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Rachel Goldberg-Polin discusses surviving grief with an IDF widow

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“We have no choice but to ‘be hopeful,’” said Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of slain hostage Hersh, who shared how she is coping with her son’s death in a discussion broadcast on YouTube by Kehilat B’Orcha Yerushalayim (In Your Community of Light) on Sunday.

In an episode called “Rachel Cries for Her Children,” Rachel Goldberg-Polin spoke with Rachel Goldberg, the widow of the late Reservist Rabbi Avi Goldberg, Hersh’s teacher. Together they discussed the sadness that the war between Israel and Hamas caused because of their losses.

Goldberg-Polin explained where she gets the strength to keep going when the episode’s host, Rachel Sharansky Danziger, asked. She responded that she did not believe it was a choice and that her plea was “a primal instinct of every mother, every parent, every father.” She further noted, “It was a reflex.”

Goldberg-Polin advocates for the release of the hostages, tours worldwide, voices her pain and shares it on social media and other platforms.

Goldberg-Polin said the journey was a mix of emotions, saying, “Every second I fought for Hersh, I was terrified because I knew he was suffering.” Her experience was juxtaposed with her positive experience and support from the community worldwide. She noted that “the Jewish community rose like warriors. To greet us and help us.”

Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23 years old. (credit: Himmelfarb School, Jerusalem)

Rachel Goldberg spoke about her husband’s death and his connection to Hersh as his teacher. Avi Goldberg was Hersh’s 7th and 8th grade teacher for Jewish studies at Himmelfarb High School, affiliated with the national-religious community in Jerusalem’s Bayit Vagan neighborhood. He had served approximately 250 days on and off duty since October 7 as an officer in the reserves of the 8207th Battalion, 228th Brigade, and was killed in action on October 26 in South Lebanon.

In the episode, Rachel said that her late husband didn’t have to do reserve duty because of his age and because he had eight children (anyone with six or more children is automatically exempt). But this was an active choice for him, according to Goldberg, who said: “It wasn’t a question he had in his mind or in mine.” She went on to say that “when the people of Israel are in danger, there is no doubt that you are there to defend.”

Goldberg shared the difficulties she faced when the war began due to her husband’s absence. She said that “it was quite a challenge.” She also talked about how community support helped her cope with the pressure of raising eight children, especially as she had limited contact with him during wartime conditions.

He loved his students

Goldberg reflected on Avi’s relationship with his students, while still struggling with the new change of using the past tense when speaking about him, sharing that “he loves his students, loves Hersh.” She went on to say that “the loss he felt as a teacher of these wonderful boys was very great.”

After the death of another student, Dvir Barazani, late last year, he wrote a letter expressing his grief to his colleagues at Himmelfarb. He stated that “we make ourselves strong. We must. We bite our lips and continue ‘asiya’ (doing).

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The host turned the question to the women and asked, “How should we proceed?”

Goldberg-Polin said, “We have to be hopeful. This is a very precarious divide between being hopeful and falling into despair” and that “holding back and being respectful, I think that is our biggest challenge. As a people, as a nation.”

She ended with: “We have no choice.”

The episode had an underlying theme of connection to Judaism and references Rachel the Matriarch. All three women in the episode – which aired on the original character’s yahrzeit on the 11th day of Heshvan – happen to be named Rachel. They share their stories related to the foremother.

Danziger referenced the Biblical figure Rachel Imenu (Rachel, our mother) in a quote from Jeremiah: “She refuses to be comforted for her children who are gone,” building on the similarities between the Biblical mother Rachel and Rachel Goldberg-Polin . She remains a strong advocate for her son and all hostages, even after his murder and five others by Hamas, and continues to fight for the return of all remaining hostages. Goldberg-Polin is seen in the media as a unifying figure.

Vaseline1 week ago

0 3 minutes read

He loved his students

Vaseline

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