The chassid, Rabbi Yerachmiel Chadash, a graduate of the Tomchei Tmimim Yeshiva in Lubavitch, was sent by the Rebbe Rashab (Rabbi Sholom DovBer of Lubavitch) to the town of Petrozkovtsk. This town, located near the Russia–Finland border, was home to veteran Jewish cantonists — men who were forced to serve twenty-five years in the Czar’s army, and after their release established families and settled there.
In this closed town, ordinary Jews were forbidden to reside. However, since the cantonists requested a Rabbi, Rabbi Yerachmiel was permitted to move there with his wife and four daughters.
When he arrived, the community of cantonists warmly welcomed their new Rabbi, housed him temporarily, and quickly set about building a synagogue for the community and a home for the Rabbi’s family.
The Rabbi’s family integrated well into community life — ensuring kosher food, ritual slaughter, a mikveh, circumcisions, and all other aspects of Jewish life in the town. Time passed quickly, and when the month of Elul arrived, the sound of the shofar was heard each morning after prayers.
Rosh Hashana Approaches
Rosh Hashanah was approaching, but the synagogue was still unfinished. Rabbi Yerachmiel called the leaders of the community for an urgent consultation. They responded warmly and promised their support. They rented a large hall for the holiday prayers, renovated it, erected partitions for men and women, built a platform (bimah), replaced the lamps, and cleaned the place thoroughly.
Meanwhile, Rabbi Yerachmiel traveled to St. Petersburg and brought back machzorim (holiday prayer books) and a Torah scroll. The atmosphere of Tishrei filled the air, and everything was ready for the High Holidays.
On the first night of Rosh Hashanah, a large crowd streamed into the hall — elderly men who had once served in the army of Nicholas I, middle-aged men, youth, and children — nearly the entire community. Everyone was moved, especially the cantonists who recalled the holiday prayers of their childhood in their parents’ homes.
The service went beautifully, and afterward many came to thank Rabbi Yerachmiel for the spiritual awakening they had experienced thanks to him, before hurrying home to their holiday meals.
Banging on the Bima
The next day, during Shacharit, the hall was again filled to capacity. At first the people focused on the prayers as on the previous night, but gradually their concentration waned, the tension eased, and the sound of conversations began to disturb the prayer.
Shacharit and the Torah reading were completed, and now it was time for the shofar. Rabbi Yerachmiel feared that in the noise of the hall not everyone would hear the blasts properly.
He arranged his tallit over his face, walked slowly to the bimah, and while holding the shofar in one hand, he pounded with the other hand on the platform to quiet the crowd. At first the commotion overpowered the banging, but after several more strikes, silence prevailed.
He blew the shofar, and the blasts were heard clearly throughout the hall. Yet a bitter taste of failure remained in his mouth, and tears welled up in his eyes. Rabbi Yerachmiel thought no one had noticed his pain, but he was mistaken.
Full Dress Uniform!
One of the congregants, named Fogel, who had once served as a senior military doctor in the army of Czar Nicholas, and who was greatly respected by his fellow cantonists, saw what had happened and perceived the Rabbi’s distress. He waited patiently, and at the end of the prayer ascended the bimah. Striking the podium forcefully, he silenced the entire crowd.
