Sidney-Aharon Helfman was born on September 28, 1949 to Sarah and Menashe in Los Angeles where he attended school, studying computers and art, including painting and sculpture. But his big love was theater and he tried his luck at acting before immigrating to Israel in 1970. Following his aliyah, Sid studied at the ulpan at Kibbutz Ma'agan Michael where he met his future wife, Dalia. He and Dalia were part of a garin which settled Kibbutz Eyal although eventually they returned to Ma'agan Michael.
Upon his induction to the army in April 1973, Sid was assigned to the tank corps as an artillery gunner. After completing his training course he returned to the kibbutz for a brief vacation which was interrupted by the outbreak of the Yom Kippur War. He joined the unit to which had just been assigned, which was among the first tank units to engage the Egyptians in Sinai. On October 6, 1973, in the early hours of the war, Sid was killed in an attack by enemy aircraft. He was buried in the cemetery at Ma'agan Michael. He was survived by his wife Dalia and a daughter Hadar Orit, who was born on October 19, thirteen days after his death.