MUMBAI, India — In a tearful ceremony, the Jewish community of Mumbai paid their last respects to Chabad House emissaries Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, killed in the terror attack last Wednesday, at the Knesset Eliyahu Synagogue yesterday. Rivka's parents, Shimon and Yehudit Rosenberg were in attendance, along with the Holtzbergs' 2-year-old son, Moshe, who survived the attack.
Mumbai Jewish Community Bids Slain Chabad Emissaries Tearful Farewell, as Bodies Flown Home
MUMBAI, India — In a tearful ceremony, the Jewish community of Mumbai paid their last respects to Chabad House emissaries Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, killed in the terror attack last Wednesday, at the Knesset Eliyahu Synagogue yesterday. Rivka’s parents, Shimon and Yehudit Rosenberg were in attendance, along with the Holtzbergs’ 2-year-old son, Moshe, who survived the attack.
Thousands of people are expected to attend the Holtzbergs’ funeral today, which will leave Kfar Chabad this afternoon for the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. In Mumbai yesterday, Israel’s ambassador to India, Mark Sofer, addressed the congregation at the Mumbai ceremony. However, all eyes and cameras were on Moshe, who was spirited out of the besieged Chabad House at the start of the rampage. Moshe sat on the lap of an Indian worker at Chabad House, Zaki Hussein, who was one of the two Indians who got the toddler out of the house. Reports detailed how Moshe’s Nanny, Sandra Samuel, held on to Moshe as Hussein stood on the steps of the house so the terrorists would not see them.
Samuel did not take part in the ceremony since she was busy applying for her first passport, after the Israel Foreign Ministry gave her permission to come to Israel with the Rosenbergs.
A few times during the ceremony at the synagoguge Moshe called for Sandra while his grandmother calmed him with a bottle of water and a piece of candy. When the time came for the last speaker, Rabbi Itzhak Yeruslavsky, a Chabad leader from Israel, Moshe started crying and calling out “Mommy, Mommy.” He refused to be consoled and was finally taken outside.
In a voice choked with sobs, Rivka’s father, Shimon Rosenberg, who is the Chabad rabbi of Afula, said: “The Lord gave, the Lord took away, blessed be the name of the Lord,” and pledged that Chabad House in Mumbai would continue to operate. “Rivki and Gabi were not private citizens,” he said. “Everything they did they did for someone else.” He thanked Sandra Samuel and said, “We have to thank God for the resourcefulness she showed.”
Israeli Ambassador Mark Sofer said: “This is not the time to ask why the world did not do enough to work against the bestial behavior of people and to ask why these two countries, India and Israel, suffer so much from terror. But we, the Israelis and the Indians and the civilized world, will not stop until we are victorious over terror.”
Israeli police crime scene investigators arrived early yesterday in Mumbai for a final check to ensure no Israelis were among the unidentified bodies. They were on a search of the hospitals in the city when word came that the last two Israelis who had not contacted their families while in India had been heard from, and that they were not in Mumbai at the time of the attacks.
Services were held, in keeping with Foreign Ministry procedure, at the airport in Mumbai in the presence of Ambassador Sofer, after which the coffins were placed aboard an Israel Air Force aircraft bound for Israel. Four of the bodies, the Holtzbergs, Ben-Zion Korman and Ycheved Orpaz, were draped in prayer shawls and the Israeli flag. The family of one of the victims, Aryeh Leibish Teitelboim, an ultra-Orthodox Jew who had given up his Israeli citizenship, was draped only in a prayer shawl. The body of the sixth victim, a Mexican citizen, Norma Schwartzblatt-Rabinowitz, a Mexican citizen, who had intended to come to live in Israel this week, was also not draped in the Israeli flag.
AD MOSAI! AD MOSAI! AD MOSAI!
Hashem!!!! Let Moshele’s piercing cry for Ima reach the Shaarei Shamayim and sent MOSHIACH NOW!!!! This is too much for us to bear! AD MOSAI! AD MOSAI! AD MOSAI!
so sad
heartwrneching…no words…
AD MASI!
may we cry ad masi like the same screams of this poor child! Hashem enough already!
this is terrible
heartbreaking!and their are no words to describe it.
Shimon
Very painful to see that child crying for his mother. May Hashem console the family with Moshiach!
sad
cant stop crying!
Moshiach we need you to answer us… why?
yisroel
Oy – this video is heartbreaking, may little moishe be able to overcome this bitter story!
My heart goes out to him!
hindy
Hashem, why oh why??? please show us a sign that this galus is coming to an end…. Moishele. you are so young and innocent and yet you have been left alone, bereft of the love of your parents… AD MOSAI<<<<< please please send Moshiach… we can not go on…..
A heartbroken mother…..
devastated
please put a warning before this vid starts- as distressing and real that this is — some cannot see this
please do this
YM
AD MOSAI ENOUGH IS ENOUGH
READER
can you translate into English
c.m
hashem please ad mosaiiiiiiiiii !!!!!!!!!!!
cher
oh my g-d this video is way too much!!! i’m sitting here crying my eyes out and i don’t understand why g-d is doing this….
deeply pained
heart wrenching
ten laiv
Dear fellow yidden,
As I think about the tragedy that befell us, our brothers and sister, some important thoughts come to my mind. I think to myself what could we as yidden and some of us shluchim do to improve and become better people.
About three quarters of a year ago we received a phone call from Rabbi Holtzberg the father of Rabbi Holtzberg who came to our state where we are one shlichus to collect money for his grandson who would be having an operation. He asked us over the phone if we could possibly help him. We said we would try our best, being ourselves in a hard financial situation. I asked Rabbi Holtzberg to meet with us in the evening in our home. When Rabbi Holtzberg showed up I can’t tell you how I felt. Here was an older respectable man (not very old) going around collecting money for his son a shaliach. He was giving of himself bilaiv uvinefesh for his son the shaliach. when I say bilaiv uvinefesh, I mean his own gashmius situation was very serious.
He called many shuls and shaluchim and he told me that he was very dissapointed. He was given all kinds of run arounds. I know many shluchim or most shluchim may not be able to help. but we are all out there supposedly on shlichus helping others, we can at least speak nicely on the phone, or when he did come over give the person the time of day, offer him a meal. He spent much time calling and literally begging for help. Now everyone is shaken up by the situation, which of course we are all pained by. But I think we need to do some serious thinking. Why do we wait to get shaken up. There are many shluchim and people who have serious situations and it is just put aside. There are many shluchim who have serious financial difficulties. What are we waiting for. Why do we brush it under the table. It is not talked about and these people are not helped. When some of us have no heat in the winter, or hot water to bathe children, or no money to take children to doctors, losing their homes, because they have no money, and the list goes on, where are we. Where are we when another yid is in pain. If you can’t help get others to help. There are loads of these situations. some of them have to beg to the point of belittiling themselves. Now everyone is here to help the Holtzberg family. Yes its the right thing. But I think we need to respond a little bit faster and open our eyes. Big fan fares are made, huge brochures are made, large advertisements are made, men tut uff a sach. A lot is oif yenems cheshbon.Some of us are saving and helping the world, that’s great, in the mean time our fellow shaliach next door is being stepped on, being ignored, his people or financial support is stolen away. He begs for help and gets none. He’ll get the help if its maybe connected with some huge pr, if not he can wait until he rots away. Lets look inside, Many shluchim have serious problems and need help. Besides the help we have to wait for a togetherness only after there is a tragedy. The fights the not emes that goes on inside. Yidden wake up! There are some serious problems. Another yids pain should be my pain.
10TH GRDE 15YR OLD TEENAGE GIRL IN PAIN!
all i am is a teenage girl…sobbing every night i cant take it no more how how dnt tell me dnt ask i m gnna how why its not right maybe and yes i did things god punish me why them and espcly this child an orphan please how can u just leave us all like this they are my brothers and sisters i cant the tears just keep coming and i dont know what to do with myself no longer plz answer me and lead me through this……….ill do anythin anythin wtvr im able 2 do moshele i m nt gnna say i feel ur pain bc i cnt and i will nva feel ur pain but we are all here here 4 u but i 4sure am terribly hurt and havnt slept since then………….hashem! please! enoght is enough! AD MOSAI!?
not a zionist
I don’t understand why the holtzbergs had to be draped in a Israeli flag? Was there any choice give to the family? WE Love the people WE Love the land But as Chabad chassidim we don’t really love the flag.
Nechama
one can assume that they had no choice, or at least it would have been inappropriate to refuse it. As Israelis they know full well what the Rebbe thought of the Israeli flag. I reckon the Satmar guys were also squirming with the flag…
AD MOSAI!
WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!AD MOSAI! ENOUGH!!!!!
Boruch ben Tvzi(A H)HaKohaine Hoffinger
B“H
Truly a very sad, tragic and painful episode about the greatest and most wonderful of people Rabbi and Rebbitzin G. Holtzberg A”Hs, HY“D. The parents are angels, not from this world. The greatest of spirit and the greatest Chabadnicks.
As a kohaine I give the parents (Or whoever) a big brocho to be strong and continue in the prodigious, wonderful and life-saving work of Chabad in Mumbai, schlichus of The Rebbe, MH”M.
Re: What Israeli Ambassador Mark Sofer said: “This is not the time to ask … and to ask why these two countries, India and Israel, suffer so much from terror….“
More fake politics, more phony sentiments, more ”blame the next person.”
The Israeli govt. and people brought this on themselves (Gen. Moshe Dayan, etc.) and continue to tolerate evil; continue to watch as their people, their fellow Jews, are slaughtered and maimed for life – heartless.
Didn’t read any of the posts: no names. Are they real stories from real people? No accountability. Perhaps there are errors? Perhaps they’re writing to ‘Mr.and Mrs. Cyberspace,’ whoever they are.
Shin Kuf Reish!
bhoffinger@aol.com
A Mommy with a broken heart
There should be a warning for this video. it is heart wrenching and painful to watch and therefore is not for everyone at this point.
SERIOUSLY ENOUGH!!!
it hit really hard to see this little boy crying so naturally for his ima who can’t come and hold him and console him. we take so much for granted this sent shockwaves throughout!!! ENOUGH! we’re suffering enough without our rebbe to help and guide us and we feel neglected by our father, Hashem! we need to demand an end to this golus because we have definitely delt with enough. lets do the last mitzvah needed to bring a crashing end to this bitter golus! DO A MIZVAH! don’t pass on any chance!!!! AD MOSAI!?
hanna
AD MOSAI!!!!
HASHEM,,, HOW MUCH LONGER MUST WE SUFFER LIKE THIS?
AD MOSAI!!!!
EVERYONE PLEASE REMEMBER TO TAKE UPON A MITZVAH LILUY NISHMAS THE HOLTZBERGS & ALL OTHER JEWS WHO PASSED AWAY!!!
IN THE ZCHUS OF ALL OUR MITZVOS MAY WE MERIT THE COMING OF MOSHIACH BKOROV MAMAMASH!!!!
AD MOSAI!
AD MOSAI!
EVER SINCE THIS TERRIBLE TRAGEDY THAT OCCURED I CANNOT MOVE ON WITH LIFE, ESPECIALLY WHEN SEEING THIS VIDEOI AM HORTBROKEN I CANNOT BEAR THE PAIN ANY LONGER!
HASHEM THIS GOLUS IS ENOUGH!
ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
PLEASE WE NEED MOSHIACH NOW!