The Holtzbergs moved to India six years ago to found the Chabad House of Mumbai. They ran a synagogue and a mikvah. They taught Torah classes and provided Kosher food. They helped people deal with drug addiction and poverty.
Their home was blind to the barriers of wealth, race or observance. A typical dinner (which was served nightly for anywhere between 30 and 70 visitors - for free, I might add) would have local residents, tourists, businessmen and Israeli backpackers all sitting together sharing thoughts and creating new friendships.
Gabi and Rivky could have lived somewhere else. He was from New York. She was from Israel. They chose to live in Mumbai because there was a need. And they had learned from the Lubavitcher Rebbe that the greatest and most fulfilling thing that a person can do is to help another person. So they left the creature comforts of the West to help Jews in the East.
Their first residence was a room in a three-star hotel without a kitchen. From there, they grew and grew, eventually purchasing the Nariman House a little more than a year ago with funds raised from local and international donors.
Then, last week, terrorists arrived in Mumbai. Beginning at the train station and moving on to the Taj, the Oberoi and later the Chabad House, they brought with them a message of fear, hate and utter disregard for life and property.
When I found out about the attacks, I called Vineet Chander, the Hindu life coordinator at Princeton. He in turn sent out an e-mail requesting assistance on our behalf. Within minutes I received close to two dozen e-mails from students offering to help. Parents of students called to say that their children had forwarded Vineet's email to them and they were offering their assistance. When it seemed that we might be able to get some information from a person standing near the Nariman House in Mumbai, students called their friends at 4 a.m. to assemble a team of translators. Unfortunately, we were not successful in saving lives. But we found out that our own Princeton community is remarkably united.
I have spent most of the last few days thinking and crying, and I would like to share one thought.
These people were killed for a reason. The Indians were killed specifically because they were Indian, and the Jews were killed specifically because they were Jews. This represents the epitome of the concept known in Judaism as "sinat chinam", baseless hatred.
If baseless hatred is the underlying cause of the attacks, then it is fitting that we respond in kind with baseless love, unity and compassion. The Lubavitcher Rebbe taught that we must turn tears into action. Every step back must propel us many steps forward. Together, around the world, let us ensure that the Holtzbergs and all the other victims live on in our memories, but also in our deeds.
Soaring, lofty goals are achieved through simple acts. Saving the world is not an act; it is a concept. Smiling to a friend is an act. Lots of people smiling to lots of others will go a long way toward saving the world. Judaism teaches that by impressing the value of a mitzvah, a good deed. It can be a G-d-centric deed like putting on Tefillin, lighting Shabbat candles and the like. Or it can be an interpersonal good deed such as lending money to a person in need, spending a few extra minutes with a friend to help him or her understand a problem set, even just smiling to someone and saying a friendly hello.
Moses Maimonides, the great medieval sage, taught that one positive action, one word or even one thought can reverberate throughout the world and impact the world for good.
Let us all act in that spirit, even toward those whom we have never met.
In summation: Ten people worked together, united, focused and succeeded in perpetrating one of the most devastating attacks in recent memory.
What would happen if 10 students were to work with the same single-mindedness and purpose to cause maximum impact for good? Is it possible that just a few individuals would be able to positively affect the world on the same scale as the terrorists' negative actions?
I would love to find out.
Rabbi Eitan Webb is the University Chabad chaplain. He can be reached at ewebb@princeton.edu.
Read More
Public service still serves the public
Guest ContributorsIt is sometimes difficult to see the value of service in times of instability, disinvestment in public services, eroding public trust in government, and an uncertain job market. But even in times of massive turmoil, public service is still able to drive initiatives that aren’t sufficiently politicized to make newspaper headlines.
As academia and the federal workforce have adapted to rapid policy changes, the SINSI program and the students it supports have had to adapt. We are the first generation of SINSI Scholars, the SINSI program’s graduate fellows, to contend with this new era of uncertainty.
Charlie Kirk died for ideals the left has ignored
Maximillian MeyerKirk’s killing will mark a turning point. The question is whether it leads America and those who diverge from the prevailing orthodoxy on its college campuses into fear and silence, or towards courage and conviction.
Kirk’s killing will mark a turning point. The question is whether it leads America and those who diverge from the prevailing orthodoxy on its college campuses into fear and silence, or towards courage and conviction.
Why did we go to see Ketanji Brown Jackson, anyway?
Shane McCauleyAs a community, though, we should honestly acknowledge our bleak feelings on the Trump administration and look for genuine coping mechanisms, rather than compartmentalizing our anxiety into ceremonial events like these.
As a community, though, we should honestly acknowledge our bleak feelings on the Trump administration and look for genuine coping mechanisms, rather than compartmentalizing our anxiety into ceremonial events like these.