First of all, let me note what should be an obvious point: It is an atrocity whenever and wherever noncombatants are deliberately targeted for torture or murder simply to promote political, religious, or national agendas. Whether in Mumbai, Pakistan, Congo, Rwanda, Baghdad, New York City, Oklahoma City, or Jerusalem.
So when I also note that the attack on a Chabad center hit home for me I do not mean to diminish in any way the devastating sufferings of so many others.
But indeed, the attack on the Mumbai Chabad House did hit close to home, for me.
Anyone, such as myself, who has to occasionally travel for professional reasons to various out-of-the-way places, and who also is a Shomer Shabbos (Sabbath Observant) Jew, knows to seek out the nearest Chabad house for stay over Shabbos (Sabbath). I have on several occasions enjoyed the wonderful, open, hospitality of Chabad Rabbis and their families, who have made space for me in their homes and at their dinner tables.
Frankly, I have felt more at home, and spiritually refreshed, enjoying Shabbos in a Chabad house with people I've only known a few hours than I've sometimes felt in the company and homes of people I've known for decades.
And for those who have enjoyed Chabad's hospitality, it comes as no surprise that the Mumbai Chabad Rabbi and his wife, Rabbi Gavriel & Mrs. Rivkah Holtzberg (may their memories be for a blessing), were kind, lovely, beautiful, people.
Moreover, in the US, while so many Jews wring their hands over the assimilation and imminent disappearance of the American Jewish Community, the Chabad movement has actually accomplished something: They have brought thousands of Jews back to their culture and faith. Chabad accomplishes this through their warmth and the simplicity of their direct spirituality.
Chabad is, in fact, an acronym: Chachma (Wisdom), Binah (Understanding), Da'as (Knowledge).
To attack a Chabad house in India is to attack Jews simply for being Jewish. To attack the very idea that Jews have a right to live.
