Avi is Rebecca’s direct commander

I remember the first time Sharon from Magad told me that a commander was coming to me, I didn’t know what to do with this information, what was I going to do with a commander??? I told him it wasn’t necessary, but he said it was indeed a special commander… And sure enough, Rivka arrived, and the connection was immediate, Rivka to the platoon and the platoon to Rivka. We all discovered how special Rivka was.

Rivka

In the first few times I visited the hospital, I thought about all the times Rivka influenced our lives, from the smallest things to the biggest – every situation we encountered or task we received, I always thought first about where Rivka would sleep; of course, it was important only to me, Rivka really didn’t care, from her perspective, a scout tent was fine, and she was okay with it.

She helped us rethink how we carried out tasks and thought about things we sometimes missed, and we missed quite a bit.

After meetings I had with the commanders, Rivka would quietly come to me and ask if it was okay to shed some light on something small, and then she would give me guidance on what and how to do things more correctly; she was a true professional with a clear opinion and voice and wasn’t afraid to express it, and I loved that – I told you she was really special.

She laughed at us for doing “peepee” outside and called us “a bunch of builders” and we were many with her stinking up the chemical toilets.

Rivka was always active, didn’t know what it meant to relax, if it wasn’t on a mission, then I would see her messing with the hair of one of the younger ones in the platoon, or just joking around with all of us – once Rivka corrected us in Hebrew, and while she was correcting us, she made a mistake with another word, and we just laughed there for a few minutes.
It’s a story they told me afterwards – 2 soldiers were on guard duty and Rivka came to inspect them – in a short time it turned from an inspection to Rivka and one of the guards having a mock sword fight with 2 sticks!

I said she was really special.

I also want to say; although it’s been said already, Rivka was a true fighter; the kind that never hesitates for a moment to take initiative in the field; doesn’t really need to eat, not really, doesn’t really need to shower, a true survivor fighter, well really special I already said.

But not just nonsense, there was also seriousness

When Rivka received a mission straight away, she was a twinkle that came along with a nod and a tilt of the head, and I knew it was going to be done in the best way possible.
But not just obedience, there was also criticism

In missions that I took for granted, suddenly Rivka would ask “Why?” or “Why specifically this way?” and that would make me think again and many times completely change the course of action.
But not just questions, she also had answers

We would sit in the tent and I would hear Rivka with the soldiers in deep conversations about religion, soul, and philosophy.
But not just with the younger soldiers, also the older ones

I would hear the older ones telling her about their family and children at home with tears in their eyes out of longing.

That’s how we got to know Rivka, she never spoke just one thing, she was everything, she was both funny and serious, both gentle and tough, she always made people express their emotions quickly, but she never let go of hers.
I had the privilege to command such a special officer, a true privilege, and we as a platoon were privileged to serve alongside her.

We love you Rivka, we miss you very much.

We don’t forget.