Yisrael Asulin eulogized his brother, Sergeant First Class (res.) Shimon Yehoshua Asulin, 24 years old, who fought in the 924th Engineering Battalion of the Harel Brigade and was killed in action in southern Gaza.
Shimon was a student in the Midbara KeEden Hesder Yeshiva in Mitzpe Ramon, and the son of Rabbi Rafi Asulin, the dean of the Sha'alei Torah Yeshiva high school in Beit Shemesh.
Asulin spoke of his brother with both pain and admiration. “I think that this was the moment when he showed us who he really was. Shimon left Gaza a month and a half ago and did not rest for a moment while he was at home. He tried everything and was eventually able to accompany his friend, a platoon commander in the Paratroopers Brigade, through a convoluted bureaucratic process in the IDF Secretariat, and fought bravely until the Shabbat when he was killed.”
“Shimon was part of the vanguard while clearing houses. In one of the houses, which presumably was important to Hamas, he began fighting along with the four soldiers who were with him. He and his partner reached the second floor, and while fighting on the stairs, he made an superhuman effort to achieve contact with the enemy and was shot dead on the spot. I don't understand how the bullets went through his body. He was muscular, healthy, bulletproof. He was a true hero, one beloved by God. He was willing to sacrifice himself and did so with the best of spirits.”
“He had an excellent sense of humor. He managed the humor of the family. On the one hand, he was the most serious person, and on the other, he had the most sensitive heart possible. I was his next youngest brother, and whenever I needed him, he was there to protect me. He was exceedingly humble, and did everything quietly, humbly, and honestly. They tell us how quiet he was. He would do what was necessary, learn what was necessary to be the most professional he could be, and always tried to know and do everything in the best possible spirit.”
Rabbi Moshe Maali, the Rabbi of IDF veterans in Hesder Yeshivas, taught Shimon during his last two years. He recounted: “To start from the end, he was discharged from the war in Gaza a month and a half ago after fighting with his platoon and friends from his Yeshiva. They were in northern Gaza, and were discharged for a two-month leave. They weren't supposed to return for another month, but Shimon wanted to go back and tried everything to do so. A good friend of his requisitioned him for reserve service in the Paratrooper Brigade for combat in the southern region of Gaza, where he was killed yesterday. This was another part of his determination for excellence and focus on his goals, something that very much defined him. It was important to him to be present and significant in this war, and his friends say that he was a better soldier than all of them by several degrees. Shimon had intended to continue into special forces. He was already in the selection process and had been accepted to a certain unit, but he wanted something more significant, and then the war broke out.”
“In Yeshiva, he was first and foremost a good friend and loved by everyone. One of the things that most defined him was his peace of mind, which indicated great strength of spirit in him. He never talked too much, and what he said was intelligent and reasonable. He sought the truth. He always wanted and aspired to bring truth to light and worried that we do not always see it. When something concerned him, whether in Yeshiva or outside it, he would clarify things extensively and present everything. He would delve in and research. He cared what happened around him. He was stubborn and serious. The first thing I think about when I remember him was his determination. He was a fighter of uncompromising seriousness. He went after every task and goal he set, in the study hall, spiritually, as well as at war.”
Rabbi Maali told how Shimon’s older brother Yehuda was also a student at the Yeshiva. “Shimon comes from a very deeply rooted family, and a very serious one. The household and family gave him all his personality of giving, persistence, and wonderful bravery. These strengths come from a home, a family of Torah study and fearing God. May God give us and all of Israel a chance to follow the path of truth and bravery that Shimon left us.”
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