I intend to become like my bro Rabbi someday: Aaron

A year has rolled by after Rabbi Gavriel was killed by terrorists at Jewish centre here but the tragedy will perhaps remain etched in the mind of his younger brother, who intends to follow the foot steps of his elder sibling in community service.

"The memories of that incident can never be erased. He worked for the community people in Mumbai, made them feel homely, the prayers and the positive energy that he spread in the centre changed many lives," Moshe Tzvi Aaron, younger brother of Rabbi Gavriel said here.

The Holtzbergs ran the Jewish outreach center in Colaba in south Mumbai which had an educational center and a synagogue, offered drug prevention services and stay to the people of their faith.

Aaron, who met Gabi (Rabbi) and his wife Rivki (Rivka) two months before the attack, said, "I used to come here every six months. I learned a lot from my brother who was here since 2003. I intend to become like him one day."
       
Chabad House, also known as Nariman House, one of the terror sites last November, still screams loud of the bullet marks, hand grenades and rocket launchers that were exchanged in cross-firing during the 45-hour terror seige.

Recounting the event of that ill-fated night when Rabbi, Rivka and four other guests were killed, Aaron said, "After we learnt about the attack, I immediately left for Mumbai and reached here on November 27. It took me four hours from the airport to reach Chabad House. I tried communicating with them but couldn't get through."

"All I remember that the streets that day wore a deserted look which made me feel petrified and while I was just few miles away from the centre I heard sounds of explosion and gun fire," Aaron said, with tear-brimmed eyes.
       
The 21-year-old boy, who stays in New York, visits Baby Moshe, who is now living in Israel, every two weeks with his maternal grandparents and Indian nanny Sandra Samuel.

"I visit Moshe often and he is keeping fine. Seeing him I remember my brother. Moshe is just like him, smart, intelligent and yet tough," Aaron said.