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Weiss, Meir

Weiss, Meir


Meir, son of Sarah Weiss (nee Kessler) and Rabbi Avraham Yehuda Lewis of Toronto, Canada, was born on 18.7.1954 in Jerusalem. His father, who suffered great suffering and lost his wife and daughter and his whole family during the Holocaust, settled in Toronto, Canada. Meir graduated from elementary and high school at the United Torah Judaism school in Toronto, while he studied Torah and Talmud in the Bible and Talmud. He also achieved considerable achievements and won second place in the National Bible Contest. He wanted to immigrate to Israel and at the age of twelve began to offer his parents and persuade them to send him to Israel. But because of his young age they refused to comply. When he reached the age of fifteen, they could no longer resist his pleas and decided to bring him to Israel. Meir joined the Nativ Meir yeshiva in Jerusalem, where he completed his studies and passed the matriculation exams. Meir has always excelled in a strong yearning. He aspired to know everything and was interested in all areas. He would study and study Torah, recite and interpret and study its treasures. His fierce love for Israel joined the Society for the Protection of Nature in Israel, and through it he traveled across and across the country, whether by car or by foot; He left Jerusalem by bicycle and reached Eilat and back. There was not a valley or a crevice, a hill or mountain, a cave or a tunnel that did not rise or did not enter into them, which did not know their name, place, and history. And when the knowledge of the land and the Bible were combined, there was nothing more wondrous and fascinating than his stories about the wars, the defeats and the tribulations of the Jewish people, that every stone and rock in the land kept their memory and seemed to speak to him and tell him their past. When he was 17, he asked to enlist in the IDF, but because of his young age his request was rejected, so he joined the Argaman field school in the Jordan Valley and was between Its initiators and founders. During his time in the Jordan Valley, he made many trips around the area until he got to know the Jordan Valley area as the palm of his hand. Every plant and stone, every path and road, every kind, hill, mountain and valley, was clear to him. At that time he knew who would become his best friend and rabbi – Rabbi Avraham Remer of Jerusalem. When they met, Meir Bar-Meir pleaded with him to learn with him. They arranged to meet every Thursday and study together. Rabbi Avraham Remer relates: “When we were sitting and Meir would take out a Bible and start reading it or interpreting ideas, I would listen and perspire with effort to follow the flight of his thought. When the small hours arrived and we were tired and exhausted, Meir would force himself to continue to change, And I, the older one, was open-mouthed, listening and amazed, because he had these tremendous spiritual powers to expose the Torah in its depth. “He did not abandon his family in Canada during that period, He also visited Canada several times with his family there, and Meir was drafted into the IDF at the beginning of November Bar 1972 and volunteered for the paratroopers. After basic training and after completing a parachuting course, he was sent to the front lines. Here, too, he combined his duty as a soldier with his love of nature. He borrowed maps from his commander and used to explore and study the terrain. On Saturdays he used to travel and penetrate the area. In the army, too, he excelled in his willingness to help and help anyone, and was therefore loved by his friends and commanders. He was a courageous and resourceful soldier. His thinking and analytical ability helped him a lot with his hard training and various courses. In the Yom Kippur War, Meir fought in Sinai, and on the 17th of Tishrei 5734 (October 17, 1973), during the fighting to destroy the Egyptians at the “He was taken to the military section of the Mount Herzl cemetery and left behind bereaved parents, and after his fall he was awarded the rank of corporal, and his family published a pamphlet in his memory in which he spoke about his character from friends, commanders and friends A field school in Argaman named after him, and a gymnasium at the School of Technology in Jerusalem was donated by the well-known philanthropist L. Lukshon and his family from Toronto.

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