A memorial service was held Sunday afternoon to mourn the loss of Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, his wife Rivka and other victims of last month's terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India.
The event, sponsored by Chabad Madison and the Madison Jewish Community Council, began at 3 p.m. at the Gates of Heaven synagogue, 302 E. Gorham St. Thirty-five members of Madison's Jewish community gathered to pay their respects and offer prayers for the attack victims.
Rabbi Mendel Matusof, the Chabad-Lubavitch emissary for the UW-Madison campus, opened the memorial service.
While our minds and hearts are filled with pain and sorrow, this is a time that we come together to find comfort from each other,"" Matusof said. ""That's why we come together this afternoon, to try to find comfort within our community among our friends.""
Sreya Mitra, a UW-Madison graduate student, spoke to the crowd from the perspective of a native of India. Mitra grew up in Kolkata, India, a city close to Mumbai.
""As a result of the terrorist attacks, there is a lot of citizen activism,"" Mitra said. ""The government needs to change and be proactive. Since I am in the United States, I can't take a part in helping - speaking at today's memorial service was my way of contributing.""
The Holtzbergs' dedication to both the Mumbai Jewish community of Mumbai and their visitors from around the world, was memorialized on a tribute video shown at the service. The video shared reflections from family and friends of the Holtzbergs and acknowledged other victims of the Mumbai attacks.
The Holtzbergs had run the Chabad-Lubavitch House in Mumbai since 2003. Over the past eight years, the couple opened their home to many Jewish tourists offering kosher meals, a place to stay and a place to learn.
Although the Holtzbergs and other tourists staying at the Chabad House were killed in the Mumbai attacks, the Holtzbergs' 2-year-old son Moshe escaped with his nanny, according to CNN. Nearly 200 people were killed in the Mumbai terrorist attacks.
