Chabad's Return To Mumbai: Rabbi Israel & Chaya Kozlovsky

00:00 Speaker 1 Some people might find parts of the following story disturbing. Listener discretion is advised. Everyone in Mumbai, India, and many millions of people around the world remember where they were on November 26th, 2008. That's the day Pakistani terrorists began a series of coordinated attacks on six different sites in Mumbai.

00:30 Speaker 2 The Indian response, while courageous, was also chaotic. It took repeated assaults to root out the attackers, who seemed to know their way around the buildings.

00:39 Speaker 1 Journalist and Mumbai resident Reema Lokesh remembers it well.

00:45 Speaker 3 Taj was under attack. Oberoi was under attack. Leopold was under attack. VT Station was under attack. Cama Hospital was under attack. Five major destinations of Mumbai, huge ones. Then Nariman House.

01:01 Speaker 1 Meilech Vishwanath, another Mumbai native, was in New York. Vishwanath was called to Chabad headquarters to translate between Chabad leadership and one of the terrorists inside Nariman House in Mumbai, run by Chabad emissaries Gabi and Rivke Holtzberg.

01:20 Speaker 4 There was a, an aura of unreality over the entire proceedings at that time, and then slowly over time news came out.

01:30 Speaker 1 166 people were murdered by the terrorists in the 26/11 attacks, including Gabi and Rivke, along with four of their Nariman House guests, Ben Zion Kruman, Yocheved Orpaz, Norma Shvartzblat-Rabinovich, and Rabbi Aryeh Leibish Teitelbaum. Hundreds of others were injured, but the Holtzbergs' two-year-old son, Moishe, was rescued by his nanny, Sandra Samuel.

01:58 Speaker 4 And I felt both for my Jewish compatriots in Chabad House and for my Indian brothers who were killed.

02:07 Speaker 1 Many questions were raised about what the attacks meant for Mumbai in general and Nariman House in particular. Would Jewish life come to an end in Mumbai? And if not, who would continue the Holtzbergs' important work there? Would it even be safe? Thousands of miles away, two young Hasidim of the Lubavitcher Rebbe watched as the tragedy unfolded.

02:32 Speaker 5 And I told myself that if I was married now, I would go-

02:39 Speaker 1 I'm Gary Wolk and this is Lamplighters, stories from Chabad emissaries on the Jewish frontier. Life as a Chabad emissary is often joyous, but it can be unpredictable and even dangerous. Chabad has become a ubiquitous presence in every corner of the world, but behind every Chabad House are emissaries, regular people striving to transcend their circumstances and a community that supports and relies on them. These are their stories. Back to our story in a moment, but first I'd like to tell you about a great opportunity. You can partner with Lamplighters in sharing stories of Chabad emissaries doing amazing work all over the world. Please consider dedicating an episode. You can email us at podcast@lubavitch.com to explore dedication opportunities. That's podcast@lubavitch.com. You can also let us know how we're doing and about the schlutim you think we should consider for upcoming episodes. Please rate and review Lamplighters to make it easier for other podcast listeners to find us. Lamplighters is a project of Machne Israel, the social services arm of Chabad Lubavitch. Israel Kozlovsky grew up in Jerusalem, where he attended Chabad Yeshiva, followed by learning in Lod, Kfar Chabad, and Crown Heights. In 2007 when he was 19 years old, Kozlovsky went on Mercaz Shlichus to Thailand. Under the direction of Rabbi Nehemia Wilhelm, Kozlovsky helped support hundreds of Israeli backpackers.

04:32 Speaker 6 These three months really changed my life, and this was the first place that I saw what the Shlichus is, first-hand experience. This is when, uh, I decided that this is what I wanna do in my life, no question asked.

04:48 Speaker 1 The following summer, Kozlovsky was in the Bangkok office of Rabbi Yosef Chaim Kanter when the phone rang. Kanter told him...

04:58 Speaker 6 He told me, "Israel, it's, uh, Gabi Holtzberg on the line, and he needs someone to come. Would you go to him?" So I remember myself saying to him that, "Uh, Rabbi Kanter, I will go anywhere in the world on Shlichus but India."

05:12 Speaker 1 Kozlovsky says he'd had a very traumatic experience with an Israeli tourist who overdosed under his watch in Thailand. He had heard that drug use was a problem for some Israeli backpackers visiting Mumbai.

05:27 Speaker 6 I said, "I can't bear it. I will go anywhere in the world but India." But, uh, how the expression goes, never say never.

05:37 Speaker 1 Chaya Kozlovsky also grew up in Jerusalem and knew she'd someday go out on Shlichus.

05:43 Speaker 5 Like many other Chabad girls, I did camps around the world. I went to Russia many times.

05:49 Speaker 1 Chaya was in her third year of seminary in Israel when she and her classmates received news that the Chabad House in Mumbai had been attacked by terrorists. Back in the US, Israel Kozlovsky was following the news of the attack.

06:05 Speaker 6 I remember going to shul that Friday. We already knew the outcome. Everybody's faces were like a minute Tisha B'Av.

06:15 Speaker 1 Gabi and Rivkie were lost. But what would happen to Nariman House and to Jewish life in India? The wheels were already in motion. Israel and Chaya met in New York, where they were both completing their studies. After just a few meetings, they were engaged. They were married in August of 2010 in Jerusalem. In their first year of marriage, she worked as a teacher in the old city while he studied for Smicha.

06:46 Speaker 6 And life was beautiful. After about a year, we decided that, uh, we want to go on shlichas.

06:51 Speaker 5 And we really wanted a place that will be a challenge for both of us.

06:56 Speaker 6 So we started looking. So where do you hear about places to go on shlichas? So it's usually in shul. Almost every Friday night, I would come back from shul, and I would tell Chaya, "We have this place. We have that place. There is a fertility there, in Russia, in Central America, in Israel." There were many, many offers.

07:18 Speaker 5 And I always thought I would be in shlichas in Russia.

07:22 Speaker 1 So Russia wasn't challenging enough for you?

07:26 Speaker 5 My husband can't bear the cold.

07:29 Speaker 1 From afar, Rabbi Chaim Eliezer Ashkenazi, chief rabbi of Thailand, had been running what was left of Nariman House since the attack. In June 2010, Rabbi Chanach and Lakey Gechtman took over operations in Mumbai on a temporary basis. One Friday evening, Rabbi Israel was at shul in Jerusalem. So was Ashkenazi.

07:53 Speaker 6 And davening starts, and when we dance in the Chadaydi, he comes over to me, tap on my shoulder, says, "Israel, you said you want to go on shlichas." I said, "Yes." He said, "So go to Mumbai."

08:05 Speaker 1 Kozlovsky says he was stunned. Ashkenazi was looking for a permanent shluchim. Kozlovsky walked home wondering if Chaya would agree to go to India.

08:15 Speaker 6 Then I say, "Chaya, we have an offer to go on shlichas." She said, "Okay, what's now?" I says, "No, no, no, but now it's serious. Mumbai."

08:24 Speaker 1 Chaya urged her husband to accept Ashkenazi's invitation to talk more after Shabbos.

08:30 Speaker 6 Okay. So Sunday morning, I go to meet him in a hotel in Yerushalayim, and I'm driving my moped, small moped, and I get to the hotel, and I walk into the room, and I'm shocked. Around the table is Rabbi Kotlarsky, of blessed memory, and Rabbi Kanter, and Rabbi Ashkenazi.

08:48 Speaker 1 Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky was vice chairman of Merkos L'Inyani Chinuch, the educational arm of Chabad Lubavitch.

08:56 Speaker 6 I wasn't expecting it. So, um, they tell me they want to speak with me in English to test my English conversation capability. I said, "Okay, I can speak to you in any language you want as long as I know it." So Rabbi Kotlarsky said, "So when are you going?" He had a very baritone voice. "So when are you going?" I says, "Going where?" So he told me, "I heard that you are going to Mumbai on shlichas." I said, "I don't know anything about Mumbai."

09:26 Speaker 1 Rabbis Kotlarsky, Kanter, and Ashkenazi had seen qualities in the Kozlovskys that they felt qualified them for the task. Whatever resistance the Kozlovskys might have had about India fell away.

09:41 Speaker 6 When I said anywhere but India, I was in a, in a trauma from the incident that I had. But the shlichas, the opportunities, and what can be achieved over here is, uh, limitless. So yeah, it changed.

09:58 Speaker 1 The Kozlovskys arrived in September 2012 to see Mumbai for the first time. Chaya remembers how their excitement was mingled with trepidation during their initial visit to Nariman House.

10:13 Speaker 5 There was still blood on the walls, broken pieces of furniture that they had, pictures on the floor. We saw the shooting holes, the RPG signs, marks.

10:28 Speaker 6 And there was no staircase because during the attack they exploded the staircase, so it was very hard to walk. I remember seeing Rivkie's sheitel, uh, heads, you know, the head you put the sheitel on.

10:42 Speaker 5 It was a mess. It was a mess, and it was very emotional. I could really understand everyone who didn't want to go there at that point of time.

10:52 Speaker 6 I couldn't rest after.

10:55 Speaker 1 Chaya went back to Israel. Her husband stayed in Mumbai for another week. When he returned, the Kozlovskys agreed to move to Mumbai permanently.

11:05 Speaker 6 Listen, we know that we want to be in a place that we can have an impact, and this is definitely a place with a big potential for impact.

11:18 Speaker 1 Israel and Chaya returned for good just before Purim 2013.

11:23 Speaker 5 Purim was huge and amazing. Many, many people. We had nice, nice, uh, crowd. And then after Pesach, the season ends in Mumbai. No travelers for six months, and no one came because we were not in a building.

11:36 Speaker 1 Nariman House was still badly in need of repair, so the Kozlovskys were staying in a tiny apartment.

11:43 Speaker 5 People didn't know us. They didn't know where we are hiding. We thought, you know, "What are we going to do over here?" We knew that Gabi and Rivkie have done so much.

11:51 Speaker 1 The Holtzbergs had accomplished so much in their five short years in Mumbai. They'd purchased a beautiful six-story Chabad house in a thriving neighborhood. They'd built a mikvah, a kosher restaurant, and guest quarters. They ran drug prevention programs, Torah classes, and provided Shabbos meals for hundreds of guests. They'd hosted thousands of tourists. Here's Rabbi Gabay talking in 2006 about the impact he and Rivkie had already made in Mumbai.

12:24 Speaker 4 Hundreds of people had the ability to eat kosher food every week. Dozens are praying with the minyan. Thousands of Torah classes and lessons for both children and adults were given. Many youngsters were able to keep Shabbat and festivals.

12:40 Speaker 1 It would take a huge amount of work for anyone to revive what the Holtzbergs had begun, and that would take time. But the Kozlovskys drew inspiration from the Rebbe.

12:50 Speaker 6 The Rebbe always explains that the purpose of descent is ascent. The purpose of yerida is only le'tzoer achaliya. So I thought to myself that we are going now to renovate the Chabad House and bring it to its, uh, previous glory, but that's not a good enough answer. That's only bringing it to what it was before. So I had the idea to create a memorial and educational center that will use the story of the Holtzbergs and the story of the massacre to, uh, influence people to act for the betterment of the world.

13:35 Speaker 1 The rebuilding process over the next four years was tumultuous. The Indian government had seized Nariman House, citing structural and compliance issues. Legal battles ensued. But when the Kozlovskys got to work, the community and Nariman House began to come together.

13:56 Speaker 6 We rented a small apartment, and the hall was the Chabad House. We lived like this for, uh, a year and a half. It was a very interesting period, finding backpackers sleeping on your bed, showering in your shower, people knocking at your door 3:00 in the morning.

14:15 Speaker 5 The first activity that we've done after Purim and Pesach was a camp for the community children.

14:19 Speaker 6 We did a very successful summer camp. We had, I think, uh, 38 kids in the first summer.

14:25 Speaker 5 After the camp came an afternoon school, and then a Sunday school.

14:29 Speaker 6 And I started giving a shiur. We restarted the, the mikveh that, uh, Gabay built, and kashrus. Schita was a year later.

14:39 Speaker 1 The Kozlovskys prioritized getting to know the members of their local community.

14:45 Speaker 5 Baruch Hashem, we met people who shared with us Gabay and Rivkie's vision.

14:53 Speaker 1 Many of them considered the Holtzbergs to be dear friends, even family members.

14:59 Speaker 3 So I was born in Mumbai. I'm a complete Bombay girl, a Jewish Bombay girl.

15:03 Speaker 1 That's Rima Lokesh. She's a former travel and hospitality journalist who now runs her own B2B company. She's a member of Mumbai's Jewish minority. According to Israel Kozlovsky, there are only about 1,500 Jews among Mumbai's total population of 23 million. About 30 years ago, Rima read a book about the Lubavitcher Rebbe. She learned about the Rebbe's outlook on Jewish life, love, and marriage. But she didn't totally understand what Chabad was about until 2003, when Nariman House opened under the direction of Gabay and Rivkie Holtzberg.

15:48 Speaker 3 A couple that was only here to give. They gave, and they gave, and they gave their energy to everyone. But Rivkie's the one who I always spoke to. My connection is always with her, though she was so much younger in age. She was like my spiritual elder sister.

16:08 Speaker 1 Rima especially cherishes the mezuzah Rivkie gave her. She remembers her friend every time she kisses it.

16:15 Speaker 3 Saying, "Rivkie, thank you for giving this to me. Thank you. This is yours, Rivkie."

16:21 Speaker 1 Rima remembers her last meeting with Rivkie like it was yesterday.

16:25 Speaker 3 Rivkie met me on the 23rd of November, 2008, three days before the attack, with m- baby Moshe. And she said, "Bye, Rima, we'll see each other soon."

16:43 Speaker 1 But Rima says the pain of losing the Holtzbergs began to ease somewhat when the Kozlovskys got to work. Rima especially loves the Kozlovskys' annual Hanukkah celebration, featuring a menorah lighting at the Gateway of India, a majestic arch on Mumbai's waterfront.

17:02 Speaker 3 And Rabbi Israel does it with such gusto, with so much spirit, that Gateway of India going crazy and singing songs and, you know, it's amazing, Gary. This is what they have brought to the city, which is a different level of fun.

17:20 Speaker 1 Melech Viswanath was also born in Mumbai. He's a professor of finance and economics at Pace University in New York, but he visits Mumbai regularly. He had a close relationship with Gabay and Rivkie Holtzberg. Viswanath agrees that the Kozlovskys are worthy successors to the Holtzbergs.

17:40 Speaker 4 The biggest thing that I remember of Rabbi Holtzberg was his openness to other people who are different from him, and he was very friendly. And I think Rabbi Kozlovsky is also like that, very welcoming to Indian Jews and to Indian non-Jews as well.

18:05 Speaker 1 While the Kozlovskys forged bonds with their community, they also oversaw the renovation of Nariman House. That required a lot of planning, hard work, and fundraising. It also required resolving compliance issues. The foundation, badly damaged during the attack, was stabilized and strengthened. Nariman House's kosher kitchen and restaurant, offices, and synagogue were renovated. Nariman House was formally rededicated on August 25th, 2014. About 300 visitors from all over the world, including the father of Gavri Holtzberg, attended the ceremony, as did Melech Viswanath and Rimal Okesh.

18:52 Speaker 3 The atmosphere was, it was somber, s- uh, solidarity, sad, sad, joyful. It was a mixed bag of emotions that day.

19:01 Speaker 4 And there were, uh, uh, speeches, uh, about, um, the Holtzberg, and it was full of life and ruchnius. A very positive attitude for the future.

19:14 Speaker 1 Ken Jacob was also there. Jacob is an independent compliance director. He became involved with Nariman House in 2016, and was instrumental in its rebuild.

19:25 Speaker 7 It was a joyous occasion, no doubt about it. The whole purpose of planning to destroy it has not worked. All of us are still here.

19:34 Speaker 1 As he worked on the revitalization of Nariman House, he noticed something else happening.

19:40 Speaker 7 My involvement increased more after the attack, and slowly, steadily, I got more and more attracted towards the Chabad way of living. And when you see the actual place, it becomes a personal mission.

19:56 Speaker 1 Chaya and Israel Kozlovsky were just as energized as their guests were by the rededication of Nariman House.

20:04 Speaker 5 I saw people going up and down the building. They can't believe what they're seeing. People thought literally that Chabad will close up, finish, and leave the country forever and ever. And they were walking up and down, their eyes are big, looking, "What's going on?" It was very happy moment, a moment of hope.

20:25 Speaker 1 In early 2018, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Nariman House. He brought with him Moishe Holtzberg and Sandra Samuel, the nanny who saved Moishe's life. It was their first time back since the 2008 attacks. They visited Moishe's bedroom, where a labor of love has stood for nearly two decades. There's a colorful mural hand-painted on Moishe Holtzberg's bedroom wall by his mother, Rivke. It features the aleph-bet, birds and animals, and the name Moishe spelled out in Hebrew letters. Rivke had marked the wall to chart Moishe's growth, beginning when he was 13 months old. When Moishe stood next to it, Netanyahu seized the moment.

21:16 Speaker 6 And he drew his, uh, height then, and he wrote, "Moishe is 11. Am Yisrael Chai."

21:23 Speaker 1 Moishe now lives in Israel with his maternal grandparents. He's studying in yeshiva. Sandra Samuel was made an honorary Israeli citizen. She lives about an hour away from her Moishe boy, and visits him once a month. In November 2018, on the 10th anniversary of the attack, Nariman House was renamed Nariman Lighthouse by Israel and Chaya Kozlovsky, and a memorial was dedicated to the memory of the six souls who were murdered there, and to all the other victims of the 26/11 attacks. It's the only place in Mumbai where all of the victims are listed on the same memorial. But the building is more about the future than it is the past.

22:14 Speaker 3 Today it's a buzzing, buzzing center of education, of fun, of religious learning in a very beautiful way, of Pesach, of Shavuot, of Sukkot, of Rosh Hashanah, everything. This place is happy again, and it's colorful, it's cheerful, it's full of flowers, and the kitchen is buzzing. So many expatriates coming, backpackers coming. The place is buzzing again to the ultimate.

22:46 Speaker 1 Before COVID, the Kozlovskys were getting about 10,000 visitors a year. The numbers are now almost all the way back. Rabbi Israel says he now meets with more tourists than locals, but new emissaries, Rabbi Uri Bloi and his wife Mushki, focus on the locals. The Kozlovskys now have 40 kids in Sunday school classes, with 17 in their daily Hebrew school. Ken Jacob's son was one of the first to enroll.

23:16 Speaker 7 Here is a school where he'll get to know about the Jewish values, he'll get to know about his Jewish identity in a more stronger manner. Chaya has started program for the ladies. My wife joined it. Rabbi Israel takes a class every Thursday regarding the Rebbe's teaching. I've been a part of that class now for almost four years. So now in Chabad, we got everything.

23:41 Speaker 1 Even with all this activity, the Kozlovskys are working on a major security upgrade. They want to make kosher food more available and affordable for their local community, as well as a strong Jewish education accessible to every Jewish child and adult. And they're looking to complete the comprehensive living memorial the Kozlovskys had envisioned since they first came to Mumbai. Government approval is still pending, but the vision is fully in place.

24:12 Speaker 6 So starting from the entrance will be a mezuzah that explains what a mezuzah is. People will have a chance to touch the mezuzah, to buy a mezuzah. The kitchen will explain what kosher kitchen is.

24:26 Speaker 1 An elevator will transport visitors to the sixth floor to view the names of all who lost their lives at the six different venues in the 26/11 attack. And then the fifth floor.

24:38 Speaker 7 The floor where the Holtzbergs used to live. You will see the room of Moishe, the letters that she had drawn on the walls, the height that she had measured for Moishe. When you come to the fourth floor, it will be total darkness. You will be having visuals of attack of 2008. It will feel as if you are a part of all that. And as you are moving further, you will see a ray of light. That ray of light has taken you towards a bright room.

25:07 Speaker 1 The experience is designed to be meaningful to Jews and non-Jews alike. That fourth floor room will have interactive displays that teach of the Rebbe's mitzvah campaigns and the seven Noahide laws.

25:22 Speaker 7 One thing is for sure, any person who comes and goes through the entire experience will be leaving as a different person.

25:34 Speaker 1 The Rebbe never set foot in India. In fact, he rarely left Crown Heights, but his presence is everywhere, and so is the Holtzbergs in Mumbai and around the world. Visitors to Chabad Lubavitch of the Virgin Islands are received at the Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg Jewish Welcome Center. Preschools bearing the names of the Holtzbergs have opened in California, Italy, Israel, and Australia. Educational institutions, libraries, and hospital visitation programs now bear the names of the Holtzbergs, the shluchim the terrorists tried in vain to silence forever.

26:17 Speaker 8 So I'm sure that, uh, they are with us and, uh, continuing their shlichas to make Mumbai a dwelling place for Hashem.

26:30 Speaker 1 Rabbi Kozlovsky, I wonder if when you were thinking about shlichas and you said anywhere but India, whether you really meant nowhere but India. Am I right?

26:44 Speaker 8 I, I definitely did not say it, but Hashem said it. Never say never, right? Whenever I want to get something, I say I'm never gonna get it, and then Hashem shows me the way.

26:58 Speaker 1 I never want to be a billionaire.

27:04 Speaker 9 A person that is coming to Chabad is getting connected to the Rebbe. A person that decides to do goodness to one person is getting connected to the Rebbe. Not only Jews also, also non-Jews are getting connected to the Rebbe. The Rebbe is in Mumbai in a big way, in a very big way.

27:24 Speaker 1 The Kozlovskys didn't just rebuild a building, and they didn't simply continue the work of the Holtzbergs. They restored hope and Jewish life, and they added their own light to a Mumbai diminished, but only temporarily, by darkness. Their story is a testament to the good created by saying yes to a worthy mission, even in the very place about which Rabbi Kozlovsky once said, "Anywhere but there."

27:55 Speaker 8 And, uh, we hope that with all the communal efforts all around the world, it will be materialized and, uh, bringing Geulah into itself and the entire world.

28:08 Speaker 1 And when the redemption finally comes, what will you do, and what will happen to Nariman Lighthouse?

28:14 Speaker 8 It's a holy place. It's a Makom Kadosh. Gabi and Rivkie, I'll give her back the key.

28:24 Speaker 1 I'm Gary Wollek. Thanks for listening to Lamplighters: Stories from Chabad Emissaries on the Jewish Frontier. We welcome your questions and comments about what you've just heard on Lamplighters. Please email us at podcast@lubavitch.com. And if you know of a great story involving Chabad emissaries or the people they inspire, please let us know about them. That's podcast at L-U-B-A-V-I-T-C-H.com. To subscribe digitally to Lubavitch International Magazine or to receive it at your doorstep, please visit lubavitch.com/subscribe. Lamplighters is a project of Machne Israel, the social services arm of Chabad Lubavitch.