Episode 200 - Napoleon's Downfall and the Passing of the Alter Rebbe

00:00 Continuing the account of the Alter Rebbe’s flight from Napoleon during Napoleon’s war in Russia. The Alter Rebbe’s son, the Mitteler Rebbe, continues his account in a letter to Reb Moshe Meisels: “On Sunday we fled to Vyazma, and on Wednesday we fled to Mozhaisk. From Mozhaisk we took a roundabout route on the Alter Rebbe’s advice. The Alter Rebbe knew maps well, and with his ruach hakodesh he understood that the enemy would circle around and change his route. He therefore told us to flee by way of Moscow. On Rosh Hashanah we were in Taritsa Zarka [unclear], while battles were being fought at Mozhaisk. On Erev Rosh Hashanah, the Alter Rebbe called me and said, ‘My son, I am deeply distressed about the battles at Mozhaisk in these days. May Hashem bring a good outcome, for the enemy is gaining strength, and I believe he will take Moscow as well.’ He wept bitter tears, and I too wept and went away. On Rosh Hashanah he called us and spoke words of joy and comfort. This is what he said: ‘Today, during my prayers, I saw a change for the better, and our side has won. Even though Napoleon will take Moscow, he will not be able to hold on. Relief and deliverance will come to us. So it was written Above today.’ We went and ate and drank in good spirits. We were happy and lighthearted, and traveled to Gorod Yuryev [unclear], near Vladimir. On Shabbos Shuvah, before Musaf, my father, the Alter Rebbe, called me and my son-in-law Reb Mendel. He began to weep intensely, tears falling one by one down his cheeks, and cried out, ‘Oy, he will destroy all of Belorussia! When the enemy retreats, he will destroy all of Belorussia. This is the payment for the Khmelnytsky decrees, which did not affect Poland and Lithuania at all, but only Volhynia and Ukraine, with mortal terror and plunder upon plunder.’ I said to my father, ‘He has not yet reached Moscow, and even if he takes it, he may return by another route’—that is, not through Belorussia. My father told me, ‘He will certainly take Moscow soon. Although his strength is spent and he is considered as good as dead, his hard-won victory will be his death and will lead him

02:54 to Moscow. Immediately afterward will come his downfall, a fall from which there is no lower, for he will not be able to remain there. Then he will return specifically through Belorussia, not through Little Russia. That will be the sign and proof of my words.’ And so it was. On Erev Yom Kippur we arrived in Vladimir. On Monday, before Yom Kippur, the enemy took Moscow, and on Erev Yom Kippur the entire Senate fled through Vladimir. ‘When I saw,’ the Mitteler Rebbe relates, ‘how fast their carriages were racing, I rushed to my father and began to weep bitterly. I pointed out the window and said, “Father, look at the Senate racing away! Where is your promise that the enemy would suffer a defeat as soon as he reached Moscow?” My father came and embraced me, and said, “You can see that I am wearing tefillin, and I would certainly not lie, chas veshalom. As Hashem lives and as my soul lives, even if he passes beyond Moscow, he will soon turn back—not toward Petersburg. His aim will be to return through Belorussia and find food, but they will not let him. His downfall will come soon. Believe me.”’ These were his words. May I likewise merit, writes the Mitteler Rebbe, to see comfort with the coming of Moshiach Tzidkeinu. We strengthened our hearts and wept so much on that Yom Kippur that we almost lost our lives, and Hashem strengthened our hearts. We traveled to Gorod Asi [unclear], where we lived safely by the Oka River. From there we passed through Ryazan, Tambov and Oryol, as far as Kursk—a journey of some twelve hundred versts—by the middle of Kislev. We endured bitter cold, great hardship, and terrible suffering from hunger and cold, with only bread and water, staying in the smoke-filled homes of non-Jews. There is no exile harder than this. In every village they gnashed their teeth at us and heaped insults and curses upon us. Only through Hashem’s kindness to us, in the eyes of the local authorities, were they not allowed to harm us, for we traveled in a large group of more than sixty wagons. And in Kursk... they drove the enemy from Kaluga to Vyazma. There we rejoiced and thanked Hashem for His goodness and kindness, and there was great rejoicing before G-d. Then my wife gave birth to a son at the gates of Kursk

05:48 and I held a bris for my son, and we made a festive meal. From there we traveled to the village of Pina [unclear]. On 19 Kislev we heard that the enemy had suffered a great defeat near Krasnoye and that they were driving him away like a dog. We were filled with joy, for everything was coming to pass; not a single detail had failed. But amid this relief, my heart was bitter, for just as our spirits were restored, the crown of our head fell from us. Because of his intense bitterness and his deep concern at every moment, his gallbladder was affected. He also became exceedingly chilled because of his age and frailty. After only five days of weakness and vomiting, he could no longer hold on to life and passed away on the night following Shabbos Kodesh, Parshas Shemos, 24 Teves 5573. I was on the road, for he had sent me to find us a place to live in Kremenchuk. Alas for those who are gone! Glory has departed from Israel. May his merit stand by us always, for he truly gave his life... To a wise and discerning man like you, he writes to Reb Moshe Meisels, there is no need to say more; this is enough for one who understands. The Mitteler Rebbe goes on to relate: After the Alter Rebbe’s passing, they brought him to the town of Haditch in the Poltava Governorate, near the Psel River, transporting him eighty versts. The cemetery there is government land in a small wood near the Psel River, about two versts from the town. I told my friend Zuskind of Vinz [unclear], his brother-in-law, what happened in this regard. This, too, plainly shows that he gave his life for the welfare of His Majesty the Emperor. [unclear] Until he was buried in this particular place. We made a fine wooden structure over the grave, as well as a large building, and prepared bricks for a wall to be built in his honor, as is done at the graves of our forefathers and great tzaddikim, where people come to make vows and pray in times of distress, as before great tzaddikim in their resting places. On the past Erev Rosh Hashanah, six minyanim from Romny and Kremenchuk were there. They lit many candles, and someone stays there constantly. People from all the provinces send pidyonos nefesh there; people from all the provinces send pidyonos nefesh there. In other words, the Alter Rebbe is buried in Haditch, and they built a structure over the grave and a shul there.

08:57 “And now, my beloved friend,” the Mitteler Rebbe continues in his letter, “after we saw with our own eyes the extent to which he truly gave his life for the success of His Majesty the Emperor, praying with all his heart at every hour and exerting all his strength until he gave his life, how fitting it is for everyone bound to the light of his Torah and his ruach hakodesh by the strong bonds of the soul to follow him with all their heart and soul. This is the main purpose of my lengthy account in this letter: to make known to you the true feelings in the heart of my master, father and teacher, of blessed memory, and what animated his life, so that all who shelter in his shade will cleave to them wholeheartedly. Indeed, a true bond with His Majesty the Emperor in this matter has already been firmly established in the very foundation of every Jew’s heart, and the Emperor himself is also clearly aware of this. Even so, it needs to be strengthened, with still greater commitment—especially in a man like you. I have heard that you work faithfully on this matter and have put your life into it, not for money or position, for I know your faithful heart. But perhaps, under the strain of these times, the burden of travel or some other cause or temptation might, chas veshalom, overcome you. I therefore thought to strengthen your heart with a firm resolve that no winds can shake. May Hashem, the G-d of my father of blessed memory, help you succeed in all you turn your hand to, bearing fruit Above and below, so that through you abundant good will come to its intended end and become an everlasting foundation, and everlasting goodness and kindness will be done for all Israel. We saw that the enemy Napoleon’s defeat was completed as he passed from Kovno to the Russian border, at the time of the Alter Rebbe’s passing on 24 Teves. I believe and hope that on the coming 24 Teves, his yahrzeit, the essential, root defeat of the enemy in our land will be completed. For this was all his aim concerning that man Napoleon—may his name be erased—that he should be destroyed. Without this, the deliverance is incomplete, for victory must be carried through to his destruction.”

11:47 And my father told me that the people of his own country had conspired against him. His reason for fleeing Borisov was solely to bring about the downfall of the masses in France, for if he were victorious, all the people would say, “So may all Your enemies perish, Hashem”—and this is enough for those who understand. The Mitteler Rebbe goes on to explain that the common people in Russia apparently bear an intrinsic, deep-rooted hatred toward Jews, both because of religion and because of their wickedness—especially the people of Moscow, with their arrogance and haughtiness. But Hashem brings low all pride, arrogance, and haughtiness. That was also the reason the enemy was allowed to rule in Moscow. In other words, Napoleon’s victory in Moscow was meant to humble their pride for a time and show them that Hashem controls what happens, and that Hashem greatly despises all arrogance, as it is written, “Everyone who is haughty of heart is an abomination to Hashem.” It was like the case of Sancheriv. Nevertheless, Hashem did not wish to punish them with a lasting punishment, but only for a time, for their iniquity was thereby paid for. As soon as the enemy had carried out Hashem’s mission, the judgment against them turned to kindness, while the enemies faced judgment and punishment. It is like a leech that sucks out the blood, then falls off and dies completely once it has finished drawing out the impurities in the blood. In this way, the sin itself was brought to an end and rectified: all the evil had been drawn into the evil itself, and they emerged innocent. That is why, as soon as he left Moscow, his downfall came immediately. As it is written, “Evil will slay the wicked”—and this is enough for those who understand. We will continue with a series of stories about chassidim of the Alter Rebbe. Through them, we will see the character of the chassidim and Jews who lived at that time in Russia and Volhynia and became connected to the Alter Rebbe.