NEW YORK (VINnews) – A free Tisha B’Av video is aiming to promote connection throughout the Jewish community by highlighting three separate stories of forgiveness by those who suffered tremendous personal loss.

Letting Go is a film by the Living Lchaim podcast network, with a large picture of eight year old Charlotte Herzberg a’h portrayed in the video’s cover art. As previously reported on VIN News, Charlotte was killed while riding her bike on June 2nd, with her parents Yudi and Chumi Herzberg taking the extraordinary step of forgiving the driver of the car, one of their closest friends, transforming their loss into a campaign to spread shalom worldwide.

The idea to highlight the Shalom for Charlotte initiative came to Living Lchaim’s Yaakov Langer while paying a shiva call to the Herzbergs. Having attended the same yeshiva as Yudi Herzberg and having reconnected with him multiple times over the years, Langer felt the need to offer emotional support in the days following Charlotte’s passing. But like so many others who flocked to the shiva house, Langer was stunned to realize that it was the Herzbergs who were comforting him as they spoke about their decision to let their personal tragedy, one that could have divided their community, serve as a force that would unite the Jewish community.

Inspired by the Herzberg’s request that their visitors perform an act of shalom in Charlotte’s memory, Langer realized that he had found the perfect message for Living Lchaim’s upcoming Tisha B’Av video. The Herzbergs agreed to take part in Letting Go, which features their story, as well as two others, all of which deal with the theme of forgiveness. Langer admitted that filming the Herzberg’s story was an extremely emotional process.

“To see them relive the experience wasn’t easy,” Langer told VIN News. “I’m sure it wasn’t easy for them, and as we’re filming I had to wipe my eyes so much and I even audibly cried sometimes because it was just so sad.”

But as much as Letting Go has heartbreaking moments, its larger message is a positive one, with what Langer describes as “regular people” rising to meet unfathomable challenges.

“Just talking about the emunah, and the bitachon and focusing on the shalom, it was really out of this world,” recalled Langer.

With Tisha B’Av underscoring the reality that lack of connection led to the destruction of the Bais Hamikdash, Langer said he hopes that viewers will rise to the occasion and will dig deep within their hearts to make peace with others, even those who have wronged them.

“We all have either reasonable or unreasonable reasons to be upset with someone, and if Yudi and Chumi and the other families in the film could find it in their hearts to forgive, then I think anyone can,” said Langer.

Letting Go will be available for free on the Living Lchaim website on July 22.

For more information on spreading shalom as a zechus for Charlotte’s neshama visit Shalom for Charlotte online by clicking here.