Half an hour. That was all the time Shimon Aviksar had with his wife, Hadar, from the moment he reached the hospital until she passed away right before his eyes.
Hadar had been battling cancer. When war broke out on October 7, Shimon was called up for reserve duty and went to fight in Gaza, like so many of his fellow reservists. About two months into the war, he was urgently pulled from the battlefield and rushed to the hospital. He made it in time to say goodbye.
"They rushed me to the hospital. I managed to say goodbye to her, and right after that she passed away," he recalls.
Click here to help Shimon and his three children rebuild their lives
Hadar left behind three children and one final request: "Take care of our three children."
After the shiva, two weeks after her passing, Shimon returned to his unit to complete his service. In the nearly three years since, he has served more than 900 days of reserve duty, including suffering an injury and undergoing five months of rehabilitation.
At home, he is raising three children who lost their mother. He is also caring for his mother-in-law, who is seriously ill, and for his father, who suffers from a serious medical condition.
"Until now I kept the house going on my own, with my reserve pay and the grants we received. Thank God, I managed," Shimon says. But as the sole provider, after long months of reserve duty, time away from home and searching for work, the burden has become overwhelming. Sitting with a social worker shortly before launching the campaign, he opened his bank account and realized he could no longer cover his family's basic needs.
Click here to stand with Shimon and his children now
Asking was not easy. "After years of answering the call to serve the people of Israel, today I find myself in the position of having to ask for help," he says.
"To me it was obvious that I had to give and sacrifice my own life for my country over these past years. My people always come first. Those are the values I grew up on. I don't expect the nation to pay me back, but I would be grateful if people could help me."
The response so far has been remarkable. NIS 1,158,766 has already been raised toward a goal of NIS 1.2 million, leaving just over NIS 41,000 to go. The finish line is within reach.
Every donation, no matter the amount, will give the family some breathing room and hope for a better future. Even sharing the campaign can make a real difference.
He stood up to the call when Israel needed him. Now Shimon and his three children need the Jewish people to stand by them. "This time, I need you by my side. Thank you from the bottom of my heart."