Sharvit, Michael

Michael, son of Esther and Joseph, was born on February 1, 1950, in Casablanca, Morocco. When he was three years old he immigrated with his family to Israel. At first the family lived in Jerusalem, then moved to Beit Shean and eventually settled in Ashkelon, where his father was the city’s chief rabbi and a member of the Chief Rabbinate of Israel. He began his elementary studies at the religious school “Tachkemoni” in Beit She’an and completed the religious school “Asaf” in Ashkelon. Rabbi Shlomo Vaknin wrote from Beit Shean: “My dear and important student … I will hear his fall in battle … I stand before my eyes, memorize entire mishnahs and read with great dexterity the Psalms …” The principal of the school in Ashkelon wrote: “There is no consolation for such a successful son as Michael, who has many talents.” After graduating from elementary school, he studied at the yeshiva high school in Shfir and spent his last year in religious high school in Ashkelon. Michael was a nice boy, cheerful and kind. He was always willing to help others, and everyone who knew him closely was bound to him with love. He had many friends, who was unquestionably loyal to them. He kept the commandments strictly, was an enthusiastic patriot and all he wanted was to serve the country in the best way possible. His friend Joseph said about him: “A dear fellow was Michael, ambitious and patient, a young man who demanded of himself and even achieved it, a combination of physical strength and willpower, lively and full of faith.” “Wherever laughter was heard, it was clear that Michael was there, Michael, with the inexhaustible treasure of original jokes, we all wanted to be close to him, to listen to him, to enjoy his company. Michael was conscripted into the IDF in mid-November 1969 and assigned to the Armored Corps, although he was able to be sent to my office because of his poor health, insisted on going to a combat unit, and during the War of Attrition, At the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in order to complete the subjects he lacked for his matriculation certificate. We stood, three young men who had just been released from the army, and the doubts and questions did not rest. How did you get it? How will we manage? Then he appeared as an angel and said: ‘Friends! There’s nothing to worry about. It will be good’. And in a few words and jokes he removed the murky spirit from within us. We loved him. When he was absent from our company, we lacked. It was hard to understand how to combine studies without his humor. When a foolish quarrel broke out between us, Michael would solve it. We had many common dreams. “During the Yom Kippur War he fought in a tank crew on the southern front as part of a reconnaissance unit in the Sharon Division, and on October 16, 1973, He was hit and fell. He was brought to eternal rest in the Mount of Olives cemetery. Survived by his parents, brothers and sisters. After his fall, he was promoted to sergeant. In a letter of condolence to the bereaved family, his commander wrote: “Michael’s actions and his perseverance served us, his friends, as a source of strength and he was loved and accepted by his comrades and commanders.” The family donated a Torah scroll to a synagogue in Ashkelon; In addition, a memorial list was written in a booklet in memory of the fallen, which was published by the Rogozin High School in Ashkelon. The list contains his life story, excerpts from his letters and friends’ comments about him.