Tzofia's Dream - A Letter to Jonathan Pollard

Justice4JPnews - June 3, 2009

J4JP Prefacing Note

J4JP believes that part of the miracle of Jonathan's survival, against all odds, has been the love, appreciation and prayers of an entire generation of youngsters like Tzofia (whose letter appears below) who were not even born when Jonathan was active on behalf of Israel. Tzofia's letter was originally written in Hebrew immediately after George W. Bush left office on 20 January 2009, disappointing everyone when he failed to act upon Jonathan Pollard's petition for clemency. (Bush did not turn the petition down; he left it unanswered, and it now rests on Obama's desk waiting for a response.) It took a long time for Tzofia to painstakingly translate her letter to English and when it was finally done, her only copy in English was mailed to Jonathan. The letter touched Jonathan's heart and he asked his wife Esther to contact Tzofia to thank her. Tzofia shared with Esther the original Hebrew letter.

It has been rendered into English by J4JP and reproduced below with the permission of the author. (Last name omitted to protect her privacy.) The original Hebrew may be viewed here.

B"H

17 Iyar 5769 (May 11, 2009)

To our dear brother Jonathan,

My name is Tzofia and I live in the Holy City of Jerusalem. I am nearly 20 years old and am a student in Jerusalem. I am writing to you out of a deep desire to express my support and my appreciation.

For such a long time I have been thinking of writing to you and doing nothing about it, but now I am overwhelmed by emotion and must write. Jonathan, I am writing to you in great pain, with tears of frustration and disappointment, with many unanswered questions, and with a heartfelt prayer to Heaven.

I was so hoping to see you here in the Holy Land this week, getting off of the airplane, your proud and smiling face, surrounded by throngs of people, all of the House of Israel coming out to greet our national hero - the most blessed and beloved man. I had promised myself the previous week that if HaSHem would return you to the Land of Israel, I too would stand before you and travel to Ben Gurion Airport to receive you and be a part of this exciting event. So many times I imagined just how it would be.

Last week, all week, I prayed so hard.

I prayed to HaSHem to watch over you. I pleaded with HaSHem to reveal His might and power to the world, that there should be a great sanctification of Heaven, that all your tormentors should see that HaSHem does not abandon a single one of His children, and certainly not a son such as you, one who sacrificed himself to save Am Yisrael - G-d's own children. I pleaded with HaSHem and I "reminded" Him of all of the kindnesses and the goodness that you have done for Am Yisrael, when you strove to save us - and me too (that is indeed how I feel) from a friendship which in fact posed a great threat, and from all those who rise up to destroy us.

You, dear Jonathan, were actually an emissary dispensed by HaSHem, sent in order to watch over Am Yisrael so that no evil befall us. I think about it all the time. "Dearest Father, what have done to our brother, Jonathan? Why must the Tzaddikim suffer so for the continued existence of Am Yisrael?!" Of course, no answers are forthcoming to these questions. But, we know, G-d has the solutions.

So many times during the course of this the past week, when I called the White House and left the message for Bush: "President Bush, please free Jonathan Pollard now!", I would fantasize about a formal ceremony where the names of the prisoners and captives who were to be set free would be announced. And in my mind's eye I always heard the announcer declaring, "Jonathan Pollard - FREE!" And in my dream, the enormous crowd at the ceremony all rise to their feet and greet the announcement cheering loudly and clapping wildly! Then we see you, our brother, Jonathan. Like a movie that finally has a happy ending, coming out from behind the stage, heralded by trumpet blasts and escorted by an honor guard, as you head straight to the airplane which will bring you home to Israel - the love of your life and fulfillment of all your dreams.

I am sure you too have had dreams like this, lots of times. Alas, you always you wake up to reality, a cold and dark jail cell

But, Jonathan, always remember, your place of honor in the world to come is already assured, right alongside Gedolei Yisrael and the Tzadikei Elyon. You are a model of uncompromising loyalty to those values and principles you believe in, to the goals that you set for yourself and to the ideals upon which you were raised. You are the consummate symbol of devotion to Eretz Yisrael, to Am Yisrael, to Toraht Yisrael, and to Midinat Yisrael.

Whenever I see your image in various video clips on the internet, I am amazed and filled with strength when I hear in the calmness of your voice, your deep abiding trust and your faith and belief in HaSHem. You are always so full of emunah and bitachon, in your belief in a better future, with G-d's help.

Dear brother, Jonathan, I am learning so many things from you. The most important of which, is to always believe in HaSHem and to never stop trusting in Him. To never give up. And never despair, even when it is very difficult and things are very bad. You have enormous spiritual strength, fortitude, resilience, and courage. If only I might learn from your example and I will continue to try, even though my best efforts pale in comparison.

Sometimes I think that the test that HaSHem is putting you through, and that He is now putting us through, when the President did not respond to the petition for clemency and you remain (temporarily for the moment) in prison, that perhaps this may be in order to prove and to show to all the world, the greatness of HaSHem. So that all might see and know that HaSHem does not require man-made schemes and frameworks to decide when and how to release prisoners. HaSHem shall yet prove and reveal, very soon, His might and power over all of the world, when He implements His plan to release you, and frees you in an unexpected way, and brings you home to Eretz Yisrael, alive and well! The Almighty G-d of Israel has no specific time frame for clemencies. HaSHem is Lord and Master of the World. Everything in this world is at His command.

Stay strong and be strengthened, dear brother Jonathan! Redemption and salvation are close at hand; and good tidings for you and for all of Am Yisrael!

With great appreciation,

Tzofia
Holy City of Jerusalem, Israel