Obituary of Mumbai Chabad House Rabbi and wife killed by terrorists

[breadandwine]

http://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/773691/jewish/Mumbai-Jewish-Family-Killed.htm



"Gabi and Rivky Holtzberg made the ultimate sacrifice," said Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice chairman of Merkos L'Inyonei Chinuch, the educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch. "As emissaries to Mumbai, Gabi and Rivky gave up the comforts of the West in order to spread Jewish pride in a corner of the world that was a frequent stop for throngs of Israeli tourists. Their Chabad House was popular among the local community, as well as with visiting businesspeople.

"For five years, they ran a synagogue and Torah classes, and helped people dealing with drug addiction and poverty," continued the statement. "Their selfless love will live on with all the people they touched. We will continue the work they started."


More at link and pics.



One of the comments by readers also said this:


Posted: Nov 28, 2008
chabad
anyone who has ever interacted with chabad knows that these people live to give like no others i have ever known. their purity of spirit shines in their eyes, they don't judge you or preach to you they are simply there for you when you need it most.
may their son be blessed and live a life of joy, and may they rest peacefully.
the madmen who perpetrated this deed remind us all that as Jews we need to be vigilant!
shalom
Posted By david, santa cruz, ca
via chabadbythesea.com

[applegrove]

1. Very sad.

[rockymountaindem]

2. I bet a lot of people will be standing for Kaddish tomorrow morning

I will.

[LeftishBrit]

3. So sad

Many of us were hoping to the end that they would be rescued, but it was not to be.

[aquart]

4. Is the nanny who saved the child one of the righteous?

Because I'm thinking yes.

[Swede]

5. Tommorow is there surviving sons 2nd birthday.

Sad times.

[JI7]

6. India gets a lot of Israeli and Jewish tourists

they visit there regularly. many considered it a place they can feel at home without worry about being attacked . this is just so sad for the entire community.

[hlthe2b]

7. I had heard the story of the toddler rescued by one escapee...

She had heard the child outside her barricaded door, crying, opened the door and grabbed him. They both ran out, where she noted the child's clothing was drenched in blood. Turns out that toddler was the child of the killed rabbi and his wife. How very sad... He will probably not remember anything, fortunately.

On edit, this is the first account I've seen that said the child was rescued by his nanny. Previous reports have suggested she was a stranger to the child...:shrug:

[breadandwine]

8. New York Times on the Holtzbergs---

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/29/nyregion/28chabad-2.html?_r=1&hp

The pic in the article is of a wedding on the roof of the Mumbai Chabad House, with the rabbi and his wife officiating. The bride wears a veil during the brief portion of the ceremony that occurs under a canopy. The Hebrew word for "face" is "panay." It has the same root as "peneemius," which means "innerness." One can look into a person's face and see the innerness of their soul. In a Jewish wedding the bride briefly covers her face to symbolize that the first connection a bride and groom make is down-to-earth and external.

The deaths of the Holtzbergs were only confirmed on Friday. But I also read on a Chabad news site that as of last night (Saturday night) there is already a new young Chabad couple on their way to Mumbai to take the place of the Holtzbergs and continue, without skipping a beat, to meet the needs of the community. Talk about refusing to let the terrorists win. They're being dropped into the deep end of the pool to take over from their predecessors who were just slaughtered. No work, planning or preparation may be conducted on the Sabbath (late Friday afternoon to early Saturday evening). The couple had like zero time to make a decision and accept the assignment. They don't have any normal preparations for the trip or time to do a normal packing. They don't even have the Chabad House in Mumbai to stay in as it is a shambles full of wreckage from rocket and grenade explosions throughout the building during the battle and a blown out exterior wall, and has to be completely renovated. But they will spend the rest of their lives there, picking up where the Holtzbergs left off.

ZAKA, Israel's burial society, was just there at the Chabad House Friday, collecting bodies and body parts for burial. They came in on El Al. Fortunately for all these purposes, El Al has not canceled flights to Mumbai as some other airlines have.

I also read that the Holtzbergs also supervised a total of 6 Chabad Houses throughout India. So the new couple is taking on all that responsibility with no advance notice.

[Hekate]

9. May they rest in utter peace, and may their two children grow to adulthood knowing...

... how much their parents loved them and loved others. (I read earlier that there is another child, who was away at the time.)

As India picks up the pieces from this tragedy, the death of the Holtzberg's reminds us that we are all linked regardless of nationality or religion. Our hearts go out to all those who mourn in India and elsewhere.

Hekate

[breadandwine]

10. Videos of the Holtzbergs, Chabad Mumbai and other Chabad India stuff

Views of the rabbi, his wife and child---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ngtEsrTgym0


Musical tribute to the Holtzbergs---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDySSOWYI1g


Chabad supporter's video showing the Holtzbergs and urging people to light Sabbath candles in their memory---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HNmTJcvrGo&NR=1


News showing commandos dropping down on Mumbai Chabad House from helicopter---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kn7cisxzHHw


Israeli TV report, shows Rabbi Holtzberg and wife in happy times ---

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdUliyZBl3o


Here's a video put out by another Chabad House in India. In Hebrew but really shows the warmth and love, fun and good times they foster, dancing, music, acceptance of all (including the youth with the Rasta hair). This is why the Chabad-Lubavitch movement is growing all over the world and established 90 (ninety) new Chabad Houses around the world just in the last year alone. Most Jewish organizations don't establish that many centers in a hundred years, even while trying to get with it, fit in and be modern. Don't let the rabbi's motorcycle and the partying fool you. Having a good time is hard work, brother. Even in the study hall while cracking their heads over some deep Kabbalistic concept, Lubavitcher Hassids will take any excuse to get up and dance. Chabad is all about joy, based on the statement in the Bible, Nehemiah 8:10, "Rejoicing with G-d, that is your strength." I have often felt that the world is so far gone that it won't be saved without joy and a sense of humor. It takes a special kind of despicable to want to banish that happiness from the world. And the terrorists won't succeed. Not with Chabad. They're too busy cheering everyone up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1xx8hZeols

[breadandwine]

11. Haaretz on the Holtzbergs---

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1041949.html