Natan Kenig, 46, from Jerusalem, had answered calls like this for 28 years as a ZAKA volunteer. But nothing - nothing in nearly three decades of responding to terror attacks - prepared him for what he would witness that day.

"I arrived in the late afternoon and entered Route 232," Natan recalls in a newly released video. "That's where I was exposed to the pogrom. To inhuman sights."

Route 232. A road that should take eight to nine minutes to drive. Natan spent months there. Not days. Months.

"I drove on it for several months," he says quietly. "I and hundreds of ZAKA volunteers. Not just on this road. We traveled along the communities, the kibbutzim, the moshavim."

Stand With Natan This Chanukah - Donate Now

At first, they saved lives. Then the work changed.

"We collected every piece of a person. Every fallen soldier. Every fragment of earth that had a person on it - even just to bring DNA samples, so there would be identification for those murdered, who disappeared, so families would have comfort, so they would have a grave to come and cry over."

Read that again. Every piece. Every fragment. Every bit of earth.

For months.

Under fire.

"We fought while being shot at, while feeling real mortal danger," Natan explains. "But we continued with all our strength because we understood that ultimately, when we bring each fallen person home to their family, we are giving life to the fallen, to the family."

This is the miracle no one talks about: There are no missing persons from October 7.

Not one family left wondering where their loved one is. Not one body was abandoned in a burned car or destroyed home. Not one fragment left behind.

Because Natan and his ZAKA brothers worked for months - under fire, against time, risking everything - to ensure every single person came home.

"This Chanukah," Natan says in the video, "I want to say to my partners, my friends, our volunteers who were with me in ZAKA - simply to say thank you for giving their lives this way, running against the clock, for days and hours, risking their lives to bring every fallen person, from every person, from every part of a person, to burial."

But here's what Natan doesn't say in that video: The cost of that miracle destroyed him.

This Chanukah, Light a Candle for Natan - Support His Recovery

Twenty-eight years of ZAKA service. Hundreds of terror attacks. Devastating accidents. Unimaginable scenes. Natan handled them all and kept going.

But months of crawling through October 7 massacre sites, collecting fragments of hundreds of victims, working under fire while terrorists still roamed - that broke something inside him that cannot be fixed.

His thriving restaurant - where he was known as "the chef of the region" - sits abandoned. He cannot cross the threshold. Every knife triggers memories of what he saw. Every smell brings him back to those sites.

The business that supported local farmers and employed dozens of families collapsed. Revenue vanished. Debts mounted into hundreds of thousands of shekels.

Suppliers who trusted him for years now wait for payment. Employees face uncertainty. His own family struggles.

But even drowning financially, even while undergoing treatment for severe trauma, Natan refuses to declare bankruptcy.

"I can't abandon them," he says, "just like I didn't abandon the victims on October 7."

This is the paradox of miracles: They often require someone to sacrifice everything.

The miracle of no missing persons required Natan to sacrifice his livelihood, his mental health, his ability to work, his financial stability - everything he built over decades.

During Chanukah, we light candles and speak of miracles. The oil that burned for eight days. The few who defeated the many. Light conquering darkness.

But we forget that miracles always have a price. Someone always pays.

Natan paid. His ZAKA brothers paid. The "invisible wounded" - volunteers who gave everything so families could have closure - they all paid.

Now, during this Festival of Lights, we face a question: Will we let the miracle-makers fall into darkness?

Be Part of the Miracle - Help Natan Rebuild

"We understood that when we bring each fallen person home to their family, we are giving life to the fallen, to the family," Natan explained in the video.

He gave life to hundreds of families by ensuring their loved ones came home.

Now he asks only for the chance to rebuild his own life.

Not pity. Not charity. Just the opportunity to honor his debts, restart his business, and regain the strength to be present for his own family - the way he was present for hundreds of families in their darkest hour.

Every donation does three things this Chanukah:

First, it pays real people - suppliers who extended trust, farmers who provided ingredients, employees who worked faithfully. Small businesses and families who believed in Natan and now struggle because of that belief.

Second, it tells every ZAKA volunteer, every first responder, every person who worked months under fire to create the miracle of no missing persons: Israel does not abandon those who serve.

Third, it lights a candle in the darkness. It says that miracles can work both ways - that just as Natan gave life to families by bringing their loved ones home, we can give life back to him.

Your contribution creates immediate impact:

$180: Pays one supplier who waited months for payment $500: Settles major creditor, prevents legal action
$1,000: Clears multiple debts, provides breathing room $2,500: Significant progress toward reopening his business $5,000+: Game-changing support that clears entire debt categories

This Chanukah, we don't need oil to burn for eight days.

We need people to remember that the man who spent months ensuring every fragment of every victim came home now struggles to keep his own home.

We need people to understand that the miracle of no missing persons came at a price - and Natan is still paying it.

We need people to act.

Light Natan's Candle This Chanukah - Donate Now

Natan Kenig spent 28 years running toward danger. He spent months after October 7 collecting every piece of every person so families wouldn't be left wondering. He worked under fire, against time, against horror itself.

The miracle happened. No missing persons. Every family has a grave to visit.

But the miracle-maker is falling.

During Chanukah, we celebrate light conquering darkness. This year, let's not just celebrate - let's create that light for the man who brought so many families out of darkness.

Every donation goes directly to clearing Natan's debts and helping him rebuild his restaurant. Zero administrative fees. Zero delays. One hundred percent immediate impact for a man who gave everything and asks only for the chance to keep his promises.

He ensured no family was left without closure.

Let's ensure he's not left without hope.

This Chanukah, be the miracle.

P.S. In the video, Natan thanks his fellow ZAKA volunteers for risking their lives. But who will thank Natan? Who will stand with the men who created the miracle of no missing persons? During this Festival of Lights, let your donation be that thank you. Let it be the light that guides him out of darkness.