Moshe Perlstein was born November 24, 1925 in Jersey City to Shmuel and Ella. The family moved to Borough Park, Brooklyn where Moshe attended Yeshivat Etz Chaim, a religious elementary day school. He continued his studies at the Rabbi Itzhak Elhanan Yeshiva (Yeshiva University) in NY where he was also a leader in the Torah V'avoda youth group. Upon graduation in 1944 he went on 'hachshara' to the Hashomer Hadati agricultural farm in Cranberry, NJ.
In late 1946 or early 1947 he made aliya and spent some time in Kibbutz Ein Hanatziv after which he enrolled at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem for advanced studies in Judaica and agriculture, to be able to return to work as a more highly trained and more useful individual.
With the outbreak of the Arab attacks that marked the beginning of the War for Independence, Moshe felt that personal participation in the defense of the Yishuv was right and proper for him. He volunteered his services and was active in the Jerusalem area. He joined the squad posthumously known as 'The 35'. As early as Dec. 1947, vehicles attempting to bring supplies to the Etzion group of four kibbutzim far to the south of Jerusalem had been turned back with significant losses. In mid-January this group of 35 youths was to carry relief supplies on their backs for the besieged Etzion settlements. On Jan 16, 1948 the group was caught and completely wiped out near the valley of Elah. The bodies were first buried at Kfar Etzion, in a common grave. All the Etzion casualties were reinterred on Mount Herzl on Nov. 17, 1949. At the time of his death, Moshe Perlstein was 22 years old, his family's only son.
