Esther Pollard Shares on the Relationship Between Jonathan and Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l

At the beginning of the interview she gives to the 'Orout' channel, she appears very emotional. At moments, when she speaks of particularly painful situations, she closes her eyes and sighs deeply, as if restraining herself from bursting into tears in the face of the internal turmoil accompanying her.

 Despite all the pain that sometimes bursts from her during the conversation, it is easy to notice the great inner strength, the strong personality, and the determination of Esther Pollard, who, beyond being the wife of one of the most publicized former prisoners in the world, survived many long and difficult years with him and bravely faced cancer in her personal life.

Through her presence, it is perhaps easier to understand how her husband, Jonathan Pollard (61), managed to endure in one of America’s most secure and harsh prisons, where he was incarcerated for 30 years, serving a life sentence. In days, this amounts to no less than 10,956 days(!).

Esther Pollard

According to her, her husband was held there in truly subhuman conditions. "Jonathan was held three floors underground, in total isolation, did not see the sun for seven years, saw no grass, no flowers, nothing," she describes. "Jonathan did not get leave even once for almost 18 years. Not even for his mother's or father's funeral. There is no possibility for a husband and wife to be together, and having children is forbidden. We had to create a world of our own, with a table between us and surrounded by many criminals: rapists, murderers, and robbers. Bringing him anything was forbidden, writing or reading or speaking on the phone in Hebrew was not allowed, and there was no kosher food. In the first prison he was in, in Springfield, he spent a whole year without his clothes, glasses, or any reading material. He was imprisoned in a small room at very low temperatures and with people mentally disturbed due to AIDS."

"I Did Not Give Up My Life – He Is My Life!"

The couple’s acquaintance began in 1971, long before Pollard was convicted as a prisoner in 1985. At that time, both participated in summer programs held in Israel for Jewish tourists from the diaspora. Esther, then Elaine Zeitz, describes how even then they noticed a "common language of love for the people and the land" that they shared. But after the camp, each flew back home – Jonathan to the US, and Esther to Canada, and their contact was broken. Over the years, Pollard married Anne Henderson, but after he was imprisoned – the two divorced (Anne herself served a heavy prison sentence).

Several years later, Esther read about a Jewish prisoner in the US to whom it was worth writing to encourage his spirit. Without knowing to whom she was writing and without hesitation, Esther wrote him a heartening letter from the goodness of her heart. Jonathan would later tell Esther that he received the letter while he was locked in a cell in Marion prison, locked with 13 locks, three floors underground, where the number of letters he was allowed to send was limited. He had many more letters to respond to – but only two stamps left, which he decided to dedicate to letters for Esther. This, despite preserving his privilege to send letters only to recipients who could help in his extraction.

Over time and letter exchanges, the connection between the two strengthened, with Esther amazed by Jonathan's love for the people and the land and his immense mental strength to survive the harsh and inconceivable reality he was forced to live in.

"Some people say 'how could you give up your life?' But I did not give up my life, he is my life. He's such a wonderful person. Anything good you've heard about him is nothing compared to who he really is. He's generous, gentle, sensitive, understanding, considerate, and also brilliant," Esther described in an interview with journalist Ofra Lax.

She also describes one of the miraculous stories that occurred in the relation between the prisoner Pollard and Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l, a relationship that will be expanded upon greatly later. The story connects to their acquaintance, with the Pollards seeing it today as a real miracle. The case occurred already at the first meeting held between the rabbi zt"l and Pollard. "At some stage, we were not yet married and no one knew anything about me, and the rabbi said to him that he had a vision about 'the woman you are destined to marry.' He began to describe me, where I lived, how I looked, my characteristics, etc., and then he asked Jonathan, 'Has anything already happened in reality matching my dream?', and Jonathan was very happy, because no one knew about me, and he began to narrate all that had happened between us. By the way, how did it get out? Because the Mossad agent (who accompanied the meeting between the two – A.K), took this story and leaked it to the media, so suddenly the whole world knew about me."

"Since this visit," adds Esther, "the rabbi began to be very close to us and endeavored to the best of his ability all the years to awaken the nation and draw the people to pray, act, and care about Jonathan. It was very hard for him."

"The Rabbi Treated Us Like His Children"

Later, Esther describes how due to the close relationship with Rabbi Eliyahu, over the years the couple had an open door in every matter and issue as if they were family members, and at any hour they only needed his help – they knew he would be there for them. "I was the warm connection between the rabbi and Jonathan for twenty years," Esther describes. "The rabbi visited Jonathan every time he was in the United States, and the rabbi also told me he received many invitations from the United States and was willing to travel just so he could see Jonathan."

According to her, "It was amazing to see the two of them together, because, thank God, I was fortunate to be in most of their meetings. I have no words, neither in Hebrew nor in English, to describe the atmosphere when they were together. How the visitors' room filled with light, how they understood each other, how they treated each other. From the first moment that the rabbi would enter and then they would bring Jonathan, they would run toward each other."

Later, Esther describes the meeting in which Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu decided to change Jonathan's name, adding a 'hey,' so he was called Yehonatan instead of his childhood name, Jonathan. "In one of the visits, he also changed Jonathan’s name to Yehonatan, adding the 'hey.' But not just like that, with many questions before, and checked the matter and then added the 'hey.' The rabbi really treated us like his children, always strengthened Jonathan and said he was the Joseph the righteous of our generation."

"Once, there was an urgent situation, I was here and Yehonatan was in prison, and as I said, we consulted the rabbi on every matter, and there was an urgent matter, a matter of life and death, that I had to immediately speak with the rabbi. I ran to his office, entered, told his office staff that I must speak with the rabbi immediately. They looked at me with a look that said: 'What's this, what cheekiness,' but I don't blame them, they are very good friends of ours and we love them," Esther laughs.

"And I said: 'But I must! I must! It's a matter of life and death!' The rabbi heard and told them to let me in. I entered, and the first thing I did was apologize. Then he (the rabbi) said to me: 'First of all Esther – sit, second – drink.' He asked that I be brought a glass of water, he wanted to calm me down. Then he said to me: 'You have nothing to apologize for, you did the right thing. Whenever there is something important or urgent about Jonathan - come. No matter if it's in the office or at home - come. And if they don't let you in - come in anyway."'.

"And then I knew we had access to him 24 hours. But we never exploited the invitation, it just eased us greatly that he was always with us, ready to hear, listen, help."

"If the Rabbi Has Special Status in Heaven – Do Something for Jonathan"

At this point, Esther describes a very difficult period Jonathan went through in prison, to the extent that she feared for his life. "It was around 2006," she describes. "Jonathan was in very poor condition, and I knew that if something didn't happen, very quickly - I simply feared for Jonathan's life. I went to the rabbi and told him all that Jonathan was going through, about my fear, and then asked him: 'Honorable Rabbi, may I ask a question?', 'Yes', he answered. 'Is Jonathan considered a member of the rabbi’s household? Is this true?' the rabbi smiled broadly, as if to say 'of course, of course', and all the office staff present at the meeting with us, Rabbi Zafrani and Rabbi Chaim Suissa, agreed and strengthened his words. 'And Honorable Rabbi, is it correct that the Honorable Rabbi is a member of Hashem's house?', and everyone said: 'Yes, of course', and the rabbi just smiled.

"So I said: 'So if so, then the rabbi has a special status in heaven, and he has the right to demand things and do things that only a household member can do.' So I said to him: 'So I am very asking Honorable Rabbi, if Honorable Rabbi does not do something in heaven now and speed up matters – I simply fear for Jonathan's life. Honorable Rabbi needs to do something as a household member in heaven!'. Then he didn't say much, but he let me understand that he agrees, and he will do it, and that was it.

"And I remember leaving the meeting and talking to Jonathan and so happy, because what were we expecting him to do? The rabbi was very humble. He never talked about being the greatest kabbalist of our time, he didn’t talk about being a kabbalist at all. But we expected that if he does something in heaven – he will do something... I don't know what. There are special prayers, there are special movements with the lulav, there are various kabbalistic things, I didn't care, but the main thing is that it helps".

To her deep sorrow, Esther describes that with great sadness she discovered one day what really happened with her request, and this caused the Pollards deep grief. "We only discovered after some time what it was," she describes. "Because after this meeting it took me a long time before I saw him again. Because every time I wanted to meet him – he was sick. So sick, this is how it started. With back pains, agonizing pain that prevented him from even entering his car, and from there the situation deteriorated, and he was repeatedly ill, and he wasn’t receiving anyone or barely did. So, I waited maybe four months, a very rare thing, to see him.

"The next time I saw him it happened suddenly, they called me from the office and said 'Esther come immediately, the rabbi has come to the office today and he is ready to receive you.' Because he wasn’t receiving people, so I immediately ran to him at the office, and I remember he received me with a smile, and I saw that he was suffering, I saw that he was uncomfortable, that it was difficult for him to sit.

"I sat and immediately delved into the matter, and I said to him: 'Honorable Rabbi, I have a very important message from Jonathan for you.' And he responded, asked me to continue, and I said: 'Honorable Rabbi, do you remember that the last time I was here, I asked that Honorable Rabbi do something as a member of the household in heaven to speed up matters?', 'Yes', he motioned to me. 'Honorable Rabbi, Jonathan wants you to know that he did not mean by suffering! He did not mean for you to take on suffering! He does not want this! He is not ready for this!'" Esther cried with tears as she describes that moment during the interview.

"And the rabbi just smiled a big smile, as if his son said something brilliant," she continues to describe excitedly, "and that is exactly how he answered me, and I was on the verge of tears, and could barely restrain myself, and he just smiled and said: 'Esther, tell your husband he is brilliant'. Then he motioned to me that he wasn’t willing to talk more about it, and we went on to talk about something else, and I was miserable, and since then his condition just deteriorated. He simply took upon himself sufferings, which if he hadn’t taken upon himself – Jonathan would have suffered all of this... And if you speak today with the rabbanit (Eliyahu), she will tell you these were not the sufferings that Jonathan would have suffered, but he took upon himself terrible suffering for the sake of all of Israel, to bring redemption upon us..."

"First Go to the Kotel, Then Come to Me"

Finally, Esther describes painfully the many conversations Rabbi Mordechai Eliyahu zt"l had with the couple, regarding the day when Pollard would regain his freedom, a day they never stopped believing in, throughout the many long and difficult years they endured. Esther describes, that for her, this is another story illustrating how the rabbi noticed things and foresaw in advance what was going to happen. In this part of the conversation, she appears particularly emotional, a stifled cry breaking from her between the words. "The rabbi always talked to us about the future, when Jonathan would come home and told us what to do and how to behave. And one day we were sitting in the prison, me, the rabbi, and Jonathan, at Butner, and we talked about the day Jonathan would get out and come home. And we immediately said: 'We will come immediately to you, Honorable Rabbi, immediately to you, from the airport, to nowhere else, to no one else, immediately to you'. And the rabbi said 'No, you will not come to me'. He told us 'The first thing, go to the Kotel and then to me'. Until today, I did not understand it. Today I understand. Today I understand that first to the Kotel and only afterward to the grave of this great righteous man."