Dear Rachel and Jon,
After spending this past day feeling numb and lost, I will try to express what I am feeling. But I will do so in the plural since I am hearing the same sentiments wherever I turn. I really don’t know how or where to begin. I will just let my heart and soul do the talking.
We truly feel like we have lost our brother. We feel like we want or even need to sit shiva for Hersh who we were never blessed to meet.
You introduced us to Hersh. You connected us to Hersh. You led us to love Hersh. And now we, all of Am Yisrael, and especially the Olim community, feel like we have lost him. There is a big gaping hole in our lives for someone we never met.
So, as you begin to sit shiva, know that you are sitting shiva representing all of us. Which is just a continuation of how you have been for these last 11 months. You have opened your hearts to all of us. Your strength of character and Emunah carried a nation on your shoulders.
But that came alongside your open vulnerability and real emotions which served as a catharsis for all of us who couldn’t or didn’t know how to express what we have been feeling.
We are all numb.
We are all in shock.
We are all in pain.
We know that life will never be the same for you. But just know that it will never be the same for us either.
We will learn from Hersh’s remarkable strength and resilience, surviving in pain and hell for 11 months after experiencing so much pain and hell on October 7. We all know how he was able to do so. He learned this from you.
We will carry Hersh’s memory with us forever. We will learn from the way he lived - light, love, and peace - that you shared with us. We will do our best to to live our lives accordingly in his memory.
May God comfort you - and all of us - among the mourners of Zion and Jerusalem.
We love you.
Dov (and all of Am Yisrael)