Chapter 250 - The Rebbe Maharash's Visit to the Interior Minister.

00:00 The Rebbe Maharash worked with the Russian government for the good of the Jewish people. Within a week, the Rebbe Maharash was received by the Minister of the Interior, together with the chassidim Reb Chaim, Mashiach [?], Yoav, and Nachum Harmond [?]. Although the minister received the Rebbe with great honor and, as those chassidim related, the Rebbe made a tremendous impression on him, he nevertheless spoke harshly. He rebuked the Rebbe Maharash for opposing the government’s policies and, moreover, traveling abroad to speak with citizens of other countries and discredit the government of his homeland in their eyes. For that, he said, the Rebbe deserved severe punishment as a rebel against the monarchy or as someone who disrupted the government’s order. The Rebbe Maharash answered the minister: “Does the government think it can spill our blood and the blood of our sons and daughters, plunder our property and the fruits of our labor, and we must still kneel and kiss the hands of the murderers and robbers? Are we not citizens of this country, fulfilling our obligations to the state with our persons and our money, like all its citizens? As if it were not enough humiliation and outrage that they have taken away the country’s wide expanses from us and confined Jews to a restricted Pale of Settlement, the government now lends a helping hand to criminals and the dregs of humanity to carry out pogroms against us, our sons and our daughters, as though we were a people with no protector. As citizens of this country, we demand that the government protect our lives and property. Please inform the Minister of the Interior, in my name and in the name of all Jewish citizens of this country, that I wish to be received by the king, to present our position and circumstances to His Majesty and to hear clearly whether he has decreed that we be put to death at the hands of murderers and robbers. The ministers’ words and promises have lost all value in our eyes. In the name of justice and fairness, I appeal to the Minister of the Interior to grant our request.” The Minister of the Interior was alarmed by the forthright words that came from the depths of the Rebbe Maharash’s holy heart, and he could not speak. When he recovered, however, he said he would give an answer in a few days

02:35 and that he hoped the matter would end well. About ten days later, at the beginning of Elul, the Rebbe was received by the Minister of the Interior. The minister informed him that his request for an audience with His Majesty was a grave matter concerning the position and circumstances of the country’s Jewish citizens. The government, however, would take reliable measures to ensure that no further harm would come to Jews through pogroms anywhere in the country. And so it was: within about two weeks, all the provincial governors received orders to announce and notify every district official and every official in the towns, villages and settlements that anyone who stirred up strife and disturbed the peace among the country’s citizens, or called for pogroms against any community of its citizens, would be severely punished. The Jews found relief wherever they lived. “My father’s tremendous work on behalf of the community in 5640,” the Rebbe Rashab relates of his father, the Rebbe Maharash, “took a heavy toll on his frail health. He was therefore compelled to travel to health resorts outside the country, and decided that after Sukkos he would go abroad.” Since the Rebbe Maharash knew that this trip would require him to spend the entire winter abroad, he saw fit to convene a conference of communal activists from Petersburg, Moscow, Mohilev, Minsk, Poltava and Chernigov. He set the conference for Tuesday, 7 Cheshvan, in Vitebsk. On Sunday, 5 Cheshvan 5641, the Rebbe Maharash traveled to Vitebsk, taking his son, my brother Reb Zalman Aharon, and me along with him. On Monday at twelve noon, the Rebbe went with a select group of prominent Vitebsk residents to visit the provincial governor. He was received with great honor and spent about half an hour alone in the governor’s office. When the Rebbe Maharash emerged into the hall, in the presence of the distinguished visitors, the governor’s staff and the chief of police, the governor thanked the Rebbe for honoring him with his esteemed visit. He said, “Until now, thank G-d, there has been complete peace

05:27 among the citizens of this province. On my word of honor, I promise that peace and unity will prevail among them in the future as well.” That same day, at four o’clock, an official from the governor’s office came to the home where the Rebbe Maharash was staying, the residence of his relative by marriage, Ginsburg. He said the governor had sent him to ask what time the next morning he could visit the Rebbe there. The Rebbe replied, “If ten in the morning suits the governor, it suits me as well.” The governor arrived at the appointed time with five senior officials from his office. They stayed about twenty minutes and left. At twelve noon, the conference began, and it lasted three days. The final session was on Thursday. Before it closed, many of the participants turned to the Rebbe and said, “True, thank G-d, the overall situation is better, but in truth the hearts of the Jewish people are broken, and they are terribly frightened. Rebbe, you are going abroad. If anything should happen, what will become of the Jewish people?” The Rebbe Maharash answered them, “Be calm, and reassure others as well. Indeed, these are times when one does not know what is best to do. Some say to take one course, and others say to take another. Some say every course is fraught with danger. I say that if we act according to the Torah, with deliberation, things will be good. Be calm, and reassure the Jews in your communities too. It says in Tehillim, ‘I call to Elokim, and Havayah will save me.’ Seemingly, it should have said, ‘I call to Havayah,’ as it says, ‘To You, Havayah, I call,’ and ‘To Havayah I plead.’ Why does it say here, ‘I call to Elokim’? And why does it say, ‘Havayah will save me’? Seemingly, it should have said, ‘Havayah will answer me,’ as it says, ‘Answer me with relief.’ Why does it say ‘save me’?” Rather, said the Rebbe Maharash, the meaning is this: “I call to Elokim.”

08:10 When, G-d forbid, there is distress from the severe judgments, one recalls that those judgments come from the name Elokim, which is a holy name just like the name Havayah. One then understands that the judgments coming from the name Elokim carry an intention from the Creator of the world: that people should do teshuvah. Teshuvah is not only for particular matters. It is also meant to soften the heart and open the hands, to give tzedakah and perform acts of kindness. This is the meaning of “I call to Elokim”: calling upon the inner purpose of the judgments and suffering that the Creator of the world sends, G-d forbid. When people understand the purpose of those judgments, do teshuvah and good deeds, and become fully united, in addition to giving tzedakah and performing acts of kindness, then “Havayah will save me”: Hashem helps, and things turn out well. That is why it says “Havayah will save me.” To be answered means that one asks for something specific and knows what to do. But when one does not know what to ask for or what to do, the request is that whatever one does should turn out well. That is why it says, “Havayah will save me.” Indeed, at this time we need mercy. But when the Jewish people are in the state of “I, a poor man, call to Elokim”—broken and frightened by the bitter situation and the harsh judgments—yet know that the judgments have a purpose, so that they will call out, “Father, have mercy,” they must have complete trust that “Havayah will save me.” Whatever they do and however they act for the good of the community must, of course, be carried out through natural means. This will bring salvation, and the Jews will have light wherever they live. The chossid Reb Chaim Mashiyavo [?] added the following account for the Frierdiker Rebbe. In the summer of 5639, estate owners and town landlords in several provinces spread hatred of Jews and incited the peasants and residents of the villages and towns to carry out pogroms against them. The Rebbe Maharash held several meetings in Petersburg in the winter of 5640 and visited a number of senior, prominent ministers, who promised to stand by the Jews. This did indeed help,

10:55 Though only in some places, not all of them. When the Rebbe saw that the wave of riots was raging and the government was doing nothing, he traveled abroad to meet with communal leaders in Germany and France, so that they would influence the course of government policy in our country for the benefit of the Jews. When the Rebbe Maharash returned from abroad, he asked the well-known wealthy men of Petersburg for two of them to accompany him to the minister to request an audience with the king. The wealthy men of Petersburg did not want to go, because they feared for themselves. The Rebbe told them, “If you fear for your lives and your property, I will take two of my chassidim. Chassidim are not fainthearted like these reckless wealthy men. Chassidim can put their lives and property on the line for the Jewish people. We will go, and may Hashem help us be good emissaries and save our fellow Jews.” Through the efforts of Professor Bertenson[?], within about a week the Rebbe was granted a meeting with the minister of the interior. He took the chossid Reb Nachum Hermond[?] and me with him to see the minister. The Rebbe entered the minister’s office, and we followed him. The room was very large, both long and wide. As soon as the Rebbe entered, his majestic appearance, the radiance of his holy face, his generous spirit, his powerful yet pleasant voice, his eloquence and his fine clothing made a tremendous impression on the minister. The minister hurried forward to greet his distinguished guest, extended his hand and invited him to sit in one of the chairs beside the table, to the right of the minister’s seat. But in an instant the minister’s expression changed. He spoke harshly and even threatened the Rebbe with severe punishment as a rebel against the government. The Rebbe answered the minister sharply and demanded to know why all the Jewish people and their property had been left at the mercy of every murderer and robber. What can I tell you, my dear friend? That was when we saw what mesirus nefesh is, and how one must put one’s life on the line out of love for the Jewish people. We saw plainly that Hashem was with him and the angel Michael stood at his right hand. We all knew that the Rebbe knew

13:22 the language of the country, but we had never heard him speak with such eloquence. Hearing his eloquence and fluency brought to mind the words of our Sages about Yosef Hatzaddik: the angel Gabriel came and taught him seventy languages. It seemed to me that the angel Michael was speaking, but at that very moment I thought that only a Rebbe, not an angel, could show such mesirus nefesh. Through his mesirus nefesh, the Rebbe saved the Jewish people, their lives and their property. The Rebbe’s words had a profound effect on the minister, who promised to provide an answer and escorted the Rebbe halfway across the hall outside his office. When the Rebbe returned to his lodgings, he was very weak. He sat down in a chair to rest and said, “This visit cost me a great deal of my health, but with Hashem’s help it will bring real benefit and raise the honor of the Jewish people.” The chossid Reb Nachum Hermond[?] said to the Rebbe, “When the Rebbe entered the minister’s office, the minister was shaken and deeply impressed—so much so that he was startled.” The Rebbe said, “That is how it should be. When a Jew enters a non-Jew’s room and reveals the image of G-d on his face, that is the essence of a mezuzah. A mezuzah is a sign that the house and everything in it belong to G-dliness. The mezuzah reveals the Divine life-force within the world and its created beings. So, too, when a non-Jew sees the image of G-d on the face of any Jew, he cannot help but be shaken and afraid. But that lasts only for a time.” The Rebbe Maharash continued, “My father, the Tzemach Tzedek, told me that when they brought the Alter Rebbe to the Tayny Soviet and took him into an office where many officials were sitting, the Alter Rebbe went over to the window, took out his tefillin, put them on and turned to face the officials. Fear and dread fell upon them all: those who were sitting could not stand up, and those who were standing could not sit down.” My father said, “Of tefillin it is written, ‘And all the peoples of the earth will see that the name of Hashem is called upon you, and they will fear you.’ It was taught: Rabbi Eliezer the Great says, ‘This refers to the tefillin of the head.’” He continued

15:55 to tell Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak, “That evening the Rebbe Maharash suffered a severe fainting spell, and Professor Bertenson was notified immediately. He hurried over, gave him medicine and rebuked the Rebbe for neglecting his health and doing things that harmed it, since even slight excitement was dangerous for him. The Rebbe answered him, ‘We are not our own. Our bodies and souls, our spirits and our very souls, are given over to the Jewish people, in spiritual and material matters. Indeed, the arrows of our enemies and those who hate us shatter our bodies to pieces, suck the marrow from our bones and make our lives bitter. But through this we save and protect Hashem’s people. So it was with my holy forebears, so it is with me, and so it will be until Hashem sees our plight and sends us a righteous redeemer to gather our dispersed from the four corners of the earth and lead us upright to our land.’ And the Rebbe wept deeply. Professor Bertenson ordered the Rebbe to leave the city immediately and stay in one of the nearby towns with good air. Because his health was so weak, the journey to Cherkassy[?] was too difficult for the Rebbe. He traveled instead to a village near the city, where there were also houses with spacious rooms, and stayed there for several days until he regained his strength. He then traveled to Cherkassy[?] to await the minister’s reply. When the Rebbe came to see the minister a second time, the minister received him with great honor and said that the government had taken effective measures for the benefit of the Jews. The Rebbe remained in Cherkassy[?] for about a week to recuperate, and afterward traveled to Lubavitch. I’m recalling the story we told last time about the man on the train, the baal teshuvah, who said that he visited the Rebbe Maharash when the Rebbe Maharash came to Petersburg and helped him with his work on behalf of the Jewish community. So when we describe here how the Rebbe Maharash visited the minister of the interior and so on, this may have been one of those visits.