Avi Goldberg

From Jerusalem.

A loving husband to his wife Rachel and a remarkable father to their eight children: Yehuda, Shira, Talia, Hadass, Elishiv, Hillel, Reut, and Naveh. A man of Torah and melody, with a captivating smile always on his face. In his daily life, he was a devoted educator and the rabbi of Himmelparb School and High School in Jerusalem.

His immense love for the people of Israel was expressed in every possible way. He was a talented clarinetist and often played music for Holocaust survivors and for the sick.

He led the Yom Kippur prayers at Kibbutz Ginosar, officiated weddings for secular couples through the Tzohar organization, and was a prominent figure in the BaOrekh community in the Mekor Haim neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Together with his family, he went on a Torah-Zionist mission to the United States, serving as an emissary of “Torah MiTzion.” They hosted countless guests in their home from Israel and abroad and facilitated dialogue gatherings aimed at uniting different parts of the Jewish people, always with warmth and kindness.

Rabbi Avi served as a captain in the Military Rabbinate and was a combat rabbi in Battalion 8207 of the Alon Brigade 228. Although he was exempt from service due to his age and being a father of eight, he continued to serve in the reserves out of a deep sense of mission.

From the beginning of the “Swords of Iron” war, he served more than 250 days in reserve duty in the north. The battalion commander said that thanks to his kindness, he became a “pillar of strength in the battalion,” like “the battalion’s father.”

He merged the world of education from which he came with the military world, with humility and goodwill. As a rabbi, officer, and fighter in the battalion, and by virtue of his great character, he did not limit himself to his formal duties but went far beyond them. He took care of the religious needs of the observant soldiers in the battalion, ensuring that donated food was kosher, that there were prayer books, High Holiday prayer books, the four species for Sukkot, and an eruv around various positions when security conditions allowed. He organized holiday gatherings so the soldiers would feel like a family. He participated in officers’ meetings, took regular guard shifts, personally cleaned shared areas, and encouraged others to do the same. His fellow soldiers testified that he carried the heaviest pack into combat in Lebanon, a pack that also included equipment for treating casualties, and that he did everything “all the way, not halfway.”

He cared for the soldiers’ spiritual and emotional well-being through personal conversations and by writing messages of encouragement that he sent via the battalion’s WhatsApp group, messages that uplifted morale and strengthened resolve, knowing that a soldier’s mental resilience is paramount. These messages were later collected into a book after his fall.

Rabbi Avi believed in goodness. Through his approach and his educational and military activity, he inspired people not to give up on seeking and seeing the good in themselves and in reality. He was a living example of the values he taught and acted מתוך faith that the world can be better, more just, more precise, and full of kindness. His friends described him as “a sweet man,” “a holy and pure man,” and “a man of lovingkindness.” He embodied a rare combination of simplicity and depth, humility and leadership, love of Torah and love of humanity. A man of love and peace. It was said of him that he would have been one of the future leaders of the Jewish people.

He fell in battle in Lebanon on the 25th of Tishrei 5785 (October 26, 2024), during the “Swords of Iron” war. He was 43 years old at the time of his death.

May his memory be a blessing.