Staff sergeant (res.) Adi Odeya Baruch

daughter of Orit and Avi (Abraham)
Sister of Dvir (Dvir Yitzchak) and Yanir (Yanir David)
Granddaughter of Nitza and Asher Vered and Shoshana and Benny Baruch

Adi was born and raised in the Kiryat Netafim communal settlement in Samaria. Born to Orit, director of the Jewish Culture Department in Petah Tikva municipality, and of Avi, chairman of the Kiryat Netafim Board.

Adi studied at the Samaria school for girls in Elkanah majoring in cinema and graphic design. At the age of 15, she first encountered the world of photography and began to develop an inspiring expertise in this field. She had a unique eye for it and created art through photography. She graduated from the film major with honors.

At the age of 16, Adi began a diverse volunteering activity in which she helped a family who was afflicted by a terrorist attack and mentored in the "Bnei Akiva" youth movement.

Adi enlisted in the IDF and served as an operations sergeant in the Judea regional division.

After her discharge, she opened a thriving photography business and made a name for herself as a sought-after wedding photographer.

Adi planned to start a home and a family with her childhood friend, Nevo Yanai, who had been her partner for six and a half years. Nevo planned to propose to Adi on her birthday, which was a month after she fell. The ring was already in his possession, but Adi didn't have the chance to receive it.

When Adi enlisted in the army, she asked to be assigned to a position where she could influence and contribute as much as she could. Her request was answered and she was assigned as an infantry operations sergeant in the Yehuda Regional Brigade. The brigade commander recognized her contribution and professionalism and awarded her a badge of distinction.

Adi forged good and brave friendships in the army and was loved by the soldiers in her command.

In one of her poems, she wrote about the right to live in Israel and serve it in the army.

On October 11, 2023, five days after the "Black Sabbath", Adi enlisted in reserve service that she herself initiated after learning that she had not received an emergency draft order. The task assigned to her on behalf of her commander in the regular service, Lt. Col. Eitan Dana-Pikar of the Judea and Samaria region Division, was to assist defending the roads leading to the city of Sderot. Adi was supposed to fulfill her mission from the observation post at the city headquarters.

On October 12, 2023, Adi entered the city of Sderot together with another officer who was sent to escort her from her home. As they entered the city, a ""red color"" alarm was sounded. The two stopped their vehicle and took cover, but a rocket fired towards the city fell less than a meter and a half away from them. The officer was seriously injured, and Adi was fatally injured. She died in the hospital.

Adi fell a month before her 23rd birthday.

From a young age, Adi set goals for herself and strove to achieve them even when they were difficult to achieve.

Adi had a bright personality, and left behind a legacy of smile and joy. She loved her friends and was the "glue" in every group. Her family was her top priority.

Adi had a talent for writing and left behind many poems she wrote. Many of her poems deals with the sadness of bereavement. In a poem she wrote in her notebook on April 28, 2020 in her cursive and beautiful handwriting, she described the despair and hopelessness of a loved one's passing:

"Each person is a world,
A star in itself.
everyone
is a whole world.
And when a man is killed and his star goes out,
all the stars around him have to get used to the darkness
that came with a fallen star.
Well, imagine how It feels when it's doubled.
When the whole universe is dark and nothing shines.
You realize that the person you lost,
was the moon."

In another poem written by Adi "And if I ever die" she told about her own death as if she had foreseen it. Despite the deep sorrow arising from the theme of the song, optimism emerges from it as Adi gave a sort of recipe of comfort to her loved ones on how to deal with the pain of bereavement that may befall them. Adi's family engraved this poem on her tombstone, a reminder of her spiritual will detailed in the song. The song is so powerful and moving that many composers composed it, among them Si Heyman, a seasoned and well-known Israeli singer. Hear her performance of the song here.

And if I ever die - the lyrics:
"And if I ever die
before my time comes,
I want you to celebrate life
And do not mourn my death.
May you wake up every morning with a smile and longing in your heart,
And do not let a single second of your life go to waste.
See the world for me, appreciate every little moment
And from time to time, smile at the clouds - I will be there.
I'm sorry for the grief I caused,
You know I'm in a good place
miss you
And love you dearly."

Adi didn't only write about bereavement, as a young woman with joy in her life she also wrote songs with hope and optimism. The next poem she wrote is about "just another day" when she discovered the beauty of the world and its perfection:
"13.10.2020 Cotton candy clouds
I don't know what happened in the sky today,
But oh my, I couldn't look away.
as if someone took a brush and started improvising,
And everything just turned out for the best.
The clouds wore many shapes, puffy and white.
Against a pure light blue background and a precise and pleasant air.
Calm music was playing in the background, you can imagine,
Such an accurate situation, it has to be the work of a magician.
And suddenly, without any preparation, all the colors poured out for the artist.
The orange and yellow started pouring into the clouds.
And instead of worrying he sat down, observing his creation.
It is a proof that magic exists in the world, you just have to believe in it."

Adi's favorite song was "Nothing will ever come between us" by renowned Israeli composer and singer-songwriter Danny Sanderson.

An Instagram page was opened in memoty if Adi.

This commemorative page was compiled using materials from the links indicated above as well as materials published in the information sources below:

channel7
ynet