A year after his death in Gaza during Operation Protective Edge, lone soldier Sgt. Max Steinberg was commemorated with a Torah scroll dedication ceremony on Sunday at the Aish World Center in Jerusalem. The ceremony was attended by Chief Rabbi David Lau, Steinberg's friends from the Golani Brigade, and his parents, Stuart and Evie, who arrived after meeting with President Reuven Rivlin. Steinberg's friends from the army were given the honor of writing the final letters into the Torah scroll dedicated in his name. "It is very emotional for me to see the soldiers here," Evie Steinberg said of the ceremony. "Losing a child is so difficult, but we draw so much strength from the people when we come to Israel and it helps a lot." She also spoke about how important serving in the Israel Defense Forces had been to her son, and how proud his family was. And Stuart Steinberg said, "Max reminded us that we are all one nation. He lost his life defending us and the State of Israel. May he rest in peace and live on in our hearts forever." The Torah scroll dedication was organized by Larry Platt, co-founder of the Families of Lone Soldiers organization. Platt lives in Los Angeles and also has a son who enlisted in the IDF. He says he created the organization "to work together with officials within the country and to support the parents of lone soldiers. One of the goals was to avoid a situation in which their first time being in touch with the authorities is when they receive a knock on their door to let them know their child has been wounded." He added that "the Torah scroll will be a living memory of Max."
