R’ David Halevi, known as the Taz, was the Rabbi of the city of Ostroh in about 1643. His peaceful existence was shattered by the Cossack uprising if 1648, when a band of Polish peasants led by the infamous Bogdan Chmeilnicki rampaged through the Ukraine. These bandits killed and tortured anyone in their path, mostly the Jews.
Somehow the Taz heard that the Cossacks were headed for Ostroh, and he immediately told his followers to prepare for flight to the nearby town. There they would barricade themselves in an abandoned castle and hope to be spared.
The townspeople fled with their leader to the next town, and when the Cossacks arrived in Ostroh they were furious to find their quarry had escaped. They soon discovered where the Jews had gone, and followed them to the neighboring town, blocking the entrance to the town so that no one could enter or leave.
None of the Jews Had So Much as a Sword or Even a Knife
When the Jews peered out the windows of the castle, they were terrified to behold the Cossacks readying ammunition, obviously preparing to storm the castle walls. The hapless victims had fled empty-handed; no one had so much as a sword or even a knife.
The Taz gathered all the people and led them in heartfelt prayers for salvation. At the end of his entreaties, he fell asleep, exhausted, and dreamed that a hand was writing a pasuk on the wall: “And I shall protect this city, to save it, for My sake and for the sake of My servant, David” (Melachim II 19:34; the Taz’s name was David).
He awoke and, with great joy, told the people of his dream and instructed them to thoroughly search their innermost hearts to do teshubah, as they would soon be saved. Suddenly, one of the men in the group began fiddling with an old rusty cannon which was perched at a notch in the window, and to everyone’s amazement, it began shooting - straight at the Cossack encampment! As one, the men in the room rushed to the other cannons, and found that they all shot at the Cossack positions outside. The Cossacks panicked and retreated immediately, leaving the Jews to rejoice at their miraculous delivery. They could now safely return to their homes without fear of attack.
Every year on that day, 26 Sivan, the Taz would fast and say extra prayers to commemorate the townspeople’s miraculous escape. (Excerpted from the ArtScroll book - A Mazeldig Voch)
Reprinted from the Parashat Shoftim 5784 email of Rabbi David Bibi’s Shabbat Shalom from Cyberspace.
