That’s what I loved about you. Your heart of gold. You made me happy. My other half. My best friend. The most caring person. Most optimistic. You completed me.”
She added, “Our Father Above takes the best to him. He took you because you are the best.”
“You wanted to go south. I didn’t like the idea, but I knew that it’s your job. My job was to let you do it. I am proud of you that you fulfilled your job. I know that you didn’t want to die. You were scared of dying. You didn’t want to leave me alone, or your family like this.
“You are looking down at us from above. I can’t promise you that I will be strong like you told me to be. You wanted everything to be good for me. and you are the only one that makes it good for me.”
Tehilla continued, “I want to write about you so that everyone knows who you were, but I have no words. Nothing can describe this great loss. I want to see you again. I am waiting to see your smile, your beautiful and kind face. To feel your hug, to hear your voice, when you wait for me after a long day.”
“You were everything and now there is nothing.
“I was so scared of this. This is a nightmare. I would do anything to wake up and find out that this it not true.
“Your gift is ready, my love. What am I going to do with it now? What am I supposed to do with all the texts from you?
“Who will calm me down now? Who will look after me? I found my one and only. He came to me when I needed him the most. I thought he would never leave me.”
She continued, “We planned to get married in June. We’d already chosen a ring. You wanted to tell our parents. I wanted to keep it a secret a bit longer. It’s a pity we didn’t tell them.”
“I wanted to marry you, not bury you.
“I want to go to sleep and not wake up. I really believed that you were coming back. I knew that I would always be there for you, whatever [happened].”
“Everyone is hugging me now, but I want your hug. If I had known that our last hug was going to be the last, I would not have let go.
“Last night before I went to sleep, I said thanks for you. I thought it would all be okay. I thought He heard me and would send you back to me. How can I go to sleep without you saying ‘good night’ to me, and how can I wake up without you saying ‘good morning’ to me? How can I live without you? I don’t want to live without you.
“I want to thank you, the Silberman family, for accepting me into your family with open arms, as if I was one of you. Thank you for raising such a brave son, the love of my life.
“Thank you for the wonderful year we had together. It was like a dream before the outbreak of this damn war.”