Mishna study in soldiers’ memory concludes

Issue of August 29, 2008

The last words of Masechet Uksin, the final tractate of the Mishnah, speak of G-d’s desire to cloak the Jewish people in peace. They are fitting words to conclude a program of Torah study in memory of Israeli MIAs Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev, said Rabbi Chaim Wasserman of the Council of Young Israel Rabbis in Israel.

The CYIR and the National Council of Young Israel organized a worldwide effort to study the entire Mishnah during the first 30 days of mourning for the two men, after their bodies were turned over to Israel last month.

More than a thousand people participated, and a siyum was held Monday, August 18. It was broadcast live online from the National Council of Young Israel offices.

“Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev died while fighting to defend the Land of Israel, and it is important that we never forget how and why they were killed,” said Shlomo Mostovsky, President of the National Council of Young Israel.

“Our hope is that the learning of Torah in their honor will be a blessing for their memories and an inspiration for their families and for Jews around the globe,” he added.