Friday, October 30, 2009
Ritual bath to honor couple murdered in Mumbai terror attack
A ritual bath, steeped in symbols of Judaic faith, will remind those who immerse and pray in its waters of a young rabbi and his wife killed in a terrorist attack in India a year ago.
On the tiled walls of its mikvah, a deep, warm-water bath that promises spiritual purity to Jewish women, the Lubavitch Center in Pikesville will hang a marble plaque that reads, "May their merit be a blessing for all those who immerse in these waters."
At 11 a.m. Sunday, in a public ceremony, the center will rededicate its Mikvah Mei Menachem in homage to Rabbi Gabi and Rivky Holtzberg. The rabbi's sister, Rikal Kaler, belongs to the congregation.
"This wall of remembrance is a message of life, survival and hope, all of which the mikvah symbolizes," said Rochelle Kaplan, center director. "It is most appropriate to remember the Holtzberg couple at this facility, because their life exemplified purity, self-sacrifice and the very best of humanity."
As members of Chabad Lubavitch, an ultra-Orthodox Hasidic sect dedicated to outreach around the globe, the Holtzbergs founded Nariman House, a synagogue and cultural center for Israeli tourists and the small Jewish community in Mumbai. Terrorists infiltrated the center during a siege of the city last year, and the Holtzbergs were among the hostages found killed after Indian commando units stormed the center. Their toddler son was rescued and lives with his grandparents in Israel.
"Although their light was extinguished, they will continue to shine through the life of their son and through the use of mikvah, which represents rebirth," Kaplan said.
Donations in the couple's memory helped refurbish the mikvah with beige and aqua ceramic tiles on the walls, stained-glass windows depicting Biblical women and water images, and soft lighting to the bath that opened at the center in 2003 and typically serves about 50 women a month.
In the corner of the center that houses the mikvah, Kaplan has created a welcoming space that visitors can tour Sunday.
"We want people to walk through and absorb the atmosphere and the message, as we rededicate this place," she said.
The entry hall is lined with memorial plaques and donated artwork, including a painting by Israeli students and a portrait of a couple at their wedding. Michoel Muchnik, a New York artist, used blues, greens and earth tones to fashion wall hangings, one of a water jug and the other of a blessings cup. Silk plants and roses line the sides of the deep pool, where a lone woman would fully immerse herself and intone a blessing, while serene music trills softly in the background.
"This mikvah will make us take a moment to think about what these young people meant," Kaplan said. "They were sparks of light in the world and they died doing what they loved."
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/bal-md.co.mikvahoct30,0,103915.story
On the tiled walls of its mikvah, a deep, warm-water bath that promises spiritual purity to Jewish women, the Lubavitch Center in Pikesville will hang a marble plaque that reads, "May their merit be a blessing for all those who immerse in these waters."
At 11 a.m. Sunday, in a public ceremony, the center will rededicate its Mikvah Mei Menachem in homage to Rabbi Gabi and Rivky Holtzberg. The rabbi's sister, Rikal Kaler, belongs to the congregation.
"This wall of remembrance is a message of life, survival and hope, all of which the mikvah symbolizes," said Rochelle Kaplan, center director. "It is most appropriate to remember the Holtzberg couple at this facility, because their life exemplified purity, self-sacrifice and the very best of humanity."
As members of Chabad Lubavitch, an ultra-Orthodox Hasidic sect dedicated to outreach around the globe, the Holtzbergs founded Nariman House, a synagogue and cultural center for Israeli tourists and the small Jewish community in Mumbai. Terrorists infiltrated the center during a siege of the city last year, and the Holtzbergs were among the hostages found killed after Indian commando units stormed the center. Their toddler son was rescued and lives with his grandparents in Israel.
"Although their light was extinguished, they will continue to shine through the life of their son and through the use of mikvah, which represents rebirth," Kaplan said.
Donations in the couple's memory helped refurbish the mikvah with beige and aqua ceramic tiles on the walls, stained-glass windows depicting Biblical women and water images, and soft lighting to the bath that opened at the center in 2003 and typically serves about 50 women a month.
In the corner of the center that houses the mikvah, Kaplan has created a welcoming space that visitors can tour Sunday.
"We want people to walk through and absorb the atmosphere and the message, as we rededicate this place," she said.
The entry hall is lined with memorial plaques and donated artwork, including a painting by Israeli students and a portrait of a couple at their wedding. Michoel Muchnik, a New York artist, used blues, greens and earth tones to fashion wall hangings, one of a water jug and the other of a blessings cup. Silk plants and roses line the sides of the deep pool, where a lone woman would fully immerse herself and intone a blessing, while serene music trills softly in the background.
"This mikvah will make us take a moment to think about what these young people meant," Kaplan said. "They were sparks of light in the world and they died doing what they loved."
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/baltimore-county/bal-md.co.mikvahoct30,0,103915.story
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