It was a time of relentless tension and intimidation. The noose that the Soviets had so carefully placed around the Previous Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Y. Schneersohn, was tightening day by day. Everyone could sense that the situation was reaching critical mass: the Chasidim, the Rebbe's family, and the Rebbe himself. Nonetheless, the Rebbe refused to be intimidated, and persisted in his activities to strengthen and disseminate Judaism.
By Purim of 5687 (1927) the Rebbe was being harassed almost daily by the Yevsektziya (the Jewish branch of what would later develop into the K.G.B.). Members of the secret police were bursting into the Rebbe's house at all hours of the night and day, rifling through his belongings, confiscating papers and issuing threats. But the Rebbe insisted on celebrating the traditional Purim farbrengen (Chasidic gathering) in his home as always, despite the foreboding atmosphere.
The farbrengen began as usual, with the Rebbe seated at the head of the table. However, the Chasidim could immediately sense that the Rebbe was in another world. Much of the time the Rebbe's eyes were closed; from time to time his face would redden from mental exertion, and tears would roll down his cheeks. The Chasidim watched the Rebbe nervously, interspersing the Rebbe's words of Torah with Chasidic melodies.
At the height of the farbrengen the Chasidim noticed three figures slinking into the room and sitting at the end of the table. No one had any doubts about who they were. Although outwardly dressed as Chasidim, the three informers had by then become regular participants in all their gatherings.
The Rebbe was usually cautious and circumspect whenever the informers showed up, but this night would prove to be different. Several hours into the farbrengen the Rebbe suddenly rose from his seat and tore off his coat. Opening the buttons of his shirt he moved his talit katan [four-cornered garment with fringes attached to each corner] aside to expose the area over his holy heart.
"Eli Chaim!" the Rebbe called out to one of his Chasidim. "I once ordered you to do something and you refused, but I'm ordering you a second time and you must obey. I want you to go out and announce that whoever sends his children to a Soviet or Yevsektziya-run school will not live out the year!"
The Rebbe then turned to another Chasid. "Zalman! If they make a bonfire and ask you to choose between sending your children to their schools or jumping into the fire, do you know what you must do? You are to throw yourself into the flames!"
An icy fear gripped the hearts of everyone present, aware that every word the Rebbe uttered was being recorded as "evidence" against him. As if reading their minds, the Rebbe then turned his gaze on the three informers, who were clearly uncomfortable. "I know that they are here," the Rebbe said, "the men of the cursed Yevsektziya, may their name be erased. But I am not afraid of them at all!"
At that point some of the Chasidim started to sing, but the Rebbe's voice was louder. "When you see the body burning, G-d forbid, you must have no mercy. Just watch out for the head!" The Rebbe then added cryptically, "I asked my father [the Rebbe Rashab, Rabbi Shalom Dov Ber of Lubavitch], 'Just like Nikolai?' And he said, 'Yes, like Nikolai.' "
When the Rebbe saw that no one had understood his reference to Nikolai he continued. "The Kaiser Pavel once sent his son Nikolai out to war to prove his mettle. The son performed fearlessly and emerged victorious. However, when the battle was over, he began to distribute the spoils without his father's permission. The Kaiser was faced with a decision. On the one hand, Nikolai had demonstrated his military prowess, but on the other, the Kaiser wished to punish him for his disobedience. In the end Nikolai was sent to jail and imprisoned.
"I asked my father, 'The same as Nikolai?' and he said, 'Yes, like Nikolai.'" When the Chasidim grasped the Rebbe's implication they were horrified.
Hoping to impede the awful flow of words, one of the Chasidim ran into the next room to summon the Rebbe's mother, Rebbetzin Shterna Sarah, to try to calm her son. But as soon as the Rebbe saw her he began to weep. "Mother, I do nothing of my own volition. All my actions are in accordance with Father's wishes." The Rebbe and his mother both stood crying for some time.
No one could remain indifferent to such a scene, and the entire assembly dissolved in tears. The farbrengen ended when the Rebbe fell into a deep faint.
Exactly three months later, shortly after midnight on the 15th of Sivan, the Soviet secret police invaded the Rebbe's house and arrested him for crimes against the state. The Rebbe was held until the 12th/13th of Tamuz, when he was liberated in a miraculous manner - for which reason these dates have been celebrated as the Previous Rebbe's Festival of Redemption ever since.
