Thousands came to the funeral of Hersh Goldberg-Polin who was murdered in captivity by Hamas.
“Hersh and Aner are now together forever,” Jon, the father of Hersh, said referring to Aner Shapira, Hersh’s good friend, who was murdered on October 7. “There is symbolism in the fact that we just finished saying Kaddish for Aner and today we begin saying Kaddish for Hersh. One year is not enough to sanctify the names of these special two young men. They deserve two consecutive years of Kaddish.”
Jon continued: “When we told him at age seven that we would be making aliyah to Israel, we told him that the name Hersh could be challenging for Israelis. Maybe you want to become Tzvi, which has the same meaning (deer). But Hersh said confidently: “I am Hersh. Let the Israelis deal with that.” Ultimately, his name became famous throughout the world. Rachel and Jon did not bring him home, but Hersh entered the homes of millions everywhere.
And then Rachel spoke: “I want to thank G-d right now in front of all of you for giving me this magnificent present of my son Hersh. For 23 years I was privileged to have the most stunning honor to be Hersh’s mama. I’ll take this moment to say thank you.”
Continuing, she turned to those in Israel and throughout the world who had been at her side: “I want to say thank you to the countless people in this entire extended community who have held us, cared for us, prayed for us, cooked for us, and carried us when we could not stand up. I am so thankful to you and I apologize deeply but now we’re going to need continued help to get through this new chapter too, and I beg of you all please don’t leave us now. You gave us so much for 11 months and we gave you nothing in return.” It seems to me that anyone who heard this would say, “Rachel, this is not true. You gave us so much.”
Then she turned directly to Hersh. “I need to request your help. Our worry turns to grief. This is a new kind of pain, I beg you, Hersh, do what you can to have your light shine on me, on father, on Libi and on Orly. Give us healing and resilience from above so we can rise again, so that G-d will bless us and one day we will hear laughter and we will turn around and see it’s us, and that we’re okay. And you will always be with us as a source of love and vitality, you will become our superpower.
“Sweet boy, go now on your journey. Finally, finally, finally, finally you are free. I will love you and miss you every day for the rest of my life. I know you are right here in my heart; I know, I only need to teach myself to feel you in a different way.”
Condolences to the Goldberg-Polin family and all those who love them. Hersh was brought to rest when the new month of Elul, a month of rectification, positive change, introspection and spiritual healing was about to begin. The city of Jerusalem heard inspirational eulogies, words fitting for this month of teshuva.
Five ideas about Rosh Chodesh Elul
Are you overcome with hopelessness? Are you beginning to feel that we’re “losing it”?
Rosh Chodesh Elul begins tonight and continues until Wednesday night- and we’ve never needed it more.
1) Elul is a month for making amends, repentance, self-improvement, and new beginnings. Think of it as a gift – an appointed time for self-reflection and for working on positive changes before the start of the new year.
2) In Hebrew, the name of the month forms an acronym from the verse: “Ani L’dodi V’Dodi Li – I am my Beloved’s and my Beloved is mine.” This is a hint that G-d is as close to us, during Elul, as a loved one.
Another beautiful expression associated with this month is: “The King is in the field.” It is as if the King of Kings Himself goes out to meet His people in the field this month; He is closer, more approachable, and more available.
3) On Rosh Chodesh, we add the prayer “Ya’ale V’Yavo” to the Amidah and to Birkat Hamazon. We also recite the Hallel that is a compilation of chapters from Psalms which are prayers for success and joy. If you look closely, you will find that almost every verse of Hallel speaks to our current situation.
4) Why is Elul considered such a special month? On Rosh Chodesh Elul, Moshe Rabbeinu ascended Mount Sinai for the second time (after he shattered the first set of Tablets following the sin of the Golden Calf). Forty days later, on Yom Kippur, he descended from the mountain with a second set of Tablets of the Law. Since that time, these 40 days have been designated as days of closeness to G-d, forgiveness, repentance, and reconciliation, with the inherent message that you can always fix what has been broken.
5) We are only 30 days before Rosh Hashana, and it’s already our custom to greet people with the blessing: “Ktiva V’chatima Tova”—”May you be inscribed and sealed (in the Book of Life) for a good year.”
So I bless you from the bottom of my heart: Chodesh Tov and Ktiva V’chatima Tova.
Translation by Yehoshua Siskin and Janine Muller Sherr.
