Tzur, Shai (Shiki)

Benny Vicky and Haim, was born on July 1, 1961 in Tel Aviv. Shai spent five years with his family in Moshav Kfar Hess in the Sharon region. He studied at the Hadar Hasharon Elementary School in Tel Mond and at the son of-Gurion High School in Emek Hefer, near the Ruppin Midreshet. At a young age, he discovered musical and literary talents. He could sing, even before he learned to speak. The guitar was his companion, and Shai was good at it. Shai was 17 when he went on a trip to the United States. There, he became acquainted with his relatives in New York, a religious family whose influence clung to tradition and religious faith. In his home in Kfar Hass, Shai grew up in a secular family, and when he returned to Israel wearing a skullcap on his head, he brought his family to change their way of life. His family adapted to the kosher kitchen and to Sabbath observance. After graduating from high school, Shai decided to join the hesder yeshiva. In April 1980 he enlisted in the IDF, served in the Armored Corps, and after completing his first stage in service he moved to the hesder yeshiva in Kiryat Shmona, where he continued his studies until he returned to completing the second stage of the Armored Corps. On June 10, 1982, as he advanced with his platoon north of Damur, his tank encountered an ambush of Syrian tanks, and a shell hit him and killed him, along with three other crew members who were with him. Shai was 21 years old when he fell, and was promoted to corporal. Defense Minister Ariel Sharon wrote to his family: “His commanders tell him that he devoted his time to studying religion and Judaism, he loved to play the guitar and raise morale in society, wrote songs and fell heroically.” The commander of his unit wrote: “Throughout the fighting, Shai fought the tank that led the company until it fell on the southern outskirts of Beirut, and Shai stood out in his company and among the rest of the battalion’s soldiers with his many talents. And his playing on the guitar, he helped the company’s office, in addition to his work as a crew member in the tank, which was his personal initiative and his desire to contribute in the best possible way. Shai was laid to rest at the cemetery in Tel Mond. He left behind his parents and three brothers. His history book “Shai of the Hesder Companies” appeared in the Aleph publishing house, written by his father.