Rabbi Chanoch and Leiky Gechtman, an Israeli couple with connections to the Jewish community of Mumbai, India, will soon be heading to the South Asian business capital as its first permanent Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries since the terrorist attacks of November 2008.
Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky, vice chairman of the educational arm of Chabad-Lubavitch, made the announcement Wednesday at a Washington, D.C., luncheon attended by 500 Jewish leaders and ambassadors from more than 40 countries. In an emotional address serving to highlight the dedication of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of righteous memory, to strengthen Jewish life around the globe, Kotlarsky noted that Indian Ambassador Meera Shankar was in attendance.
Less than two years ago, Kotlarsky pointed out, terrorists stormed the Chabad House in Mumbai and murdered its directors, Rabbi Gavriel and Rivky Holtzberg, and their four Jewish guests.
“Rabbi Gavriel and his wife Rivka are of course, irreplaceable,” began Kotlarsky, one of several participants of the Living Legacy conference hosted by American Friends of Lubavitch. “But now, there’s a rabbi who just got his visa on Friday and will be going there in a few weeks to continue their work and revive Chabad activities in Mumbai.”
Kotlarsky thanked the Indian government on behalf of its efforts to facilitate the appointment and then introduced Chanoch Gechtman to the crowd, which responded with a standing ovation.
Gechtman first went to Mumbai in 2006 to assist the Holtzbergs after the birth of their son Moshe, who would later emerge from the massacre clutched in the arms of his nanny, Sandra Solomon. Gechtman, who studied rabbinical law under Gavriel Holtzberg, stayed in the city for five months, spending most of his free time teaching Torah one-on-one with the Israeli backpackers who came in and out of the center.
“I enjoyed it very much,” said Gechtman, 25. “I would learn with any Jew who came in, whatever they wanted to learn.”
When the eyes of the world turned again to Mumbai and saw the horror inflicted by a team of gunmen who took control of several hotels and tourist sites in addition to the Chabad House, Gechtman was understandably in shock. He was numb when the news arrived in Israel that the Holtzbergs and their guests had been killed.
Today, he still has trouble accepting the tragic fate of his friends.
“I still haven’t processed that they are not here. The reality doesn’t fit,” said Gechtman. “I can’t fathom that they are not alive; sometimes, it seems like they are people who live forever, that something like this can’t happen to them.”
The Gechtmans have visited the city and its Jewish community several times since the attack, all in preparation for their new mission. Leiky Gechtman, 23, who grew up in the Israeli city of Gedera as the eldest daughter of Chabad-Lubavitch emissaries Rabbi Binyomin and Chana Karniel, is used to having countless visitors around her table.
“People would come over to our house suddenly,” she said of her childhood. “There is a hospital nearby, so a lot of relatives of patients would come for Shabbat and stay with us.”
She admitted, however, that adjusting to life in a metropolis home to more than 13 million people will be daunting.
“Inside it’s like home,” she said. “But outside, there’s a sea of humanity.”
Her husband sees Mumbai as “a place with a lot of energy, full of life.”
“There is endless work here,” said the rabbi. “There is always something going on. And more importantly, people really believe in this city.”
Rabbi Yosef C. Kantor, who as director of Chabad-Lubavitch of Thailand also serves as a supervising emissary in India, said that the Gechtmans are a perfect fit. Rabbi Nachman Holtzberg, father of Gavriel Holtzberg, suggested the couple, he noted.
“Gabi liked him and relied on him, and for good reason,” Kantor said of Holtzberg’s relationship with Chanoch Gechtman. “He’s a wonderful young rabbi. He’s personable, enthusiastic, organized and dedicated.”
Join the Discussion