On Mother’s Day, a mother whose son is being held captive in Gaza by Hamas exchanged a devastating letter with him. In a video that she uploaded, Rachel Goldberg-Polin, the mother of 23-year-old Josh Goldberg-Polin, is shown reading a letter that she wrote the night before her son’s third birthday.
Rachel read the letter to her friend, “Hersh, these last three years have been the most challenging and best years of my life.” “My love for you is beyond words.”
Rachel recounted getting choked up when she would sneak into Hersh’s bed at night to watch the boy cuddle up with a teddy bear and sleep in his blue onesie.
For the first time in a few days, we will be cutting your beautiful, silky, curly hair, which I touched carefully. I walked back to my room and started crying uncontrollably,” she wrote.
According to Rachel, her husband would go take a look at Hersh and then return, saying, “There will be many more of these.” The Yiddish lullaby, “Your mother will cry a thousand tears before you grow to be a man,” was recited aloud by her.
“One day, when you have children—I can’t even imagine that right now—you will know this kind of so much more than love,” Rachel remarked of her son.
“You are my infant,” As your parent, my ultimate goal is to assist you in developing into a self-assured, self-sufficient, and independent individual. However, that implies you won’t require my assistance,” she continued, emphasising the fact that she has emerged as one of the leading voices demanding the release of her son and the other captives. And I believe that’s the reason my heart hurts so terribly at the moment. My goal is for you to grow up to be a well-rounded individual in this world.
It is noteworthy that Rachel was included in Time100: The Most Influential People in the World. She murmured, “I want to hold you forever.”
Time flies by. It takes only a glance at one’s offspring to comprehend this. I can’t believe how quickly time is passing and how soon we will be sending you to college,” she said. “What a mess I will be then, I can’t even begin to imagine.”
It would be nice if everything moved more slowly. Every minute I get to spend with you is precious. I’m afraid of how fortunate I am. How fortunate were Dada and I to have you?” she asked. “May this world shower you with love, happiness, kindness, and prosperity.”
“Nevertheless, above all, I hope you have a child similar to yourself, who will fill you with the same joy and light that you have filled me with,” she wished. “Oh, Mama, how I adore you.”
“Thank you, Josh, for making me a mother,” Rachel said as she wrapped up the video. “I love you,” she said. Remain powerful. Stay alive. At that, she started crying.