If you had seen it, you would understand. The grief. The utter grief.

Just before she begins her speech at the DNC with her husband Jon by her side, she hears tens of thousands of people chanting “Bring her home.” Rachel Goldberg puts her hand to her forehead and then collapses on the podium. Her body convulses and she begins to cry. Jon gently helps her to stand and gently tells her, “You can do this.” And then, “Let’s go.”

She begins to speak: “At this moment, 109 precious people are being held hostage by Hamas in Gaza. They are Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists. They come from 23 different countries. The youngest hostage is a one-year-old red-haired boy. And the oldest is an 86-year-old grandfather with a mustache. Among the hostages are eight American citizens. One of these Americans is our only son. His name is Hersh. He is 23 years old.”

She tells us that Hersh is a carefree young man who loves football and music and is obsessed with travel; his room at home is filled with atlases and travel books.

If this passionate plea from Jon and Rachel on behalf of their child and the other hostages doesn’t open your heart, I can’t imagine what will.

The return of our hostages is a cause that every American and every conscientious person in the world should fight for, regardless of our politics.

Jon referred directly to this when he said, “We are encouraged that both Democratic and Republican politicians are showing their bipartisan support for the release of our hostages.”

At the RNC meeting last month, Orna and Ronen Neutra, parents of Omer, 22, another Israeli-American man held hostage in Gaza, spoke. There, too, we heard convention attendees chant in unison: “Bring her home.”

Compassion should be bipartisan, and yes, compassion should also extend to the innocents in Gaza who suffer most from the deliberate cruelty of the Hamas regime.

Jon and Rachel showed their compassion by admitting that they are not alone in their suffering. Of course, the families of the other hostages share this suffering too. Millions of other people in the region, Israelis and Palestinians alike, are suffering from the terrible war sparked by the terrorist attacks of October 7. Tens of thousands of Israelis who have been forced to flee their homes. Gazan families desperately seeking safety in the middle of a war zone. Survivors of the Nova music festival struggling to cope with the terrible trauma they witnessed. Soldiers who have to carry out difficult tasks to bring terrorists to justice, free hostages and bring entire communities to safety.

So much suffering on all sides. As Jon put it, “There is an excess of suffering on all sides of the tragic conflict in the Middle East. In a contest of pain, there are no winners. In a heated Middle East, we know what can most quickly relieve the pressure and bring calm to the entire region: a deal that brings this diverse group of 109 hostages home and ends the suffering of innocent civilians in Gaza.”

We must bring Hersh and Omer home now, along with Kfir and Ariel, Carmel and Liri – every single one of them. That includes the dead, so we can bury them properly.

It’s been far, far too long.

This was made clear by the tape on Jon and Rachel’s shirts. It noted exactly how many days had passed since the hostage-taking: 320.

Almost a year has passed since these sons and daughters, mothers and fathers and grandparents were robbed from their lives and their families. Almost a year of unimaginable torment.

Our broken hearts must remain open. We must maintain our capacity for empathy.

This week’s Torah portion, Eikevshows the way:

“Cut off what hardens your hearts, and do not stiffen your necks any more. For the LORD your God is the Most High and the Most High, the great and the mighty and the awesome God, who shows no favoritism and takes no bribes. He supports the cause of the orphan and the widow and loves the stranger and provides food and clothing. You too must love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Deuteronomy 10:16-19)

Our Torah calls us to stop being hard-hearted, stubborn and obstinate and to see the pain of orphans and widows, the torment of strangers and others.

These verses remind us that empathy is a divine quality that we, as God’s creatures, can actually hope to attain.

We can do this. We are able to see the pain of others. We can cut off the “thickening of our hearts” and even love the stranger.

And then one day we will experience justice, freedom and peace together, regardless of race or religion, political affiliation or ethnic origin.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Yoshi

The parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin, an Israeli-American hostage kidnapped by Hamas at the Nova music festival, spoke at the Democratic National Convention. Rachel Goldberg-Polin talks to CNN’s Jim Acosta about an emotional moment on stage. THE JERUSALEM POST: “DNC supports parents of American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin asking for deal”

THE TIMES OF ISRAEL: “Tens of thousands applaud Goldberg-Polin’s speech at DNC ​​and chant ‘Bring her home.’”We are deeply grateful to you – to the millions of people in the United States and around the world who have sent love, support and strength to the hostage families. You have made it possible for us to breathe in a world without air,” said Jon, who, like his wife, wore “320” in black marker on a piece of white tape on his shirt, a number they painstakingly updated every day their son spent in captivity. With the gratitude came a stern message: “This is a political convention, but the need to bring home our only son and all our beloved hostages is not a political issue. It is a humanitarian issue,” Jon said to further applause from the crowd.. There is an excess of suffering on all sides of the tragic conflict in the Middle East. In a contest of pain, there are no winners,” he continued. “In our Jewish tradition, we say… Every human being is a whole universe. We must save all these universes.”