Zechariah Pesach Haber

Zechariah Pesach Haber z"l was born in New York and made aliyah with his family in 1999 when he was 8 years old. The oldest of 4 brothers, he learned in the Hesder program at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Alon Shvut (the Gush). As part of that program, he served in the IDF Tanks Corps, as a tank commander. Upon returning to yeshiva following his army service, he authored a talmudic encyclopedia (unbeknownst to his family), which Gush is currently working on publishing, and he continued learning and teaching Torah throughout his life. Zechariah loved nature and science and earned a BA and MA at Hebrew University's Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot. Zechariah was close to finishing his PhD at Tel Aviv University's Plant Science and Food Security Department, focusing on growing wheat in drought conditions, when he was called up for reserve duty on October 8th, 2023. He served bravely as a tank loader in Gaza until he was killed at the age of 32 (along with tank driver Yair Katz z"l), when an anti-tank missile hit their tank. He left behind his wife, Talia, three children (ages 5, 3, and 1), parents, brothers, his extended family, and many friends. May his memory be a blessing.

Miriam Haber, mother of Zechariah Pesach Haber, writes: 

Our beloved son, Zechariah Haber z”l, was exceptionally kind, humble, curious, brilliant, optimistic and hardworking. With a perpetual, genuine smile, he was incredibly devoted to his wife and children, and always put his family first (including his parents and brothers and more extended family). He was deeply connected to nature, and to the land, state and people of Israel, and strongly believed in religious Zionism and living in Israel. Those passions led him to research wheat in order to increase Israeli, and global, wheat production, and led him to serve bravely in reserve duty from October 7th until his tragic death in Gaza on January 16, 2024.

For many years, he was deeply troubled by the fact the Israelis living in Southern Israel were expected to “absorb” rocket fire and that children growing up in the South were growing up in fear and running to safe rooms (if they had time to do so). From 2019 onward, when he wrote the above, he and his wife Talia adopted the practice of visiting the south on Yom HaAtzmaut.

Source: The Times of Israel