“What we have learned from Rachel Goldberg-Polin” ( Second day of Rosh HaShanah 5785 / 2024)
Second day of Rosh HaShanah 5785 / 2024: “What we have learned from Rachel Goldberg-Polin” Rabbi Robert Scheinberg United Synagogue of Hoboken A voice is heard in the heights: wailing, bitter weeping; Rachel crying for her children. קֹ֣ול בְּרָמָ֤ה נִשְׁמָע֙ נְהִי֙ בְּכִ֣י תַמְרוּרִ֔ים רָחֵ֖ל מְבַכָּ֣ה עַל־בָּנֶ֑יהָ We read these words in today’s Haftarah from the book of Jeremiah. These words have been on my mind truly all year since I first heard the name Rachel Goldberg-Polin. I never met Rachel though we are almost exact contemporaries and we have numerous friends in common. and I know there are several people in our community, maybe here in this room right now, who have some connection with her. Around the world people know Rachel now, and for the most terrible reason: she is the mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin of blessed memory, who was murdered by his Hamas captors eleven months after being kidnapped on October 7 and she emerged as one of the most public faces for the