Kepler, Michael (Micha)
Michael, son of Stella and Moshe, was born on 25 August 1944 in Jerusalem, where his family moved to Ramat Gan where he grew up Michael was drafted into the IDF at the end of July 1962 and joined the Nahal Brigade. He was the living spirit of the group, leader and member alike. His way through the movement was filled with enthusiasm and faith. He had ideas that he believed in and believed in the righteousness of his actions. Despite his deliberations, his struggles and his search, there was perfection in the way he chose. He was always the first to be fulfilled and friends followed him out of faith and love. In early 1965 he was discharged from regular service and joined Hatzerim with members of his group. In the farm he worked in the cowshed and as usual, he did his work with enthusiasm and devotion, so that the barn seemed to be at the center of his world. He had tremendous vitality and everything he did, wholeheartedly and faithfully, that this was the right thing. When he was a farmer, he was convinced that this was his destiny; After a short time, he found another interest, even if he had become addicted with absolute faith. He was well-versed in farm life and loved the kibbutz life. He was the intellectual of the core and influenced his personality on the members, who loved to listen to him, did not even agree with him. That same year, the Scouts movement sent him as the sole representative of the State of Israel to an international meeting held in Silwan. On his way, he also toured India and returned to Israel was full of experiences and impressions and a lot of talks about what he saw. In these lectures he expressed his curiosity, his love of man and his desire to delve deeper into things. So much interest in philosophy, art and literature. In 1965 he began studying biology at the University of Be’er Sheva. It was not easy to work a long day and then go to school, but he thought it was the right thing to do and managed to overcome all obstacles. In 1966 he left the farm for family reasons. After much deliberation, he moved to Jerusalem, but remained in touch with the agriculture. He completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology and began working at the Institute for Cancer Research, near the Hadassah Medical School. He was a talented scholar and predicted a great future. In those years, he founded in collaboration with Yeshom – a research development company of the Hebrew University – a laboratory for the production of biological products. This enterprise was very close to his Lev because he predicted the possibility of placing him in a kibbutz framework and thus fulfilling his desire to return to the agriculture. His friends did not take his dreams and fantasies seriously, and he himself knew that he could not fulfill all his desires. He was chosen to participate in a television program that discussed “Taste of Life” and his friends said that his choice was very successful. He was very eager to live and work, and he spent his days working, reading books, visiting museums, listening to music, traveling the country and doing scientific work, and he had time for his many friends as well. He did not make do with his scientific contribution to the company in his research on cancer, which was published in international professional journals. He wanted to give even more and initiated a reorganization of the value-renewal movement among members of the army and the work. In the last year of his life, fate gave him the joy of fatherhood. He was thrilled by this experience and his joy in his little daughter was evident everywhere he went. In the eyes of his friends, it seemed as though he had influenced the daughter of the entire treasure of love, which he had destined for the future, for a lifetime. When the Yom Kippur War broke out, he was about to leave for his studies in the United States, but the war disrupted his plans. He was recruited and participated with his unit in the bitter battles in Sinai. During a tour that took place on October 15, 1973 in the area of Ras Sudar, Michael was hit by an Egyptian ambush and was killed. He was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Kiryat Shaul. He left behind a wife and daughter, parents and sisters. After his fall, he was promoted to First Sergeant.
