![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1778629515_436_Local-Rachel-Goldberg-Polin-and-Jon-Polin-1-300x200.jpg\")
Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin speaking at Har Zion on May 7. (Courtesy of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia)<\/p>\nRachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin speaking at Har Zion on May 7. (Courtesy of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia)<\/p>\n
On May 7 at Har Zion Temple in Penn Valley, Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin \u2014 the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was taken hostage by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and later killed \u2014 spoke at the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia\u2019s annual Lion of Judah event.<\/p>\n
Hosted by the Federation\u2019s women\u2019s philanthropy group, the annual event honors women who have contributed $5,000 or more to Federation advocacy efforts over the past year. It usually features a high-profile speaker, including Emmy-winning comedian and actress Judy Gold in 2025.<\/p>\n
For Hersh Goldberg-Polin\u2019s parents, perhaps the highest-profile advocates for the hostages, cars filled the parking lot, and hundreds of women \u2014 and perhaps a few men, as Jon Polin joked on stage \u2014 filled the sanctuary. They spoke for about 40 minutes following a luncheon.<\/p>\n
\u201cWomen\u2019s Philanthropy specifically requested the Polins for this event because their story has touched so many people across our community and far beyond it. From the perspective of the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia, they represent extraordinary resilience, humanity and the power of showing up for one another during unimaginable moments of pain and loss,\u201d said Sarah Bernstein Solomon, the Federation\u2019s chief development officer.<\/p>\n
With the hostages home after the fall ceasefire agreement brokered by the Trump administration, Rachel and Jon\u2019s message took on more timeless, transcendent themes.<\/p>\n
They discussed losing a son, finding the strength to persevere and their continuous effort to put light out into the world.<\/p>\n
As Rachel put it, hate fades, but love endures. It\u2019s a theme she explores in her new, New York Times No. 1 bestselling book, \u201cWhen We See You Again.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Book<\/p>\n
The May 7 appearance was part of a North American book tour. \u201cWhen We See You Again\u201d focuses on the family\u2019s normal, even boring, life, or \u201cregular and beige,\u201d as Rachel describes it, before Oct. 7. Then, it goes into the overwhelming and previously unimaginable tragedy of Hersh\u2019s 330 days in captivity and subsequent murder in August 2024.<\/p>\n
It explores how to persevere through unimaginable loss and mourning.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are not unique. There are millions of people who have buried children,\u201d Rachel said.
She further explained that she\u2019s now aware that the \u201cregular and beige\u201d period of the family\u2019s life was distinct from what came next.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is part of the human enterprise: We\u2019re going to have beauty; we\u2019re going to have gorgeousness; and we\u2019re going to have loss, and we\u2019re going to have suffering,\u201d Rachel said.<\/p>\n
Love Is Stronger Than Death<\/p>\n
She explained to the audience that, no matter how much support they received and how much they healed, their family would always be broken. They had lost something core to themselves.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou know that you actually don\u2019t get better, and that\u2019s OK,\u201d Rachel said. \u201cYou can be broken, and you can still last.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mother said she was able to last, in part, because she stopped fearing grief. She grew to understand that we only grieve for those we love, so she began to see it as \u201ca badge of love.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe love keeps growing, because love is stronger than death, and love is stronger than time,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
He Who Has a Why Can Bear Any How<\/p>\n
After his release, Or Levy, another hostage who was kidnapped by Hamas, connected with Hersh\u2019s family. He had spent time in captivity with Hersh. Levy told Hersh\u2019s parents that their son often muttered the Viktor Frankl quote, paraphrasing Friedrich Nietzsche, \u201cHe who has a why can bear any how.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOr explained to us the importance of that quote on all of their lives in the tunnel,\u201d Jon Polin said.<\/p>\n
Even after Hersh and another hostage were moved to another tunnel, the four remaining hostages repeated the phrase every day.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s your \u2018why?\u2019\u201d they would ask, according to Jon.<\/p>\n
Hersh told Or that Or\u2019s \u201cwhy\u201d was easy: He had a young son. Or later tattooed the phrase on his arm.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo that was really something super meaningful about what Hersh was offering to others in the tunnel,\u201d Jon said. \u201cAnd we continue to take a lot from it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Our Why<\/p>\n
Rachel said Or sent the family \u201clight.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe sent us this tool to use,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd we are really chasing it, and honing it, and trying to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rachel said that, in the wake of their tragedy, it\u2019s become clear to her that \u201cthere is a why and how.\u201d The mother described herself as \u201ca big believer in prayer.\u201d Every morning, there\u2019s a line you can say: \u201cI\u2019m thankful to you, creator, for giving me back my soul,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The line shows that, while we think we\u2019re supposed to have faith in God, God also has faith in us, according to Rachel.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re still here because we\u2019re not done,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
But the purpose doesn\u2019t often come in the form of some light bulb moment. Hersh\u2019s parents have experienced it after something as simple as a meeting.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have walked out of certain meetings and said, \u2018Well, that\u2019s part of our why,\u2019\u201d she explained. \u201cYou have to work for it.\u201d<\/p>\n