Moving Past Mumbai

Alan H. Feiler
Managing Editor 

In a tranquil, dimly-lit room at Mikvah Mei Menachem at the Shul at the Lubavitch Center in Smith-Greenspring, Rebbetzin Rochelle Kaplan revealed to visitors last Monday afternoon her plans for honoring the memory of Rabbi Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg, the Chabad shlichim, or emissaries, brutally murdered by Islamic terrorists last week in the Indian city of Mumbai.

Rebbetzin Kaplan, a gracious, articulate New York native who came to Baltimore 35 years ago with her husband, Rabbi Shmuel Kaplan, as shlichim, pointed at rows of tiles adorning the lower walls of the well-decorated room surrounding the ritual bath. She said her goal is to raise enough funds to complete the tiling and decorating of the room, to serve as a memorial to the Holtzbergs.

Like many shlichim in the Chabad community in Baltimore and around the world, Rebbetzin Kaplan, who is the director of Mikvah Mei Menachem, felt a strong sense of identification with the Holtzbergs and immense sorrow over their slayings, as well as the murders of nearly 180 others by terrorists in the former Bombay.

But as Chabad representatives invested with the mission of spreading Jewish education and observance to communities around the world, the Holtzbergs’ lives had a special meaning, she said.

“The Holtzbergs were given a special task, something we can all only look up to,” the rebbetzin said. “They were tested, and they were sanctified in God’s name. The fact that there weren’t more people there [at Mumbai’s Chabad House], that they took the bullets, that was to their merit. When we look at the way it all happened, we see they were karbones [sacrifices].

“God wanted [their 2-year-old son] Moishele to get out,” she said. “He wanted their progeny to continue. [The family’s nanny, Sandra Samuel] put herself in danger [by escaping with the child], and that shows there is something to live for. Life has to go on. We can learn from their self-sacrifice.”

As a self-described victim of terrorism — Rebbetzin Kaplan’s 16-year-old nephew, Ari Halberstam, was killed in 1994 in a terrorist shooting while driving on the Brooklyn Bridge — she said she well understands what the Holtzbergs’ family members and friends are going through.

But she said faith is the key. “God is in control of the world,” she said. “Our responsibility is to follow the Torah, to keep Shabbos, to do mitzvahs, to bring greater good in the world. Good will triumph over evil. We must remember that, and we can never forget what very special people [the Holtzbergs] were. Without even knowing them, I feel like they’re my family. We come from the same perspective.”

Cream Of The Crop

For Rabbi Nochum Light, leader of Chabad of Anne Arundel County, speaking about the Holtzbergs cuts even closer to home. He and the Israeli-born Rabbi Holtzberg, who was 29, grew up “two blocks apart” in the same section of Crown Heights, N.Y., and were in classes together all through school at the Lubavitch movement’s Oholei Torah Institute.

“We were close friends. He went to India and I went to Maryland,” said Rabbi Light. “He was an all-around, very talented, great person. He was always happy, always helping others. He was very good with computers, and very good with many things Jewishly. He was a mohel [ritual circumciser], a shochet [ritual slaughterer], he did weddings.”

Rabbi Light described the Holtzbergs as the cream of the crop in the Chabad movement, willing to take their commitment to Jewish outreach and the teachings of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, to the furthest reaches of the planet.

“He and his wife wanted to go somewhere hours away from anything Jewish, and help that small community and the tourists that came by,” said Rabbi Light. “I couldn’t see myself going that far. It takes the bravest of the brave. It takes people who are willing to give it all they’ve got, just to help out another person.”

He said the Holtzbergs embodied the ideal Chabad shlichim, and now serve as an example to others.

“When people go to a Chabad center, they see we’re not out to convert them but to give them food and a place to stay. They see that being Jewish is a good thing. They get turned on,” said Rabbi Light.

He said he last saw Rabbi Holtzberg — whose sister lives in Baltimore — two years ago at the annual international Chabad shlichim conference in Crown Heights.

“He told me he loved what he was doing,” Rabbi Light recalled. “He felt very much needed there. They were taking care of the person in need.”

When learning of the Holtzbergs being taken hostage, and their subsequent murders, he said, “I was shocked. I was glued to the computer for 48 hours. I couldn’t believe it, and I still can’t believe it. …But I’m comforted by the fact that he was murdered doing something he loved, something that he felt was his calling. He wanted to help another person. That’s how he died.”

Rabbi Light said he believes Mumbai’s Chabad House was targeted by the terrorists because “it was a happening Jewish place. People went there to relax and eat and hang out and pray.”

The lesson that should be drawn from Mumbai, said Rabbi Light, is that “we have extreme terrorism out there. These people don’t care about life. They were out to hurt Jewish people. We have to realize that there are people out there against us, and we have to be cautious and look out for each other.

“And we need to show the terrorists that we won’t stop, but will do more and more.”

‘Create More Light’

That sentiment was echoed by Rabbi Shmuel Kaplan, who is the Maryland regional director of the Chabad movement. Being a shaliach, he said, takes tremendous drive and commitment, and certainly is not for everyone.

“It takes a person who wants to take the mission to the world,” he said. “It has to be your life. That’s the Rebbe’s mission — Torah, mitzvahs, kindness, to serve the Jewish community and the world as well.”

While some might criticize Chabad for sending its emissaries to potentially volatile places, Rabbi Kaplan said the movement feels an obligation to spread its message, regardless of the dangers. He said Mumbai will not deter shlichim around the world, or cause them to live in fear.

“Our goal is to create more kiddushim, holiness, in the world,” he said. “If a person puts on tefillin just one time, that’s a success to us. If they light Shabbat candles just one time, that’s also a success to us.

“This kind of terror can happen any-where. It’s happened in America. I don’t think Mumbai is any more dangerous than Baltimore,” Rabbi Kaplan said. “But wherever there are Jews, we have to be there. We are there to assist and inspire other Jews.”

Rabbi Kaplan assured that more shlichim will be stationed in Mumbai by Chabad in the near future. “You have tens of thousands of Israelis who travel through South Asia,” he said. “For many, this is their first connection to Judaism. So this becomes a life-altering experience.”

A shaliach’s objective is not necessarily to transform people into followers of Chabad, he said.

“In the ideal world, we want people to become totally observant Jews,” Rabbi Kaplan said. “In the even more ideal world, we want them to become Chassidishe Jews — Lubavitch Chassidishe Jews. Of course. I would make everybody Chabadniks if I could. But that’s not a realistic objective.

“The philosophical underpinning is that every mitzvah connects a person to God. Every single mitzvah is an infinite entity. So when you get someone to do a mitzvah, that’s an infinite connection and bond to God.

“And that’s what most people don’t understand. They say, ‘It’s just one mitzvah, so what?’ But not so. It’s a bond with the soul and God. If a person lights Shabbos candles just one time, that’s a big success.”

Because of their similar backgrounds, perspectives and experiences, Rabbi Kaplan said the international network of Chabad shlichim is “one big family. Many of us grew up together. We have lifelong friendships that are maintained throughout our lives. … [The Mumbai tragedy] is a personal blow to each and every shaliach. But the Rebbe taught us that we must channel our efforts into more good.”

Rabbi Kaplan noted that this week, he received an e-mail from a Jewish Columbia resident whose nephew lives in Mumbai with his non-Jewish wife. The nephew had contacted Rabbi Holtzberg not long ago about performing his son’s brit millah. Rabbi Holtzberg explained that the baby was not considered Jewish from a Jewishly legal viewpoint, because his mother is not Jewish, and that he could not perform the circumcision.

“But he did it with great sensitivity and caring and respect,” Rabbi Kaplan said. “And the man said, ‘I understand why he was reluctant to do it, but I respect it.’”

Such an interaction reveals a glimpse into the character of Rabbi Holtzberg and Mrs. Holtzberg, said Rabbi Kaplan. He urged those saddened and disheartened by the couple’s murders to perform acts of kindness, as a tribute to their lives and spirit of generosity.

“Channel it all into good,” Rabbi Kaplan said. “We cannot permit despair to take over. Anytime there’s an expression of evil, we need to create more light.

“A lot of people want to express their support and solidarity with Chabad. The appropriate way is to do a mitzvah, and inspire others to do one.”

Chabad 101

• Chabad-Lubavitch is a branch of Chasidism founded 250 years ago. The movement swept through Russia and spread to surrounding countries.
• The word ‘Lubavitch’ refers to the name of the White Russian town where the movement was founded and based for more than a century. The word means “city of love” in Russian.
• The word ‘Chabad’ is a Hebrew acronym for Chachmah (wisdom), Binah (comprehension) and Da’at (knowledge).
• The movement’s philosophy is that the Torah teaches understanding and recognition of the Creator, the role and purpose of Creation, and the importance and unique mission of each human life. This philosophy guides a person to refine and govern his and her every act and feeling through wisdom, comprehension and knowledge.
• Chabad’s traditions and prayer services are based on Lurianic kabbalah (Jewish mystical thought) and the teachings of the Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Chasidism.
• The global Chabad movement is based in the Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood of Crown Heights, at 770 Eastern Parkway. In Israel, it is based in Kfar Chabad, a village of approximately 900 families outside of Tel Aviv.
• An estimated 200,000 people adhere to the Chabad movement, and about 1 million Jews attend a Chabad service at least once a year.
• There have been seven rebbes, or charismatic spiritual leaders, in Chabad’s history. The most recent was Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994), a leading luminary in the Jewish world who was known internationally simply as “The Rebbe.” A small portion of Chabad followers today insist that he was Moshiach, the messiah, and a schism continues to exist in the movement over this issue.
• Fifty-five years ago, Rabbi Schneerson encouraged his disciples in the movement to become schlichim, or emissaries, all over the world, with the mission of reaching out to non-observant and/or alienated Jews. They assist communities and college campuses with such matters as education, ritual slaughtering, circumcision and worship services.
• Approximately 4,000 emissary families direct more than 3,300 institutions (“Chabad Houses”) in 75 countries around the world. Activities include Jewish education, worship, kashrut, life cycle events, Shabbat and holiday meals, and other activities.

— A.H.F.

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