The service was held on Thursday at the midtown Manhattan Chabad house, a Chabad house is a community center for orthodox Lubavitch Jews, to mourn the loss of their friends in the recent Mumbai terrorist attacks.
The service began with Rabbi Metzger leading the mourners in scripture reading followed by Metzger addressing the group of approximately 100.
“We are here to memorialize people who were torn away from us whose only mission was to do good,” Metzger said.
“We have lost the glory of everything they stood for.
“And yet the silver lining in the cloud that has emerged from these events is an outpour of love and a rededication to the things these people stood for.”
Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg was a former New Yorker who moved to Mumbai, India with his wife Rivka. The Rabbi was known by friends for his kindness and concern for anyone in need of help. The Chabad House in Mumbai was an oasis for Jews in a place with limited access to kosher food, also providing clean beds and spiritual support.
“The only reason these people died is because they were Jews,” said Asav Shariv, the Israeli Consul General. “The terrorists rented the place next door; they knew their way around the house.”
The couple’s son, Moshe, survived after his nanny, Sandra Samuel, heard him crying in another room and escaped with him while the terrorists were patrolling the roof.
“Although there are those who seek to envelope us in darkness, a person should never give up hope,” Rabbi Metzger said, “We can prosper and flourish even in the face of evil.” “The greatest thing we can do for their memorial is not to pray, but to have acts of goodness and kindness.”
Rabbi Holtzberg slaughtered and koshered 100 chickens per day to make sure there was enough food for his guests, and Rivka cleaned them, cooked them, and baked bread daily. It was reported that the couple was executed as their rescuers stormed the building where they were being held.
