Borochov Garden – A Garden with Memory • A memorial project in memory of the late Shmuelik Goldfinger, a martyr of the Yom Kippur War

Those watching from Borochov Street in Ramot Remez, towards the renovated and shaded playground, must have wondered what a group of adults were doing in a playground on a hot, hot Friday morning in August.

Memorial gathering at Borochov Garden: An entire community gathers around the life of one boy

Last Friday, under the scorching August sun, an unusual sight was witnessed at the renovated playground on Borochov Street in Ramot Remez. A group of adults gathered at the playground early in the morning – not to play, but to remember. They came to honor the memory of the late Shmuelik Goldfinger, a local resident who fell in the Yom Kippur War at the age of just 18 and nine months.

A commemorative corner in the heart of the neighborhood

In Borochov Garden, near his childhood home on Komoy Street, a new memorial corner has been set up: a shaded bench, bookshelves and games, and a quiet corner that invites you to stop for a moment. The initiative was led by Shmuelik's sister, Rachel Sasson, in collaboration with the Haifa Municipality.

It was clear that The commemoration will be related to the world of books.After all, Shmuelik was a "bookworm" in Hebrew and later also in English. During the last summer vacations of his life, he was engaged in translating brochures and reading books from English into Hebrew. Thus was born the idea Rest/reading bench And bookshelves beside him. And the garden, so close to the house where he was born and the area where he spent the first years of his life, Comoy Street.

Rachel Sasson – sister of the late Shmuelik Goldfing (Photo: Lydia Marom)

A talented, humble boy with a promising future who will be cut short

In the garden, his sister, his friends, his comrades in arms, his friends for "teenage outings," gathered to have more and more shared and personal experiences with a talented and humble boy, who was planning his path to the future. The late Shmuelik developed hobbies that required research and self-study. He set up a photo lab and developed photos in his room, and even created animated videos from simple materials he had on hand. He purchased instructional booklets in English, researched and developed on the basis of the knowledge he acquired from them.
A boy whose future predicted greatness. Today, he would surely be celebrating in the digital world, leading and developing tools from his own workshop.

The final moments and the pain that never lets up

The meeting also heard difficult testimonies about the days after his fall. We listened to the description of the last moments of his life, the great heartbreak of the family who did not know that he was no longer alive. The family traveled between hospitals and bases, looking for soldiers who had arrived from the Golan Heights and asking if they had seen or heard anything, and Shmuelik... no.
We all prayed and hoped that maybe he was among the captives, we knew that he was strong and would be able to help them, until the moment of the difficult news that he Not among the living.

We learned a lot from him, we were blessed with years of growing up together, and now, all that remains for us to do is to commemorate and remember the phrase he often repeated:
"I want to live for our country" , Shmuelik Goldfinger, February 73.

An invitation to the community: come, read, and remember

The new corner in Borochov Garden is not just a memorial site, it is an open invitation to neighborhood residents and passersby. You can sit, read, borrow a book, bring new books, and most importantly, spend a moment with the memory of The late Shmuelik Goldfinger.

The garden is located at 21 Borochov Street, a small and magical place that holds within it a great story of one boy, one family, and an entire neighborhood that never forgets.