Rotfeld, Chaim

Chaim, son of Deborah and Baruch, was born on September 5, 1951. He spent his first years of life with his parents in this moshav and this life suited his independent character and adventure seeker. Chaim was drafted into the IDF at the end of July 1970 and volunteered for the Nahal Brigade. After basic training, he completed a tank training course and became a courier. Although he served in various places and under difficult conditions, he never complained about his life in the army. He tried very hard not to worry his parents and at every opportunity he called or wrote to them to reassure them. After graduating from regular service he began to study psychology and education at Bar-Ilan University and excelled in his studies. Until the beginning of the academic year, he worked as a regional supervisor at the Institute of Statistics and later began to teach, mainly classes for immigrant children. His desire was to teach these children the language as quickly as possible so that they could integrate into the life of the country. He spent many hours preparing the material for the children, wrote books especially for his students and even planned to study Georgian, in order to better contact them. When the Yom Kippur War broke out, he did not wait for the order to read, but hastened to report to his unit. He participated in the battles of containment and break-up in the Sinai and fought courageously and fiercely, until on October 18, 1973 his tank was hit and he was killed. He was laid to rest in the cemetery in Rehovot. Survived by his parents and brother. After his fall, he was promoted to corporal. The school where he taught was renamed after him.