Blog

Remembering the Holtzbergs

A year after the attack in Mumbai, India, and the brutal murders of the keepers of the Chabad there, Gabi and Rivkah Holtzberg, a number of tributes have been written in their memory. Some, like the one we ran in our paper here, were from people who had met the Holtzbergs in their travels. Others, such as this piece written by Rochie Farkash at the Eastside Torah Center in Bellevue, came from the view of someone who actually knew the Holtzbergs, and how they have worked to make sure the young couple did not die in vain.

In that year thousands of letters were written, detailing how Gabi and Rivkah touched lives. Over five hundred new born babies and many new Chabad centers were named in their honor.

When we look at the lives of Gabi and Rivky and hear the many stories about their giving and generosity, we are touched and inspired.

It’s always hard to lose a friend, but when it’s such a young couple who meet such a violent end, that makes it all the worse. It will be interesting to see how the legacy of these two sustains itself in the coming years, for the Jewish community overall and for the Chabad movement in particular.