All posts tagged: Hersh Goldberg-Polin

Rachel Goldberg-Polin is a modern symbol of faith

Rachel Goldberg-Polin is a modern symbol of faith

Published by Sam Flores

(RNS) — There are moments when a single person seems to gather the entire story of the Jewish people into her heart. Rachel Goldberg-Polin is a perfect example.  On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas kidnapped her son, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 23, from the Nova Music Festival. He lost part of his arm. Hamas held him as a hostage in the tunnels of Gaza. In Rachel’s words, he was “tortured, tormented, starved, abused.” After 328 days in captivity, they executed him. Rachel must now ask, how do I walk through this place without a piece of me here? In the summer before Hersh’s death, I walked the streets of Jerusalem. I could not walk 50 yards without seeing posters of the hostages. Hersh’s face appeared again and again. He became the most recognizable hostage. His name jumped off of graffiti: “Hersch chai, Hersh lives.” In the tunnels of Gaza, he had lived with these words of Holocaust survivor and psychiatrist Viktor Frankl: “Those who have a ‘why’ to live can bear with almost any ‘how.’” Surviving his ordeal …

Rachel Goldberg-Polin on her Jewish faith and her slain son’s spiritual quest

Rachel Goldberg-Polin on her Jewish faith and her slain son’s spiritual quest

Published by Sam Flores

  LISTEN TO THE INTERVIEW: RNS national reporter Yonat Shimron in conversation with Rachel Goldberg-Polin http://religionnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/042926.yonat_mixdown.mp3 (RNS) — Hersh Goldberg-Polin, a 23-year-old American-Israeli, became the public face for the 251 hostages abducted by Hamas from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, largely because of his mother’s fevered efforts to win his release. Rachel Goldberg-Polin, a native of Chicago who had moved to Jerusalem in 2008 with her family, made it her life’s mission to win Hersh’s release. Now, she’s written a book about her very private ordeal, “When We See You Again.” In it, she describes not only the agonizing 11 months during which Hersh was held hostage in Gaza, and the immense grief she carries after his killing at the hands of Hamas on Aug. 31, 2024. She also explores the Jewish traditions her modern Orthodox family has leaned on in mourning their son, and she paints an endearing portrait of Hersh, a mystic of sorts who was forming his own spiritual journey. RNS invited Goldberg-Polin to talk about her book. The following is a …