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Strength in Stillness: Lessons from Loss and Love
October 2024
Temple Israel
Two of the heroes of the Jewish world from whom so many of us have learned over the past year are Jonathan Polin and Rachel Goldberg-Polin. They are American-born Jews who made Aliyah and built their lives in Jerusalem. Tragically, their son Hersh was taken as a hostage into Gaza on October 7, 2023, and was recently murdered by the terrorists who held him. Rachel and Jonathan spent 11 months keeping Hersh’s name, face, and story in our minds and have shown the world the kind of strength that the love of family can give us.
They have also been teachers of Torah to the wider world, as their advocacy has been deeply rooted in Jewish teachings. Just a few weeks ago, Jonathan shared with an arena full of Americans, “There is a surplus of agony on all sides of the tragic conflict in the Middle East. In a competition of pain, there are no winners. In our Jewish tradition, we say: Kol adam olam umlo’o; every person is an entire universe. We must save all these universes.”
We often tell stories in terms of communities, countries, and other large structures, but Jonathan reminded us that ultimately, what is most important is the experience of each individual person. It is remarkable that someone suffering so much personal pain could share such words. It is also a good teaching to reflect on as we approach Rosh HaShanah.
According to tradition, Rosh HaShanah is celebrated on the first day of the month of Tishrei because this was the day that G-d created the world, as described in the beginning of the book of Bereishit (Genesis). Despite this traditional idea, on the day of Rosh HaShanah, we do not chant this portion from the Torah. Rather, we turn to the story of the birth of Isaac, the second of the three Jewish patriarchs. Abraham and Sarah had longed for a child for years, and finally, at an advanced age, Sarah gave birth to Isaac. We turn to this story on Rosh HaShanah because it is a human story about people whose deepest prayers were not answered for many years, and it is a story about the potential of one person, Isaac, to change, at the very least, the world of the members of his family.
In her eulogy for Hersh, Rachel Goldberg-Polin shared, “I am honest, and I say, it is not that Hersh was perfect. But he was the perfect son for me. And I am so grateful to G-d, and I want to do hakarat hatov and thank G-d right now for giving me this magnificent present of my Hersh … For 23 years I was privileged to have this most stunning treasure, to be Hersh’s Mama. I’ll take it and say thank you. I just wish it had been for longer.”
This Rosh HaShanah, our prayers for a better year are that much more intense and are full of the sadness and pain of the past year. But we turn to our traditional sources and to the people who inspire us today for an important lesson: Each of us represents a whole world to the people who love us, and they are our world. Let’s commit to loving and caring for them in good times and in dark times.
