In honor of the rabbi that was killed in the Chabad house with his young wife.
I had the opportunity to meet the Rabbi on my first trip to India. He provided aa warm atmosphere for people in what is a very chaotic city. While I only had the chance to spend a brief time with him, he was doing a good deed.
What others may not know about the Chabad organization, is that it is not just a place for "Jews" to go and celebrate holidays, but a place for people traveling around India and other countries to connect and swap travel info and stories. I met some of my closest friends in Chabad houses around India.
It is scary for any of us to see places that we know and love to visit attacked in ways like this. It is even more distressing when those places are where we have very fond memories of. I can still taste the muttar paneer, kashmiri naan from Leopolds. I remember the feeling of the chabad house (nariman house a/c) hit my face after walking out of the march hell in Mumbai. The smile of Sandra (the women that saved the rabbis child) who brought me a cold drink and shared stories of being Christian in India (it came up when I asked her why she was not out celebrating).
It would not be easy living as a devout member of the Jewish faith in India. He was farway but Rabbi Holzberg was willing to offer a hand to people that were homesick, culture shocked, or just looking for a place to escape the heat. Their staff was treated well, and they provided a service to travellers that is well recognized.
The people that will really suffer from this are the families of those slain and the Indian people. Many of them rely on toursits, from backpackers to package travellers in 5 star hotels. We all play a role in India. It does not matter if you are from Israel, Ireland or South America, all of us participate in a unique exchange of ideas, languages, religions and culture.
In conclusion, what I will remember most about the Rabbi and his family is how welcome they made me feel. Just like the Indian families that shared muttar paneer on the overnight trains, or the generousity of an impromptu family dinner with a bedouin taxi driver in the middle of Jordan. These people that are willing to donate their lives to helping us on our journey deserve a thank you, unfortunatly it is times like these that make us realize this. Keep traveling.
Shalom Rabbi Holzberg (in memory)
Ben Gerber
Reply to this I was glad you wrote about your experience at chabad mumbai. Everyone in Israel was just so sad.... brenda, Israel
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