The ‘Day After’ Letter I Received
The past few days have been filled with mixed emotions, leaving some disoriented; I know I am. Yesterday, I received a letter from an Officer that I greatly admire. I felt it was exactly what I needed to hear as someone who served in this war. I hope it reaches others in the way it reached me.
(Translated from Hebrew)
My brothers, Shavua Tov (have a good week),
After we received letters
from the Minister of Defense,
from the Chief of Staff,
from the Head of Command,
from the Division Commander,
from the Brigade Commander,
and of course from the Battalion Commander—
I also feel that I need to share my thoughts with you.
Over the past two days, I’ve had a lot of thoughts and feelings that are hard to put into words. Tomorrow we go back to post-holiday routine, and this return to routine kind of sums up for me two completely insane years—
Two years in which my life truly changed.
Two years that began with a lot of sadness and a lot of chaos, then that surreal evening in Sderot, when I barely knew most of the guys in the platoon.
And from there, that’s really when we started to build this platoon.
Slowly, over the past two years, things started to look a little more optimistic since that terrible day.
Two years of ups and downs that divided our lives into “before” and “after.”
A time with people I will truly never forget, and experiences I’ll never forget.
A period of personal hardships and of overcoming them.
Tomorrow kind of marks the “end” of an era (even if it’s not really the end—but that’s what it feels like).
It’s important for me to tell you that you really were part of the national effort to bring the hostages home—
even if it was endless guard shifts or those “bullshit missions,” as you like to say.
The IDF couldn’t have carried out what it did without us being there.
Thank you for this.
Remember how you felt on October 7, 2023—how your lives could have ended in a split second.
Live your lives properly. Don’t stress over small or big things.
Remember that no matter what you do or how hard you work, life can be lost in an instant—whether it’s a sniper, an IED, or something completely unrelated to war.
Appreciate what you have—that’s one lesson I took from this time.
I once had a sergeant during my first rotation who told me:
“What you don’t write down, you won’t do.” (Thank you.)
So I wrote things down—and I’ve completed most of the list.
I recommend that you also set goals for yourselves and achieve them.
When I finished my regular service, an officer I really respected at the time told me this:
“Don’t let the army be the greatest thing you’ve ever done.”
And I want to emphasize here too: don’t let this war define your lives.
Leverage your abilities. Believe in yourselves.
Because only a very small percentage of our country knows what it’s like to have ever taken a dump in a garbage bag, built fortifications, or quickly cleared out a house to fight for our country.
But seriously, you are truly special people.
Don’t give up on your dreams.
I love and appreciate each and every one of you.
