Foreword to the Digital Release of Kaddishel
It has been nearly three years since Grandpa Aharon’s passing; and his resilient spirit, humor, and tremendous strength of personality endures. On July 5, 2021, at age 94, Grandpa Aharon joined his parents, sisters, and beloved wife, Grandma Ruth, in the time after life. His loss came less than a month before his granddaughter Jill’s wedding, where he was slated to be the guest of honor. And also two months before the birth of his first great- grandchild, Tara Erin Golub, my daughter, who he was eagerly anticipating. Her middle name, Erin, is in honor of his memory. Growing up as the grandson of Aharon Golub, I did not appreciate the uniqueness of his life. Whenever he and Grandma Ruth would visit our home for the weekend in Mamaroneck, New York, my sisters and I would curl up in their bed early in the morning. He would engross us with rivet- ing stories of David and Goliath, King Solomon, Samson, and other bibli- cal heroes. We were accustomed to seeing his stump on one leg, and what remained of his toeless foot on the other. From a very young age, we learned that his feet had frozen off and he had starved in the woods of Poland, where he was hunted “like an animal.” Therefore his compulsion for covering us head-to-toe every winter, his penchant for taking breadsticks home from restaurants, or ensuring that we overate at every meal, seemed normal. As children, we didn’t know otherwise. In many ways, our childhoods were very similar. We both grew up in tight-knit families as the only son, with two sisters. Raised by devoted moth- ers who doted on our every act and powerful fathers who were success- ful businessmen, we both attended Zionist Jewish day schools, where our parents were very involved. So I would often wonder, why? Why was he forced to suffer unimaginable violence and cruelty, while I lived a happy and safe childhood? How come he witnessed his family murdered before his eyes, while I deserved an upbringing free from pain? This question still haunts me. As the Holocaust fades from our collective view, and those direct
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