10@9 Rachel and Jon Goldberg-Polin Respond - August 22, 2024

good morning today is Thursday August 22nd 2024 last night at the Democratic Convention in Chicago Rachel and John Goldberg spoke in prime time about their son Hirsch and the other hostages still in Gaza this is not about politics but I urge urge you to find the 8 minute video you can find it online and I urge you to watch it I am sure that you will be moved to tears and filled with admiration at the dignity and the strength and the courage that this family has on their way to the airport for the flight from Tel Aviv to Chicago Rachel and John made time to sit for an interview with Daniel gordis and I want to share with you a little bit of that but first let me preface since October 7th I have refrained from directly addressing the merits of a deal to relas to release hostages in exchange for the release of prisoners many of them terrorists and for a couple of reasons but the primary reason is when hostages are suffering unimaginable conditions and families and friends and many others around the world are hurting so deeply I cannot bring myself to dispassionately discuss both sides of this dilemma and quote sources in Jewish law on both sides of the issue I just can't do that I can't take the risk I won't take the risk that somehow my words might cause someone more anguish than they already suffer and my decision stands today but I want to share with you something that is truly remarkable it affected me very deeply and I think it will do the same for you now I've shared with you many times the story of HS Goldberg 23 years old who on October 7th was severely injured and taken hostage from the Nova Music Festival along with so many others and his parents Rachel and John have been among the most vocal and the most visible speaking on behalf of hers and all of the hostages last night in Chicago was just the most recent and perhaps the most impactful but on their way to the airport to get there they made time to sit for an interview with Rachel with uh Daniel gordis and Daniel asked them as gently and as respectfully as he could how they would respond to the three major arguments against any deal for the hostages now of course their son is a hostage their position is very public and well known and understandable but Rachel and John are both you unusually thoughtful people even through 321 days so far of trauma and pain none of us can imagine so what I will share this morning are brief exerpts and if you send me your email I'll send you the entire interview which is well worth reading recently John Poland wrote the following words two years ago my son hirs remember he's 23 years old my son hirs 2 years ago told my wife Rachel and me that he respects us very much but he was not going to be observing Shabbat as we do despite this every time he was home he continued to come with me to the synagogue both on Shabbat evening and morning last summer shortly before he was kidnapped on October 7th Rachel asked hsh why do you keep going to the synagogue if Shabbat is not speaking to you at this time and he answered I don't want Dad to sit alone John writes it has been 308 days okay now it's been 321 days and now hirs the son who didn't want me to sit alone in synagogue sits alone held captive in Gaza it has been now 321 days that Rachel and I fight day after day minute after minute so that hirs will no longer be alone and he will come back to us as Rabbi cook said I am writing here on the eve of Shabbat kazon that's the Shabbat before Tisha of Rabbi cook wrote I'm writing now on the eve of the Shabbat before Tish not because I have the strength to write but because I no longer have the strength to stand okay so I want to emphasize that these questions were asked by Daniel gordis reflecting the views of many people and they uh are the main arguments against any sort of deal that releases hostages in exchange for releasing prisoners mostly terrorists and again these questions are asked to these people with the utmost respect and sensitivity to hear how they would frame their responses to these arguments and and he starts by saying and I start by saying that the people that put forth these ideas they're basically three arguments the people that put these arguments forth they are people who love Israel who care about Israel there are people who are zionists and who care about about the hostages but one question they raise is if we stop the war now if we agree to a ceasefire in exchange for getting some of the hostages back and releasing terrorists then all of those boys and girls who died in Gaza they died for nothing because they died to destroy Kamas and Kamas won't be destroyed and will have lost the war and Kamas will still be there so with everything that we genuinely do feel for the families who are going through this horror what do you say about that question number one so Rachel answers this question she says well we talk with a lot of these families tragically who have lost children boys and girls in this horrifying War and what they have actually said to us is that their children their daughters and sons will only have died in vain if we don't get excuse me if we don't get the hostages because their sons and daughters are only trying to get back the hostages of course they're trying to destroy the people who are holding the hostages and the people who committed the atrocities but their real motivation when they would leave on Sunday morning after being home for just a very short pause their motivation and what kept them going is the photo of one of the hostages that each Soldier keeps in a pocket with them that's what keeps them going and so Rachel said so these families you're talking about the children of these families having died in vain what these families have said to us is the only way we will recover and the only way our child will not have died in vain is to get back these women these children these elderly these regular young men that is the only way we will recover and move on and find any comfort and so it's very important to think on a national psychic level of what it means to make sure that our brave soldiers have not died in vain okay that's number one the second issue is of course gilad Shalit it was a terrible deal one soldier held under terrible conditions for five years and the deal that released him released more than a thousand terrorists and among those terrorists who were released was a man named senoir and a man named dif who came back thoroughly knowing Israel speaking Hebrew fluently having in sino's case we discussed this having in sino's case been Sav by an Israeli surgeon because he had brain cancer we discussed this subject so the question goes again with sensitivity and with respect what kind of a crazy country with all due respect to the unbelievably heartbreaking situation they were in what country looks at the horror at what's happened since October 7th and says yeah that was a really bad deal for gilad shal you know what I think I think we should do it again who would say that and again this is from people who love Israel from people who really do care about hirs and they care about the others but they're trying to think of Zionist and they're trying to think about the larger entity how in the world does it makes sense to do the same mistake that we did before with the consequences that we are now seeing so John answered this question and he says for over 75 years it has been the ethos of this country the state of Israel that we would do anything to make sure that any Soldier we are sending on a mission goes on that mission knowing beyond a shadow of doubt that we will do whatever it takes to bring them home if they ever get taken how much more so when we're talking about 115 and when we're talking about babies and young women who God forbid might be impregnated when we're talking about 86 year olds any rational question then has got to be asking how do we not bring these people back and then there's a second part of the answer let's talk about the security aspect John says did we make mistakes clearly October 7th was a failure across the security intelligence political military every level of this country fa failed but John says but I don't think we can now say we don't trust anybody we don't trust any of our systems we don't trust the military we don't trust the intelligence I don't think we could say that it should not be on the back of 115 innocent hostages who have paid the price for 321 days so far it makes no sense to say that they should keep paying the price rather than putting the onus on our military political intelligence establishment to do what they have to do to protect Israel to protect Israelis now in this case and and this is an irony of this whole discussion in this case those systems of Israeli Society not the political yet but the military the security and the intellig establishment they saying let's do this deal we will be able to handle whatever the price is so the question is for those who oppose this deal what do they know that our leaders of military security and intelligence do not know the third issue is a sentiment that Rachel and John and many others have stated just to quote the words of one person who expressed this if the hostages don't come home this country will not survive and this country will have no justification for surviving Daniel Gordon is asked Rachel and John isn't that an exaggeration is that really true that what is at stake is the survival of the state of Israel so I want to share with you Rachel's answer Rachel says you know there's this idea that we pride ourselves on as Jews the famous line in the Tet is whoever saves whoever helps one individual has saved an entire universe an entire world and so it is a fundamental aspect of our of our value system that we see the whole world in one person and we don't just see one person as a drop in the bucket of the larger group and I think she writes she says and I think if we decide to do the narrative of we're going to be like everybody else and we're not going to go to the lenss that we as Jews go to to do extraordinary things for our people that's fine I mean not fine but that's fine but you are changing Forever The Narrative of what it means to be a Jew and you need to be ready for that because we can never again say that we value a life in a different way than anyone else and she says I'm personally am not ready for that okay now listen to this this this will tear you apart but if people want to do that meaning not to do the deal you can't pick and choose if we decide to leave those people there you need to rewrite what it means to be a Jew forever more and when your children and grandchildren look at you when you go to tuck them in at night and you say I love you sweet dreams you also have to say but if someone comes and drags you from your bed in the middle of the night we're not coming for you and you have to be ready to really look in your child or grandchild's eyes and say that because that is what we will be teaching them forever more that we're not coming John adds we are people who with all our differences we care about each other we do irrational things for each other we go to the ends of the Earth for each other and then J adds was talking on Sunday day that just yesterday the day before in the synagogue we read the par ofan we discussed this and the last week's total portion the Paran contains the Asos The Ten Commandments and the Ten Commandments begin so we've discussed this before many times I am the Lord your God this is how God introduces himself not only to the Jewish people but to all Humanity in this public scene for once in all times this is God I am the Lord your God who took you out of the land of Egypt and notice we've discussed this many times God does not choose to say I am the Lord your God who created heaven and earth I am the Lord your God who has power who creates who does things the message that God uses to establish God's credibility God's power is I took a people in need out of bondage and that is such a defining characteristic of who we are as a people and that is why we cannot survive as a nation knowing that we have people in captivity and we have not done every single possible thing to bring them back where they belong finally Rachel says I pray that we Merit to hear miraculous and joyous news soon and that we can all start healing because we say there are 115 hostages that's not really accurate there are 9 million hostages the number of citizens in the state of Israel being held right now we are all being held hostage right now this entire country and I would even dare say the entire Jewish people worldwide is being held hostage and what we decide to do now is going to decide can we be like the Phoenix that rises again or are we going to change our path change our our story change our narratives change our values and change everything that we've claimed to be people of Good Will can disagree on this subject I think it's just remarkable to hear Rachel and John directly responding to these serious questions about what they and we are working so hard to bring about and praying so deeply that it will come soon to Rachel and John to hirs if you can hear us to all the other hostages and all the other families we're praying for you we're standing by you and we will not be whole until you are returned my friends I wish you a good day and I look forward to seeing you soon in person