This past week marked the one-year anniversary of the death of IDF Master Sergeant (Res.) Eyal Meir Berkowitz, z”l.
Berkowitz, along with his friend Master sergeant (res.) Gal Meir Eisenkot, fell in action in Gaza during the December 2023 operation to recover the bodies of the hostages Eden Zakaria and Sgt. Maj. Ziv Dado.
Among the effects discovered after Berkowitz’s death was a pocket-sized Mishna Sedura.
In May, the National Library of Israel received that Mishna, which was filled with Berkowitz’s margin notes. His commentaries were already recognized by scholars as worthy of recognition.
Berkowitz’s story also caught the attention of Rabbi Eliyahu Dordek, creator and publisher of the Mishna Sedura.
Dordek, founder of the Mishna studies program at Netivot Yosef Yeshiva High School in Mitzpe Yericho, developed this version of the Mishna as a tool that would enable students to read, understand, and remember the Mishnaic content more easily, including wider margins to allow for notetaking.
It was within those margins that Berkowitz made his comments and illustrations.
Dordek was so moved that he decided to create a special edition — the Mishna Eyal — in honor of a great student, to transform his Torah study into a lasting legacy.
Earlier this month, the National Library received a copy of the limited edition of the Mishna Eyal, which includes a font especially developed to replicate Berkowitz’s meticulous handwriting.
Dordek donated two copies of a limited edition of the Mishna Sedura to the National Library of Israel. The volumes include Berkowitz’s margin notes, set in a specially developed font-based Berkowitz’s handwriting, along with his illustrations, and other insights.
A portion of the new Mishna Eyal has been digitized and is available online. A full edition is planned.
Dordek states, “He was an inspiring example of combining scholarship and service, precision, and breadth of knowledge. Eyal’s legacy is already gaining momentum. When Eyal fell, hundreds of students committed to completing a chapter of Mishna and writing their notes, following his path.”
“Eyal was a student of medicine and Torah, a gifted artist, and a brave warrior. There is no replacement for a life that is lost, but we can find solace in Eyal’s Mishnah, a volume that has already become a national treasure both because its unique content, and of who he was,” Dr. Chaim Neria, Curator of the Haim and Hanna Solomon Judaica Collection at the National Library of Israel, said.
“Receiving this new volume is in line with the Library’s mission: preserving Jewish treasures for the benefit of the Jewish people worldwide.”
