On the Hebrew date of Yud Tet Kislev, the nineteenth day of the month of Kislev, the Alter Rebbe was released from prison. That date is thus celebrated as a festival. For on it was granted the potential for the wellsprings of the Baal Shem Tov's teachings to be spread outward and prepare the world for Moshiach's coming. The teachings of Chassidus are a foretaste of the wisdom that Moshiach will reveal.
Year after year, Rav Nachum, the Alter Rebbe's grandson and eldest son of the Mittler Rebbe, used to describe in detail all the events of the stormy time of the Alter Rebbe's arrest. He would describe the background and the libelous accusation which the opponents of Chassidus brought to the Czarist authorities. Rav Nachum would then move on to the Alter Rebbe's stay in prison, his redemption, the way in which the good news spread, and the return trip from Petersburg (where the prison was) to Liozna.
When he spoke of the arrest, his voice would drop, as if he were weeping; when he reached the liberation, his voice would rise with joy of a remembered victory. Just like the megillah on Purim, he would tell it once at night and again by day. Moreover, if one of the dignified elder chassidim would join the gathering after he had begun, he would go back to the very beginning and start all over again!
The Alter Rebbe said regarding Yud Tet Kislev, "whoever rejoices in my simcha, I will take out from distress to relief, from gashmiyut (materiality) to ruchniyut (spirituality) and out of Gehinnom."
While in prison, the Alter Rebbe had a vision of the Baal Shem Tov and asked him: what was the real reason for his imprisonment? The Baal Shem Tov told him that there were spiritual factors involved. The Alter Rebbe had been spreading Chassidic teachings without restraint, and this had aroused negative forces in the spiritual realms. "The world was not ready," these forces claimed, "for such a great revelation." And therefore, the Alter Rebbe was imprisoned.
"If I'm released, should I change my approach?" the Alter Rebbe asked. "No," the Baal Shem Tov answered. "If you are released, that will be a sign that your approach has been vindicated."
Rav Yaakov of Korebil, a Medieval Kabbalist, addressed certain Halachic questions to Heaven. The replies he received compose the book, “Responsa from Heaven.” Very rarely does Rav Yaakov mark the date in which he received the answer. However, he begins one answer, “Tuesday, Yud Tet Kislev.” At the letter’s conclusion, for no apparent reason, Rav Yaakov adds, “today will herald good tidings.” Throughout the generations that addition puzzled scholars. What were the “good tidings” received on Yud Tet Kislev? Scholars of later generations concluded the phrase must refer to the Alter Rebbe’s liberation on Yud Tet Kislev.
Adapted from The Weekly Farbrengen by Merkaz Anash, online at TheWeeklyFarbrengen.com and Sichos in English
