Sergeant Ephraim Yechman, 21, from Neve Daniel, fell in battle Tuesday night in the northern Gaza Strip. He was the eighth student of the Hesder Yeshiva in Yerucham to have given his life for the Jewish nation and the State of Israel.
The town of Yerucham, population roughly 11,000, is located in southern Israel. It is the site of Tel Rahma, dating back to the 10th century BCE. On the outskirts of Yerucham is an ancient well, known as Be’er Rahma.
The name Yerucham means “will receive mercy,” but so far things have been harsh and painful in the local hesder yeshiva which teaches its students to combine Torah study with combat military service. The yeshiva was founded in 1993 and has more than 220 students.
In the heart of its educational mission, the yeshiva imparts a profound awareness of one’s surroundings and instills a keen sense of responsibility toward the broader societal needs. Firmly anchored in the belief that the remedy for Israel’s socioeconomic disparities lies in the realms of integration and education, the yeshiva is committed to nurturing a generation equipped to unlock these challenges.
The gemara shiurim at the yeshiva are given at a very high level, and usually go into great depth on a chosen topic in the gemara. The works of the Rishonim and Acharonim are often analyzed in the shiurim, and the rosh yeshiva gives a “shiur klali” for the entire yeshiva during Thursday’s morning seder.
A distinctive hallmark of the yeshiva’s ethos is its emphasis on community engagement, particularly within the sphere of education. Every student actively participates in volunteer initiatives that contribute to the betterment of society. The altruistic endeavors extend beyond the classroom, forging a tangible impact on the community at large.
Notably, a significant number of the yeshiva’s graduates choose to make their homes in Yerucham, opting for a life outside the bustling confines of the country’s central cities. This deliberate choice speaks to the yeshiva’s broader mission of fostering a sense of purpose and community responsibility that transcends individual success, thereby shaping a collective narrative rooted in social consciousness.
Ephraim Yechman joined his brothers who also fell in this war, Elisha Levinstern, Eitan Fisch, Yakir Yedidia Shankolevsky, Ariel Eliyahu, Yanon Fleishman, Eitan Rosenzweig, and Gideon Ilani Hy’d.
The Rosh Yeshiva, Rabbi Chaim Wolfson, who has been running from one funeral and shiva call to the next, said after hearing about the death of Ephraim Yechman, “We have no words, we scream an inaudible cry from one end of the world to the other.”
“We cried out in the Beit Midrash and used King David’s words to express the terrible cry we are feeling,” he said. “The people of Israel continue to fight, and we are with them and are again forced to pay a terrible price.”
The funeral will be held at 7 PM in Kfar Etzion.
