The Abuchatzeira Trial
A few days after Sukkos 5741/1980, Israel was thrown into turmoil. A well-known public figure was compelled by the court to serve as a state witness. For an inexplicable reason, he decided to fabricate a bribery accusation against Shmuel Daskal.
Related lawyer Yehuda Stern:
Mr. Daskal found himself arrested and prosecuted, in a case that was called the “Abuchatzeira Trial.” How did he get caught up in this whirlwind, which was such an anathema to his personality?
It all began with the excellent relationships and connections Reb Shmuel had with many public figures. When a case was opened against Religious Affairs Minister Aharon Abuchatzeira, one of Reb Shmuel’s friends was coerced to become a state witness, and had to testify about several bribery crimes that he’d mediated for the minister.
Among the allegations, it was claimed that Shmuel Daskal had transferred a quarter of a million shekels to Mr. Abuchatzeira in a transaction mediated by the state witness, so that the minister would then approve a grant of one million shekels to Vizhnitz Institutions. This false allegation didn’t claim that Mr. Daskal himself had received any monetary gain but rather that he’d given money out of his pocket so that Vizhnitz should get four times the amount.
He was detained for questioning and incarcerated in subhuman conditions. He had to sit alongside criminals of the worst kind, who harassed him and humiliated him to no end.
Not Intimidated by Anyone
In time, Reb Shmuel told his family a bit about what he’d endured:
The investigators tried various methods to get me to crack and admit my alleged guilt. I spent the nights in a dreadful cell, and they took me for repeated interrogations. Just the sight of the interrogation department was enough to evoke chilling fear. The wall behind the interrogator was decorated with swords and other intimidating paraphernalia.
On the first morning, before I was taken out of my cell for interrogation, I arranged my beard and clothes so that I could look as orderly as possible, in order to radiate confidence and strength. I stood in front of the interrogators, firm, calm, and confident; I made sure to exude a sense of power throughout the entire ordeal.
“How was your night?” was the first question the interrogator asked.
“Everything was fine. I slept well,” I replied calmly.
For two weeks, they tormented me with a bombardment of interrogations, but I didn’t utter an extra word. Although the situation in my business at the time was terrible, and naturally, I could have been more vulnerable, I managed to maintain my equanimity and clarity of mind.
During one of the interrogations, the director of the department tried to threaten me. With a twinkle in my eye, I replied, “What can you threaten me with? At worst, you’ll hang me!”
I acted extremely confident, and although the interrogators tried to trip me up the whole time, and to get me to implicate myself, they failed.
Attorney Yehuda Stern, an old friend, encouraged me a lot during those difficult times. He reassured me and explained, “Really, it’s better that they’re interrogating you for a longer time; each day of interrogations indicates that they know their case is flimsy. You can take heart that each day here decreases your chances of a prison sentence in the future. Be strong. Wait patiently until the truth comes to light!”
When I was released, I went into the office of the director of the interrogation department to bid him farewell. He wasn’t yet ready to give up on me. With his smooth tongue, he turned to me and tried yet another dig. “Mr. Daskal, isn’t it preferable for you to admit that you contributed a quarter of a million shekels to the party, rather than denying this fact and going to trial for it?”
I took off my jacket, sat down across from him, and responded calmly, “Here I am. Do you want to start all over again?!”
The interrogations had finally ended, but the matter was not yet over. On the contrary, the anxiety about what was ahead only intensified. In a few months, I’d have to appear for a very difficult trial that would last at least two months. Winter of 1981 passed in fear and worry, and that was in addition to the crisis in the diamond industry that had affected me badly.
The Rebbe’s Commiseration
The deep love that the Rebbe had for Reb Shmuel was evident during this challenging time.
Harav Peretz Tuvia Steinmetz related:
My grandfather, Reb Zelig Steinmetz, asked the Rebbe to test me on a large number of dapei Gemara. I prepared for weeks for the test, and it was scheduled for a few days after Sukkos. With awe and trembling, I prepared to enter the room for the test.
Suddenly, the gabbai, Rabbi Yisrael Zilbershlag, emerged and announced, “Due to Reb Shmuel’s arrest, the Rebbe is not seeing people right now. He is davening for Reb Shmuel and is totally focused on this matter. Perhaps in a few days, the Rebbe will become available.”
My grandfather spoke up. “But the Rebbe is traveling to Arad in two days for a few weeks, for his regular post-Yom Tov vacation.”
“The Rebbe has postponed his trip until Reb Shmuel is released,” the gabbai replied.
* * *
The Shabbos that Reb Shmuel was in jail, the Rebbe could find no peace. At the Friday night tish, after his family gave bottles of wine as a zechus for Reb Shmuel, the Rebbe delivered the following dvar Torah:
“We daven every Friday night: ‘Modeh ani lefanecha... al kol hachessed she’asisa imadi, v’asher Atah asid la’asos imi v’im kol bnei beisi.’ Why do we include the chassadim for the family only in the future tense? Why do we not thank Hashem for the chessed that Hashem has already done with all the members of our family?”
The Rebbe offered a beautiful explanation. This tefillah is about chassadim that appear to be difficult dinim, and the family does not understand that they are chassadim. A person can be thanking Hashem for all that Hashem has done for him, even though these chassadim appear to be afflictions, because he knows that in truth, it’s all chessed. But in the future, we ask that Hashem should do chassadim that the family should also have the ability to recognize as good.
These words were like cool water for a parched soul.
Throughout that difficult period, the Rebbe was involved in every detail of what Reb Shmuel was enduring. Only after he was released did the Rebbe travel to Arad. “Despite the tremendous exertion the Rebbe put in, from Rosh Chodesh Elul until after Sukkos, he refused to rest until the investigations were over,” Rabbi Zilbershlag, the gabbai, related.
Gedolei Yisrael Share His Troubles
Many gedolei Yisrael were very concerned for Reb Shmuel and davened for him to be acquitted. Harav Yaakov Yisrael Kanievsky, the Steipler Gaon, sent his son-in-law and confidant, Harav Shlomo Berman, one of the roshei yeshivah of Ponevezh, with a special message: “You don’t need to worry about anything! You will be completely exonerated!” Likewise, he sent his sefer, Kehillos Yaakov on Maseches Bava Basra, with a special handwritten note in the flyleaf.
During that winter, Rav Shmuel visited the Erloyer Rebbe, with whom he was very close.
“Reb Shmuel, what are you worried about? I promise that you won’t even be fined!” the Erloyer Rebbe exclaimed warmly.
Reb Dovid Tzvi Neuman of Vienna, one of the pillars of Erloyer chassidus related:
It’s interesting to note that not long afterwards, I asked the Erloyer Rebbe to promise me something. To my surprise, the Rebbe replied, “It’s not my way to promise.”
“But the Rebbe promised Reb Shmuel Daskal that he would be acquitted in court!” I wondered aloud.
“Indeed, those words left my mouth; it was a one-time occurrence. It never happened before and it will never happen again!” the Rebbe said.
The Purim Shpiel
The year 5741 was a leap year. The trial began on Rosh Chodesh Adar I and continued throughout Adar until almost Pesach. It was taken as a good sign that the trial took place in the months of Adar.
Each year, a Purim shpiel is held in the Vizhnitzer court on Purim, and the façade of the seemingly simple play serves to conceal great depth. Gedolim through the generations have viewed the Purim shpiel as a lofty event through which they could effect yeshuos.
That year, the Purim shpiel was based on Reb Shmuel’s trial. It was a remarkable and moving performance in every way. The state witness gave contradictory testimony and his behavior evoked scorn and bursts of laughter. At the end of the trial, Reb Shmuel was cleared of all charges.
Throughout the performance, the Rebbe sat engrossed in his thoughts, a somber expression on his face. At the end, he remarked, “A stone has been rolled off my heart!”
The Trial
The trial was complicated and numerous testimonies were presented. It generated a tremendous amount of public attention because of the number of public and government figures who were involved.
Related Reb Benzion Weiler:
Before the state witness’s testimony, Attorney Yaakov Weinroth discussed how to cross-examine the witness to prove he was lying. Reb Shmuel did not agree with the line of questioning, claiming it was not adequate. He countered with an amazing and original approach, and Weinroth accepted his suggestion.
They prepared a cross-examination that proved itself beyond expectations. The testimony of the main witness was totally refuted and Reb Shmuel’s innocence clearly emerged.
Reb Shmuel’s son, Reb Yitzchak Beirach Daskal, related:
My father was greatly encouraged by the presence of many Vizhnitzer chassidim at the courthouse. They came to provide moral support and to lift his spirits.
He did not allow us, his children, to be present at the trial. He explained, “The merit of your Torah learning in yeshivah strengthens my spirit and gives me more ko’ach than anything else.”
The person who gave us the most strength during that difficult time was my mother, a” h. With staunch dedication, she stood at his side with unshakable loyalty. She traveled with him to every court appearance in Yerushalayim, and supported him throughout the ordeal.
My father once told us, “If not for Ima’s support during this time, I would not have been able to get through it.”
Ki Malachav Yetzaveh Lach
Reb Benzion Weiler related:
With Hashem’s help, the cross-examination of Reb Shmuel went very well. Normally, such an examination would continue for more than an hour, but it was halted after just twenty minutes. The state prosecutor, Gavriel Bach, had hardly begun questioning Reb Shmuel when he suddenly received a note from his deputy, Michael Kirsch, the Jerusalem district prosecutor. He read the note and abruptly — with no discernable reason — halted his questioning.
The note’s contents were discovered by someone sitting next to the prosecutor, who happened to see the text: Stop questioning him! You’re strengthening his case!
During the court recess, Attorney Ram Caspi, representing Aharon Abuchatzeira, told Reb Shmuel, “After the testimony that you gave, as far as I’m concerned, this trial is over!”
The Verdict
Reb Benzion Weiler further related:
There were many defendants in this case, and at the end of the trial, different verdicts were handed down. Some of the defendants were convicted on some of the allegations, while others were acquitted because of the ambiguity of the allegations. Reb Shmuel was the only one who emerged totally exonerated, clear of all guilt. Even more so, each time the judges read out his name in the verdict, they added the words: the trustworthy diamond dealer.
As soon as the verdict exonerating him was read out, Reb Shmuel’s wife fainted. She had accompanied him faithfully with endless devotion throughout this trying time, and she simply could not bear the culmination of emotion.
Upon hearing the verdict, Vizhnitzer chassidim erupted with joy. Crowds gathered in the streets of Kiryat Vizhnitz, singing and dancing, and they escorted Reb Shmuel to the Rebbe’s home.
The Rebbe said emotionally, “My holy father effected a yeshuah.”
The Rebbe held a celebratory l’chaim tish, where they praised and thanked Hashem for the yeshuah.
The Merit of Sitting in Jail
“In order to merit good children, it was necessary to drink from this bitter cup of troubles,” Reb Shmuel often said during the trial. “The Ruzhiner Rebbe sat in prison due to a libel and he said, ‘In the merit of sitting in prison, I will merit a generation of righteous and blessed progeny!’”
By focusing on the zechusim he’d be gaining from his difficulties, Reb Shmuel was able to see the silver lining in the clouds. He considered it a merit to sit in prison for being accused of working on behalf of Vizhnitz. Throughout the generations, he was the only one who was imprisoned for alleged transactions on behalf of Vizhnitz, despite, and perhaps in the merit of, his boundless giving to the holy court and its various mosdos.
Some time after the conclusion of the trial, Reb Shmuel was walking home from the Rebbe’s Friday night tish with Rabbi Shlomo Yaakov Gross, a member of the Knesset representing Agudas Yisrael. They were discussing the trial and Rabbi Gross was overheard telling him, “Reb Shmuel, believe me, you have no idea how I envy you. No one else has yet had the merit of sitting in jail for Vizhnitz!”
Postscript
Reb Shmuel’s sons relate:
It was two days after Sukkos 5741/1980, a few days before the winter zeman began in yeshivah. We went to daven at the tziyun of the Imrei Chaim for success in our studies. Standing at the tziyun was a woman crying copious tears. To our astonishment, we realized that it was my mother. She told us, with great anguish, about the sudden arrest, which had led her to go to the Rebbe’s tziyun to pour her heart out that he advocate for our father.
Behind the miraculous acquittal of my father were my mother’s copious tears, and the merit of a great meilitz yosher — as the Rebbe had said, “My holy father effected a yeshuah.”
