Yonim was a deep soul.

He was a passionate young man with strong beliefs. He wore bright colorful clothing, long side curls, fringes hanging from his shirt and a kippah on his head. These things often made him different from everyone around him.

But he didn’t mind being different. And he loved to be with people who were different from him. He was a Jew who loved to be with Muslims. He was a fluent Hebrew speaker who loved learning Arabic.

He was a religiously observant person who did not judge the practices of others. Yonim was curious about people from different cultures. He wanted to learn every language, just so he could enter into the world of others with genuine respect. And he loved conversations. He would happily skip a college class to spend three hours with a fellow human being just to explore the vast possibility of connection with another. For Yonim, every set of eyes, every soul was full of depth. Maximum depth.

Yonim loved slow walks when he could move at his own pace and take the world in through his senses - the smells of changing seasons, the shifting light in the day, the warmth of sun on his skin, the bird songs drifting through the air. He wrote poems. He sketched. He composed songs that expressed the pure beauty and deep yearning of life.

He was so very alive.

On July 13, 2020, just one day before his 21st birthday Yonim left the physical world. He was backpacking with his family in California. It was a perfect day in a perfect place. He got up early and found a quiet place to pray. He spent a very long time that morning, praying with his whole heart to the Creator of the Universe. Standing by the pristine lake after breakfast, Yonim noticed a piece of floating plastic in the water. “I feel morally culpable,” he said to his family nearby. He stepped into the lake. The wind blew the plastic. He swam. The wind blew the plastic further. He continued to swim and swim until he finally reached the plastic. The water was very cold, colder than he had realized, colder than he could handle. As Yonim swam across to the other shore the cold took over. Yonim called for help, but it was too far and help came too slowly. Yonim’s death shattered the world.

He was only 20, but in those few years of living, Yonim had the impact of a full and powerful life. Thousands of people who knew him and, even those who never knew him, understand that Yonim left the world for a reason. Through his life and through his death Yonim sends us a message of profound clarity. We have no choice.

All of Creation is calling.