His Story
Two Years of Light
As told by Reut Gabai, mother of Ilay Meir — word for word, from the heart.
The Story of Ilay Meir Gabai
In the Voices of Nisso and Reut
The parents of Ilay Meir tell the story in their own words — the moments, the loss, and the mission that was born.
Ilay Meir Gabai z"l was born on the 13th of Iyar, on the hilula of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNes and Rabbi Yehuda bar Ilai — and that is how he received his name. A beautiful, clever, endearing child — full of giving and sensitivity toward everyone around him. This year he celebrated his second birthday.
A fever. Like any child
Ilay Meir developed a fever — like any child who runs a fever. The next day we stayed home with him. He woke in the morning, asked to eat, drank, watched television. An ordinary child on an ordinary sick day.
Toward ten he fell asleep, and woke around eleven — weak.
A small blood spot on his hand
At the clinic, Nisso, the father of Ilay Meir, noticed a small blood spot on his hand. He sent me a photo and asked whether Ilay Meir had taken a knock. I said no. I also asked the daycare whether he might have been stung — and they said no.
The doctor saw the blood spot and immediately sent us to the emergency room. When I lifted Ilay Meir out of the car, his whole face and body were already covered in spots. Within five minutes we were in the resuscitation room — five doctors over him. At once we were told: a suspected bacterial infection.
Ilay Meir was still conscious. He asked me to take the oxygen out of his nose, and asked to get up.
I told him: in a moment we will get up, in a moment we will take the oxygen off.
That very morning he asked to eat in front of the television
No one prepared us for this. We arrived with a child who had a fever — and within hours we were facing a battle for his life. I went to him, told him that I love him, that Mommy and Daddy are right here beside him, that he need not be afraid.
The doctors fought for him with all their strength, and we cried out to Heaven. I sit and pray: God, do not take my child from me, I will do anything.
And then there was silence
Twenty-six hours. That is all that passed between the moment we measured his fever — a moment every parent knows — and the moment the doctor drew back the curtain and told us they were sorry, and that they had truly done everything.
We hugged and kissed him, told him that we love him so much, and set out on our new journey — the journey of "life without you".
The Mission That Was Born
Today we stand for one shared purpose: to save lives and raise awareness of this deadly bacterium — a bacterium for which a vaccine exists yet is not included in the national health basket, a vaccine that can spare other families from loss.
After the shiva we were told that a synagogue was being built, right beside our home — and that it would be in memory of Ilay Meir. We have a mission: to keep the light that Ilay Meir shone upon us. To keep him here.
And what do I call on everyone to do? I am not telling you to vaccinate. I am telling you: go, read, look into it, ask how you can protect yourselves. This is our mission — in the name of Ilay Meir.
Words from the Heart
Reut Gabai, mother of Ilay Meir, in her own words
Fundraising campaign to build the synagogue
So his light may keep shining — let us build him a home
The story of Ilay Meir is not over. The synagogue rising in his memory turns the loss into a light that endures. Be a partner in the building.
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