Bochur Returns From Mumbai

By JEFF STRICKLER, Star Tribune

Rabbinical school never taught him about bullet holes. But for Rabbi Yossi Bendet, 22, newly ordained and in Mumbai, India, the holes from a terrorist attack on Chabad-Lubavitch center were a potent reminder of his commitment to his faith.

“All our work is important, but this was a more meaningful situation,” he said. “People gave up their lives for this work.”

Bendet, a St. Paul native, was wrapping up his studies in New York City when the news media erupted Nov. 26 with reports that heavily armed terrorists had taken over the Taj Majal Hotel and a nearby Jewish center and were holding hundreds of people hostage. Two days later, after an armed assault by police and military forces, 195 people were dead, including Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka, the founders of Chabad-Lubavitch of Mumbai.

Bendet is part of the same denomination as the Holtzbergs. When a call went out for young rabbis willing to serve rotating tours in Mumbai, he stepped forward. He and another newly ordained rabbi spent March there, working 18-hour days that involved everything from leading Torah classes to haggling with street vendors over the price of food for the weekly Shabbat dinners.

“They were looking for people to be the men on the ground,” said Bendet, who was in the Twin Cities this week to visit his parents, Rabbi Shlomo and Chava Bendet. “It was our job to continue, as much as possible, the programs and deal with the issues that came up in the aftermath of the attack.”

The five-story Chabad House was so heavily damaged that it had to be abandoned. The buildings around it were riddled with bullets fired by the terrorists trying to fend off the police. Bendet never got used to the pockmarks in the walls, but, at the same time, he knew that he had to keep focused on his work.

“I was nervous, but I pushed that out of my mind because of the importance of the mission,” he said. “We had the opportunity to give support to a community that was still suffering from a fresh wound. It was a great opportunity to be able to comfort them.”

They established a new Chabad House, a gathering spot for Jews that serves as a combined worship center, educational facility and social club.

“Our goal is to reach out to every Jew,” Bendet said. “There are no labels in a Chabad house — no Reform Jews or Orthodox Jews. We leave labels at the door. In a Chabad House, you’re just Jewish.”

An average of 30 people attended the weekly Shabbat dinners while Bendet was in Mumbai, about half the turnout before the terrorist attack. It’s a sign that the Jewish community still is skittish — and, he said, a reminder of how crucial his mission was.

“It was important for us to serve as a symbol of continuity,” he said. “We were carrying a message of hope for the future, and we took every opportunity we could to send that message.”