For a long time, Rabbi Shmuel Pruss, known to his friends as "Muleh," managed to evade the Soviet secret police, who were relentlessly searching for him. Eventually, however, he was caught. His unmistakably Chassidic appearance, with the beard and peyot he refused to remove, made it difficult for him to hide from his pursuers. He was tried and found guilty of "Jewish, Chassidic, Zionist and coun-terrevolutionary activity."
A tribunal consisting of a judge and two female Communist Party members serving as "representatives of the people" subject-ed him to a speedy trial and sentenced him to ten years of hard labor. After waiting two months until there were enough pris-oners to fill a train, he was sent to the Yanogiz labor camp in Asia, thousands of kilometers from central Russia. Two other Chabad Chassidim, convicted of similar "crimes," were sent there with him.
Muleh was assigned to work in a textile factory. For twelve hours a day, he had to operate old, heavy machinery that required tremendous physical strength. He worked under harsh climatic conditions and sur-vived on approximately half a kilogram of coarse bread a day. Many prisoners in the camp died from sheer exhaustion. But with Hashem's kindness, Muleh managed to withstand both the physical hardships and the emotional suffering of being com-pletely cut off from his family and sur-roundings.
A Georgian Jew Named Avraham
In the camp, Muleh met a Georgian Jew named Avraham. He did not observe the mitzvot and was completely ignorant of Judaism. Avraham was an expert hatmak-er, and this was his job in the camp. He had a room of his own, where he sat from morning until evening sewing hats. Before long, his hats gained a reputation through-out the area, and army officers would line up at his door to have hats made for them.
Avraham cleverly used the demand for his hats to cultivate good relationships with the camp officers. Beyond these connec-tions, he was also considered the unoffi-cial leader of the prisoners in Yanogiz. He was strong and fearless, and the other pris-oners were afraid of him. Yet despite the great differences in their personalities and backgrounds, for some unexplained reason a warm friendship developed between the rough Avraham and the chassid Muleh.
The Sukkah
The High Holidays arrived. Muleh and his two friends managed to find a quiet corner and a few moments free from work to pray from memory. Then Sukkot began to ap-proach, and one thought troubled them constantly: how could they fulfill the mitz-vah of dwelling in a sukkah?
Avraham noticed the worry on Muleh's face and asked what was bothering him. Muleh told him about the holiday of Suk-kot and about his longing to fulfill the mitzvah of sitting in a sukkah.
"No problem!" Avraham declared. "I'll take care of everything!"
He summoned several of his trusted men, and within hours all the materials needed to build a sukkah had been obtained, wooden boards, reeds for the sechach, and string. That night, beside the window of Av-raham's room, they erected a small but kosher sukkah.
On the eve of the holiday, Muleh and his friends gathered inside the tiny sukkah. Avraham was waiting for them, beaming with happiness and pride at what he had accomplished. "So, what now?" he asked.
"Now we need some mashkeh," Muleh said. "On Yom Tov we make Kiddush!"
Avraham immediately set his men into action, and before long a bottle of vodka appeared on the table. Somehow, they also managed to obtain salted fish and cooked potatoes. It was a real Yom Tov meal.
The atmosphere in the sukkah became increasingly joyful. Muleh recited Kiddush over a large glass of mashkeh, and the three chassidim began their festive meal, while the others took an occasional drink.
Gradually, everyone forgot where they were. They broke into a joyous chassidic melody. With so little room, they put their arms around one another's shoulders and danced in place. "Vesamachta bechage-cha-You shall rejoice on your festival!"
They did not notice the senior officer who suddenly appeared at the entrance to the sukkah, glaring at them menacingly. "Aha!" he shouted furiously. "I've caught some big fish!"
The Joy of the Sukkah
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The singing stopped instantly. Every-one stared at the officer in terror, dreading what would happen next. Muleh, however, had already drunk quite a bit and did not fully grasp the seriousness of the situation.
"Ah, Comrade Officer!" he called cheerfully. "Come over here and make Kiddush! Surely you know that today is Sukkot."
As he spoke, Muleh poured a glass full of vodka and held it out to the officer, whose furious expression now mixed with astonishment. Muleh stood up and approached him, holding the full glass in one hand while warmly em-bracing the officer with the other.
"Come on, don't hesitate. Make Kid-dush. Today is Yom Tov-Sukkot!"
The Revelation
Muleh's friends wanted the ground to swallow them from fear and shock. But suddenly they had to pinch themselves to make sure they were really seeing what was happening. The officer hesi-tantly reached for the glass, brought it to his lips, and, with Muleh's help, said the blessing, "Savri maranan... Sheha-kol nihyeh bidvaro."
The full glass had its effect on the sen-ior officer as well. His anger complete-ly disappeared. Suddenly, he began telling Muleh and his friends the story of his life. Yes, he too was Jewish. As a child, he had studied in a cheder and later in a yeshivah. But like many of his friends, he had strayed from the path and eventually arrived where he was today.
"This reminds me..." he said, looking around with moist eyes. "My father had a sukkah exactly like this one-only a little bigger."
Silence filled the little sukkah. After a while, the officer recovered somewhat from the effects of the vodka.
"Now get out of the sukkah and go to sleep," he said. "If I am caught here with you, I too will be sent to a barren land."