Maayan (Shoozy) Pearlstein

Known by the nickname Shoozi, he was the eldest son of Osnat and Amit, and the brother of Naama, Yael, and Tamar.

He was born in Metula. At the age of one month, he moved with his family to Haifa, then to Yuvalim, and at the age of five they settled in the community of Ashhar in the Misgav Regional Council.

He was an intelligent and curious child who loved extreme sports, including mountain biking, rock climbing, rollerblading, skateboarding, and snowboarding. He was also an enthusiastic gamer who would play Minecraft and CS with his friends until the early hours of the morning.

From a young age, he was drawn to psychology, philosophy, biology, and many other subjects. He would download professional nonfiction books in English to his Kindle and immerse himself in them.

School did not interest him very much, and he somehow completed his matriculation exams, but the things that truly fascinated him he taught himself.

He had a deep love for films and music. His remarkable Spotify playlist went viral after his passing, and many people embraced it, enjoying the outstanding music he had collected. The list of films he had rated was also shared, inspiring many people to watch movies he loved, such as The Shawshank Redemption, 12 Angry Men, and Good Will Hunting.

After high school, Shoozi joined the Beit Yisrael Mechina in Jerusalem, where he immersed himself in existential philosophical questions that fascinated him. Maayan would spend hours debating with his Haredi study partner. He was not convinced that God exists, and his study partner was not convinced that God does not exist – but that never prevented them from respecting and caring for one another and becoming close friends.

Maayan always focused on substance rather than appearances. Among all the songs he loved – by Led Zeppelin, Steely Dan, The Beatles, Alice in Chains, and many others – one song stood out despite seeming completely different: “Jerusalem” by the Hasidic boys’ choir, The Miami Boys Choir.

It was also the song we chose to play at his funeral, representing his exceptional musical taste, free from conventions and expectations.

One of Maayan’s most distinctive qualities was his radical acceptance of reality. He was influenced by the Stoic philosophers and by contemporary thinkers such as Jordan Peterson. He never argued with reality and accepted everything that happened with calmness and peace.

A small story illustrates this well. At the airport in Rome, airport security confiscated the Leatherman multitool his father had given him. He was not upset for even a second. When I asked him how he could stay so calm, he replied, “It already happened, so what’s the point of getting upset?”

That is also the sentence we chose to commemorate him with on a memorial sticker: “It already happened, so why get upset?”

Maayan began the Mechina in September 2023. One month later, the tragedy of October 7 occurred, and the Swords of Iron War began.

In the middle of the Mechina year, his enlistment into the IDF was moved forward, and he completed the program in March 2024. Even then, he was not upset. While many of his friends tried every possible way to postpone their enlistment, he immediately accepted the situation and simply said, “They need me, so I’m going.”

Maayan enlisted in the Combat Engineering Corps as part of the largest recruitment cycle in the corps’ history. He proved to be an exceptionally talented marksman and excelled as a designated marksman both during training and in his battalion, achieving especially high scores.

His friends from Platoon 2 of Dolev Company, Battalion 605, say that even under the harshest field conditions in Gaza, he always knew how to create his own little corner of peace.

He would straighten out his sleeping bag, take off his boots, place a bottle of water and wet wipes beside him, rest his head on a travel pillow, put on music through his headphones, and either read a book on his Kindle, watch a movie on his tablet, or play chess on an app, where he had achieved a rating of 1600.

He also enjoyed playing chess with the soldiers in his platoon, usually winning, and he was in charge of making coffee. Every morning, he would wake up early and prepare rich, carefully made coffee for everyone.

His friends say that this quality stood out even more during the challenging ground operation in Gaza.

Inside the cramped Puma armored personnel carrier, in unbearable heat while everyone was sweating and complaining, he always maintained his inner calm and his gentle smile.

This was our sweet Shoozi, and we believe with all our hearts that he is in the best possible place in Heaven, in the highest place reserved for holy martyrs like him.

We try to continue his way of life by enjoying the little things, just as he did: good coffee, a carefully made sandwich, outstanding music, and a good movie.

We also strive to learn from him not to argue with reality – to come to terms with his untimely passing, with the longing and the pain, and to carry on his legacy and pass it on to future generations with love and kindness.

Maayan was killed in the Puma disaster in Khan Younis on June 24, 2025 (28 Sivan 5785).

May his memory be a blessing.