Reuven, son of Leah and the founder of the Society for Bible Research in Israel, was born on April 22, 1947 in Jerusalem. He studied at Ma’aleh Elementary School and the Kol Torah Yeshiva in Jerusalem and completed his studies at the Ayanot High School in the religious track. He was a good student and was successful in his studies, especially in the real professions, such as chemistry, mathematics and biology. His teacher said of him: “A gifted student, serious and diligent, pleasant, acceptable among his teachers and friends, outstanding and great and very devoted to others.” Reuven was also an outstanding athlete and participated in many competitions in the school and was known as a very social and active among his friends and acquaintances, who had a leader. He was handsome and modest, sure of himself, serious in his approach to life, full of life and always willing to help others. Reuven was drafted into the IDF in early August 1967 and volunteered for the Armored Corps, completing a series of courses: a parachuting course, a sappers course, a scouts course, and an armor-training course. He completed this course and a reconnaissance officers course, was placed in an armored reconnaissance unit as an operations officer and deputy commander of a reconnaissance company, and was awarded the rank of lieutenant. He was an excellent soldier and an admired commander, who never had to enforce his authority and opinion, for he had a natural leadership capacity and a moral authority. During the War of Attrition he served as the commander of a reconnaissance unit and once he organized a Passover seder in an open field, during his journey. After being discharged from regular service, Reuven worked in the Labor Ministry as a test coordinator in the Southern District and in Jerusalem and began studying economics and statistics at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He married at a ceremony held in the Old City of Jerusalem, and wanted to demonstrate his family’s strong ties to reunited Jerusalem, since his parents were also married in the Old City. His father says: About two years before the Yom Kippur War, I happened to meet one of the soldiers who asked me: “Are you Reuven Gevaryahu’s father?” When I confirmed this, the soldier said, “I am pleased to tell you that my friends and I are convinced that Reuven is the devoted, the best and the most beloved among the commanders.” In his periodic opinions on officers in the IDF, Reuven received excellent assessments, such as: “a responsible and dedicated officer with a high professional ability, self-discipline and a desire to faithfully fulfill his duties and even matters that are not related to his defined functions.” Reuven was always careful not to worry his family , He wrote or called home at every opportunity, in order to remove their concern and when he went to war he did his best to calm them down.In the Yom Kippur War Reuven participated in the battles of containment and break-up against the Egyptians on the Sinai front. Fighting with self-sacrifice In order to halt the enemy’s advance and push it, Reuven fought in the area of the “Hahava Hess” May be “ahead of the break of the head of the bridge. It was a stubborn effort to stop the Second Army tanks from breaking through and preventing the crossing of the canal. Reuven, who was then the operations officer of a reconnaissance unit, was an extremist in the brigade sector, physically blocking the advance of the enemy. He was brought to rest in the military cemetery on Mount Herzl and left behind a wife, daughter, parents, brothers and sisters, and was promoted to the rank of captain.In a letter of condolences to the bereaved family, David Ben-Gurion wrote (this was one of his letters) “We have met many tests, but this war is the most serious and cruel. I am sure that we will also suffer and regret that the lives of many of our young people are being lost in the battle for our existence. We must be strong and carry the grief with pain and brotherhood. “His commanders and comrades-in-arms told of the heroic battle in which Reuven fell:” Throughout the days of the cruel and cruel battles, Reuven managed the wireless network, guiding the armored unit he commanded. He tried with all his might to preserve, even in the conditions of the fighting, the lives of the soldiers at his command and to make them safe. When the fighting subsided and the soldiers found time to fall asleep, he remained to guard his men. He did a tremendous job and did it in a fit and resourceful manner and proved his willingness to fulfill any difficult and dangerous task. His father wrote in his memory: “We, the parents of our heroes, are simple, simple Jews, and here we come from the stories that come to us from the soldiers, comrades of battle, and we stand among them as figures of bold and fearless warriors. “Our children love the State of Israel, the land of our homeland, the inheritance of our forefathers, and because they love their country, and the people of Israel, They are elevated to a high level of fighting ability, resourcefulness and heroism. Based on the defense force and the foundation of the existence of the State of Israel; ” In the periodical “Generation to Generation” of the World Jewish Bible Society, a list was published about Reuven, his way and his image.
