4 | MARCH 16 • 2023 

PURELY COMMENTARY

essay
Remembering My Friend And Hero
T

hirty years ago this 
month, the State of 
Israel lost a hero 
— Yehoshua Friedberg, 
z”l. Yehoshua was an 
accomplished soldier and a 
learned yeshivah 
student. He was 
a devoted son 
and brother. For 
me, I will always 
cherish him 
as an amazing 
friend.
I met 
Yehoshua when he was simply 
“Jason from Montreal,” during 
college while he and I spent 
our junior years together at 
the Hebrew University in 
Jerusalem. Jason and I were 
assigned as roommates in 
the Resnik dormitory on the 
Mount Scopus campus. Jason 
was the consummate mensch 
and good guy, always helping 
others or offering words of 
encouragement. Jason radiated 
a warmth with his endearing 
humility and infectious smile.
Jason loved studying Jewish 
texts and playing basketball. 
Jason could always be found 
in one of two places — either 
in the Beit Midrash or on the 
basketball court — and he was 
equally proficient at grinding 
through a challenging tractate 
of the Talmud as he was 
gliding through the lane in a 
competitive basketball game.
Jason used his year in 

Jerusalem to establish a 
foundation for a life in 
Israel. Forgoing prosperous 
opportunities back in North 
America, Jason made aliyah 
and became Yehoshua full-
time — enrolling in an 
intensive program at Yeshivat 
Machon Meir and then 
enlisting in the elite Golani 
brigade of the Israeli army. 
In fact, Yehoshua specifically 
enlisted before his birthday so 
that he could avoid a limited 
tour of duty.
Receiving numerous 
military commendations for 
his discipline and maturity, 
Yehoshua made the critical 
decision to become an officer, 
thereby extending his duty 
and allowing him to lead and 
mentor a new class of soldiers. 
Yehoshua needed to 
travel from Jerusalem to Tel 
HaShomer for an examination 
in connection with his officers 
training. Like many others in 
Israel at the time, Yehoshua 
opted to hitchhike, proudly 
wearing his army uniform 
and knit kippah (as he always 
had). It is believed Yehoshua 
was picked up by a car driven 
by Palestinian terrorists 
dressed as religious Jews — 
and he never arrived at his 
destination.
Unfortunately, it took 
the Israel Defense Forces 
several days to declare 
Yehoshua officially missing 

and to launch a full-scale 
search. Yehoshua’s family 
in Montreal was notified of 
the circumstances, and they 
immediately headed to the 
airport to fly to Israel. Upon 
landing at a stopover in 
London, they were greeted by 
the Israeli ambassador who 
shared the terrible news — 
Yehoshua’s body was found, 
fatally shot three times and 
dumped in the foothills near 
Jerusalem.
On March 15, 1993, 
Yehoshua was buried at the 
military cemetery atop Mount 
Herzl. Many thousands 
attended the funeral, including 
the family’s longtime rabbi 
from Montreal, Rabbi Dr. 
Mordecai Zeitz, who was 
asked to speak about his 
special congregant. 
As he prepared his eulogy, 
Rabbi Zeitz struggled to find 
the right words of comfort, 
until he settled on the verse 
from Genesis 28:12, describing 
the imagery of Jacob’s ladder 
connecting heaven and earth. 
Highlighting the various 
elements of Yehoshua’s life, 
Rabbi Zeitz beautifully 
declared, “Yehoshua was the 
ladder, connecting heaven 
with earth, and bringing 
the Almighty and the values 
of the Torah into all of our 
daily lives. In so doing, 
Yehoshua elevated everyone 
he encountered to strive and 

accomplish more than they 
thought possible.”
Yehoshua’s family was very 
moved by Rabbi Zeitz’s eulogy. 
In appreciation, the family 
presented the Rabbi with 
Yehoshua’s personal Siddur 
that he used to pray with every 
day and that was found near 
his body. Rabbi Zeitz was 
touched by the gift. 
While flying back to 
Montreal, Rabbi Zeitz perused 
the Siddur and made a 
startling discovery. On the 
inside cover of the Siddur, 
Yehoshua had handwritten one 
special verse in its entirety — 
the verse from Genesis 28:12 
describing Jacob’s ladder!
Next month, on April 26, 
Israel will celebrate Yom 
HaAtzmaut, commemorating 
the 75th anniversary of its 
formation. During the prior 
day, however, Israel will 
observe Yom HaZikaron, 
appropriately honoring the 
sacrifice and memory of all 
its fallen soldiers, including 
Yehoshua. May all their 
memories forever be a blessing 
and an inspiration, and may 
my friend continue to serve as 
a vital ladder to the heavens, 
bringing us closer to our 
teachings, our traditions and 
our homeland. 

Ethan Gilan is a lawyer, serving 

as in-house general counsel for an 

automotive supplier. He resides in 

Huntington Woods.

Ethan Gilan

CLASS OF 2021
SIMON MOURANI

CLASS OF 2016
RAJ CHHAYA

CLASS OF 2022
KIANNA MATEEN

CLASS OF 2011
TERONTO ROBINSON, M.D.

CLASS OF 2015
CHRISTINA GUSTIN

