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Rabbi Bztalel Kupchek on how faith carried him and his family through the testing time when the terror threat loomed large over Chabad house
About a month ago, when the city woke up to the realisation that Pune could have been on the radar of terrorists, Rabbi Bztalel Kupchek, staying at the Chabad House, suspected to be one of the main terror targets, wrote a letter in which he asked for advice in this critical hour. As per custom, he placed the sheet of paper in one of the books called Letters From God. "As usual I found the answer on the page in which I had placed the letter. The answer was -- 'Don’t worry. You are doing good work and so even the evil will only help you in your mission, just as the shade also helps the fruit to grow and ripen along with the sun.’ After that, there was no question of feeling any anxiety for even a moment,” says Kupchek. 
It’s this unflinching faith in their religion, scriptures and the work of the Jewish mission that has seen Rabbi Bztalel (52) his wife Rachel (49) and three of their 11 children, who are present with them at the Chabbad House in Pune, tide over the crisis that may well have unnerved most others. "We have a saying that if God will not keep you from the enemy, all the armies in the world cannot do so either. So, we firmly believed that we are here for a purpose and God knows that and he is protecting us. That was enough. Though, of course, we are very grateful to the Indian government for the security cover they provided us to ensure our safety," adds Kupchek.
Hence, though they lived under constant police surveillance for weeks together, with barricades outside the Jewish centre in Koregaon Park, maintaining a semblance of normality was not really a challenge for them, says the Rabbi. "The police personnel would screen visitors, check baggage but they never disturbed us at all. In fact, my wife was alone here for some days in the initial period, as I was out of the country and she had a young child to tend to. So, whenever anyone came to the Chabad House to see her and needed her attention, she would tell the child -- Go outside and play with the police and he would do just that!” smiles Kupchek. Out of their 11 children, eight are presently in Israel. "Our eldest is 28 and youngest four. Once a child turns 14, he or she is sent to Israel for higher studies and work,” says Rachel. Having been in Pune for the last nine years, four of their children were born here.
"India has been very good to us. Some time back, a television channel from Israel called to ask if we felt insecure staying here, in the backdrop of the threat and I answered -- Where is there more danger, in India or in Israel? Ask yourself,” says Kupchek, adding, "We have learnt to look at the bright side of everything -- even this. For instance, now everyone knows where the Chabad House is. Earlier, we needed to give directions to all who came here!” he signs off.
The Headley episode
About two weeks ago, the security cordon at Chabad House was taken off. "Just as I didn’t enquire too much about the reason for the police presence, I have not delved too much into their absence either. I guess after Headley’s interrogations they may have realised that there is no immediate threat of anyone shooting down the place and hence, moved on,” says Bztalel Kupchek. As for David Headley’s visit to the Chabad House he says, "My wife says that she may have spoken to him because she recollects an American man of that description who came in and said that he was a Jew and that he had converted to the faith in India. Though she is not very sure, she feels this man may have been Headley,” reveals Rabbi.
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