Jewish-Ukrainian soldier and aspiring Michelin-star chef Tzvi-Hirsch (Grisha) Zvergzde was killed on the battlefield on Thursday, making him the third Jewish soldier to die fighting for Ukraine in the past two weeks.
The Federation of Jewish Communities of Ukraine told The Jerusalem Post that Zvergzde, 32, served in the 34th Brigade, responsible for defending the Black Sea.
Zvergzde was married, and he was father to four-year-old Alisa and five-year-old Lev. Hailing from Odessa, he was a chef by profession and dreamed of opening there the first kosher restaurant in Europe with a Michelin star, FJCU told the Post.
He was also a graduate of the Chabad Jewish School in Odessa.
Yaakov Sinyakov, the coordinator for Jewish soldiers at FJCU, ensured the army did not carry out an autopsy on the body – which is typically the case with Ukrainian soldiers – and that a proper Jewish funeral would take place.Zvergzde was buried on Friday in Odessa in a funeral overseen by Rabbi Avraham Wolff, the Chabad emissary and chief rabbi of the city and of southern Ukraine.
‘Jewish gentleness and extraordinary courage’
“Tzvi-Hirsch was everyone’s son – a student in our school, a member of our community, and a soldier who defended his homeland with his life,” Wolff eulogized. “He combined Jewish gentility with extraordinary courage.”He said the entire community is thinking of his family – his wife, Anastasia, his children, his mother, Yevgenia Yitzhakovna, and his sisters.
“We will always remember him with love and sorrow. The entire community is mourning, praying for his soul, and embracing his family during this painful time.”
Rabbi Meir Stambler, chairman of the Federation of Jewish Communities, stated that an estimated 200 Jewish fighters have died in the three-and-a-half-year war. He said his federation assists with Jewish burials together with Chabad emissaries from across the country. It also financially supports the families of the fallen and holds prayers and recitations of kaddish for the “souls of the heroes.”
Two other fallen Jewish soldiers
Zvergzde’s death follows those of two other Jewish soldiers, Andrey (Vitaliovich) Kurovskiy, last week, and Maksym Nelipa, two weeks ago.
Kurovskiy, who was from Zhytomyr, died of a heart attack during a Russian assault on the trenches where he was stationed, FJCU said. He was a drone operator and had previously been wounded in combat but chose to return to the front following his rehabilitation.
Kurovskiy was a teacher who taught at the Or Avner – Chabad School in Zhytomyr for over 20 years.
“Andrey was one of our most veteran teachers at the school,” said Rabbi Shlomo Wilhelm, Chabad emissary and chief rabbi of Zhytomyr and western Ukraine. “In his work, he oversaw all computer-based learning. He was a computer science teacher, a programmer, and had a great passion for the field. He was truly dedicated and committed to educational work at the school for many years.”
Maksym Nelipa, 44, was a well-known journalist and TV host. He was killed in the line of duty in eastern Ukraine. Nelipa was wounded in January 2025 in Dnipro and was hospitalized, but chose to return to fighting. He was recently promoted to company commander.
His son Artyom serves in the IDF’s Golani Brigade and received the news of his father’s death while stationed in Gaza.
The FJCU worked to find a Jewish burial plot in a military cemetery in Kyiv and ensured his body would not be cremated.
Ukrainian media covered his death extensively, and numerous journalists and politicians published condolences.“Every casualty is another reminder of the price we pay for freedom and for the right to remain Jewish on Ukrainian soil,” Wolff said, urging world Jewry to “stand with us in prayer and practical help until peace prevails.”
Jewish burials in Ukraine
Rabbi Yonatan Markovitch, the chief rabbi of Kyiv and of the Ukrainian Prison Service, previously told the Post, “When a Jewish soldier falls in battle, a race against time begins to ensure a proper Jewish burial before the army’s cremation procedures are carried out.”
The Ukrainian military’s standard practice of cremating fallen soldiers presents a halachic issue, as cremation is not allowed in Jewish law.
Markovitch said the army tries to cremate the bodies so that people don’t have to see the brutal way in which the soldier might have been killed.
However, he said that despite the normative protocol, the Ukrainian army tries very hard to respect and honor all religions.
“If there is a religion that is forbidden to bury or forbidden to cremate, then they really want to honor that for the benefit of the soldiers, for the benefit of the people, and for the benefit of religion.”
He added that despite geographical distance and different circumstances between Israel and Ukraine, “We share mutual responsibility and a joint commitment to ensure that every Jewish soldier, wherever he may be, is granted their final honor in accordance with Jewish mesorah [tradition] and Halacha.”
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