Berkovits, Gershon-Baruch

Son of Menachem and Pnina. Holocaust survivors. He was born on April 7, 1955 in Nir Galim, where he studied at the religious elementary school in the Yavneh group and continued his studies at the Torah and Malach Yeshiva in Kfar Avraham in Petah Tikva. Rabbi Salomon, head of the Torah and Malcha Yeshiva, relates: “He has a special characteristic – the pursuit of perfection, truth and justice. Was stubborn. If he took it upon him, he was determined to make it perfect and precise; Stubbornness seems to be a disadvantage. Gershon insisted, because he demanded justice. He demanded the truth. Among those who believed that human beings would be better than their wisdom, wisdom is important, but the deed is more important. Gershon would pray and captivate the Lev of his listeners. “And his friend adds to Yeshivah Haim:” Gershon’s aspiration to learn and progress was boundless. On the nights before the exams, as we sat bent over the notebooks and the books, he did not give up and could not rest until all the problems were solved. He has exhausted all possibilities. He was a very neat man. His books, his notebooks, his closet, his clothing, and all his business. The general good was in his first place. More than once he became the spokesman for all the arguments and problems that were facing the yeshiva administration. “Gershon is remembered as a cheerful young man,” says his friend Ze’ev, “who is crazy about music and poetry – songs of the Sabbath, songs of the Jewish people, Flower-dwellers’ and just sand songs. He not only liked to hear but also to play. He was fond of gadgets, appliances and electronics. He loved to build and build instruments, wanted to know how each device was built and how it worked. This was due to the curiosity that so characterized him. “When Gershon completed his studies at the yeshiva, he was younger than enlistment, and in the time he remained until his induction, he joined the Etzion Yeshiva in Gush Etzion to strengthen himself spiritually and broaden Torah knowledge , To study Gemara and to prepare himself for military life for all the problems involved in the life of the religious soldier in the IDF Gershon was drafted into the IDF in February 1974 and asked to serve as a crew member in the navy’s navy. Yitzhak: “He cared about the moods of the soldiers. A soldier in the ward who looked desperate, unable to withstand pressure, Gershon would hurry to help him. To encourage him and to elevate his mood. “According to Shimon, who joined basic training,” he would pray three times a day and be careful about it, even if he had to wake up early after a few hours of sleep. He was strict about kashrut and tried to persuade his friends to basic training to accept his values ​​and prove that this was the right way. “At the end of basic training Gershon was sent to an electrician tank course, Who had successfully completed the course and was sent to the Ordnance Corps base in Sinai, intended to take part in an officers’ course so that he could contribute more as part of his position in the IDF. The commander of the unit says: “Gershon stood out in his initiative, his high operational level, his responsibility and his dedication to the tasks he was assigned, and he was an exemplary example of his comrades. On the 18th of Tishrei 5735 (October 4, 1974), Gershon fell in Sinai while carrying out his duties. He was brought to eternal rest in the cemetery in Nir-Galim. Survived by his parents. Brother and two sisters. In a letter of condolence to the bereaved family, his commander wrote: “In the courseTo tank-electricians, Gershon was a soldier who was interested in everything: his studies, his routine and his social life. I have no doubt that his interest stemmed from a sincere intention to know and understand. He has set himself the ultimate goal of successfully completing the course out of the sense that success in the course is the goal of carrying out the task assigned to him. His family has published a booklet in his memory, including the letters of his teachers, friends and relatives, his friends’ three-month conversation with him, and a selection of his articles and works, and his family also commemorated him in the synagogue in his moshav Nir-Galim .