AI Summary
5 min readOn the night of Tisha B’Av, Jews read the Book of Lamentations, whose acrostic structure reverses two letters: peh (mouth) comes before ayin (eye). The Talmud explains this inversion as a direct allusion to the sin of the spies, who spoke their negative report before they truly saw the land. For David Bashevkin, host of the 18Forty podcast, this reversal is the root of all Jewish mourning—a pattern where ideology and language superimpose themselves on reality rather than letting reality correct our speech. To explore how we break that pattern and learn to articulate loss honestly, he speaks with Rabbi Shalom Rosner, who delivered a widely circulated eulogy for fallen soldier Eliyahu Moshe Zimbalist, and with Eliyahu’s mother, Sara Zimbalist.
The Three Parts of a Eulogy
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What you'll learn
- 1 (00:07) **Opening: Loss, Articulation, and the Sin of the Spies** - David Bashevkin introduces the episode’s core theme: the inability to articulate loss, rooted in the biblical story of the spies.
- 2 (19:05) **The Mechanics of a Eulogy: From *Hefsed* (Loss) to *Hesped* (Eulogy)** - The host introduces the goal of the episode: to explore how we articulate loss, using a famous eulogy as a case study.
- 3 (22:54) **Rabbi Rosner's Eulogy for Elie Moshe Zimbalist** - The full text of the eulogy is played, framing Elie’s life as a mission of building and service, ending with a call for the ultimate redemption.
- 4 (31:18) **Interview: Rabbi Shalom Rosner on the Art of the *Hesped*** - Rabbi Rosner explains the three-part structure of a eulogy and the challenge of balancing personal loss with a national narrative.
- 5 (36:21) **Balancing Personal Pain and National Destiny** - Rabbi Rosner shares his personal struggle to adopt a national perspective after October 7th, a shift he found necessary to cope with his own sons being called to war.
- 6 (44:01) **The "Pull" of Aliyah: Leaving the American Dream** - Rabbi Rosner explains his decision to leave a successful career in America for Israel, driven not by a push away from his old life, but by a “pull” toward destiny.
- 7 (50:55) **Raising Soldiers: The Privilege of Service** - Rabbi Rosner discusses the decision to raise his children to serve in the IDF, framing it as a privilege and a natural part of being in this generation.
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Guests on this episode
Show Notes
In this episode we discuss:
—How do we hold the personal experience of loss together with the larger national narrative?
—How does the experience of loss change with the passing of time?
—What is the significance of this time in Jewish history?
Interview with Rabbi Rosner begins at 27:09.
Interview with Sara Zimbalist begins at 1:18:10
Tune in to hear a conversation about what continues to ache in the collective heart of the Jewish People—and how we manage to continue to cultivate gratitude.
Rabbi Shalom Rosner is the Rosh Beis Medrash of the English-speaking program at JCT Machon Lev and the rabbi of the Nofei Hashemesh community in Beit Shemesh. A musmach of RIETS and graduate of Yeshiva University, he is widely known for his online Daf Yomi and other Torah shiurim, followed by thousands of learners worldwide. Renowned for his clarity in teaching complex sugyot, Rabbi Rosner has taught at Yeshiva University, Yeshivat Reishit Yerushalayim, and Yeshivat Kerem B'Yavneh.
References:
Numbers 14
Taanit 29a
Lamentations 2
Sanhedrin 104b
Exodus 1:15 with Rashi
Eliyahu Moshe Zimbalist eulogy by R’ Shalom Rosner
Shabbat 33b
Seder HaYom by Moshe ben Machir
Lamentations 3
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