World rejoices with the Kogan and Spielman families
By: Chabad.org Staff
Almost five months after Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Zvi Kogan was abducted and murdered by an Islamic terror cell in the United Arab Emirates, his wife Rivky welcomed a baby girl, born during the intermediate days of the holiday of Passover.
“We extend a heartfelt mazal tov to Rivky Kogan on the birth of her baby girl. We join the Kogan and Spielman families and the entire Jewish world in celebrating this special moment of simcha,” announced Rabbi Levi Duchman, rabbi to the United Arab Emirates, in an email to his community.
The Jerusalem-raised Kogan arrived in the UAE in 2020, working alongside Duchman, who leads Chabad of the United Arab Emirates, and other Chabad emissaries to establish and expand Jewish life in the Emirates.
In early 2022, he met his wife, Rivky Spielman, a native of New York and the two got married soon after. Rivky is the niece of Rabbi Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg, the emissaries who led Chabad of Mumbai and were murdered by terrorists together with four of their guests in 2008.
After their wedding, the Kogans moved permanently to the Emirates. Rivky taught in the local Jewish school and Zvi directed logistics at the Chabad center in Abu Dhabi, ensuring all operations ran smoothly. Kogan also managed and operated the kosher supermarket in Dubai—Rimon Market—which opened in December of 2022, as well as acting as an aide to Duchman. The couple connected with the thousands of Jewish visitors and residents in the UAE.
On the afternoon of Thursday, Nov. 21, 2024, Kogan was abducted in Dubai by terrorists and driven towards Oman. Kogan’s car, which terrorists stole when they abducted him, was abandoned in Al Ain, a city more than an hour from Dubai. His body was recovered on Sunday morning, and the martyred rabbi was laid to rest on the Mount of Olives on Nov. 25, after an emotional funeral in Kfar Chabad.
Since his murder, Rivky has returned to the UAE to uplift and inspire her community, directing a challah bake that was one of the final projects her husband worked on, and leading a group of women from Abu Dhabi to the International Women’s Conference of Chabad-Lubavitch Emissaries in New York in February. Numerous projects have been launched to honor Kogan’s memory, including plans to build a “Bet Zvi” center in the UAE, the writing of a Torah, and an ambitious tefillin project throughout the Gulf State—particularly fitting considering Kogan’s passion for wrapping tefillin with his fellow Jews.
“This precious baby is a special continuation of her beloved father, who was brutally murdered, and whose life’s mission continues to inspire us all,” wrote Duchman. “May we share only simcha and bracha [joy and blessing], and may this young girl bring much joy, comfort, and light to her family and to all Am Yisroel.”
The post Months After Her Father’s Murder, Daughter Born to Rabbi Zvi and Rivky Kogan appeared first on The Jewish Voice.
