It is hard to remember a week that has been this difficult. The entire Jewish people feel broken. I feel broken. The brutal murder of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lonanov, and Carmel Gat has affected all of us. Since October 7th, no Jew in the world has had a restful night’s sleep without checking their phone multiple times. The entire Jewish people poured out their hearts for 330 days begging the Almighty for their return. This was not to be…
Who can forget Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s piercing cry for her son Hersh at the Gaza border only a few days before? It was impossible to hear her visceral pain and not think of the biblical verses that talk about the Matriarch Rachel crying for her children as they are exiled from Israel. In many ways, Hersh reminded us of our sons and brothers. A hero who tried to defend his friends and was wounded as a result. A free spirit who seemed to make all those around him happy. A son who was loved so much by his parents. We all yearned for a happy ending to his saga. It was not to be….
On October 9th, 1994, a soldier named Nachshon Wachsman was on his way home to his family. He was kidnapped and held hostage by Hamas terrorists. They had lured him into a car by wearing kippot and tzitzit. They even had a Jewish Bible on their dashboard. I was a student at Rabbinical School in Israel at the time. After it had become clear that he was taken and was in grave danger, the entire Jewish Nation started to pour out their hearts to the Almighty. His mother, Esther Wachsman had asked all Jews to light an extra candle for her son that Friday night. While those candles were still lit, there was a rescue attempt. Nachshon Wachsman and the leader of the commando team, Captain Nir Poraz were killed in the ensuing battle.
I still remember thirty years later vividly how broken the Jewish people were. We had poured out our hearts and yet this young man, Nachshon Wachsman had been killed. I remember hearing his mother being interviewed and asked the question of what to say to Jews who had prayed to the Almighty and had been seemingly ignored. She said that the Almighty had indeed responded. Sometimes a Father responds no to a child and even though we are hurt by the response, we know that our Father still loves us.
She went on to explain that our prayers were not futile. They just achieved some other purpose that we were not privy to. I was in awe of this woman’s strength. You can read her powerful words in an Aish.com article that she wrote on the tenth anniversary of her son’s death at the link below.
His Name Was Nachshon Wachsman
I often think about Esther’s sagely advice. We had all hoped and prayed for the safe return of Hersh and the other five holy Jews. Every synagogue in the world has been saying extra Psalms for the past 11 months. We are all in pain. We are all broken. Yet, we will continue to persevere. There are still more of our brothers and sisters in captivity. We will not stop pushing on a political, spiritual, and physical level for their safe return. We will not be intimidated by all the hate that is running through the streets of the world. We will not give in to the threats on University campuses. We are the Jewish Nation. We may be in pain but we will persevere. Our hearts are simultaneously broken and strong.
In many ways, this is the definition of Judaism. In every generation, antisemites have risen to try to destroy the Jewish people. We suffer losses. We grieve those casualties because every Jew is a world unto themselves. Still, we continue to live. We continue to work towards making the world a better place. We come closer to each other. We love each other more deeply. We must stay unified. It is easy to turn on each other in our grief. The world wants to see a divided Jewish people. We must not give them that satisfaction. The Jewish people are at their strongest when we are undivided.
This week, we entered into the holy month of Elul. This is a month set aside for introspection and growth for the Jewish people. Young Jews across the world and at Aish have started their new semester. A tremendous amount of Jewish wisdom is being studied. May the merit of this deluge of love for the Almighty convince Him to allow us to be reunited with those who we love. May we celebrate this Simchas Torah with those who were taken from us last year.
My friends, let us continue to storm the gates of Heaven together and beseech our Father to please bring an end to the evil of those who hate His children. Please return the hostages to their families. We know that Your love for us has no bounds and we are eternally grateful for all You have given us. Please take special care of these six precious souls. They were deeply loved during their short time in this world. May we all merit to see the final redemption in our lifetime.
