Dvora Shani, mother of the late Ido Shani 's Beef Lasagna Recipe

“A Place at the Table” is a commemorative project that documents the favorite dishes of those lost on October 7 with the help of their families. 

On the weekends at the Shani house, there’s always lasanga on the table — no matter how full the table is with other dishes. Dvora Haitsook-Shani explains: “I don’t know when it started, but at one point, if there wasn’t lasagna at the meal, [my young son] Ido would say, ‘There’s nothing to eat.’”  Since then, she made sure that lasagna was always included at every meal.

Years ago, she found the original recipe for cheese lasagna in a newspaper and was drawn to its simplicity. “I don’t like to cook,” she admits. “I need things that come together quickly.” Over time, she swapped the cottage cheese in the recipe for a version with ground beef, but kept the yellow cheese bubbling on top. She also added her own secret ingredient to the sauce: a few tablespoons of ketchup, which she reveals with a laugh.

After Ido was killed on October 7, it was clear to everyone in the family that the lasagna tradition must continue. 

Born in 1994 to Dvora and Tommy Shani, Ido was the youngest in the family, with a big gap between his sister Keren, from his father’s first marriage, and his two brothers, Eilon and Jonatan. When Ido was three, the family moved from Givatayim to Basra where Ido grew up running after his older siblings and enjoying life on the moshav. He was always smiling, Dvora says. He was part of an agricultural youth movement and spent a year volunteering with them, setting up a new branch. In the army, he enlisted in the Nahal Brigade, became an officer, and eventually became deputy commander of the Nahal Patrol. Seven months before his death, he married Maayan.

On October 7, Ido was commanding the Kerem Shalom sector near the Gaza border and was among the first to grasp the magnitude of the situation. Dvora says that at 6:39 a.m., he authorized mortar fire, and by 6:45 a.m., he had already announced over the radio: “War, repeat again, we are at war. Everyone defends their sector, kill terrorists, good luck.” He effectively mobilized the entire sector, including security coordinators and emergency squads from the local communities. In the meantime, he managed to send a message to Maayan, assuring her that everything was fine and that he loved her. Not long after, during an exchange of fire with terrorists, he was critically wounded in the head and killed.

Thanks to his resourcefulness, Ido prevented further terrorist infiltrations and saved many lives. Unlike other sectors, not a single military observer in his sector was harmed, says Dvora. After his death, the parents of one of those observers came to thank them, expressing their gratitude for Ido’s actions that saved their daughter’s life.

“Ido was a fun kid,” his mother recalls. “On one hand, he loved life: parties, dancing, traveling, beers, and laughter. On the other hand, he was always very responsible and serious, and those around him knew they could rely on him.”

“When our children are little, we know everything about them — their actions, their friends from kindergarten and school. But as they grow older, we know them less,” says Dvora, with a sense of loss. After Ido was killed, the family learned things about him from his friends and colleagues. One of these was Ido’s ability to connect with people. His friend Yiftach told Dvora: “Ido knew how to speak many languages, and because of that, he reached so many people.” Dvora and Tommy received letters about Ido from lone soldiers from Australia and the United States. 

The first time she tried to make lasagna after the Shiva, it didn’t turn out right. “I don’t know how lasagna can go wrong,” Dvora says, “but everyone agreed it wasn’t good.” That hasn’t stopped her from making lasagna in her son’s memory weekend, even if there isn’t always someone to eat it.

Did you prepare the dish? Share a photo of it and tag it #A_Place_at_the_Table  to honor the memory of the late Ido Shani.