JULY 18 • 2024 | 47

S

ergeant First Class 
(res.) Yakir Shmuel 
Tatelbaum, an IDF 
soldier who was born in 
Detroit before making aliyah 
with his family at age 5, died 
in combat in Gaza on June 28, 
2024. He was 21 years old. 
He was laid to rest at the 
military cemetery on Mount 
Herzl on June 30, which 
would have been his 22nd 
birthday. 
Yakir’s mother, Marcy, 
eulogized her son. Marcy 
said those who knew Yakir 
“knew he was a one-of-a-
kind, sensitive, precious, pure, 
sweeter-than-sweet person.”
“When Yakir was born, 
there was this pleasantness 
about him. He was calm,” she 
said. “The things he loved 
were things that were gentle 
and soft, too. His love of 
nature, his love of the land, his 
love of the sea.”
As he got older, that 
translated into becoming a 
“knows exactly what he wants” 
type-person who was strong 
in his beliefs. 
Yakir was a “man of 
missions.” He had become 
passionate about becoming 
an organ donor in his mid-
teens, a wish that is now being 
fulfilled as many of his organs 
are being donated in the wake 
of his passing.
He was not only sensitive to 
other people, but also to the 
environment. He influenced 
his family to get rid of any 
disposables at home. 
“He felt responsible as a 
human being to do the right 
thing with anything he did,” 
Marcy said. 
In the days following Yakir’s 
death, Marcy has heard 
countless stories of Yakir’s 

random acts of kindness from 
his plethora of friends and 
strangers alike. 
Yakir also had a deep love 
for Israel. 
“He was absolutely ready 
to give his life up for this 
country,” Marcy said. “He said 
it out loud various times. And 
he chose to go back into Gaza; 
he did not need to be in Gaza 
right now.” 
In April, Yakir finished his 
mandatory service and then 
got a four-month reserve duty 
calling as a tank commander. 
They wanted him to train an 
incoming group of soldiers. 
“He basically said, ‘I’m not 
sitting on that base for four 
months,’” Marcy recalled. “He 
had already been in and out 
of Gaza four times between 
November and April. His 
tank was hit on two different 
occasions by an RPG, and 
it was a miracle that he and 
the others in the tank weren’t 
killed.” 
But Yakir pushed to go 
back, and he found a way. 
“So, he went back into 
Gaza, even though he had no 

obligation to. And, of course, 
we tried to convince him not 
to, but I knew he wasn’t going 
to change his mind,” Marcy 
said. “This was his sixth time 
back into Gaza and was going 
to be the last time.
“G-d takes the best,” she 
added. “Within a few minutes 
after hearing the news, I said 
to myself, it’s so true: Time 
after time, the gems of the 
gems are the ones killed. 
That’s what happened with 
Yakir.” 

STRONG FAMILY TIES 
TO METRO DETROIT
Yakir’s family has deep 
roots in the Detroit Jewish 
community. 
Yakir’s parents and 
grandparents were all 
born in Detroit, and his 
great-grandparents were 
also Detroiters. His great-
grandfather, Meyer Eisenberg, 
was one of the founders of 
Farber Hebrew Day School 
– Yeshivat Akiva. Meyer and 
his wife, Bessie, were also 
founders of Young Israel of 
Greenfield (now Young Israel 
of Oak Park). 
Yakir’s grandfather Barry 
Eisenberg previously served 
as executive director of Akiva 
and was on-and-off president 
at the school for 20-30 years. 
He was also extremely active 
as president/gabbai at Young 
Israel of Southfield. 
Yakir also has deep Detroit 
roots on the side of his father, 
Yehuda. Yehuda’s maternal 
grandfather, Reb Hershel 
Roth, served as rabbi at 
Congregation B’nai David in 
Southfield for many decades. 
Yehuda’s father, Yitzchak 
Tatelbaum, and grandparents, 
Mordechai and Esther 

Tatelbaum, were longtime 
educators at Farber-Akiva, 
Congregation Shaarey Zedek 
and Hillel Day School. 
Marcy said there’s been 
a steady flow of Detroiters 
visiting them since Yakir’s 
death. 
“It’s been comforting to 
see that outpouring of love 
and support from the Detroit 
community,” she said. 
Marcy believes her son’s 
legacy is really what he stood 
for — unity and kindness 
among the nation of Israel. 
“Yakir very much had 
his ideas and beliefs about 
politics, culture, Judaism, 
whatever it is, but he always 
respected and listened to 
any other side. He stood for 
mutual respect,” she said. “He 
wanted to go into education 
and do a whole revamp of 
the education system, where 
everything should be built 
around teaching our children 
these ideas and values and 
how to function together as 
different human beings with 
the same goal. That’s really 
what he was about.” 
If you would like to honor 
the memory of Yakir, you may 
do so by making a donation 
to Farber-Akiva (https://
farberhds.org/giving/general-
donation) or City of David 
(https://cityofdavid.org.il/en/
donation). 
Yakir is survived by his 
parents, Yehuda and Marcy 
Tatelbaum; siblings, Meir 
(and wife, Keren) and 
Techelet; nephew, Netzach; 
grandparents, Andrea 
Eisenberg, Barry Eisenberg (of 
blessed memory), Yitzhak and 
Mati Tatelbaum; and many 
loving aunts and uncles and 
cousins. 

A Man of Missions 

DANNY SCHWARTZ SENIOR STAFF REPORTER

OBITUARIES
OF BLESSED MEMORY

Yakir 
Tatelbaum