Volunteer Yonatan Cohen tells about missing death at Yeshivat Mercaz Harav, losing two friends and rollerblading into his future.
 
Yad Sarah is part of the fabric of Jerusalem. Walk just one block downtown and you will surely see at least one person in a wheelchair or using a walker affixed with a Yad Sarah sticker. Uri Lupolianski, Jerusalem's current mayor founded Yad Sarah – and its hundreds of volunteers are culled from every group and every neighborhood of the city.  So when tragedy occurs, it invariably reverberates in our hallways.  Such is the case of the tragedy of the shooting at Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav that happened just weeks ago.
 
On that fateful Thursday evening, our 19-year-old volunteer Yonatan Cohen was planning to meet up with his two friends (both students of Yeshivat Mercaz HaRav).  But fate had different plans. Yonatan was not killed; but tragically, his two friends were.
 
"One of the boys was my age. I'm 19 and I'm doing my Sherut Leumi (National Service) at Yad Sarah. I was supposed to be in Modiin (Intelligence) in the army, but they couldn't take me because of knee problems I have. My mother is American, my father is Israeli. I went to Maale Adumim Yeshiva high school. I graduated two years ago, and last year I studied at Merkaz Harav. I do Sherut Leumi here at Yad Sarah 'til 5pm, and then I learn.
 
"It's funny that I'm working here at Yad Sarah in the computer department. I had only a basic knowledge of computers from daily life, but since there is just one computer technician in our large department, I had to learn computers fast.  They taught me for about a month to get me ready.
 
"I like computers, and I like being here; it's good. It's not easy to find a good place for Sherut Leumi if you're a religious guy. There are about 40 girls doing Sherut Leumi here and one boy, so it's not so easy. But everything is O.K. I've found my place here. Most of my friends are in yeshiva, and that's where I have most of my contact with people. 
 
"There are 400 computers at Yad Sarah, and we're getting more all over the country, and there's a lot of work, including helping people over the phone.
 
"Boys don't usually do two years of Sherut Leumi. Once I finish the year here, I'll know the system, so they may want me to continue working here. I have skills that other folks my age don't have, so it'll be easy to find jobs.  
 
"It's hard to love people who kill your friends, but at Yad Sarah I've had the chance to speak to all kinds of people. And while it's hard to love them, I don't hate them, and I respect them. I meet Arabs in the lending department, and some who need help with the computers when they're stuck.  I will continue to help them. When an Arab says to me 'good morning,' I answer 'good morning.'  I don't like him; I know it's not his fault, but I can't help it. I also learned a lot about chilonim (secular Jews), and their way of life. I never really got to know any before coming to Yad Sarah.
 
"I can get 20-40 calls a day for help with computers, all over the building. Because of the problem with my knees, walking too much can get painful, so I put on roller blades and skate around. They let me do it for now, from Rosh Chodesh Adar, because of Purim.  I hope they'll let me continue after Purim."