MOSHIACH ON TRIAL

Dear Reader sh’yichyeh,

While the Yom Tov of Chanuka is behind us, we do not stop thanking Hashem for the miracles that He has done and continues to do for us all the time. As Chassidei Chabad, we go directly from Chanuka to the Yom Tov of Hey Teves. Hey Teves is the Yom Tov when we celebrate the victory of the Rebbe as the rightful owner of the s’farim of the library, as well as the recognition of that victory in secular court.

Many ask: Why do we make such a big celebration, like that of 19 Kislev and 12 Tammuz, if the Rebbe was not physically imprisoned?

To understand this, let us review one of the lessons of the HaYom Yom that we read on the Yom Tov of Chanuka (28 Kislev): “During the Alter Rebbe’s second incarceration, in 5561 (1800), the conditions of his confinement were not as harsh as they had been the first time. The slanderous charge, however, was far more severe, for it focused [not on himself personally, but] on the teachings of Chassidus, and the opposition was intense. He was imprisoned in the Tainy Soviet prison and was released on [the day of] the third Chanukah light.”

The details of the story are as follows. Just a few years after his first arrest, the old charges were revived, and the Alter Rebbe was arrested a second time. The imperial order arrived on the second day of Chol HaMoed Sukkos, 18 Tishrei 5561 (Tuesday, October 7, 1800). He was summoned to appear in the capital city, S. Petersburg, and required to begin his journey on the following Monday, 24 Tishrei, a day after Simchas Torah.

This journey differed from the much harsher one in 5559. Then he had to ride in a vehicle reserved for prisoners charged with capital crimes, in an armored black coach surrounded by armed soldiers, accompanied by an armed escort riding on horseback. They uttered threats, and cried out in shrieking voices, to frighten away the throngs of men, women, and children who attempted to follow the procession.

During his second arrest, the Rebbe traveled under far more dignified conditions. He was transported at government expense, in a spacious coach belonging to the postal authority. He was permitted to take along any two people he chose to serve him, and they too would travel free. They would be accompanied by three officials in civilian dress. At every station where they stopped to rest and to change horses, a private room was placed at his disposal. Wherever the coach passed, hundreds of men and women came forth to greet him and bless him.

On Friday, 28 Tishrei, the Alter Rebbe arrived in Petersburg. A high-ranking official of the Ministry of the Interior came to receive him and to accompany him and his entourage to one of the buildings in the courtyard of the Tainy Soviet prison. He assigned a Jewish attendant, and also a non-Jewish one, to serve them. One of the two attendants the Alter Rebbe had chosen to accompany him was his youngest son, Moshe. R’ Moshe told the official that the Alter Rebbe was accustomed to pray with a congregation three times a day: morning, afternoon and evening. The official apologized, saying that he could not fulfill this request. His orders were that the Alter Rebbe, R’ Moshe, and the second person who accompanied them, were to be kept separated from their fellow Jews.

After just a moment’s thought, R’ Moshe suggested that the prayer service could be held in the adjoining room, so that the three of them would be completely separated from the minyan by a solid wall. Small openings could be cut in this wall, near the ceiling, so that the Rebbe would be able to hear the prayers and the Torah reading. Within a few hours, all this had been arranged. During the next two months, from 28 Tishrei until 27 Kislev (October 17 – December 4), more than twenty hearings were held, attended by people who were experts in various fields. Many of them specialized in research on theology and Kabbalah, as well as Jewish history of the Sanhedrin period.

The Alter Rebbe’s second detention arose out of an ideological objection — that his teachings encouraged Jews to stand before G‑d with mesirus nefesh (self-sacrifice) and bittul (self-nullification). His accusers maintained that promoting mesirus nefesh eroded all respect for the czarist authorities, and that promoting bittul prevented people from pursuing productive lives within society. They had heard, moreover, that Kabbalah and Chassidus relate to the Sefira of Malchus (literally, “kingship”) as the lowest of the ten Divine emanations. These misconceptions were enough to prove to his monarchist accusers that the Alter Rebbe’s school of thought was tantamount to a treacherous philosophy.

On Sunday, 27 Kislev, the third day of Chanukah, the investigation and hearings ended. Czar Paul approved the recommendation of the government ministers and granted the Alter Rebbe a full acquittal. The Rebbe was released, with permission to continue all his activities with the same vigor as before. The only condition was that he must reside temporarily in the Imperial Capital of Petersburg, until further notice.

The government officials were aware that the Alter Rebbe was an excellent leader, and that most of the Jews throughout the country were now followers of the Rebbe and his chassidim. Moreover, the Alter Rebbe’s great influence extended even to chassidim of other factions. The Alter Rebbe moved into a private apartment, at 21 Voznesenski Street, at his own expense, and joy and happiness prevailed in the chassidic community. Thus passed about three months, until Czar Paul’s death.

From this story we can learn something fascinating. For our holy Rebbeim, the severity of the event is not judged by the physical imprisonment, but rather by the spiritual charge that motivated the accusation.

From this perspective, we can now understand why the Yom Tov of Hey Teves is on a much higher level. While externally the case was about the inheritance of holy books, the real question was the Rebbe’s rightful position as the Nasi of the seventh generation, the final link in the holy chain of our holy Rebbeim. This is a deep and serious attack and is even more threatening than being forced to physically sit in prison; thus, there is a much bigger reason to celebrate the victory.

Dear Chassidim sh’yichyu,

In our days, we are in the midst of a new trial. This trial is possibly even more severe than the trial of the case of the s’farim. While the case of the s’farim was a question on the legitimacy of the leadership of the Rebbe, we are currently living through a trial about the existence of the Rebbe!

There are many in the world, even great admirers of the Rebbe, who feel that the Rebbe is now just a part of Jewish history. An extension of this feeling is the obvious conclusion that the Rebbe’s goal, mission and prophecy about Moshiach is also no longer practical or applicable, r”l. The opposing position is that there is the Emuna that “Moshe Emes V’Toraso Emes,” that we have a Rebbe and that every one of his holy words were meant exactly how he said them and will actualize very soon in this physical world.

The courtroom of this trial is held in the hearts of everyone with whom we are in contact, and each is a judge.

We need to be the lawyers on behalf of the Rebbe.

What is our best strategy to win this case?

First and foremost, we need to be an active and positive example of how a Chassid behaves. There is no better way to show the world that the body has a living head – if it cannot be seen at first glance – than to show an active body. A body cannot function without a head. We need to show that we do not accept the façade of Galus. The Torah tells us that after the B’nei Yaakov told him that Yosef was killed, Yaakov refused to be comforted. Why? A Midrash gives a remarkable answer (brought in Rashi), “One can be comforted for one who is dead, but not for one who is still living.”

Yet, the most important way to be victorious in this trial is to learn the sichos of the Rebbe about Moshiach and Geula with other people. This will liberate them and us of the Galus mindset. In the words of the Rebbe (Balak 5751): “The solution to this dilemma is Torah study concerning Moshiach and Redemption. For Torah, which is G-d’s wisdom, and thus transcends the natural order of the universe, has the capacity to alter the nature of man. Even when one’s emotions are still outside the parameters of Redemption, G-d forbid, (because he has not yet emerged from his internal exile), he can nevertheless learn the Torah’s teachings concerning Redemption, and thereby be one elevated to the state of Redemption. One then begins to thrive on matters of Redemption, borne of the knowledge, awareness and feeling that ‘Behold he is coming.’”

Rabbi Avtzon is the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivas Lubavitch Cincinnati and a well sought-after speaker and lecturer. Recordings of his in-depth shiurim on Inyanei Geula u’Moshiach can be accessed at http://www.ylcrecording.com.