A day after Maj. Harel Birenstock, 34, of Nokdim, was killed in combat in southern Lebanon, footage was released Thursday showing him addressing his soldiers at the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip.
Birenstock served as a reserve combat soldier in Battalion 2855 of the 55th Paratroopers Brigade. Also killed alongside him in the battle was Master Sgt. (res.) Tamir Vaknin, 33, of Eilat, who served as the company's combat medic.
Birenstock opened his remarks, with Vaknin standing beside him, by urging the soldiers to preserve the spirit of the unit going forward.
"It is all of our responsibility to continue maintaining the unit the way it should be. If you have friends, we need to strengthen the unit-we need to bring in new soldiers."
He went on to emphasize that the character of new recruits was more important than anything else.
"If you know people who are good people-even before they're good soldiers, I truly mean it, long before you're good fighters-we need people who are good."
He added, "If we can get the complete package-both good people and good fighters-even better. That's the best recruitment: a friend bringing a friend from civilian life. Now is the time to do it."
Toward the end of his speech, Birenstock delivered a personal message to his soldiers.
"I truly, truly, truly love every one of you with all my heart. I love you, and each one of you is deep, deep, deep in my heart."
He concluded with an emotional farewell and expressed hope that they would meet again.
"It will be very, very hard for me to say goodbye. I believe that by Wednesday or Thursday... we'll, of course, stay in touch, and we'll meet again on various missions, but even so, I'll truly miss you. That's it-I love you all very much, every single one of you."