From the desk of Yerachmiel Tilles
The days when the Czar ruled in Russia were unbearable for the Jews. It was almost impossible to believe anything could be worse. Anti-Semitism and evil decrees were constant. Every few years, wholesale massacres of Jews called [“pogroms”] popped up like poison mushrooms. But in this atmosphere of constant oppression and suffering, Judaism miraculously survived and even flourished! As the Torah says: "The more the Jews were oppressed, the more they were fruitful....." (Ex. 1:12).
Pyotr Stolypin (yemach shemo)
One of the biggest enemies of the Jews, and of mankind in general, was the Czar's Minister of the Interior--an evil, sadistic despot by the name of Stolypin. He was always making new oppressive rules and laws to terrify the people, secure his own power and, whenever possible, torture the Jews.
One awful day, the leading Rabbis of Russia were notified that, under the direction of Stolypin, the government was passing a new law requiring all Rabbis to pass a series of exams in secular subjects. Any Rabbi failing to meet the requirements would not be allowed to lead a congregation. The idea behind this was to “normalize” Judaism and open the doors to “new” rabbis who cared nothing for such ancient ideas as “G-d” and “commandments,” thus lowering the resistance of the next generation to, G-d forbid, conversion.
The Rabbi leaders decided to meet in Petersburg to decide what to do. Hundreds of devout geniuses were present for one purpose: how to assure the decree would fail by opposing it in every way possible. But the cunning and ruthless Stolypin had already anticipated their opposition. On the second day of the convention, a messenger of the government entered the hall on his orders, took the podium and called for attention, and announced to the hushed crowd of Rabbis:
“The Minister of the Interior wishes to inform you, in the name of His Majesty the Czar, that he fervently hopes that the Rabbis are willing to support and join His Majesty the Czar in his new program. But if not, His Majesty the Czar will find it difficult to support and protect the Jews against those who threaten them, and it could certainly be that 101 cities will suffer pogroms at the hands of Anti-Semitic mobs."
The Rabbis went pale with fear, and a deathly silence fell on them. These were no empty words. Just a few years earlier, they had actually come true; thousands of bloodthirsty Russian peasants suddenly swept through Jewish areas, destroying Jewish shops, homes and property, and sadistically killing and maiming thousands of Jews as they went. It seemed clear that resistance would be pointless, and, although there were still a few Rabbis who had not yet taken the podium, it was doubtful that anyone could change the atmosphere of defeat in the air.
Rabbi Shalom Dovber Schneersohn, zt”l
The next to speak was supposed to be the Rebbe of Lubavitch, Rabbi Shalom-Dovber Schneersohn (called the Rashab an acronym of his name). But he requested that he be allowed to speak last. So, the holy genius Rabbi Chaim of Brisk, the great Rosh Yeshiva and leader of the Lithuanian-style rabbis of his generation, stood and heroically declared that, despite the threats, he was opposed to the government idea. But it was obvious that he spoke with a heavy heart. It seemed clear that the outcome would be concession.
Rabbi Chaim Soloveitchik, zt”l
Finally, the Rebbe Reshab's turn came to speak. The Rebbe was not a healthy man and was often obliged to see doctors or take treatments for weakness. But here, he stood straight and spoke with a clear, loud voice that all could hear. (These same words would be spoken by his son and successor, Rebbe Yosef-Yitzchak Schneersohn, years later against the Communists.)
"It is not through our will that we are in exile, and not with our will that we will leave it... G-d has put us in exile and He alone will gather us from the four corners of the earth through our righteous Moshiach. Until then, all the nations on the face of the earth must know that only our bodies are in exile, for no power can rule or imprison our souls!
“We must announce in public, for all to hear, that what is relevant to Judaism -- Torah, the Commandments and even our customs -- no one can change or influence. We must declare, with the greatest Jewish stubbornness drawn from thousands of years of Jewish self-sacrifice, 'Touch not my anointed and my nation of prophets do not harm.’”
He then raised his arms and cried out, "Jews! Sanctify G-d's name in public!" (i.e. Be willing to die for the Torah.) Then, he fainted. Immediately, Rabbi Chaim of Brisk stood and shouted that he too opposed the new decree, even at the cost of his life. A vote was taken and it was decided: not one Rabbi would support the decree.
Meanwhile, the Rebbe Rashab was taken to his room and a doctor was rushed in to treat him. Still, it wasn't long before two mammoth soldiers appeared there also, with orders to arrest him and take him to prison. It was only with the greatest effort and maneuvering, including the doctor's objections, that his sentence was reduced to house arrest and finally dropped altogether.
Several of the great Rabbis with Rabbi Chaim of Brisk at their head came to visit the Rebbe to see how he was. They found him sitting in a chair at his desk weeping...obviously over the impending law. Rabbi Chaim put his comforting hand on the Rebbe's shoulder and said, "Lubavitcher Rebbe, why are you crying? After all, we did all we could! Now it is up to G-d to do the rest!"
"True", said the Rebbe. "We did all we could. Yet the decree has not been averted!"
Calming down a bit, he continued. "If a paid factory worker does everything possible to fix a broken machine, he can go home and sleep peacefully whether he succeeded or not. But not the factory owner; he won't sleep until the problem is solved!"
Unexplainably, however, the decree was never mentioned again by the government, and, thank G-d, Stolypin's threats of pogroms also never materialized.
Source: Modified and supplemented by Yerachmiel Tilles from the rendition of Rabbi Tuvia Bolton in a weekly email a few years ago, which was based on an article in Kfar Chabad Magazine (#1017, pg 45) and a lesson in Toras Menachem (vol. 3, pg. 210).
Biographical note: Rabbi Sholom-Dovber Schneersohn [20 Cheshvan 5621 – 2 Nissan 5680 (Oct. 1860 – April 1920)], known as the Rebbe Rashab, was the fifth Rebbe of the Lubavitcher dynasty. He is the author of hundreds of major tracts in the exposition of Chasidic thought. In 1915, after 102 years of four Chabad rebbes living in Lubavitch, he transferred the center of the movement to Rostov-on-the-Don.
Reprinted from the Parashat Vayikra 5785 email of KabbalaOnline.org, a project of Ascent of Safat in Israel.
