About Ariel

After years of trying to conceive, we were blessed with the arrival of Ariel on May 6, 1996. From the age of 14 months on, Ariel grew up in Great Neck, New York, surrounded by a supportive Jewish community and us, his doting parents.

Ariel was particularly close to his father, with whom he shared many of the same interests, and the two were best friends. We love to recall how much Ariel enjoyed the park right outside our front door and the many family vacations.

Ariel was laid back, curious, adventurous, and kind. He was over 6 feet tall, big, and very strong but always gentle.

He never got angry, even when people teased him. He was a role model in that he never spoke badly of anyone. He loved to read endlessly, particularly superhero comic books and fantasy books like the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. His father taught him the game Dungeons & Dragons and Ariel became an excellent “Dungeon Master.” He had an inner wisdom far beyond his years and was calm when others were not. He gave his parents the highest respect and understood complex subjects very quickly. He was the best traveling companion and was always easy-going. Simply put, he was an extraordinary individual.

By the time he graduated from Yeshiva University High School for Boys (MTA) in June of 2014, Ariel knew he wanted to spend some time in Israel before heading off to college.

He had already been accepted into the State University of New York at Binghamton, but chose to enroll in a nine-month educational program held in Israel. His plan was to enter college in the fall of 2015.

We heard about a program near Efrat that consisted of half a day of yeshivah learning and half a day of hiking, getting to know the land, and being involved in chessed projects. It was a very small yeshivah and sounded like the perfect fit for our son.

On September 3, 2014, when Ariel arrived in Israel, he was excited to begin his cultural journey into our family’s heritage.

He was there just about a week before embarking on a hike in the Judean Desert along with others enrolled in the program. The hike took place from September 9-10.

Although the first day of the hike was very hot, the hikers walked under waterfalls, which offered considerable relief. That night, there were many biting bugs bothering the young men, which kept them awake until nearly dawn.

On the second day, the 10th, the group continued hiking at 8:00 a.m. Over the course of the morning, the temperature quickly heated up, eventually reaching 98° F.

After six hours of being on the rigorous desert and mountainous trails, the hikers were exhausted; with no relief from the heat, they were encouraged to press on. At 2:00 in the afternoon, Ariel collapsed. He could not be revived.