Abraham Isaac and Jacob in Mumbai

Moshe Kempinski
The concept of Zechut Avot (the merit of the forefathers) in Jewish thinking refers to the concept that,when all else fails, the Jewish people can at times depend on the merits of their forefathers, Abraham Isaac and Jacob”. The simple understanding of that concept might lead one to assume that one’s direction and determination in life would be decided based upon the greatness and sanctity of others. That simple understanding would be inconsistent with Jewish understanding . We each stand before our Creator armed with the decisions we make , the character of our souls and the yearnings of our hearts.

What then is Zechut Avot?

The Ramban describes that "the deeds of our fathers are a signpost for the children." And that this is a cardinal rule of Jewish history.In his commentary on Parshat Lech Lecha he writes;
" I will tell you a rule to be applied throughout the parshiot of Avraham Yitzchak and Yaakov. The Rabbis stated this rule as “everything that happened to the fathers is a sign for the children”. The Torah tells stories, at length, about journeying or well digging ...one might think that these are meaningless detail but in reality they reflect something of the future. When an event occurs to one of the prophets who are our forefathers, he will understand that a form of these occurrences will occur as well to his descendants.”

Can this give some insight to the concept of Zechut Avot?

I believe the merit of our forefathers Avraham Yitzchak and Yaacov is that within every one of their descendants, a seed has been embedded deeply in every heart. We all carry within us a fragment of the qualities that each one of the fathers developed and revealed in this world. It is to those fragments we turn to for empowerment or guidance when reality comes crashing around us.

Each one of the forefathers became a master of a differing and powerful attribute. Abraham is identified with the divine attribute of Hesed: of kindness, of giving to others without limitations. Yitschak is connected with Gevura, the strength coming from self imposed rigor and disciplined limitations. Yaacov is connected with Emet, the truth that melds the two previous attributes into an ongoing walk of faith in difficult and threatening circumstances. Yaakov’s name implies that steady and consistent walk forward (Okev)


It is these attributes that lay ensconced within every one of their descendants waiting to blossom forth and be revealed. It is in the merit of these spiritual gifts left to the children that a small and fragile people can venture into and survive the difficult waters of human history.

It was Avraham's quality of Hesed and faith that led Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg and his wife Rivka to leave the comforts of their American home and travel to the dusty and chaotic port city of Mumbai, to open a Jewish outreach center. They worked tirelessly to run a Chabad house serving homemade kosher meals to their many guests and strengthening their connection with God. Much like Avraham's tent their "house” was open to the traveling seekers and the needy souls.

According to the Zaka volunteers who entered the bullet ridden ruins of the Chabad house,they found six badly damaged bodies. Yet Rivka's body was covered with a tallit. It seems that her husband in the midst of the terror and despite his wounds gathered the emotional, spiritual and physical strength to cover his wife before he succumbed to his own wounds. That was the attribute of Gevura working through him. The attribute revealed by Yitzchak who even when faced with his own impending death on Mount Moriah accepted the binding by his father. It is the attribute that gives the spiritual strength that enables one to continue to concern oneself with spiritual concerns even when confronted with extinction.

It is the Emet or truth of Yaacov that enabled the young couple to continue forward despite the previous tragedy of losing a child to a genetic disease. It is also that truth that will give his family and the rest of the Jewish people the empowerment to move forward and rebuild , eventually to recreate the tents of Avraham every where they need to be set up.

Yet it is also the truth of Yaacov that finally gave our forefather the strength to become Israel. The Yaacov who must become Israel does not turn another cheek but will strive with G-d, that is alongside G-d, to face, confront and vanquish evil.

In such a fashion the memories of all six victims of this hatred,Rabbi Gavriel Noach Holtzberg 29 years old and his 28 year old wife Rivka 38-year-old Leibish Teitelbaum, 50-year-old Norma Shvarzblat Rabinovich , Yocheved Orpaz, 60, and Bentzion Chroman, 28, will truly be for a blessing