Episode 199 - The Alter Rebbe's Flight from Napoleon

00:02 The story of Napoleon’s war in Russia continues. On Tisha B’Av 5572, 1812 by their reckoning, Napoleon began his war and his army crossed the Russian border. Within about twelve days, his troops were already near the cities of Vitebsk and Orsha. On Thursday, 21 Menachem Av, Napoleon’s armies left Orsha. In the early hours of Friday, 22 Menachem Av, the Alter Rebbe and his family left Liadi. They spent Shabbos in a village near Krasna, then traveled from village to village and town to town, deeper into Russia. From 22 Menachem Av 5572 until 8 Teves 5573—a hundred and forty days—the Alter Rebbe, his family, his household and the chassidim and their families were on the move, until they reached the village of Piena. Alarming reports reached the Alter Rebbe of the destruction and devastation Napoleon’s armies had wrought in the towns and settlements of White Russia. Thousands of Jewish families had lost their homes and livelihoods and were left with nothing. Meanwhile, in the provinces of Kovno, Vitebsk and Vilna, Napoleon’s soldiers fraternized with the Jews, and their French officers, who led dissolute lives, set their sights on Jewish women, inviting them to feasts. This distressed the Alter Rebbe greatly. On Motzaei Shabbos Parshas Vayeitzei, 10 Kislev, the Tzemach Tzedek, the Alter Rebbe’s grandson, relates that while they were in the village of Zmievka in the Tambov province, the Alter Rebbe said that Napoleon would be defeated in Moscow that week, fulfilling what he had seen concerning Napoleon and his army on the previous Rosh Hashanah. On Sunday, 11 Kislev, they left Zmievka and traveled from village to village until they reached the village of Yeseievka[?] on Wednesday. They spent Shabbos there. On Thursday, 15 Kislev, after Maariv and after the fast—for the Alter Rebbe fasted on 15 Kislev as a member of the chevra kadisha—the Alter Rebbe said to say l’chaim to the downfall of the tyrant and to the salvation of the Jewish people and their faith, for he had been driven out of Moscow that day. But the Alter Rebbe was distressed and wept over

03:24 the plight of the Jews living in White Russia: as the French armies passed through, they would plunder what little remained to them. On Friday, 8 Teves 5573, some sixty wagons carrying the Alter Rebbe, the chassidim and their families reached the village of Piena. There they found a little respite. Piena was a large village, with some three hundred courtyards and large houses, many of them vacant because the men had gone off to war. The villagers were kindhearted and provided everyone who arrived with lodging and heating free of charge. When the Alter Rebbe and the families traveling with him reached Piena, he said that help had to be organized for our Jewish brethren in the towns and settlements through which the French had passed. For as long as necessary, he and his family would settle in Little Russia. So as not to drive up the cost of housing and food, he proposed that they divide among three towns: Haditch, Kremenchug and Romny. The Alter Rebbe arranged three delegations. The first, headed by his son the Mitteler Rebbe, was to travel to those three towns we mentioned—Haditch, Kremenchug and Romny—to arrange housing for the Jews. The second delegation, headed by his son Rabbi Chaim Avraham, was to travel to the Poltava and Kherson provinces to collect urgently needed assistance for our Jewish brethren in White Russia, so they could rebuild what had been destroyed. The third delegation, headed by the chossid Reb Pinchas Reizes of Shklov, was to travel to Vitebsk to establish a relief committee. It would gather all the information needed to determine how and with what to support the devastated families and restore their livelihoods. But on Monday, 19 Teves, the Alter Rebbe fell ill, and his illness and weakness grew from day to day. On Motzaei Shabbos Parshas Shemos, the eve of Sunday, 24 Teves 5573, the Alter Rebbe passed away and was taken for burial in the city of Haditch, in the Poltava province. Over some sixty years, the Alter Rebbe worked to develop communal activity on four pillars: the first, Ahavas Yisroel; the second, Torah study;

06:37 the third, service of Hashem with self-sacrifice; and the fourth, acts of kindness and tzedakah. The Alter Rebbe bequeathed to his descendants, the Chabad Rebbeim who followed him, a clear path and a broad road in communal work. The Alter Rebbe’s son, the Mitteler Rebbe, Rabbi Dovber, writes about the Alter Rebbe’s final days and passing in a letter to the chossid Reb Moshe Meisels. The letter is from Tishrei 5574, and this is what the Mitteler Rebbe writes: “My beloved, dear friend, as precious to me as my own soul since my youth, a trustworthy and discerning man—how could I conceal from you, my friend and close companion, all that happened to us this past year amid the upheaval? Of the great miracles, wonders and awesome Divine signs that we saw from the light of Israel, our father of blessed memory—may I be an atonement for his resting place—not one word, not even half a word, of all that issued from his holy mouth failed to come to pass. It was as though one had inquired directly of Hashem. And, as was plain for all to see, ‘for the Jews there was light, gladness and joy.’” The Mitteler Rebbe begins his account as follows: As soon as the tyrant and notorious mass murderer—he is speaking of Napoleon, of course—entered the borderlands of Poland, reaching Kovno and Vilna, my father, the Alter Rebbe, began consulting with us about fleeing specifically into Russia. He said that if Napoleon were not so proud as to let himself be led into the folly of marching into Russia as well, he might gain strength and remain in Poland. But, says the Mitteler Rebbe, Hakadosh Boruch Hu confounded Napoleon’s judgment, and that was the basis of his downfall. In other words, his invasion of Russia was, in fact, his defeat. “But,” our father, the Alter Rebbe, said, “there will be great suffering for the Jews, for none will be left untouched in their Jewish observance or their property. I,” said the Alter Rebbe, “hate Napoleon with utter hatred, for he is the very Satan, opposing good with every force of evil. He embodies the power of kelipah and harsh judgment, the opposite of kindness and goodness. There is only death and evil, and all his vitality goes into doing evil, as though he were a deity. But,” said our father, the Alter Rebbe, “I am certain that he will not endure. As it is written,

09:35 ‘Evil will bring down the wicked,’ for ‘the kindness of G-d is all day long,’ and kindness always prevails over judgment. As it is written, ‘For His kindness has prevailed over us’; that is why all the nations praise Him, for all incline and gravitate more toward the right-hand line of kindness.” The Alter Rebbe said explicitly that the root of the Russian kingdom is in the attribute of kindness, and its ruler is the king of the north, for all bounty comes from the north, while the intense heat of the south is the absence of everything. The battle between kindness and severity is like the battle between fire and water, and kindness—the water—prevails. Therefore, all the kings will certainly come to the aid of our sovereign the emperor, may his glory be exalted, without the slightest doubt whatsoever. The chief proof of this is that the Russian and French kingdoms are opposites in their coarseness and arrogance. The essential character of the enemy, Napoleon, consists of two things. The first is anger and murderousness toward anyone who opposes him: destroying countless lives without feeling anything at all, and pursuing victory with such force that he would go as far as utter destruction, even his own. The second is pride and arrogance—relying on and attributing all his power and might to his great wisdom, his ability to plan and conduct a war, and his extraordinary success. Of this the prophet Ovadiah said, “Though you soar like an eagle, from there I will bring you down.” And of Sancheriv it was said that he had exalted himself. For anyone who exalts himself and attributes everything to his own power, saying, “My strength and the might of my hand,” and casts aside Divine providence, faith and trust in Hashem—of him it is said, “Behold the man who did not make G-d his stronghold.” Hashem will bring him down to the depths of humiliation and defeat, to show him that Hashem is the One who grants strength and power. The proof is Sancheriv’s defeat: it was not because of the merit of the people of Judah, but because he had become so arrogant, as related in Scripture. Here too, it is plain to see that Napoleon’s downfall came solely from his arrogance and haughtiness. It was as though he had said to Hashem, “Depart from us,” as is evident from the mockery with which they ridiculed faith in Hashem. He will perish and be uprooted

12:36 The very essence of its root, so that no remnant of them would remain in the world. The Mitteler Rebbe continues: Hashem remembered how greatly they had harmed the Jewish people, shedding innocent blood for hundreds of years in France, as described at length in the book Shevet Yehudah. “He Who demands blood remembers them”; He will not leave them unpunished, even to the third or fourth generation, just as it is written, “For the sin of the Amorites is not yet complete.” Their guilt was carefully weighed and judged over several generations, until their end came and their sentence was decreed. As it is written of the Judge of all the earth, concerning the kings of the earth: “This one He brings low, and that one He raises up.” It is clear as the midday sun to all who have understanding, and this is enough for the discerning. The Mitteler Rebbe continues, writing to Reb Moshe Meisels: A wise man like you will appreciate the sweetness of these true words, spoken, of course, through the Alter Rebbe’s ruach hakodesh. They are true and clear words. And now every person of understanding can plainly see that this is the root and foundation of his downfall as well: he said that he could never submit, so may all Your enemies, Hashem, perish. The very opposite is the quality of kindness and inherent goodness, whose essence is entirely different. Kindness shows compassion and pity to everyone, to the wicked as well as the good. For it is the nature of kindness and goodness to lower oneself completely and to feel the pain and suffering of even the lowliest person as one’s own. From this quality of kindness therefore comes utter humility and self-effacement, so that a person does not feel that his own strength and the might of his hand have accomplished anything. Even when Hashem has done great wonders and he succeeds, he does not attribute it to his own strength at all. On the contrary, it is as clear as the sun to him that this is not his own strength. He knows full well that “a man does not prevail by strength,” nor through the strength of a horse or the power of intellect. Rather, “the battle belongs to Hashem.” Strength and power, wisdom, might and counsel are His, and the person places all his trust in Hashem to guide him along the path of sound judgment and proper conduct. Whatever He sees fit to do, whether to raise up or bring low, the person accepts it all as good. And this is the root

15:16 and foundation of the Divine assistance that raised the Alter Rebbe’s standing through wisdom, strength and counsel. As it is written: Yaakov says, “I have become small from all the kindnesses,” and whoever humbles himself, Hakadosh Boruch Hu raises him up. This is the chief sign of success granted by Hashem. If you look at all the accounts from earlier times, you will see that this is as clear as the sun. From this perspective, anyone with a little understanding can plainly see it in our emperor, may his majesty be exalted, and in all his advisers and ministers. We have seen his great trust in Hakadosh Boruch Hu and his great humility and lowliness. Even now, having succeeded in defeating the enemy, he attributes it not to his own strength but to Hashem alone, as everyone can attest. This is nothing other than the quality of kindness and goodness prevailing and succeeding, while its opponent—the enemy, Napoleon, the embodiment of severity and inherent evil—falls. The Alter Rebbe said all this and lamented it with profound bitterness at every moment. He recited Tehillim all day and prayed with all his heart and soul that Hashem would strengthen His kindness and drive out the evil. When we came near Borisov, by Minsk, he said, “There is no counsel and no understanding.” In any event, the Mitteler Rebbe writes to Reb Moshe Meisels that the Alter Rebbe understood through his ruach hakodesh and the power of his understanding that Napoleon would reach the far end of Russia. He resolved not to be under Napoleon’s rule for even a moment, and decided to flee, saying, “Death is preferable to life under him, and I will not look upon the suffering of my people.” The Mitteler Rebbe continues: There is not enough space in writing to describe how quickly we fled. The Alter Rebbe was old and very weak, and the winter cold and hardships of travel were far beyond his strength, especially with all the families. But under no circumstances would he remain even one day under Napoleon’s government and in his service. So we fled, twenty-eight people, adults and children. We took all the lighter belongings we could carry. All the heavy belongings remained in Liadi—worth about two thousand rubles:

18:14 money, grain, beverages, household utensils, animals and wood. All this is known to the general who was stationed in Liadi at the time, whose name was Elyanov. And so the Mitteler Rebbe writes to Reb Moshe Meisels: If you know him, please convey my regards. He knows us very well, for he stayed in our home for a week and saw the Alter Rebbe’s prayers. There was also a higher-ranking general named Neverovsky, who was stationed in Krasnoye at the beginning of the war. And now, my dear friend, I have come to tell you of the wonders of Hashem that we saw as we fled from Liadi until the passing of my father, the Alter Rebbe, in the village of Piena, near Kursk. When we learned for certain what the enemy marshal, may his name be erased, had done in Shklov and Dubrovna, the Alter Rebbe did not want to stay even a moment. We traveled to Krasnoye to be with Generals Elyanov and Neverovsky, and they gave us very good passports. Before we left, there was a small battle between the French and our Cossacks. Presumably—noted the Mitteler Rebbe—not a single Frenchman remained. I saw them only once, and then I recognized that they were destined for the grave, for I saw no effective strength or might in them at all. In Krasnoye, on Friday, close to Rosh Chodesh Elul, the entire enemy force suddenly arrived, together with the force from Vitebsk—about forty thousand men. Our Russians numbered only eight thousand. General Neverovsky belonged to the corps of Marshal Prince Bagration, who was stationed near Smolensk, across the Dnieper River, with seventy thousand men. But the French cunningly made their way to where we had few soldiers, along the route through Liadi and Krasnoye, bypassing our large army altogether. When they reached Krasnoye around midday on Friday, there was much weeping, and no one knew what to do. Should we flee into the forest? Our elderly mother and all the women and children cried aloud beyond description. My dear father, the Alter Rebbe, approached and called out to them, “Why are you crying? We must not flee into the forest. We

21:16 will travel with the horses.” General Elyanov himself came to him and said these words: “Pious elder, flee to Smolensk as quickly as you can! The enemy’s forces are as vast as the sea, and he has close to three hundred cannons.” As soon as we heard this, we all set out. Our eight thousand men were stationed near the city, on the Smolensk side, and we passed through their ranks. They had only eighteen cannons. Immediately after we passed, the French arrived and fighting began. We heard the great cannons firing one after another for about three hours, while we fled for our lives. About thirteen versts from Smolensk, there was a road through the forest. When some of our fellow Jews saw us fleeing, they called out for us to run, and we fled into the forest. We spent the whole Shabbos night there. I cannot even describe the details of the miracles to you. At daybreak we came to Smolensk. There was no army there at all, neither French nor ours; the people knew nothing of what had happened and asked who was with us. By midday, a great many of our troops—about thirty thousand—had gathered. We could not get out of the city, and we wept bitterly, for we realized the danger of being trapped inside while the French enemy was close by. Toward evening, we left by the road to Moscow and Dorogobuzh. The Alter Rebbe instructed us to travel on Shabbos, saying that it was entirely permissible, and a mitzvah, to save ourselves from those who sought to harm us. And we conclude on a good note.