When Eli Moshe Zimbalist was killed in Gaza, one neighbor committed to ensure his legacy
The massive tent is a maze of tools, cables, plugs, screws, concrete blocks for drilling practice, and a drywall peppered with holes. The class that just wrapped up is the first in a series, and the instructor has introduced the group to the advantages of handling a power drill with professional finesse. In the coming weeks, participants will learn the basics of electrical work, plumbing repairs, and furniture assembly, among other skills. But for today, time is up, as the instructor claps loudly and says, “Well done, ladies! That’s it for today. See you next week!”
Yep, this class is women-only. There are also groups for children, and of course, those exclusively for men. But these aren’t just classes in how to manage your own home repairs or maybe learn how to build a succah. Behind them lies a legacy: the legacy of a young man named Eliyahu Moshe Zimbalist, who to his friends and family was better known as Eli Moshe or just “Eli Mo.”
On Shabbos morning, June 15, 2024, the Anglo community of Beit Shemesh — and the Zimbalist family in particular — was devastated by the news that 21-year-old Eli Mo had been killed in combat in Gaza. Along with seven fellow soldiers from the 601st Battalion in the Combat Engineering Corps, his armored vehicle was struck by an anti-tank missile, killing everyone inside. The grief was overwhelming.
The Zimbalists made aliyah from Silver Spring, Maryland in 2005, and from the time they settled in Beit Shemesh when Eli Moshe was just a toddler, it was clear that their little fellow was a natural-born tinkerer gifted with golden hands and a golden heart to match. By the time he was a teenager, he’d built bookcases and shtenders for the shul he loved — Rabbi Shalom Rosner’s kehillah in the Nofei HaShemesh neighborhood, and would never pass up an opportunity to help out a neighbor with a deck, a pergola, or any home repairs.
Create a free account to keep reading.
