Lieutenant Ivri Dikstein's last act of devotion arrived at his family home just hours after his funeral. The flowers he ordered, meant to brighten his wife's Shabbat in his absence, became his final embrace.
"My dear wife," began the note accompanying the bouquet, written from a distant northern battlefield. "I'm writing to you again from the far north, hopefully for the last time." Those words, penned with hope for return, would carry a different meaning than their author intended.
Lt. Dikstein, who fell defending Israel's northern border last Thursday, had planned ahead knowing he wouldn't make it home for Shabbat. What he couldn't have known was that when the flowers arrived on Friday, they would transform from a temporary comfort into an eternal memorial.
"I'm here, happy and still doing something meaningful for our people," his words continue, reflecting the dedication that defined his service. "I ask you to smile and keep your head high." Even from the battlefield, his thoughts were of lifting his beloved's spirits.
The letter concludes, "I love you more than anything in the world. Treat yourself to chocolate and enjoy the beauty of your flowers. Always yours, Ivri."
He fell on Thursday. The flowers arrived on Friday. In between was a funeral, a fresh grave, and a doorbell that rang with the ghost of last week's love. The bouquet he ordered - meant to say "Sorry I missed Shabbat" - instead whispered "Goodbye." She received his last gift as Israel lit Shabbat candles, his final words of love delivered after his voice had already gone silent beneath northern soil.
[Note: We extend our deepest condolences to the Dikstein family. May Lieutenant Ivri Dikstein's memory be a blessing.]