Emes – Yiddish for “truth,” which also happens to be my name
Emmet Hirsch is a researcher and obstetrician-gynecologist in Evanston, Illinois. In his creative writing, he seeks meaning in a fact-based world.
The Legacy of Valor: David Cherkassky and the Battle of Nabi Yusha
Tomorrow marks the 78th anniversary of the death of David Cherkassky, who fell at age 23 in the battle of Nabi Yusha in the Galilee on April 20, 1948. David, nicknamed “Dudu”, was a fighter and instructor in the Haganah, the nascent army of the Jewish community in Palestine before the establishment of the State of Israel. Dudu achieved extraordinary things in his young life. He helped found the border-region agricultural outpost of Ramot Naftali and served as its mukhtar (village chief). As a commander in the Palmach, the elite “strike companies” of the Haganah, Dudu was renowned for volunteering for any mission and being first to charge the enemy.
Months before the British formally relinquished their occupation of Palestine in May of 1948, the Arabs and Jews began the skirmishes that would evolve into Israel’s War of Independence. Nabi Yusha was the name of a mountain fortress ceded to Arab militias by the British upon their withdrawal from the region. Possession of the fortress gave the Arab side tactical control much of the northeastern Galilee. The Jews considered capture of Nabi Yusha essential for survival of the nearby Jewish communities.
Dudu’s assignment was to lead an explosives unit that would blow a hole in the wall of the fortress, through which the assault force would enter. A series of mishaps occurred, ultimately dooming the operation. Dudu was wounded by a grenade and trapped by enemy fire along the wall next to the explosive device. He ordered his men to blow the charge despite knowing that doing so would result in his death. They could not bring themselves to follow this order. The disastrous mission ended with 22 dead, including Dudu himself. Many soldiers were killed when they stayed behind to defend wounded comrades, who also died. When the fortress was finally taken the following month, the fallen were gathered from the open field and entombed in a “brothers’ grave” at the site.
The battle of Nabi Yusha inspired one of the crucial scenes in my novel, The Wolf Shall Dwell with the Lamb. I believe each of us has causes or people we would be willing to die for. Yet ever since I learned as a youth of the ultimate sacrifice Dudu and his comrades made, I have wondered: would I have had the courage to do the same?
The unofficial poet laureate of the Palmach, Chaim Chefer, wrote a poem about Dudu, which was set to music and is known by every Israeli. In the song, Dudu embodies the values of the Palmach, which remain the ideal of the Israeli military to this day: sacrifice, camaraderie, initiative, courage, and a zest for life. The poem ends thus:
At dawn we returned him from the scene of battle.
Even the cypress trees gravely bowed their heads.
Only one who has lost the finest of his companions
Can understand what we feel.
Speak, Comrades, and testify:
Does Dudu yet smile upon us?
