Volume VII, Issue I
Sgt. Mayan Yogev, Esther of the Year
"She (Sgt. Yogev) never hesitates. There were dire situations in which she had to give on-the-field care to a victim with a gun shot wound to the head or perform a tracheotomy on 12-year-old girl in critical condition." -- Yoav Zitun ht/Phillip Pasmanick [1.]
Just another day in the life of 20 year old Mayan Yogev. Don't be fooled by her youth and beauty, Sgt. Yogev is probably the busiest first responder in her Golan Heights patrol. Hundreds of Syrians in this troubled border area have been the recipients of Yogev's good care. Like a modern-day Florence Nightingale, she lights the lamp of compassionate care for her patients without regard for their citizenship.
"During the last months she has seen things that your average paramedic sees in a decade," says one of her commanders.Indeed the parallel to Nightingale's service during the Crimean War seems fitting. Here is a person who has tirelessly performed her duties with dedication and courage. Yoav Zitun [click to read] has much good to say about this remarkable woman!
Her brother Yitach says of her: "We weren't surprised, she has a strong character which allows her to deal not just with painful sights but also with difficult challenges without reservation or fear.
When she returns home she goes out and has a good time, she speaks of how much she believes in what she is doing, no questions asked. She tells us how she meets people in dire need of help, and does not embellish stories as heroic. Even as a high school student, she knew she wanted to have a meaningful period in the IDF, offering help and saving lives."
Her Father says of her: "it was always important for her to make a contribution and help other people. Her work over the last few months fills me with pride."
Her IDF colleagues have much to say in praise of her as well. Known for her courage and willingness to head into any forward area to render medical care, Yogev is a valued and respected member of their team. Those of us who pray for the Peace of Jerusalem look forward to the day when scores of Syrians and Israelis will simply remember her as their angel, their "lady with a lamp," in a difficult distant past.
Santa Filomena
by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Whene'er a noble deed is wrought,
Whene'er is spoken a noble thought,
Our hearts, in glad surprise,
To higher levels rise.
The tidal wave of deeper souls
Into our inmost being rolls,
And lifts us unawares
Out of all meaner cares.
Honour to those whose words or deeds
Thus help us in our daily needs,
And by their overflow
Raise us from what is low!
Thus thought I, as by night I read
Of the great army of the dead,
The trenches cold and damp,
The starved and frozen camp, -
The wounded from the battle-plain,
In dreary hospitals of pain,
The cheerless corridors,
The cold and stony floors.
Lo! in that house of misery
A lady with a lamp I see
Pass through the glimmering gloom,
And flit from room to room.
And slow, as in a dream of bliss,
The speechless sufferer turns to kiss
Her shadow, as it falls
Upon the darkening walls.
As if a door in heaven should be
Opened and then closed suddenly,
The vision came and went,
The light shone and was spent.
On England's annals, through the long
Hereafter of her speech and song,
That light its rays shall cast
From portals of the past.
A Lady with a Lamp shall stand
In the great history of the land,
A noble type of good,
Heroic womanhood.
Nor even shall be wanting here
The palm, the lily, and the spear,
The symbols that of yore
Saint Filomena bore.
