Even if we try very hard, we will not be able to grasp the significance of the decision of a handful of believing Jews to embark on the struggle against the communist empire, which has won the victory.
That was about a hundred years ago. The communist revolution was seen as the fulfillment of all dreams. It suppressed with an iron fist every vestige of resistance, including the Jewish religion.
The masses of the Russian people, who had fallen for communism, truly believed that these were the days of the Messiah. A glorious era was opening. A wonderful world in which there were no rich and poor, no masters and no slaves; a world in which all people and all nations were equal.
The few Jews who continued to cling to faith in God and His Torah were perceived as holding on to old-fashionedness, as those who insisted on closing their eyes and not seeing the light.
The secret police persecuted them. The media blackened their image and made them hated by the public. They were sent to 're-education' in forced labor camps or exiled to Siberia. What chance did they have?
Not a private miracle
This handful was led by the Rebbe Rayatz (Rabbi Yosef-Yitzhak Schneerson) zt"l of Lubavitch. He was arrested time and time again and warned to cease his activities to preserve the embers of Judaism. But the Rebbe did not shy away from the threats, and continued to encourage his followers to give their lives for the survival of Judaism.
When the authorities realized that the Rebbe was continuing his activities, they decided to ban him and eliminate him. His sentence was already written and signed: "Death by shooting.".
But miraculously, the authorities backed down. At first, they commuted the death sentence to ten years of exile to a remote island. Later, they commuted this sentence as well, sending him to three years of exile in a distant city. But not many days passed before they released him completely.
This happened on the 12th-13th of Tammuz, 1927 (1927). This was the day when the communist regime was forced to surrender in the face of the Rebbe's dedication. It was a message to the entire world that with the power of faith and determination, even the evil and tyrannical rule of Communist Russia could be defeated.
A year later, when the Rebbe left Russia, he sent a special letter in which he wrote: "Not only did the Holy One, blessed be He, redeem me on the 12th of Tammuz, but also all lovers of our holy Torah, observant of the mitzvah, and also all who are called by the name of Israel." The Rebbe did not see the 12th of Tammuz as his private holiday and a personal miracle that happened to him, but rather an event of great importance to every Jew throughout the world.
The first blow
The years have passed and today it is clear to everyone who won. The 'Yevskazia' was eliminated, communism collapsed, the Soviet Union itself disintegrated, but Judaism is alive and well and is growing stronger and spreading throughout the former communist empire and the entire world. Time and again it becomes clear that our 'old world' is eternal and truer than all passing ideologies.
In those days it was still difficult to see, but today it is clear to us that the Rebbe's release was the first blow that began to undermine the rule of evil. This release made it clear to him and to the entire world that in the struggle between communism and Judaism - Judaism will prevail. In the struggle between heresy and faith - faith will prevail.
This is a holiday of faith in God and His Torah, a holiday for all who believe in the eternal Torah of Israel and its commandments. Long live, Jews!
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