Dear Rachel

Dear Rachel,

This is not the letter I imagined writing to you.

I joined thousands of people across the globe today watching what we hoped and prayed would never come to be.

As you stood at the podium like we’d seen so many times before, your voice charged with an emotion that seemed almost too immense to contain, I was so profoundly moved to hear you begin, with the most essential Jewish trait – gratitude.

You expressed such deep gratitude to God for the privilege of being Hersh’s mother. How you felt profoundly blessed to have had the opportunity to nurture, love, and guide such an extraordinary soul. Even during the most challenging moments, you turned to gratitude and sensed God’s presence and guidance, recognizing the immeasurable blessing of having Hersh in your life.

Your ability to find light even in the most profound darkness, is what has given so many of us strength during this horrific time. 

Once again, at the end of this heart wrenching good-bye, you turned to gratitude thanking everyone who had held you and your family. Those who cared for you and prayed for you and cooked for you and carried you.

You said “I’m so sorry because we have given you nothing and you have already given us profoundly and completely.”

For the past 332 days you have been a pillar of strength, a beacon of hope, and a voice that carried the weight of the entire Jewish people. You have been the strength the Jewish people needed to survive. Your resilience, unwavering commitment to Hersh and all the hostages, and your relentless advocacy were the lifelines that so many clung to in the midst of despair. You gave us a sense of unity, a shared purpose, and above all, the strength to endure.

Rachel, you gave us everything.

Now it is our turn to give that strength back to you, to Jon, and to your family. 

And we will. We will stand with you, just as you stood with us.

And now we have Hersh to be our light, our support and our guide. Hersh’s legacy is not one of mere tragedy, but of enduring strength, unbreakable hope, and a unity that would carry on for generations. 

His memory will be our guide, our inspiration, as we move forward. In the words Jon quoted, “His memory will be a revolution.” One that brings an end to this misery and suffering we find ourselves in. A revolution where we come together as a People and a family to love one another and bring peace to the world.

Whenever I saw you speak, I could not help but think of Mama Rochel (Rachel, the matriarch) whose cries for her children echo through time. Like Rachel Imeinu, who wept for her children and refused to be comforted, you too have done everything to protect and save Hersh. 

Now it’s time for Hersh to take over that role. We need him to cry incessantly for the Jewish People like you cried for him. We need him to advocate for us in the heavenly realm. To storm the heavens to bring us peace and unity. To give you and your family and the Jewish people strength.

 And I know that Hersh will help all of us stay strong and survive.

Menachem Lehrfield