A Tragedy Survivor’s Guide

Today we got the same news our relatives and ancestors have been getting for thousands of years, the kind that breaks your heart. And once again, we'll shudder and look to the Heavens and demand "Never Again."

But the truth is, the terrorist didn't just kill six of our brothers and sisters in a five-story concrete block building at the end of an alley way in South Mumbai; they took all of us hostage and showed no mercy. And like little Moshe Holtzberg just two years old, some of us managed to get free. Some of us always manage to get free. Some got free in Egypt, some of us were spared during the destruction of the Holy Temples, the forced conversions of Spain, the Pogroms, Auschwitz, and today in Mumbai. The question now is: "What do we do with that freedom?"

Jews have been asking that question for centuries. "Thank G‑d we survived that terrible situation; now how do we move forward with our pain?" The answer many Jews gave upon their arrival to America (my grandparents included) was to lie low, blend in, and make yourself useful. Saying to themselves "Being successful and financially secure will ensure I don't share same fate as my ancestors." Take your guilt and turn it into gold. After all, gold is the safest investment in troubled times. But has gold failed us even today?

The Holtzberg worked hard with self sacrifice, resourcefulness, and a lot of faith in G‑d. Yet today their gold stock was cashed in, and they bequeathed it to us all, the Jewish nation. And they left every single one of us as an executor with very specific instructions.

In fact, it's the same instructions Moses Our Teacher gave before His soul departed this world. And it's the exact same message the Rebbe handed over before he descended on High. Take my gold, and turn it into Geulah (True Freedom). Take my hard work, self sacrifice, ad resourcefulness and turn it into a time when opening CNN.com won't bring shudders and pleas to the Heavens over the senseless atrocities in this world. Turn my gold into a time when the wolf will lie with the lamb.

And should you worry, dear shareholder, that this will and testament was left without a clear plan of action, rest assured. Each of the 3,500 Chabad Houses around the world have "How-to" guide on investing this gold. No matter what your level of observance or affiliation, pay tribute to the Holtzberg and their investments. Step into your local Chabad House and take advantage of your freedom! Learn, or re-learn, or debate, or just sit and talk about the heritage of our people given at Sinai.

May G‑d grant that this pain today be the last ever felt by the nation of Jews that have been feeling it for over two thousand years. May we merit together to turn all our inherited gold into a brightly formed redemption!