Asher, Ezra
Son of Naftali and Hannah. He was born on the 4th of Elul 5709 (September 4, 1949) in Kvutzat Yavneh, where he completed his elementary studies at the group’s school and then studied at the group’s joint high school. A month and a half before his enlistment in the IDF, he studied at Yeshivat Merkaz Harav in Jerusalem in order to prepare himself for dealing with religious problems in special situations – and when he returned to the group, he continued to observe the commandments and engage in Torah study. More than the very fact of his stay in Yeshiva was his return home, the daily life that shaped his personality, his worldview and his behavior. The morning before the prayer, while all the members were asleep, he would study the gemara page, and this was done at a time when the burden of study was enormous and when his teachers feared that it might harm his preparations for the matriculation certificate. But not only did he run the page, but he also set up a class that did the same for him every morning. He was drafted into the IDF in January 1968. He completed his military service in a military training course out of complete identification with the position he was assigned. After completing the course, he wanted to reach the parachute battalion of the Nahal Brigade and how glad he had been. He also served in compulsory service as a courageous fighter who fulfilled his duties effectively in a battle in the eastern part of the Gilboa Mountains on 19.9.1968. It was in pursuit of saboteurs in a disrupted wadi. He was laid to rest at the cemetery in Yavneh. The commander of his company in a letter of condolences to his parents wrote: “I first met Ezra when he came to the company after a course for the squad commander. But before he came I had heard about him. Two weeks after his arrival in the company, he was the only one of his class to receive a squad under his command. Ezra was a straight, courageous guy with unlimited energy. In pursuit, from which he did not return, he urged me out. At first, he was not assigned to force, but in fighting the squad of murderers he was revealed with all his courage and strength, as a fighter without fear. “On the first anniversary of his death, his friends took out pages in his memory – a booklet bearing his name.
