In a special interview with Kan Moreshet, Miriam Peretz reflected on moments of pain, inspiration, and the triumph of life, from a military Bible quiz to the upcoming wedding of her grandson, the son of Eliraz of blessed memory.
"'A good name is better than fine oil,'" Peretz began when asked to share something positive. “It must be a person’s trait, to seek one good thing in every situation. That’s how you kindle the flame of life.”
Peretz recounted her visit to the IDF Officer Training School (Bahad 1), where she served as a judge in a special Bible quiz led by the IDF Education Corps and Military Rabbinate. “The entire quiz focused on leadership in the Bible, watching officers from all sectors recite these stories of leadership was incredibly moving,” she said.
Later that day, she visited an air control unit. “They track every movement in the skies, seeing such focused, courageous youth defending the country, it’s a hug to the heart.”
Alongside her public activities, Peretz also shared deeply personal moments that brought her comfort amid her heavy loss. “The son of Eliraz, my son who fell in Gaza, is getting married. I named him ‘Or Chadash Uriel,’ because he was born after Uriel’s death, ‘A new light shall shine upon Zion.’ On the day Eliraz fell, I asked for one thing, to merit dancing with ‘Or Chadash’ at his wedding. To dance the dance his father won’t. And now, before Rosh Hashanah, please God, Or Chadash will marry.”
She added, “This is victory over the enemy—not only rebuilding what was destroyed, but creating new life. Another home in the Land of Israel. Another family.”
Peretz also recalled a powerful moment from Eliraz’s own wedding: “When he broke the glass, he said, ‘If I forget you, my brother Uriel—may my tongue cling to my palate.’ And to the rabbi, he added: ‘My Jerusalem is Uriel, my brother; is Matan, is Yoram, all the fallen who enabled me to lay another stone of Jerusalem tonight.’”
When asked about the families of hostages still held in Gaza, Peretz spoke with anguish: “There’s no such thing as a mother knowing her child is there, while she is here. I have a grave. What about the mothers who have nowhere to cry? We will not know peace in this land until all those children return.”