We have, each of us, drawn close to Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin as they worked tirelessly for eleven months to bring their son, Hersh, home from Gaza. Though most of us do not know them, they are people who we feel like we know; part of our extended family, part of the community of Americans who love Israel deeply, part of a community of caregivers who cannot stomach watching even one parent grieve the way Jon and Rachel have been forced to grieve. Thousands filled the streets of Jerusalem a week ago today to honor their son, Hersh. There are truly no words to describe their loss, the collective grief we all feel after the murder of these six hostages.
At Hersh’s memorial, Jon shared his grief, his wisdom, his hope:
Hersh, we failed you. We all failed you. You would not have failed you. You would have pushed harder for justice. You would have worked to understand the other, to bridge differences…what you would be pushing for now would be to ensure your death, the deaths of all the soldiers, and so many innocent civilians are not in vain. Your starting point would be returning all the hostages…maybe, just maybe, your death is the stone, the fuel that will bring home the remaining one hundred hostages
We’ve heard Jon speak before, but this was the most poignant moment yet; powerful, almost prayerful. He reminded us that although we are broken-hearted, grief-stricken, bereft, we must continue to work and to hope that the remaining hostages will, somehow, come home to us alive. This is Hersh’s legacy. May God comfort the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem, and may Hersh’s memory inspire a calling in all of us.
—Cantor Emma Lutz