בס״ד

The Elisha Fundקרן אלישע

Elisha Rothfeld Hy”d

אלישע רוטפלד הי״ד

לעילוי נשמת אלישע בן יהושע הי״דMarch 15, 1999 to October 7, 2023 (22 Tishrei 5784)כ״ז באדר תשנ״ט – כ״ב בתשרי תשפ״ד

Open water framed by willows at Ein Afek nature reserve.
Ein Afek, the spring in his last notebook entry. Photo: גליה גלושקובסקי, CC BY-SA 4.0, toned

Elisha was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the second of four children of Josh and Dena Rothfeld. In 2006, when he was 7, the family made aliyah and settled in Hod Hasharon. Their shul and most of their friends were in the English-speaking community of Ra'anana, next door.

He was a Bnei Akiva madrich for three years and spent his summers teaching younger kids to swim. At his hesder yeshiva he was the one who stayed up on Thursday nights to bake challah for the whole beit midrash. The habit stayed with him: after the army he took night shifts at a bakery in Kfar Saba. He served in the Armored Corps as a tank gunner.

A braided challah with poppy and sesame seeds on linen and a metal tray.
Photo: cottonbro studio, Pexels License, toned

Elisha knew every spring between Ra'anana and the Carmel. He kept a notebook of them, with the date of each hike and who came along. He had been accepted into an environmental studies program, and the semester was due to start in October 2023.

A narrow trail through oak scrub in the Lower Galilee, with a trail blaze on a rock.
Photo: Ramessos, CC BY-SA 3.0, toned

On the morning of Simchat Torah, Saturday, October 7, 2023, he was at the Nova festival near Kibbutz Re'im with Amitai and Noam, friends from his tank crew. Amitai and Noam survived. Elisha was murdered there. He was 24.

An open notebook with handwritten pages and a dried sprig, on a dark table.
Photo: Min An, Pexels License, toned

“Ein Afek, with Amitai and Noam. Bring Ezra next time.”

The last entry in his notebook, September 2023.

Why there is a fund

After the shiva, Josh and Dena met survivors who could not get the therapy they needed, or could not afford to keep going. They began paying for it. Friends from Ra'anana asked to help, and by Chanukah forty families were giving. The Elisha Fund was founded on the fourth night of Chanukah, Sunday, December 10, 2023.

See our work

The verse

The family chose a verse about the prophet Elisha, who healed the spring of Jericho. The verse connects Elisha's name with the springs he loved.

כֹּה־אָמַר ה׳ רִפִּאתִי לַמַּיִם הָאֵלֶּה לֹא־יִהְיֶה מִשָּׁם עוֹד מָוֶת וּמְשַׁכָּלֶת׃

מלכים ב׳ ב׳, כ״אThus says Hashem: I have healed these waters. No more death or bereavement shall come from them. (II Kings 2:21)

Remembering Elisha

At the request of the family and the military, further details of Elisha's service are not published at this stage.

  • His yahrzeit falls on 22 Tishrei, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah in Israel. The family holds its annual azkara on October 7 or a nearby weekday. See Events.
  • Learn or say Tehillim in his memory: לעילוי נשמת אלישע בן יהושע הי״ד
  • Write a memory of Elisha to the family: office@elishafund.org.
Give in Elisha's memory See what the fund pays for

Page address: elishafund.org/elisha.html

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