Written by Hayim Schreiber
Translated by Juliana Brown
Two weeks before Motti Shamir was killed in a brave battle in the Swords of Iron war, he wrote to himself: "I want to be the type of person who manages to influence his friends and people in general, outside the army as well. I want to do good things for society".
How are people like this raised?
From a young age, Motti worked on giving back to others. As a young man, he organized activities with his friends in "Lifeline (Kav LaChayim)", an organization which reaches out to children suffering from complex disabilities and rare syndromes. Another time, he organized a bar mitzvah for one of his classmates who had no one to take care of it for him.
In the army as well, he stood out due to his talent for giving. On his first day in the army, the commander got angry at one of the soldiers who didn't get things done on time. "I accidentally bought myself two watches, take one", Motti said, and gave his friend a watch.
Motti was promoted rapidly through the army. From a simple soldier, he became a squad commander, a platoon sergeant, an officer, and a company commander. He worked hard and even when he arrived home, he never rested.
He would get up at night to care for Lavi, his baby son. He prepared delicious meals for his wife Revital, and was happy to go help out any friend who needed a hand. Someone needed help moving to a new apartment? Electricity in the yishuv wasn't working? A neighbour needed a lift somewhere? Motti was already on the way.
On the morning of Simchat Torah, Motti awoke at home, in Chavat Yair.
When he heard about the war, before they had even called him, he hurried out to go south to help out the fighters. With his friends Uriya and Eliya, he picked up a few more combat soldiers on the way and together they sped off to fight the terrorists.
"Motti's Squad" went from house to house in Kibbutz Re'im, rescuing the residents and getting them to a safe place. They participated in battles, demonstrating incredible courage and bravery. In the middle of the battle, Motti was injured. He understood he wouldn't be able to continue leading the squad, and passed on the responsibility to his friend Uriya.
"Listen, Uriya, I'm going to get some of the injured out; you're the commander now". He appointed him and began heading towards the injured. As he got closer to them, he was killed by an enemy bullet.
Motti's wife Revital and his four-year-old son Lavi miss Abba Motti so much, but they're happy when they remember- our father did good things his entire life. He helped Am Yisrael, his family and friends.
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