Here Lived
Shifra Noy, 71 years old, was born in Rehovot to Syrian-Jewish parents. In 1971, she was drafted into the army as part of a program called “Shalat” (service without pay), which brought her to Kibbutz Nir Oz, where she met Yosef (“Yossinio”) Gross. They married and had two daughters, Dorit and Efrat.
Shifra and Yossinio later divorced, and both of them remained on the kibbutz.
Shifra became a member of the kibbutz and for thirty years worked as a preschool teacher.
For years, children on the kibbutz pronounced the letters “chet” and “ayin” in typical Syrian fashion, having learned from Shifra. Over the years, the children that she taught grew up, many becoming kibbutz members and maintaining a good relationship with Shifra.
Shifra later worked as a caretaker for children with cognitive disabilities and assisted kibbutz seniors with chores and meal preparation.
Shifra was also a seamstress who enjoyed making curtains and tablecloths for kibbutz members.
She especially enjoyed creating cloth animals – she made 150 of these dolls for her daughters and grandchildren over the years.
Her family was always of the utmost importance to her, and her children and grandchildren came to visit her on the kibbutz every weekend. On these visits, she would take care of everyone, sending them home with boxes of their favorite traditional homemade foods.
She taught her grandchildren to swim, ride a bicycle, and play ball. Her grandchildren, nieces, and nephews spent their summers with her on the kibbutz.
Shifra was the glue that held the family together – mother, grandmother, an honest and fair person, one who saw the good in everyone.
October 7th
On that day, terrorists infiltrated the kibbutz. Their aim was to murder, loot, and kidnap.
When the sirens began, Shifra went into her safe room and called her family, telling them that she heard gunfire. Her last phone call was at 8:45 a.m. to her niece, whom she told that there was heavy gunfire on the kibbutz and that it was nearby.
At 9:25 a.m., she sent a message in the kibbutz group saying there were terrorists in her house and that she needed help.
Shifra was murdered in her home on Kibbutz Nir Oz, where she had lived for 51 years. For 12 days she was listed as “missing”. Her family didn’t know what had become of her until they received the fateful message that her body had been identified.
The house was burnt to the ground with nothing left but her collection of thimbles from around the world, which family and friends had brought her over the years.
In December 2023, a burnt Chanuka menorah was found among the ruins of her house just as the holiday arrived.
What Happened Since
Shifra was buried alongside her parents in Rehovot. She will be remembered as an educator, a loving mother, a doting grandmother, a nurturing cook, gifted and beloved by all.
