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\markboth{\small \quad \em Lilia Marinov \hfill}{\hfill\small \em 
To memory of Misha \quad}

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\title{TO MEMORY OF MISHA}

\author{LILIA MARINOV}

\address{Haifa, Israel}

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\noindent
The death of someone close is always an irreparable loss. \\[2mm]
In our case we have also lost an enduring moral support and a source 
 of great spirituality, which is so essential  in these hopeless
 times. \\[2mm]
We, Misha's family, were completely shielded by him and not
 only from financial troubles. He was our
``teacher'' in a sense that it is  characteristic to Judaism.
His inviolability, that is, his loyalty to himself, in
addition to his  absolute chastity, common to only deeply religious people,
gave us faith that every  problem could be solved.\\[2mm]
Misha shifted the scale of human virtues; next to him
much  often appeared trivial and even petty. Passionate in his
predilections, he was nobly tolerant; in his conduct toward people there was
a great surplus of kindness. However, this did not carry over to
political leaders.  \\[2mm] 
Misha's erudition was phenomenal. He had almost a complete mastery of
almost  all of the Romano Germanic  languages (he had intended to
continue learning languages, this being how he relaxed),  and had read many 
authors
in the original: Heine, Goethe, Rilke, French medieval poetry,  Anatol France,
Lorca, the list is endless. He loved Slavic languages and having  learned
Polish and Czech, read Mitzkewich, Senkewich, Tuvim, Ivan Olbracht and 
other works that were being translated into these languages, but not
into  Russian. \\[2mm]
He knew history thoroughly and used it as an
instrument in his passionate analysis of  our Israeli reality. He made
predictions that are still being quoted by his friends and  till this
day are still coming true.  He also knew philosophy, modern and of
antiquity. The diversity and depth of Misha's knowledge and his urgent
interest in life made him a man more characteristic of the Renaissance
(homo universale).\\[2mm]
 He was a  master in every task he took upon
himself: from restoring a torn book, fixing a tea kettle, polishing
the surface of his desk, to building a house; in
everything he was an expert, never an amateur. \\[2mm]
Misha's life was heroic due
to its intensity and to the high level of responsibilities he  took upon
himself.\\[2mm]
 He spent 8 years as a refusnik, spent in isolation from his 
favorite scientific research. He proudly overcame all difficulties, having to
pursue  translating instead of physics to support the family. In this the help
of our close friend  Inna Dolgov was priceless; accepting Misha's translations
as her own. This was a risky situation for her, as it was
for Mikhail Terentev, who hired  Misha as his personal secretary to avoid
him being persecuted as ``a parasite''.
Misha continued his scientific work at home; his self-discipline was
amazing. \\[2mm]
At the  same time there was the hard physical labor of constructing  houses, so called  ``shabashka'' [job on the side], 
with a few of his physicist-friends, a kind of fraternity.
Misha left home at 4 or 5  in the morning and they would spend the
night in an unfinished house,  sometimes falling asleep
covered by the first snow on their sleeping bags (this was during his
work with Lyova Ponomarev). He would  return with
swollen red hands and would proudly show me his firm fist, in which he could 
knowingly hold every carpenter's tool. Before falling asleep Misha would
retell me the censored jokes of Petya Volkovitsky and another guy
going by the name, ``Igorek''. ``Shabashka'' and the friends
he worked with  remained in Misha's memory forever. \\[2mm]
The girls were growing up, but getting the
permission to leave didn't seem any more  obvious than before. Dima
Roginsky was one of a few people, who continually  stayed in touch with us
during those difficult years, after he left Russia for Israel. Misha's 
spiritual
courage didn't waver; he studied Hebrew intensively, not only for his  love of
languages, but clearly understanding that without it he would not be able to 
live up to his expectations in Israel. \\[2mm]
As a result of a construction accident Misha broke his leg. It  was a
complicated fracture and his
``shabashka" had to end. He still continued to do translations. Retaining one's personality as well as professional
ability  under such circumstances is not something anyone could have
done. I don't know of any other
examples of people  who managed to return to full scientific activity
after an absence of 8 years. \\[2mm]
Misha started to look for work starting with his very first days in
Israel. The first year was  very difficult, consisting of part-time work, teaching
at the University of Jerusalem
and at a college in Ariel. At last  Misha received an invitation to give a
seminar at the Technion, and after that the  opportunity to start working
there. His academic activities in Israel included teaching  and almost every
year there was a different course, each one meticulously prepared and 
planned. The work with grad students included constant contact and
much patient help. The teaching required a lot of energy and was very taxing for Misha,
but he  enjoyed watching the success of his students: David Bar-Moshe, Bilha
Segev, Yohai  Ben-Horin, Nurit Kraus and a few others, all very grateful. 
The research was viewed by Misha as a kind of craft in the truest sense
of the word. He was
truly an  artist, with inspiration at his service. \\[2mm]
 I grew up with Misha's
sister Ina (her real name was ``Naina" and that's how they  called her at
school). We lived in neighboring houses and were in the same class at  school
starting with the first grade. Fate was such that the place where we
lived, Trubnikovsky street, brought us together. Our Jewishness was
obvious to us both and
it  literally attracted us to each other. \\[2mm]
As a child I visited their home. The
atmosphere  in Misha's family was amazing, rising out of mutual
respect, love  and attention; it was the tone that emanated from Misha's
mother, Tamara Efremovna. Years later Misha told
me, ``Mother loved me so much, that I  can't even remember her ever
having raised her voice
at me. If  I was guilty of something, her reaction was one of
bewilderment." Misha was in complete harmony with his father. To his younger 
sister Naina he was a 
beloved brother and a spiritual guide. Misha's family, first his parents and 
sister
and later, myself and our girls, were always at the center of his attention
and concern.\\[2mm]
In our  postmodern times Misha was a rare example of loyalty
to such concepts which  aren't in vogue any more: honor, dignity and
responsibility. This also included his clear self-identification:
always a Jew and never a citizen of the world, about which nobody
ever had any doubts. This is how it was in  Moscow, and this is how it
was  in Israel. His dignity and
responsibility determined his fate, and it wasn't an easy one; responsibility 
for
himself, for the children and the children's children; the satisfaction of
feeling ``a proud Jew" in his historical motherland, the  only place where
he felt at home, in Israel.  Here he was happy. It is unbearably painful that
this happiness lasted such a short  while. 

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\noindent
{\em Translated from Russian by Maria Marinov}
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