Weekly Story: The Arrest and Liberation

by Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon

Since this Shabbos is Tes Kislev, the birth of the Mitteler Rebbe as well as his histalkus fifty-four years thereafter, and Sunday, Yud Kislev, is his liberation, I decided to take the chapter of his arrest and liberation from the biography I wrote and post it.

Concerning last week’s post, Boruch Hashem I managed to contact Reb Pesach Chase and he filled in some details of the Frierdiker Rebbe’s answer that his grandfather should definitely begin putting on Rabbeinu Tam’s tefillin and it would be a zechus for his father. He asked, “When is the proper time or place to change from Rashi to Rabbeinu Tam’s?” He explained that he noticed that many people change after they say the Shemoneh Esrei before the chazzan begins to repeat it.

The Frierdiker Rebbe replied, “After you say Aleinu.” [This means he is following the second opinion that the Alter Rebbe mentions in Shulcan Aruch].

As always your feedback is always appreciated.

HIS ARREST AND LIBERATION

As mentioned, in the eight months after his father’s histalkus until he settled in Lubavitch (in the summer of 5573/1813), chassidim gave the Mitteler Rebbe a large sum of money to personally help him and to build new houses for Beis HaRav and a new beis hamidrash. Since everything he owned was destroyed in their flight from Napoleon, he had to start anew.

The Mitteler Rebbe wrote to the chossid Reb Pinchas Reizes that he, together with another chossid, Reb Shlomo Freides, should divide the money fairly among the entire Beis HaRav, and that each one of the Alter Rebbe’s family members should receive something, depending on their need.

Twelve years later, in 5585 (1825), Reb Pinchas passed away suddenly while he was in Lubavitch. Since he had never been blessed with children, his relatives inherited his possessions.

The relative who inherited this letter was opposed to chassidim and Chassidism and showed it to one of the Mitteler Rebbe’s cousins. This cousin, whose family name was Lipman, had a personal grudge against the Mitteler Rebbe.

Informing the Mitteler Rebbe that he had this letter, this Lipman threatened to show it to the authorities if the Mitteler Rebbe would not give him some money.

Knowing that he was innocent of any wrongdoing, the Mitteler Rebbe refused to be intimidated and would not give in to this extortion.

Upset at their failure to intimidate and blackmail the Mitteler Rebbe, Lipman, together with Reb Pinchas’s relative, proceeded to carry out their threat. They falsely translated the letter to indicate that the Mitteler Rebbe received the enormous sum of over 105,000 rubles from his chassidim in the three-month period after the war.

In his accompanying letter to the government officials, Lipman claimed this was clear and unrefutable evidence that the Mitteler Rebbe was organizing a rebellion against the government. How else and for what other purpose would he be able to raise such an enormous sum right after the devastation of the war?

As additional proof, he also sent copies of the numerous letters the Mitteler Rebbe wrote to his chassidim over the course of the previous twelve years encouraging them to send money to Eretz Yisroel.

Eretz Yisroel at that time was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, which was then at war with Russia. Lipman’s letter claimed that this “proof” demonstrated that the Mitteler Rebbe was supporting the enemy for all those years. Of course, they purposely hid the truth: that the purpose of all the money the Mitteler Rebbe collected for Eretz Yisroel was to help support the poor chassidim living there.

Under normal circumstances, this accusation of treason would have been taken extremely seriously, and stern measures would have been taken immediately.

However, the government questioned the truthfulness of this accusation. After all, the Alter Rebbe was of great assistance to the Russian government during the war with Napoleon. Wouldn’t it be highly unlikely that his son would join a rebellion immediately afterwards? And if the Czar had given the Mitteler Rebbe the title of “Honored Citizen for All Generations,” granted him tracts of land in Cherson, and given him help in other matters, would it make sense that he would continue to send money to the enemy all these years?

Pondering these questions, the government strongly suspected that the accusations were not completely true. As such, they decided not to arrest Rav DovBer Schneuri (as the Mitteler Rebbe was then officially known) based on mere accusations and a lack of facts, especially since his father had twice found innocent of similar charges brought against him by his opponents.

Nevertheless, although these accusations were extremely questionable, they were too serious and could not simply be ignored. So they quietly began a preliminary investigation, which, when initially concluded, downplayed the whole incident entirely.

Based on the results of this investigation, the government decided not to arrest the Mitteler Rebbe and bring him to Petersburg for questioning as they had done with his father. Rather, the local Governor-General, Governor Chavonsky, would continue the investigation in the regional capital of Vitebsk.
If the investigation showed there was some truth to these accusations, the accused would then be brought to the Senate in Petersburg for questioning. But if no problems were found, the matter would be dropped and the Mitteler Rebbe would be declared free of all suspicion.

So on the Thursday after Sukkos 5587 (1826), the Governor-General decided that he would summon the Mitteler Rebbe to Vitebsk and personally question him about these allegations.

Learning of this, a delegation of chassidim and some influential gentiles petitioned the Governor not to arrest the Rebbe as a common criminal. Instead, they proposed that a few important government officials come to the Rebbe and request that he come to Vitebsk for questioning.

In addition, in recognition of his father’s great efforts to help Russia defeat Napoleon, the delegation also proposed that the Rebbe be allowed to make his own itinerary. This way, even though there would always be an unofficial government escort, it would appear to all as if the Rebbe was going on his own, especially since the chassidim would be allowed to accompany him in their own wagons or on foot.

And so, on Motzoei Shabbos, the government officials came and officially “asked” the Rebbe to come to Vitebsk. They added that the travel arrangements would certainly be made in such a way that they would not affect his health.

As soon as the officials left, cries of distress were heard from the Rebbe’s household, and many of the chassidim fainted.

The Mitteler Rebbe, however, remained completely serene. He kept to his regular schedule of receiving people for yechidus on Motzoei Shabbos and writing Chassidus. Early Sunday morning, he called in his nephew and son-in-law, HaRav Menachem Mendel, the Tzemach Tzedek, and spoke to him for two hours.
At eleven o’clock in the morning, accompanied by hundreds of chassidim in wagons and on foot, he began the journey by carriage. Due to the inclement weather and the Rebbe’s health considerations, the doctor instructed that the Rebbe not travel the entire day. Instead, they broke up the two-day journey into three.

Since the Mitteler Rebbe had been allowed to make his own itinerary, he stopped in every city through which he passed to say a maamar for the chassidim who came to greet him.

When the unofficial government escorts saw the tremendous respect everyone gave him, they were genuinely impressed and also began showing their respect. They noticed that even the non-Jews came and greeted him with bread and salt — a customary sign of respect in those days.

The accusers became furious. They now slandered the Rebbe even more. Evidently, they claimed, the Rebbe had bribed all these non-Jews to make this grand show of respect. Perhaps he also had them lie during the initial investigation about the Mitteler Rebbe’s conduct and character as well, and that is why it came out in his favor.

After hearing their claims, the Governor-General ordered that all the Mitteler Rebbe’s privileges be revoked. As soon as the Rebbe neared Vitebsk, he was arrested and treated like a common prisoner. Once in Vitebsk, he was taken to a house and placed under house arrest.

In addition to one of his sons, only three other chassidim were allowed to accompany him on the last leg of the journey to Vitebsk. They would also be allowed to stay with him until the investigation was over. Anyone else attempting to join his small entourage would be severely punished. So the hundreds of chassidim who traveled with him this far would now have to turn back.

Meanwhile, thousands of chassidim were unaware of this sudden change. They traveled from all the surrounding cities to Vitebsk, hoping to hear the Rebbe say a maamar there just as he did in the other cities.

With the Rebbe’s whereabouts unknown, one can only imagine the nervousness and fear of the chassidim as each additional hour passed. The rumors that began circulating only heightened the tension.

At nine in the evening, Dr. Heibenthal, the head of all the doctors in Vitebsk as well as the Rebbe’s personal doctor, calmed their fears. He informed a few chassidim that he had attended to the Rebbe upon the Rebbe’s arrival a few hours before. He also told them where the Rebbe was being detained.
Understandably, they immediately prepared to set out for that address but were informed of the edict that none of the chassidim were allowed to meet the Rebbe. Even when kosher food was brought to the house, the one bringing it was not permitted to say a word. He would hand it to one of the Rebbe’s attendants, who would be under heavy guard.

These strict decrees remained in effect for two weeks. On the 17th of Cheshvon, some of these restrictions were removed. From then on, the Rebbe was treated with more respect. A minyan of twenty people was allowed in the next room, with an opening at the top of the adjoining wall. This way the Rebbe could daven with a minyan, hear Kedushah, Kriyas HaTorah, etc.

In addition to this, twice a week, fifty chassidim could be present when the Rebbe said a maamar.
These changes came about through Dr. Heibenthal, who inspired Princes Lubamirsky and Tzekret (who held the Mitteler Rebbe in the greatest esteem) to speak to the Governor-General about the integrity of the Rebbe. Dr. Heibenthal also explained to the Governor that the anguish of not being allowed to say Chassidus was having a detrimental effect on the Rebbe’s health.

He informed the Governor that not allowing the Rebbe to say Chassidus could be as serious as not allowing other prisoners to eat. This was how important it was to his well being.

He added that if the Rebbe was not guilty and something happened to him, the Czar would be terribly upset and perhaps quite angry to hear how such a loyal and patriotic citizen was being treated. This would be heightened by the fact that the government’s own initial investigation had concluded that he was completely innocent.

Hearing this from a non-Jewish professor and head doctor of the entire city made a powerful impression on the Governor and caused him to soften his decrees. He, more than anyone else, knew the truth. The only reason the Mitteler Rebbe was really under house arrest was for the Governor’s personal reasons.
A few weeks later, even though the Mitteler Rebbe knew that the Governor himself was personally involved in his arrest, he wrote to the Governor a letter requesting that he himself judge the case.
Quoting a verse from Shlomo HaMelech — “My son, you shall fear Hashem and the king, and with rebellious people do not mingle” — the Mitteler Rebbe showed how it is against the Torah to go against the government. “This means,” he explained, “that when one argues against the government, it is as if he is rebelling against the Creator.”

Using this as proof, he stated that all the charges were false, as not one of his accusers would claim that he would ever intentionally act against the Torah.

He then explained that the reason he wanted the Governor to personally judge his case was that Hashem’s wisdom rests on government officials.

This is derived from the law that when one sees a king, he makes the blessing, “Blessed are You…who [takes] from His honor and bestows it upon a human being.” Since an actual part of Hashem’s honor is bestowed upon a king and his high officials, the higher the official, the greater the assistance he is given from Above to judge honestly and correctly.

He concluded the letter by stating that he would accept whatever decision the Governor made, adding that he was confident he would be exonerated.

The Governor agreed to judge it himself. After hearing from the Mitteler Rebbe that the document had been purposely mistranslated, the Governor had this verified through an independent translator.

The truth was that he had only received 12,000 of the 35,000 rubles raised, instead of 35,000 of the 105,000 rubles supposedly raised, as stated in the falsified documents. Prompted by this revelation, the Gov¬ernor decided to arrange a debate between the Rebbe and the accuser. This way he could person¬ally ascertain who was telling the truth in the other accusations as well.

The Rebbe came to the debate in his majestic Shabbos clothing. His regal appearance impressed everyone present and the Governor ordered that a chair be brought for him, even though the accused would traditionally stand throughout the proceedings.

As the debate progressed, the accuser became confused and addressed the Mitteler Rebbe with the respectful title of “Rebbe.” Turning to the Governor, the Mitteler Rebbe pointed out, “He calls me a liar and a rebel against the government, yet he himself calls me ‘Rebbe’! Obviously, he knows the truth.”
When the accuser remained silent, the Mitteler Rebbe’s innocence became obvious to all.

On Yud Kislev 5586 (1825), a few days after emerging victorious from the debate with his main accuser, the Mitteler Rebbe was informed by the Governor-General that he was allowed to go home.

“However,” the Governor said, “you are not completely freed of the charges. The investigation is not over. I will be sending my findings, and my opinion to the Senate, that while you are innocent of the charges your two accusers presented against you and did not commit treason, my investigation did reveal that you broke some other laws.”

So the Mitteler Rebbe returned home. However, with the threat of an ongoing investigation hanging over his head, there was nothing to celebrate.

Even months later, after the lower and then the higher district courts carefully reviewed the case and verified the Mitteler Rebbe’s innocence, the Governor refused to give in. He desperately wanted to “catch” the Rebbe on something, even if it was something small.

On the 21st of Kislev, 5588 (1827), two years after he was first asked to come to Vitebsk for questioning – and seven months after the Governor sent his letter to the Senate explaining why, in his opinion, at least the lower charges should not be dropped, – the case against the Mitteler Rebbe finally came to its conclusion. The Senate pronounced its decision that all charges of treason against him were completely false and the Mitteler Rebbe was innocent.

In spite of the good news, this brought no comfort to anyone because, as we will read in the next chapter, the Mitteler Rebbe had been nistalek twelve days earlier, on Tes Kislev.

The Rebbeim explain that the Mitteler Rebbe’s arrest was a result of the accusations in Heaven that he was teaching too much Chassidus.

The question is, since the Alter Rebbe’s liberation exonerated him from this similar accusation, how could his son be accused of the same thing that the Heavenly Court had already declared permissible?

The answer is that the Mitteler Rebbe publicized Chassidus much more abundantly than his father. Yes, Heavenly permission was given to publicize Chassidus, but not on such a large scale.

The Alter Rebbe was allowed to teach general concepts, but not to delve into them with so much detail. The Mitteler Rebbe went beyond the Alter Rebbe’s limits. Not only did he expound in depth on the concepts his father had taught, he also revealed many new ones that his father would not have revealed.
So once again, there was a Heavenly accusation against the spreading of Chassidus, but this time it was against the Mitteler Rebbe.

His liberation, however, was a sign from the Heavenly Court that this accusation as well was invalid and he would be allowed to continue teaching Chassidus without any limitations. Subsequently, the accusations on earth were also decided in his favor, and as soon as he was freed, he began to say Chassidus once again in abundance.

The Rebbe would point out to us at farbrengens: If permission was given by the Heavenly Court, that means even this measure of Chassidus is not considered “abundant” or a “luxary” but a necessity. In simple terms, that means it is incumbent on us to teach Chassidus in such a manner as well.

Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeim and their Chassidim. He can be contacted at avtzonbooks@gmail.com