The World of the Mother of a Hamas Hostage

By Nechama Dina Hendel – Chabad.org

Minutes before Shabbat candle-lighting, my phone rang. Sharonne and Tzachi, friends from our Friendship Circle of South Jerusalem community, were on the line. Tzachi’s voice was filled with urgency as he relayed that their long-time friends, Jon and Rachel Goldberg-Polin, are parents of one of the 240 hostages kidnapped to Gaza.

The Goldberg-Polins’ peace-loving son Hersh was last seen seriously wounded, being violently shoved into a Hamas pick-up truck near Kibbutz Re’im in southern Israel. His dominant, left arm had been reduced to a bloody stump, blasted off by terrorists with a grenade during their murderous attack on participants at the Supernova music festival. The last signal from Hersh’s phone came from Gaza at 10:25 a.m. on October 7. His last messages to his mother at 8:11 a.m. were, “I love you,” followed by, “I’m sorry.”

Now, three weeks later, Hersh’s whereabouts and welfare remain unknown, along with that of more than 240 others. The captives include babies, Holocaust survivors, and those like Hersh, who were in dire need of medical attention. Hersh’s parents continue to work non-stop to do what they can to help release their beloved only son and the other hostages. They even flew to the United States to meet government officials, and Rachel gave a stirring speech at the UN. At one point in her talk, she called out to the audience, “We, the families of the 240 hostages, are far away on the planet of agony, but where are you? This is a global humanitarian catastrophe!”

“Do you think you can help?” Tzachi asked me on the phone, just before Shabbat. “We want to have the Goldberg-Polins’ mezuzot checked as soon as possible.” Tzachi’s brother lives in Chicago and he had heard that Chabad rabbis visited the home of Natalie Raanan’s father and affixed a mezuzah to the door of her room on the morning of her miraculous release. He suggested that the Goldberg-Polin family check their mezuzot to merit extra protection.

I had heard about Hersh and his family but hadn’t realized that they lived in Jerusalem in our Talpiyot neighborhood. I assured our friends that we would do our best to help and would be in touch immediately after Shabbat. When Shabbat ended, we called several scribes until we found one who could check the mezuzot that night.

My husband and I drove to the Goldberg-Polin home to meet them and to pick up the mezuzot to bring to the sofer. Rachel opened the door, and although we had never met before, she welcomed me in a warm embrace. I was amazed at her grounded presence and strong and positive spirit. She holds onto hope and resolve despite the anguish and uncertainty that has become her family’s reality over the last 26 days.

The Goldberg-Polins are both American and Israeli citizens, having made Aliyah to Jerusalem 15 years ago. Rachel shared that she grew up in an assimilated Jewish family in Chicago, and that thanks to Chabad there, she and her family became observant. Her mother, Marcy Goldberg (whose selfless volunteering is the subject of a Chabad.org feature) had been drawn to a class on the laws of kosher, organized by the late Chabad emissary, Rabbi Daniel Moscowitz. With Rabbi Moscowitz’s love and encouragement, Rachel’s family came closer to Judaism, one mitzvah at a time. She later met her husband Jon, who had grown up religious, and the two married. They have three beautiful children: their firstborn son Hersh and two lovely daughters, Leebie and Orly.

Rachel, a spiritual woman, shared with us, “I draw so much strength from Psalms in these dark moments. The ancient words of King David, calling out to G‑d from the depths of his pain and despair, feel contemporary and speak straight to my heart.” The Goldberg-Polins were strengthened to hear that we divided Psalms amongst our community so that together we are completing the entire book every day until our hostages are returned.

Even in their dire situation, Rachel points out the hand of G‑d. Hersh, who recently turned 23, had switched from being a combat soldier to being a paramedic during his service in the IDF. Being the gentle, peace-lover that he was, he was much happier in that role. Hamas video footage of his kidnapping shows that Hersh had the wherewithal to tie a makeshift tourniquet around his bleeding arm and was walking with composure. “The Divine Providence in Hersh knowing what to do in this agonizing situation gives me comfort and hope,” his mom speculated.

My husband pointed out to Rachel, “The numerical value of Hersh, 514, is the same as tefillah, which means ‘prayer.’ And Hersh shares the same Hebrew letters as shirah, which means ‘song.”’May all your efforts and prayers bring your dear son home, and may you be able to sing a song of thanks and praise to G‑d very soon.”

Rachel showed us around their home, and we saw Hersh’s room. Filled with posters of peace and tolerance, you could feel the 23-year-old’s passion and love for humanity. After giving Rachel a pocket-sized book of Gate of Trust (we later brought a Chitas, as well, to keep in Hersh’s room), my husband and I left. I continued to our weekly women’s gathering, and my husband headed to the sofer.

My husband returned home, the mission complete, well after midnight. Several of the mezuzot had been defective, including the one from Hersh’s room. My husband replaced them with kosher ones and added two new mezuzot to inconspicuous doorways which hadn’t been noticed.

Hersh’s tefillin were also corrected.

The Goldberg-Polins were filled with gratitude, and Rachel shared, “According to the Rebbe’s explanation about the spiritual power of kosher mezuzot and tefillin, we feel like we are now all wearing helmets. We are praying and waiting for Hersh to come home safely.”

In the mezuzah that had been in Hersh’s room, the letter bet was found to be defective twice, in two different words. Bet stands for bayit, home, and we pray that Hersh will return safely to his home, together with all our hostages, with peace and tranquility and the long-awaited Redemption!

Please share your mitzvos for Hersh ben Perel Chana and the other hostages’ safe and speedy return in the comments below. It gives so much chizuk to their families!