The Woman Who Gave October 7th Its Words | 10@9 | 2026.07.13

Rachel Goldberg-Polin has become more than the grieving mother of Hersh Goldberg-Polin. She has become the voice and vocabulary of October 7th and its aftermath. In her remarkable new book, "When We See You Again," she gives language to grief, faith, hope, love, and resilience with a precision that helps us understand not only what happened, but what it has done to us. In this episode, I share why I believe this is one of the most important books to emerge from October 7th. Rachel does not offer easy answers or comforting clichés. Instead, she offers something rarer: words that help us carry pain without surrendering to it, search for God without pretending to understand His plan, and embrace her daily conviction that "hope is mandatory." This is a book to read slowly, to underline, and to return to again and again. It deserves to be read not only because of Rachel's story, but because of the extraordinary way she tells it. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill University Faculty of Law. ADATH is a modern orthodox synagogue community in suburban Montreal, providing Judaism for the next generation. We take great pleasure in welcoming everyone with a warm smile, while sharing inspiration through prayer, study, and friendship. Rabbi Whitman shares his thoughts and inspirations through online lectures and shiurim, which are available on: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5FLcsC6xz5TmkirT1qObkA Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/adathmichael/ Podcast - Mining the Riches of the Parsha: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/mining-the-riches-of-the-parsha/id1479615142?fbclid=IwAR1c6YygRR6pvAKFvEmMGCcs0Y6hpmK8tXzPinbum8drqw2zLIo7c9SR-jc Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3hWYhCG5GR8zygw4ZNsSmO Please contact Rabbi Whitman ([email protected]) with any questions or feedback, or to receive a daily email, "Study with Rabbi Whitman Today," with current and past insights for that day, video, and audio, all in one short email sent directly to your inbox.