September 19, 2012
A family in grief chooses life
Follow JewishJournal.com on 
Ariela Goldberg had her mother’s big brown eyes and springy curls and a spark that brought immense joy to all around her. Photos courtesy of the Goldberg family
In July, Ivonne Goldberg was at the park with her 3-year-old son, Mikey, and with Nofar Mekonen, a sunny 14-year-old girl visiting from Israel. Nofar was chatting on and on about her trip to Los Angeles, her family, her school.
“Where did you get your English?” Ivonne asked her, amazed at Nofar’s fluency.
“It’s thanks to Ariela that I have this English,” Nofar answered.
Ivonne’s heart swelled hearing Nofar’s answer.
Nofar was referring to the Ariela Foundation, an organization that helps highly motivated and gifted young Israelis of Ethiopian origin, like Nofar, get the extra support and guidance they need to thrive. The Ariela Foundation provides Nofar with English and math tutoring, as well as science enrichment and a mentor.
The foundation is named for Ivonne and Daniel Goldberg’s daughter, who died in a drowning accident five years ago, when she was 19 months old.
When Nofar, or the 60 other young people being aided by the foundation, talk about how Ariela has helped them, they usually use just the girl’s name, not “The Ariela Foundation.” And each time the Goldbergs hear what Ariela has accomplished, Ivonne and Daniel feel empowered and proud, knowing that their daughter, who brought so much joy to their lives, is still affecting others in a positive way.
Daniel’s brother, Eric, runs the Ariela Foundation from Israel, and Daniel and Ivonne spend considerable hours working for Ariela US, an independent nonprofit that raises funds to support Ariela’s programs.
“When you go through such a difficult experience, you of course reassess your priorities,” Daniel said. “The desire to do something good to express your loss in a positive way becomes very strong. We heard about using all those feelings as a motor for change, to express your loss by helping others,” Daniel said.
[For more on the Ariela Foundation, read 'Ariela’s legacy gives others direction, purpose']
The Ariela Foundation is just one avenue through which the Goldbergs have found a way to continue living positively and with purpose.
Ivonne and Daniel Goldberg said they were open to all paths of healing after the June 2007 accident.
For those who might think, “I could never go on after something like that,” the Goldbergs offer an example of how to go on.
With depth and spirit, Daniel and Ivonne, and their children, Ilan, Talia and Michael — ages 15, 12 and 3 — have worked to heal themselves, and in the process they have become an inspiration to the friends, family and communities that surround them (among whom I count myself).
They have not denied their pain or hidden from it. But, at the same time, they have chosen to live. And through that choice they have affirmed their belief in their marriage and their family, they have turned to God and to people, and they have learned how to be joyous.
They have asserted that life is stronger than death, that giving is stronger than what was taken from them.
On Yom Kippur, when tradition demands that we examine how we live, the Goldberg family is a model for how circumstances — even nightmarish circumstances — don’t have to upend guiding convictions that are backed by unwavering values.
“We heard that a very difficult or tragic experience can have a strong effect, and it can be either positive or negative. Families can either split apart or grow together,” Daniel said, holding the hand of his wife as they sat on their living-room couch on a recent morning. “So we made an immediate decision that we were going to go through this together and become stronger as a family — in memory of our daughter and for all of us. And making that decision was very important, because it directs your actions toward that goal.”
They said they were willing to try anything anyone suggested that might make them whole again — therapy, support groups, prayer, yoga, spiritual counseling, charity, community support.
“One of the things we heard, but it takes a long time to understand, is that you can be both happy and sad at the same time, and being very sad doesn’t prevent you from expressing happiness,” said Daniel, 50, a documentary filmmaker currently working on a film about Crypto-Jews in Mexico and the Southwest United States — people who retained traditions although their ancestors were forced to convert to Catholicism centuries ago.
The Goldbergs are originally from Mexico City. They moved to Toronto in 2003 and to Los Angeles in 2005 — just a few months before Ariela was born. Ivonne, 44, is a clinical psychologist who worked in schools and private practice before she stopped working to care for her family.
“It makes me feel very happy to talk about Ariela,” Ivonne said.
She holds a small stack of Ariela’s baby books and albums on her lap.
She flips open a calendar titled “Our New Baby Daughter,” in which she meticulously documented small milestones in Ariela’s life on pink-polka-dot framed pages, starting with Ariela’s birth in November 2005.
Ariela had her mother’s big brown eyes and springy curls, and a spark that brought immense joy to the whole family.
“She loved music,” Daniel said. “From the moment she was able to stand up, she started to dance whenever there was any type of music.”
Ariela and Talia, who was 6 when Ariela was born, shared a room, and Ivonne would often open the door in the morning to find them snuggling together in the crib. Ivonne had always wanted Talia to have a sister.
Ivonne thumbs through the books and albums as she talks, wearing the wistful smile of a mother who knows she’ll never get back those early days. Sometimes the tears flow, especially when she talks about the two sisters together.
“I got some very good advice in the beginning. Someone told me if the pain comes, let it be, and it will pass. Don’t resist it,” Ivonne said. “That was very wise.”
For more information about the Ariela Foundation, visit Ariela.org.il/eng/, ArielaUS.org and facebook.com/ArielaFoundation.
