It happened ninety-two years ago in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia. Late at night, members of the secret police surrounded the home of Rabbi Yosef-Yitzhak Schneerson, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, and took him to prison.
This was a high point in the Rebbe's struggle against the communist regime, which was trying to eliminate Judaism throughout the Soviet Union. The regime closed Torah schools and yeshivas, and the Rebbe worked to open underground institutions. The regime banned circumcision, and the Rebbe dispatched mohels throughout Russia. The regime sealed up purification mikvahs, and the Rebbe built new mikvahs.
A visible miracle
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The Rebbe's imprisonment came after the authorities became aware of the scope and determination of his underground activities. His emissaries and followers reached every corner of the country. The secret police arrested the activists, but others immediately took their place. The students were thrown into prison, but upon release they escaped to another place and continued to study Torah.
Nothing deterred them – not imprisonment, not exile to Siberia, not even death. Then the government decided to attack the head of the underground – Barbie.
Their goal was clear. "In 24 hours, Tom will be shot dead," one of the investigators informed the rabbi. This was not an idle threat. This was stated in black and white in his interrogation file. In those days, such decisions were implemented immediately. The fact that the rabbi survived is a truly visible miracle.
Looking back, it is very difficult to understand this. In those dark days, hundreds of thousands who were defined as 'enemies of the revolution' were arrested and eliminated. There was no need for courts and complicated procedures.
The investigations were intended for one and only purpose – to track down more activists. The FBI was granted enormous authority, and they did not hesitate to arrest and eliminate ministers and prominent public figures, rabbis, and even priests, generals, and prominent scientists.
So what happened? Why was the tyrannical Russian government forced to slowly back down from its goal, until the order was given to release the Rebbe? There was some international pressure, there was diplomatic activity, and after all there is no explanation for it. It was a clear miracle from God.
We passed Russia.
This struggle proved that a stubborn Jewish stance on keeping the Torah and the commandments has the power to defeat even a mighty empire. The struggle continued for about seventy years, and it ended with the victory of the Jewish people. The iron fist of the communist regime was unable to extinguish the embers of Judaism. Even in the most difficult days, this flame burned and warmed, albeit underground and in secret. In time, it flared up again, and today Judaism flourishes and prospers throughout the former Soviet Union.
In our lives, too, there are constant struggles and tests. Sometimes it seems like we have to surrender and bow our heads. The Rebbe's holiday of redemption, 22-13 Tammuz 1927 (1927), teaches that it is determination and absolute devotion to God and His Torah that are victorious.
We went through Pharaoh, we went through Haman, we went through Russia and Nazi Germany, and the people of Israel live and prosper, until complete redemption.
