Zechariah Pesach Haber

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Zechariah Pesach Haber z"l was born in New York and made aliyah with his family in 1999 when he was 8 years old. The oldest of 4 brothers, he learned in the Hesder program at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Alon Shvut (the Gush). As part of that program, he served in the IDF Tanks Corps, as a tank commander. Upon returning to yeshiva following his army service, he authored a talmudic encyclopedia (unbeknownst to his family), which Gush is currently working on publishing, and he continued learning and teaching Torah throughout his life. Zechariah loved nature and science and earned a BA and MA at Hebrew University's Faculty of Agriculture in Rehovot. Zechariah was close to finishing his PhD at Tel Aviv University's Plant Science and Food Security Department, focusing on growing wheat in drought conditions, when he was called up for reserve duty on October 8th, 2023. He served bravely as a tank loader in Gaza until he was killed at the age of 32 (along with tank driver Yair Katz z"l), when an anti-tank missile hit their tank. He left behind his wife, Talia, three children (ages 5, 3, and 1), parents, brothers, his extended family, and many friends. May his memory be a blessing.