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Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich congratulated the couple, calling the news “heart-expanding.”
By JFeed
Miriam Shani, whose husband Captain Ori Shani was killed defending Kissufim on October 7, married Ofek Dotan, who served as Ori’s commander during his Egoz Unit training, in an emotional wedding ceremony Tuesday night.
Ori’s father, Rabbi Yehoshua Shani, shared the news with a message of deep gratitude, saying the family has been blessed to see new light enter their lives.
“After a period of pain and longing beyond words, we have been privileged to welcome new light into our lives,” he wrote, adding that the family had long prayed for this moment.
“Out of profound heartbreak, rebuilding, hope, and life are beginning to grow once again.”
Rabbi Shani, chairman of the HaGevurah Forum, which represents bereaved families of fallen soldiers, has become one of the major public voices for families who lost their children in the war.
Rabbi Shani pointed to the unique bond between his son and the groom.
“Miriam’s fiancé, Ofek, was Ori’s commander during his training in Egoz, a deeply meaningful connection that carries forward the values, path, and strong sense of brotherhood they shared,” he said.
“We believe that even now, he is rejoicing with us, offering strength and accompanying us from above.”
Born and raised in Kiryat Arba, Ori studied at a yeshiva in Ramat Gan before enlisting.
He served first in the Egoz commando unit, completed an officer’s course, and went on to command a platoon in the Golani Brigade’s 51st Battalion.
He was 22 years old when he fell at Kissufim on October 7, fighting to defend his people.
After his death, Ori’s family found notebooks in which he had written about his purpose and place in the nation’s story. “What do the people of Israel need the most from me now?” he had written.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich congratulated the couple, calling the news “heart-expanding” and describing Miriam’s renewed choice to build a life as “an inspiration to us all.” He also praised Rabbi Shani as “a model of Jewish heroism, someone who turned personal pain into a source of strength for an entire people.”
The wedding, held in Israel Tuesday night, was attended by the Shani family, who blessed the couple under the chuppah with the words of “Sameach Tismach,” the traditional blessing recited for bride and groom.
The story of Miriam and Ofek is, at its core, the story Israel keeps choosing to tell itself, even in the depths of grief: life continues. Brotherhood endures. And from the rubble of Simchat Torah morning, something is built again.
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