12 | DECEMBER 22 • 2022 

OUR COMMUNITY

Meir and Menachem Begin, both of whom 
formally recognized him for his devotion 
and service to Israel. 
Fern’s great-grandfather Yisroel Dov 
Waxman was also passionate about Israel. 
“It was always my great-grandfather’s 
dream to make aliyah and join the IDF,
” 
Fern said. “When he was in his 80s, he 
moved to Israel. He immediately turned up 
at the draft office, wanting to volunteer in 
the army, saying, ‘I’m sure there’s a job I can 
do,
’ but they laughed him off.
”
Waxman didn’t let that phase him. He 
often visited bus routes that soldiers were 
known to take home after their week on 
base. As the soldiers disembarked, Waxman 
would stand here, doling out candies and 
blessings, thanking them for their service, 
singing their praises and uplifting them.
“That’s who our son Zach is named after; 
we believe Zach was born wanting to live 

the dream of his namesake,
” Fern said of 
her only son and youngest child, now 25.
“Joining the IDF was a natural choice 
for Zach,
” Fern said. He’
d grown up hear-
ing about his colorful Zionistic ancestors, 
attended then Yeshivat Akiva [now Farber 
Hebrew Day School] and Camp Stone. “I 
watched him prepare mentally and phys-
ically; I saw him study the language … I 
knew it was coming, I knew he was trying 
out for tzanchanim (the paratrooper’s 
unit). But when he called to tell me he was 
accepted, it suddenly became very real.
”
When Fern hung up, she couldn’t stop 
crying. She was so impressed and proud 
of her son — he’d made it! — but, at the 
same time, she was absolutely terrified. 
Zach would quite literally be jumping out 
of airplanes.
“My emotions were all over the place, 
and I didn’t know who to talk to about it. 

Who on earth would understand?” Fern 
remembered thinking. 
She called Ariella Nadel, whose son 
Yoni had been an IDF paratrooper in 
2014.
“Zach got in,” Fern told Ariella. “Now 
what?” 
“Now we meet for coffee,” Ariella told 
Fern, a voice of comfort, strength and 
deep understanding of the sleepless nights 
Fern would soon be experiencing. 
“
Ariella and I met for coffee many times 
and each time she gave me just a little 
more information,” Fern said. “It was 
what I needed to know, but not too much, 
nothing more and nothing less. I realized 
that while my son had prepared to join the 
army, I hadn’t been prepared. The parents 
need to know what’s coming, too! Ariella 
held my hand throughout; I don’t know 
what I would have done without her.” 

ON THE COVER

Uri Lorkis with parents 
Rabbi Mark and Joanne Lorkis

continued from page 10

