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| Where's Rachel? (Mishpacha Magazine) |
Increasing the Kiddush HaShem was the strength of the faith in God she evinced - speaking at her son, Hersh’s funeral. Her faith was not diminished even though her hope and even belief that Hersh would be released were dashed by his sudden slaughter (along with 5 other hostages) by Hamas when they detected their imminent rescue by Israeli special forces.
I must give credit to Mishpacha Magazine’s Gedalia Guttentag for expressing similar thoughts in what was truly and excellent tribute to Mrs. Goldberg-Polin.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin is a proud modern Orthodox women educated right here in Chicago’s co-ed Ida Crown Jewish Academy. Her son Hersh was no longer observant other that when he was at home out of respect to his parents. And yet Mishpacha did not hesitate to consider her behavior to be anything less that a full Kiddush HaShem. Completely ignoring the obvious details about her that clearly identifies her as Modern Orthodox. They didn’t even mention it.
It is to their credit that they did this. It should be a lesson to all of Klal Yisroel the Modern Orthodox Jews are just as capable as Charedi Jews in making a major Kiddush HaShem. It didn’t matter how one dresses or how much of their hair is covered (if at all). Mishpacha nonetheless portrayed her as a role model for making a sustained Kiddush Hashem under the most difficult of circumstances for almost an entire year, unrelenting in her commitment to her son’s release and the release of the other hostages. And a role model for her sustained devout faith in God throughout her ordeal and beyond.
After I read that article, I looked at the picture that accompanied the article again and I was suddenly taken aback. Despite the fact that Rachel was clearly the face of the hostage families, despite the fact that the article was largely about her, Mishpacha could not bring themselves to publish a picture of her. Rachel was the most widely photographed Orthodox Jewish woman of the entire year. The many stories published about her always included a picture of both Rachel and Jon. Mispacha deciced to publish only Jon’s photo.
The oddity of talking about a woman of valor like Rachel and publishing a picture of only her husband was a bit shocking to me. Even though I know that they have a ‘no exceptions’ policy of never publishing pictures of women.
For me it turned this tribute into a bit of a mockery. I know that was not their intent. And I’m sure that Mrs. Goldberg-Polin is not insulted by it and might even defend their right to have such a policy. She is by nature a very giving and gracious person. But that does not diminish the slight to her by Mishpacha of substituting a picture of her husband in an article that is mostly about her.
So with my apologies to Mrs. Goldberg-Polin it is upsetting (to say the least!) that this kind of ‘Frumkeit’ is used as an excuse to not publish a picture of a role model like Rachel.
In my view this has no place in Halachic Judaism. All it does is cater to the hyper sense of modesty of the extreme right that believes that a picture of any woman - no matter how modestly dressed - is considered immodest. A view that was rejected by the vast majority of people considered to be Gedolim of the last generation, Gedolim that never objected to pictures of their own wives being published.
If these are the kinds of rabbinic advisers Mishpacha and like minded publications use, they ought to consider using new ones.