Pain to Purpose: A Call to Act in Rabbi Kogan’s Memory

“Boruch Dayan Hoemet” – Blessed is the True Judge. Though we cannot fully comprehend the ways of Hashem, the Creator, we trust that there is a deeper truth behind His decisions.

Last night, we received heartbreaking news: my colleague and fellow Chabad rabbi, Zvi Kogan, was abducted and murdered in an act of terror on UAE soil.

While I didn’t have the privilege of knowing Rabbi Kogan personally, my youngest brother Menachem, who spent three months last year as a Chabad intern in the UAE, visited Dubai’s Rimon Kosher Market about four times a week and found a dear friend in Zvi. Just months ago, my brother rode with Zvi from the store in Dubai to his home in Abu Dhabi – the very route on which Zvi was tragically and horrifically abducted and killed last week.

There is so much to process.

Rabbi Kogan served in both “armies” of the Jewish people:

Chabad Rabbi Zvi Kogan during his service in the IDF’s Givati Brigade.

He first served in the Israeli Defense Force’s Givati Brigade, an infantry unit that defends Israel’s borders, safeguarding the people and land of Israel.

In 2020, he joined The Rebbe’s Army of Chabad Shluchim, whose mission is to secure Jewish identity. He took an active role in building Jewish infrastructure in the UAE, setting up kosher food, education, and Shabbat dinners. It was for this commitment to Jewish identity that he paid with his life.

Zvi’s primary responsibility in Dubai was managing the world-class Rimon Kosher Market. Tragically, this is now the third terrorist attack targeting kosher supermarkets in recent years: in 2015, the Hypercacher supermarket attack in Paris; in 2019, the JC Kosher Supermarket shooting in Jersey City, NJ; and now, the abduction and murder of the Rimon Kosher Market manager in Dubai.

There is a profound link between kashrut and Jewish identity. We are what we eat, and the kosher diet sustains and nourishes the Jewish soul. Thus, an attack on kosher stores is an attack on the essence of Jewish life.

Zvi’s murder is a call to all of us to secure Jewish identity and deepen our commitment to kashrut observance.

Zvi’s wife, Rivkah, has asked that we honor his memory through mitzvot. I would like to present her with a list of 36 individuals who took a step toward kashrut observance in his honor. This could mean purchasing kosher meat, drinking only kosher wine, or refraining from mixing milk and meat. For those who already keep kosher, it might be reviewing the laws and meaning of kashrut through study or listening to an online class.

Please join us as we strive to dispel darkness with light. Pleaselet me know if I can add your name to the list of those taking a Kosher step forward in memory of Zvi.  My email is RabbiMotti@JPortland.com

To help secure the financial future of Zvi’s young wife, click here