Rivlin eulogizes ‘courageous and original’ judge Cheshin

President Reuven Rivlin eulogizes Mishael Cheshin, praising his life’s work and unique style of writing his decisions.

“Dear Misha, I separate from you today. Leave a friend and ally, a rabbi and a scholar, a teacher and bright academic, a sensitive and sharp judge, courageous and original,” he says. “Your rulings were a journey through time and imagination, to the depths of literature and sources, illustrated always with your sharp and honed language. Your contribution to the design of the language and Israeli judicial discourse was unparalleled — there is no and will never be a replacement.”

He also references one of Cheshin’s most famous rulings, in which he laid out that “no” always means “no.”

“You knew how to say yes, and when to declare that yes is yes and no is no,” he says.