Melbourne Girls Recall Holtzbergs

In honor of slain Mumbai Shluchim Rabbi Gavriel and Rivkah Holtzberg‘s fifth Yahrtzeit, Chabad Youth of Melbourne, Australia’s dedicated volunteers, the girls of Ohel Chana, put on an event for the high school students of Beth Rivka Ladies College.

The program began with a short video presentation, celebrating the life and mourning the loss of the dedicated shluchim. Following, the speaker discussed an article about the Holtzbergs, written by an acquaintance who describes the incredible conditions that their Chabad House offered travelers, whilst they lived very simply, without any of the luxuries that they endowed to others.

The high school students took on hachlata resolutions to honor the memory of the well-loved Holtzbergs of blessed memory. After pledging to take on an extra mitzvah, the girls signed their names on a beautiful canvas, which will G-d willing be sent to the Holtzbergs’ parents.

“Rabbi Gabi and Rivkah Holtzberg’s legacy of selfless giving and kindness will live on in our heart, mind and soul, urging us to finish the work to which they dedicated their lives,” one participant related. “We can learn so much from their devotion to shlichus; how it was not a burden – it was an honor and a privilege. Despite the difficulties presented by living in a place like Mumbai, the Holtzbergs were ecstatic to have guests and felt lonely on the off chance that they didn’t. They made a conscious effort to always do more for others, and never feel truly satisfied with their accomplishments. We must do our best to carry out and fulfill the mission that the Hotzbergs gave their life up for.”