In general, in addition to the fact that the Rebbe’s redemption itself was a great miracle, many individual miracles also occurred throughout this episode.
Among them was one particular occurrence that, although no one paid special attention to it at the time, now—after many years—when we reflect upon it calmly, we recognize this as perhaps the greatest miracle of all, one that had no explanation in natural terms:
The system in that country is that citizens are carefully monitored by the government. This remains true even now {in 1960, when this talk was given}, and was certainly the case then, particularly in connection with the imprisonment, during which “thorough searches” were conducted and authorities scrutinized anyone with any connection to the Rebbe “with seven eyes.”
Nevertheless, as soon as news spread of the Rebbe’s arrest, dozens of Jews threw themselves into various activities and efforts to secure his release. They acted without regard for the fact they were being monitored and without considering the dangerous consequences they might face.
They did this openly—even sending letters bearing their own names—and more remarkably still, they personally approached the government offices responsible for the verdict and attempted to influence the officials.
And after all this, we see a wondrous thing: among all those who had tried to help in this effort, not a single one was harmed in any way whatsoever—not spiritually, not physically, and not even financially in their livelihood!
True, there is a general principle that “those engaged in a mitzvah are not harmed,” but the Gemara clarifies that “where danger is common,” this principle doesn’t apply—and for these Jews, the danger was certainly “common” in the fullest sense and beyond!
Even more remarkable: Both before and after the imprisonment, there were individuals whose connection with the Previous Rebbe did cause them material harm. [Although spiritually, the connection certainly elevated them to incomparably higher levels, but materially they suffered, etc.].
However, regarding the efforts to secure the Rebbe’s release and redemption, this harmed absolutely no one (as mentioned above)! This held true even during the imprisonment itself, before the miracle of release occurred, when the danger was at its peak—and certainly after the redemption. It also didn’t harm anyone in later years, even after the Rebbe left that country.
