Father of murdered teen: Dvir had a light in his eyes

While many details about the victim are still under gag order, his friends describe a sensitive, caring young man who was slain bearing gifts for his teachers.

By JEREMY SHARON
Dvir Sorek (photo credit: Courtesy)
Dvir Sorek
(photo credit: Courtesy)
Yoav Sorek, father of the late 19-year-old Dvir Sorek, said that his son "had light in his eyes, and someone who had murderous eyes took him away" from us.
Sorek, who was speaking on Israel Radio hours after the body of his murdered son was discovered near Efrat in Gush Etzion, described the 19 years he had with the young man as a "gift," but said that "the pain will stay with us."
Dvir Sorek was murdered in a terror attack Wednesday night. The IDF and other security forces are still searching for the terrorist.
He was “the cornerstone” of the Machanaim Yeshiva where he studied and a much loved member of the institution.
The dean of the yeshiva, Rabbi Shlomo Vilk, said that Sorek was “a kind and gentle person” who was concerned for the environment and was kind to “every living thing.”
“He looked on everyone very kindly. The difference between the way he lived and the way he died is too much for us,” Vilk told The Jerusalem Post Thursday morning.
“It is very hard to grasp.”
Sorek was the son of Yoav Sorek, editor of the magazine Hashiloach. His grandfather, Rabbi Benjamin Harling, was killed by terrorists who shot a group of tourists near mount Ebal in 2000.
He served as the “gabbai,” or assistant in the yeshiva, and the rabbi described him as “the cornerstone of the yeshiva.”
Sorek was returning to the yeshiva, which is between Efrat and Migal Oz in the Gush Etzion region, after having purchased some books in Jerusalem for his rabbis as an end-of-the-year gift to them on behalf of his classmates.
The youth, from the Ofra settlement, was in an IDF program called Hesder, which combines yeshiva study with military service over a five year period. He is therefore considered to be a soldier by the IDF.
According to Vilk, Sorek had earlier messaged his study partner to tell him what time he would be returning for their study session, adding that the concerns of the yeshiva were almost immediately aroused when he failed to show up on time.
Vilk said the yeshiva students were extremely upset by the murder of their fellow student, and that he and the rest of the staff had been speaking with them in the wake of the incident.
“My pain is the same as theirs and my ability to deal with it is not much better than them," the rabbi said. "I’m not coming as someone who knows how to deal with this.”
He said the students and rabbis had sung together lamentations and songs from the High Holy Days during the night, and then prayed the morning prayer service at sunrise, which Vilk described as “a very strong and painful experience.”
Rabbi Kenneth Brander, president and head of the Ohr Torah Stone network of which Machanaim Yeshiva is a member, said that the organization was in mourning over the “atrocious murder.”
Brander said that Sorek was “much loved by his friends and rabbis,” noting that he was murdered while he was helping his fellow students, by volunteering to go and buy the gifts for their rabbis.
“We send our sincere condolences to the family and his friends, and will be by their sides as much as is needed,” he said.


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