Chassidim relate that when the Alter Rebbe was jailed in Petersburg he was questioned in a very detailed way. To each question he gave an intellectually sound and authoritative answer, in writing. The last question he was asked was about a statement he made in the first chapter of Tanya.
This last question he laughed off and simply smiled without answering. The interrogators accepted this smiling laughter as an answer to the question and questioned him no more.
Later the Alter Rebbe declared that this incident showed him first-hand how simcha sweetens harsh judgements.
In a famous letter, the Alter Rebbe wrote that his release demonstrated, “the wonders of Hashem and how His greatness is manifest in the world.”
Our Rebbe explains, in detail, that in this story and Alter Rebbe’s commentary on it we can learn two different paths in influencing others.
- Magnifying Hashem through intellect and reason. This approach works when the person we want to influence is a fitting vessel.
- Describing a wonder-filled event that transcends intellect. This approach forces him to accept what occurred even though he doesn’t understand it. The question is negated without explanation.
The Alter Rebbe used intellectual reasoning to answer most of their questions. The last question he answered in a wondrous way by showing them a laughing and smiling countenance.
