Dovid grew up and attended school with Gavriel in Crown Heights. Speaking on the telephone from Monterey, he said: "I'm in disbelief. I cannot believe that I'm talking about my cousin in the past tense."
Dovid Holtzberg said his cousin told him life in Mumbai was busy, and that many people came to see him. About 10 days ago, Dovid and his cousin connected on the Web networking site Facebook.
The Holtzbergs were working to establish Chabad centers in other parts of India, said Dovid Zaklikowski, a friend in New York, who spoke regularly with Gavriel.
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Memorials
"We are all sharing in this pain," said Rabbi Mendy Deren, an emissary from Jerusalem who showed up at the New York headquarters Friday. "It really is our brother and our sister. Their son, Moshe, now has 4,000 parents adopting him."
About 4:30 Friday, Rabbi Boruch Shlomo Cunin walked into the Westwood Chabad synagogue, where preparations were beginning for the Jewish Sabbath, or Shabbat.
Since Jews are not allowed to mourn on Shabbat, Cunin said Sabbath services would continue as usual, as they had in Mumbai and in Israel, though prayers would be dedicated to those who had been killed or injured in the attacks.
"The mourner's kaddish will be recited over the world this weekend," Chaim Cunin said.
A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Sunday at the Westwood Chabad headquarters.
Gavriel's cousin said the Holtzbergs would be buried in Israel within the next few days as dictated by Jewish tradition, which requires burial as soon as possible after death, but not on Shabbat.
Friday evening in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, women and girls were called to prayer. They lighted candles 18 minutes before the sun set.
"We call upon Jewish women and girls to brighten the profound darkness the world is witnessing," said Krinsky of the Brooklyn Chabad. "I'm certain this would be Gavriel and Rivkah's wish."
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erika.hayasaki@latimes.com
tami.abdollah@latimes.com
Times staff writer Duke Helfand in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
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Erika Hayasaki reporting from New York
Tami Abdollah reporting from Los Angeles
