Their son captive in Gaza, parents dedicate a Torah scroll to 120 remaining hostages

JERUSALEM (RNS) — They came forward one by one, 120 in all, as the scribe inscribed the last letters that would complete a Torah scroll to be dedicated to Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was kidnapped in Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault on southern Israel, and all the 120 hostages, alive and dead, Hamas is still holding captive. 

After the last letter was added on Thursday evening (July 18) at the ceremonial gathering in the south Jerusalem neighborhood where Goldberg-Polin lives, his parents, Rachel Goldberg and Jon Polin, dedicated the scroll to the 23-year-old American Israeli, who was wounded at the site of the Re’im music festival before being taken to Gaza by Hamas.

The dedication was the highlight of a Week of Goodness the Goldberg-Polin family, who immigrated to Israel from northern California in 2008, organized “to bring as much light as possible and surge goodness into our fractured world” in the hostages’ “merit” — so God will judge them favorably and hurry their release. Throughout the week volunteers packed food for needy families and assisted farmers, reached out to lonely neighbors and gave tzedakah, or charity.  

According to Jewish tradition, performing good deeds helps people in need.

The culmination of the week came as the couple, dressed in white and standing under a white canopy, walked slowly up an ordinarily busy street cordoned off by police and lined with yellow flags in honor of the hostages. More than 1,000 people from all denominations of Judaism who attended the inscription accompanied them, singing softly, as the couple carried the Torah. In the courtyard of a local community center that houses the Hahkel Synagogue where the couple are members, the crowd sang and prayed.

“The last time I stood in this courtyard was on Oct. 6, when we celebrated with the Hahkel community. We danced with the Torah,” Goldberg said of the Simchat Torah celebrations she and her family, including their son, had attended the night before the massacre. “My plan was to return the next morning, but that was not to be.”

Early the next morning Goldberg-Polin, having spent the night on the music festival’s grounds, was badly wounded by Hamas grenades as he and more than a dozen others fought off the attack from a bomb shelter. More than 360 of the concertgoers were murdered and hundreds injured. Goldberg-Polin was abducted to Gaza, his left arm blown off, video footage revealed. In April, Hamas released a video of him, the first sign of life the family had received since Oct. 7.     

“Now here we are,” Goldberg said on Thursday. “I am looking at this moment as completing the cycle of what was stolen from us. We will complete what we started. But how can we say the prayer (to dedicate the Torah) with intention and meaning when our hearts are broken? Because we still see kindness, love and blessings. We have been cared for and nurtured and loved. We will say it from our bruised hearts.”

Oded Mazor, rabbi of the neighboring Reform synagogue Kol HaNishama, joined the Torah procession to support the family. “They are raising a voice for freedom and peace, rather than revenge. They have chosen to focus on the good and on bringing people together for acts of lovingkindness instead of shouts for achieving things through force,” Mazor said.

Menachem Creditor, a rabbi from New York who is spending the month in Israel, said he was deeply moved by the Goldberg-Polin’s gentle strength in the face of calamity.

“I will never be the same after witnessing Rachel and Jonathan carry this Torah, surrounded by sacred community, dedicating a new Sefer Torah commissioned by their family for the merit of Hersh and the other beloved hostages. Their love of their son overflows the universe with goodness and commitment. May our family be whole once again, today.”

Anna Astmker, whose cousin, 19-year-old Karina Ariev, was kidnapped from her IDF border observation base on Oct. 7, inscribed the Hebrew letter Aleph in the Torah. Though Astmker is a secular Jew, Ariev’s parents, she said, have become more religious since Karina was abducted, and her inclusion in the Torah “is very meaningful to us all.

“Karina is the sweetest girl ever. Her smile is like the sun. She loves to cook and to dance and to sing. Her 20^th birthday is on Aug. 4. We hope to celebrate with her back at home,” Astmker said.