Yeshayahu, son of Pesia and Shlomo Meir, Holocaust survivors, was born in Jerusalem on April 13, 1951. His first years were spent in the village of Givat Shaul B. When he was six years old, he moved with his family to Kiryat Moshe, He attended Shiloh elementary school for 6 years, then continued at Horev elementary School, and then completed his high school studies at the Horev High School in Jerusalem. Despite changing schools, he adapted quickly to his new environment, and became one of the most prominent figures in the society; Shai, as his friends called him, was a member of the Ezra Youth Movement. The village life which he knew as a child, expressed itself in his great love for nature, sp he spent his free time hiking through all corners of Israel. He had a great musical talent and served as a soloist in the Heichal Shlomo Synagogue choir. Shai was blessed with a spiritual calm and peace of mind, and always managed, even in the most difficult moments he endured, to encourage himself and his friends – with a broad smile and with understanding and love for others. After graduating from high school, Yeshayahu hesitated between going to the Nachal group as part of the Ezra movement or continuing to learn Torah at a Yeshiva in a Hesder program, and he chose to continue his studies as part of a hesder yeshiva, combining Sayfa (“sword”) and Safra (“books”) together. He continued his studies at Yeshivat Hakotel in Jerusalem. Yeshayahu devoting many hours to reading and studying, and writing and summarize everything he learned. He would sit up until the wee hours of the night bent over his books, and yet rise early in the morning to learn an extra chapter. At the same time, he did not neglect the relationship between man and his fellow, and apart from conducting a full social life in the framework of the yeshiva, he took upon himself the care and responsibility of the younger students who came to study in the yeshiva. In addition to his diligence in Torah-study, he found time to guide marginal youth in one of the disadvantaged neighborhoods of Jerusalem, to socialize with the boys and to teach Torah in the city’s disadvantaged schools. He would often bring money and suitcases filled with clothes, which he would secretly distribute among needy families in the neighborhoods. He also wrote essays about “Parashat HaShavua”, which were sent to youth in the town of Yehud. After one year, Shai began his military service, and joined the IDF at the end of July 1970, volunteering for the Paratroopers Brigade, where he completed his basic training, while being especially successful in helping soldiers – comrades who had difficulty in training. In the summer of 1973 was Simcha to serve on the Lebanese border even though the conditions were difficult and laborious. In one of their numerous pursuits of terrorists, his commander fell. Despite the background differences between the two, Yeshayahu made a deep connection with commander’s family, and his last letter to them, in preparation for the new year, was written on the eve of Yom Kippur 1973. On the 7th of Tishrei 5740 (7.10.1973) and on the day after Yom Kippur was killed in an explosive attack on his tank on the Golan Heights. He was brought to rest in the cemetery on the Mount of Olives, leaving behind his parents and two sisters, and after his death he was promoted to the rank of Corporal. After his death, Rav Yeshaya Hadari wrote that Yeshayahu always appeared before us neatly dressed, in clean and pure clothes; His clothes were those of a pure soul, of a Yaffa soul, a refined and discerning man … When the Yeshiva members decided to learn the laws of Shabbat at the Sabbath meals at the yeshiva, Yeshayahu began the learning session, and taught of wearing special Shabbat clothes, and concluded: “When we descend dancing to the Western Wall Friday nights, we must be careful not to have the dust of the road soil our Shabbat clothes.” Indeed, one of his friends wrote that his true humility, simplicity and modesty have left their pure imprint on them, despite his efforts to hide his lofty soul, so that not everyone was able to recognize all of the many virtues in which his soul glittered … But we always knew clearly that his moral level was above us. As a friend wrote to me a few days after he learned of his death, “We fell several steps.” He has always been a moral example of us in conversations and debates. He made his place of prayer in the last corner of the beit midrash, yet from there his image shone to permeate the entire room. His every act and deed was saturated with love and devotion, and those who have studied with him saw his great dedication to learning with great tenacity. He write many notes of his studies of the Bible, Gemara and Jewish thought, and the students of Yeshivat HaKotel published a special booklet in memory of their fallen friends, among them Yeshayahu – In their memory and in their inheritance and in the words of friends about their image.
