His body was found with those of the other five hostages in a Hamas tunnel two days ago.
As they eulogised their son, Goldberg-Polin's parents, sisters and friends broke down in tears.
Mother Rachel Goldberg-Polin said it had been a privilege to have Hersh as a son: “I have had a lot of time to think about my sweet boy Hersh over the past 332 days, and one thing I keep thinking about is how out of all the mothers in all the entire world, God chose to give Hersh to me.
“What must I have done in a past life to deserve such a beautiful gift?” she said.
“I want to thank God right now in front of all of you for giving me this magnificent present of my Hersh. For 23 years I was privileged to have the honour of being Hersh’s mama, thank you. I just wish it had been for longer.”
She said she had been in “torment and worry every single minute of every single day” since her son had been kidnapped. The pain, she said, “closed my throat and made my soul throb with third-degree burns”.
Rachel Goldberg-Polin speaks during her son's funeral in Jerusalem (Photo: Getty Images)POOL/AFP via Getty Images
“Amidst the inexplicable agony, terror, anguish, desperation and fear, we became absolutely certain that you were coming home to us alive,” she said.
“Now I no longer have to worry about you, you are no longer in danger,”
She referred to her son’s best friend, Aner Shapira, who was killed on October 7 when he threw grenades out of the shelter to save those inside: “You are with beautiful Aner. I hope he will show you around. You will meet my grandparents who adore you.”
She asked her son to forgive her for not being able to save him: “Hersh, if there was something we could have done to save you, and we did not think of it, I beg your forgiveness. We tried so very hard, so deeply and desperately. I’m sorry.”
“The hope that perhaps a deal was near was so authentic, it was crunchy, it tasted close,” the mother went on.
“Now, my Hersh, I ask for your help, as we transform our hope into grief in this new, unknown brand of pain. I beg of you, Hersh, please do what you can do to have your life shine down on us.”
Addressing her son, she went on, “I need you to help us stay strong and I need you to help us survive... You will always be with us as a force of love and vitality, you will be our superpower.
“I pray that your death will be a turning point in this horrible situation we are in,” she said.
“Okay, sweet boy, go now on your journey. I hope it’s as good as the trips you dreamed about. Because finally, my sweet boy, finally, finally, finally, finally you’re free. I will love you and I will miss you every single day.”
“You are right here, I know you are right here, I just have to teach myself to feel you in a different way.”
Jonathan Polin, Rachel Goldberg, and Orly and Leebie speak during Hersh's funeral. (Photo: Getty Images)POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Hersh’s father, Jonathan Polin, paid tribute to his son who he described as “my rav, my teacher, my companion.” He said Hersh was “a dreamer and an expansive thinker”.
“Before October 7 you always sought ways to make the world around you better, since October 7 you have become a global symbol for bringing hope in our world.
“You were always seeking to understand the other and always with dignity and respect.
“Hersh, we failed you, we all failed you. You would have pushed harder for justice, you would have worked to understand the other, you would have bridged differences,” the mourning father went on.
“You would push every decision-maker to truly look themselves in the mirror and ask every single day if the decisions they make today lead to a better future for all of us and you would tell any decision maker who cannot answer that question with an emphatic yes to step aside.”
Polin said he hoped his son’s death would be the “starting point” to return all of the hostages: “Maybe your death is the fuel that will bring home the remaining 101 hostages.”
“The 23 years of life that we had with you were a blessing, we know we will work to make your legacy a similar blessing. You were a really great guy, I love you,” the father concluded.
Israel's President Isaac Herzog looks on as his wife Michal Herzog embraces Rachel Goldberg-Polin, mother of killed US-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin (Photo: Getty Images)POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Speaking before the parents, President Isaac Herzog apologised on behalf of Israel to Hersh Goldberg-Polin: “I want to say how sorry I am, how sorry I am that we did not protect Hersh on that dark day and how sorry I am that we failed to bring him home.”
“I stand here today as the president of the state of Israel, bidding you farewell and asking for your forgiveness, from you, and from Carmel, from Eden, from Almog, from Alex, and Ori [the first names of the other five hostages] and from all your loved ones,” Herzog said.
Mourners gather by the grave of Hersh Goldberg-Polin (Photo: Getty Images)POOL/AFP via Getty Images
“Against the senseless hatred and unthinkable hatred of Hamas terror, pure barbaric evil, you have taught the world about human dignity,” the president added, saying that Hersh had brought “light and love into the story of the Jewish people and into the human story forever”.
The president said, “Our heart already broken is shattered into pieces.
“Decision-makers must do everything possible, with determination and courage, to save those who can still be saved... The hostages being held are not a political issue, they are a humanitarian issue.”
He paid tribute to the Goldberg-Polin parents’ “courage that moved mountains.”
Israelis pay their respects near the family home of killed US-Israeli hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin (Photo: Getty Images)AFP via Getty Images