Where Meron Lives On

It’s the bedroom of Yossi Reit, one of two teens who entered the tunnel of death that fateful Lag B’omer night and have spent the years since in the half-life called a coma.

Now 17 years old, Yossi is physically present. Outwardly healthy, he breathes unaided, but he can’t move. His once-sparkling eyes are dull; what goes on in his mind is impossible to know.

The Meron tragedy wore different faces. There were the 45 kedoshim — the pure souls who lost their lives minutes after a spiritual high. There were those who struggled to recover their health after the deadly crush.

But for Dr. Yechiel and Michal Reit, along with the parents of 14-year-old Elazar Berger, Dov and Reumah Berger, Meron meant something else: a son who came back from the brink, but has never really returned.