It was market day in the small town of Lubavitch in White Russia. The streets were filled with farmers and wagons. Eleven-year-old Yosef Yitzchak was walking home. Along the way he met Reb David, the butcher, hurrying to the market with a calf swung over his shoulder, a young lamb in his arms, and a basket of chickens hanging in front of him.
Reb David's face lit up when he saw Yosef Yitzchak, the only son of his Rebbe, Rabbi Sholom Dov-Ber of Lubavitch. "I hope with G-d's help to earn well at the market today," Reb David said to Yosef Yitzchak. Hardly had the words left his mouth when a policeman came running over and struck Reb David in the face.
Yosef Yitzchak was enraged at the unprovoked attack. "Filthy drunk!" he yelled at the policeman, pushing him away from Reb David with all of his strength.
But, Yosef Yitzchak was hardly a match for a grown man. The policeman ordered one of his assistants to arrest the young boy. He was roughly pushed and pulled through the busy market crowds until they reached the police station. There, his "crime" was reported; he had supposedly torn the policeman's medal off of his uniform and prevented him from fulfilling his duty.
The station officer looked at the boy with contempt. He slapped the boy in the face, then led him by the ear to a dark cell.
Yosef Yitzchak was beside himself with fright. Then, suddenly, he thought, "I am sitting in jail just like my famous and holy grandfathers who were imprisoned for defending Jews and Judaism! I should occupy myself with Torah-study as they did." In the gloom of the cell he started repeating chapters of Torah by heart.
Suddenly he heard a long, drawn-out groan coming from the corner. He forced himself to concentrate on the words of Torah and moved away from the corner.
Again there came the frightening groaning, accompanied by the noise of desperate struggling. Terror seized Yosef Yitzchak, until he remembered that he had a box of matches with him! He struck a match, and saw lying in the corner of the cell a calf, with its legs tied and a muzzle over its mouth. Yosef Yitzchak's fears were quieted.
In a little while Yosef Yitzchak heard footsteps. His cell door opened. The officer who had thrown him into the cell pleaded, "Forgive me, I didn't know who you were. Have pity on me. Don't tell the chief that I hit you and mistreated you." In the police chief's office, Yosef Yitzchak saw Reb David, the butcher and a policeman. Two witnesses from the Jewish community were there on Reb David's behalf. The policeman was claiming that the calf Reb David had taken to market was stolen from another butcher. The witnesses testified that Reb David had bought the calf himself.
As the case proceeded, Mr. Silverbrod, a representative of Yosef Yitzchak's family, arrived with a note for the police chief. The chief read the note and said that the boy should be released.
Yosef Yitzchak told Mr. Silverbrod about the calf he had seen in the jail cell. Mr. Silverbrod immediately realized that this was the calf which had been stolen.
The police chief was informed and, upon investigation, found out that the calf had indeed been stolen and hidden by the policeman who had attacked Reb David and accused him of stealing it.
Yosef Yitzchak's father was very proud of him. "You did well to defend an upright and honest Jew," he said, "even if you suffered for several hours. And now you have found out how good it is to know parts of Torah by heart. Indeed, without it, how would you have been any different than the calf which was in the jail with you?"
Young Yosef Yitzchak, who became the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, later wrote in his diary: "Father's words became engraved in my mind and in my heart: To love and hold dear every Jew, to defend the honor of a Jew even when dangerous to do so; and to store away a 'provision' of Torah."
