Rabbi Gabriel and Rifka Holtzberg Have Been Murdered, and There Will be a Strong-Gentle Young Leader Rising up in the East

Rabbi Gabriel and Rifka Holtzberg Have Been Murdered, and There Will be a Strong-Gentle Young Leader Rising up in the East….but he is only two years old now…

His young mother, Rifka, which is Hebrew for Rebecca, and means ‘to bind,’ as in to hold together, to wrap round with protection, and with love, to keep together, as in keeping family close, binding as in a promise, a promise that is a debt of honor to love no matter what, to hold the binding made of love’s sinew. Rifka was 28 years old. A mere, mere number of years on earth

The child’s father, Gabriel (Gavriel Noach), a young Hasidic Chabad Lubavitcher Rabbi, had only 29 years on earth. Gabriel is Hebrew for ’strength of G-D,’ but in a certain way; the way of binah. Gabriel is one of the archangels who appears to those overwhelmed by extraordinary visions for healing of this world, grasping the magnitude of the vision but feeling too small to enact it. The archangel Gabriel carried binah which means understanding in depth; understanding how the small human being can bring goodness of magnitude….

binah, an extraordinary kind of understanding … like this:
learning the difference between merely knowing water by washing one’s hands in water from the tap— and learning water in depth: by struggling to swim out pasts the riptides into the open sea.

Gabriel and Rifka’s youngest son’s name is Moshe Tzvi. Moshe is a Hebrew word that has a dual meaning, savior, one who liberates the trapped (persons, minds, groups of souls) from ways of thinking, perceiving, those who are in prisons, slaveries. The name Moshe, Moses, also means he who is drawn from the water. This references the Biblical Moses, being one who was able to bridge two cultures, for the ancient Moses was born of one culture (Hebrew) and raised with love by the women of another (Egyptian.)

The little one’s second name is Tzvi, which means the gentle creature known as ‘deer.’ Shy of humans, yet bold protector of the young.

The murderers in Mumbai may have managed to kill the one who holds the binding of heart and soul together. They might have been able to murder the one who teaches extraordinary capacity for hands-on understanding, for applying aid to the magnitude of suffering.

But, who is alive, who they did not kill, the little deer who is able to bridge two cultures, is for now, safe. Both sets of his grandparents are flying to this child’s side. And we shall see what shall come of this child. What some might guess as a life of bitter retribution? Or living closer to the names his mother and father of blessed memory gifted him with. We shall see.

The woman who smuggled two year old Moshe Tzvi out of the Jewish centre under siege? … the woman who had helped Rifka and Gabriel run their little center that gave aid to others in need, who helped take care of Rifka and Gabriel’s two children, the woman who sheltered this child, her name is Sandra….. which from ancient times means ‘defender of humankind.’

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CODA
The Holtzbergs arrived in Mumbai in 2003 to serve the local Jewish community. They ran a small synagogue, offering religious instruction and helping people dealing with drug addiction and poverty, according to one source.

There are others who were murdered in Mumbai. We have some knowledge of names and domiciles, and I hope to bring you news of some of those souls’ lives later tonight.