Continued from the previous week:
The RaYYatz: Admur Yosef Yitzchok, 6th Chabad Rebbe’s arrest
Rabbi Robbinowitz got the telegram that the RaYYatz* was arrested. He knew that there was no time to waste.
Rabbi Robbinowitz called his son Peretz, who was a prominent lawyer in Springfield, Massachusetts, and told him, “Stop what you are doing and go with your brother Oscar to Washington, D.C., in order to save the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s life. No time can be lost.”
Oscar lived in Boston and worked in the Internal Revenue Service. In Washington, all the doors were open for him. He did a lot of hishtadlus on behalf of his brethren. He knew all, and they all knew him.
They went by train to Washington. The first office they went to was that of Associate Chief Justice Brandeis. His secretary said to Oscar, “It is good to see you.” Oscar said, “I need to see Chief Justice Brandeis.” The secretary said, “Sorry, but the court is in session, and he is not seeing anybody. Put your name down, and you will see him in a month.” Oscar said, “But I must see him NOW.” Right at that moment, who came in from the hall? The chief justice himself. He said, “Oscar! What is it? You look pale.” Oscar said, “It’s not me, it’s the Lubavitcher Rebbe Schneersohn. He was arrested by the communist Russian government and charged with counter-revolutionary activity.” Associate Chief Justice Brandeis commented, “Rabbi Isaac Shneerson, the prince of Israel.”
He said to Oscar, “Come into my office.” He pressed a buzzer, and in came Mr. Cohen. Mr. Cohen was the chief justice’s assistant and right-hand man. “I need you to go now with these men to these three senators to save Rabbi Schneerson from the injustice being done to him. Explain to them in my name that there are 300 synagogues in the United States with 50,000 members of taxpaying voters who get their spiritual nourishment from this important rabbi, and therefore, his well-being is of great interest to the United States.”
When the senators saw Mr. Cohen and the Rabbinowitz brothers with the message of the chief justice and were told of the urgency and the imminent danger the Rebbe was in, they immediately went to the State Department.
The State Department immediately sent a telegram to Russia that read: “Free Rabbi Isaac Joseph Schneersohn. He has done no crime.”
Wherever there was a free country with a U.S. embassy, our government urged them to do the same, and the pressure on the Russian government came from all different countries.
Coming from this Chag Hageulah, Yud Beis Tammuz, may Hashem bring us the geulah of Klal Yisroel and the entire world, and may the upcoming days turn into happy and joyous ones!
U FARATZTA RABBI SHALOM BER MUNITZ
