Extended interview: Rachel Goldberg-Polin on grief after the death of her son, Hersh
In a Nutshell
Rachel Goldberg-Polin recounts the abduction of her son Hersh from the Nova Music Festival on October 7, 2023, his 328 days of torture in Gaza tunnels with a severed arm, and his execution by Hamas alongside friends like Oree Danino, as detailed by released hostage Orr Levy. She describes 330 days of relentless advocacy—meeting world leaders, wearing daily hostage-count tape, and clinging to mantras like "hope is mandatory"—followed by profound grief upon learning of his death, realizing those days were the "good part" while he lived. Through raw pain, she finds purpose in voicing parental anguish, continued advocacy for remaining hostages, and transcendent love for Hersh, redefining grief as a "precious badge of love" that grows eternally, bolstered by his prophetic 2015 journal on enduring life's tunnels.
These notes were generated by AI and may contain inaccuracies.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin is an American-Israeli living in Jerusalem whose life changed on October 7th, 2023, when her only son Hersh was taken hostage by Hamas. Rachel and her husband Jon worked to bring Hersh and other hostages home, meeting world leaders. After 328 days in captivity, Hersh was executed by Hamas in a tunnel in Gaza.
What was Hersh like? Easy. The universe really knew what it was doing when it said, Rachel's gonna have one son. Yeah. So this is the one for her. I was really blessed.
Hersh was on the brink of budding, becoming, and blooming, on the cusp of adulthood. He wrote a note before Yom Kippur 2023: > I'm about to become my own adult. And thank you for being with me on this ride.
He had a drive for independence from a young age. On October 6th, Friday night before the attack, the family walked to synagogue together: Jon, Hersh, and Rachel's two daughters. They gave Hersh the traditional Friday night parental blessing, hands on his head, as done every Shabbat since his birth, even by phone when away.
They had a beautiful Shabbat meal with friends. Hersh regaled everyone with stories from his nine-week mini prep trip in Europe for his year-long world adventure starting December 27th, 2023. Around 11 o'clock, he kissed Rachel on the cheek, kissed Jon, hugged the hostess, said > I love you, I'll see you tomorrow, and left. That was 900+ days ago; she never saw him again. That marked the end of the "before."
Sign in to read the full notes
Get access to AI-generated notes, topic timestamps, and more.