Ratsker, Yaakov

Yaakov, son of Esther and Moshe Chaim Ratsker, was born on 22 July 1908 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, where his father served as rabbi for many years and was great in Torah and accepted by people. He was raised on the Torah and Jewish tradition. He studied at the Frankfurt yeshivas, but nevertheless acquired knowledge in general studies. He studied bookkeeping and worked as a bookkeeper. In 1935 he immigrated to Israel and worked in agriculture in Petach Tikvah, where he joined the Poalei Agudat Israel organization in 1936. At the outbreak of the War of Independence he volunteered for the “People’s Guard” in Jerusalem and was attached to a religious company. According to his commanders, he was always one of the first to volunteer for any difficult and dangerous role. On the 16th of Sivan 5708 (June 23, 1948), while on duty, he was injured and fell. The next day he was laid to rest in the cemetery in Sanhedria in Jerusalem.