An investigation file of the Rebbe Rabbi Israel of Rozhin in his early days in the city of Sedigura in the Austrian Empire, and after he escaped from the Russian Tsarist regime, was revealed in recent days at the Kedem Auction House, Jerusalem.
The investigation file sheds light and allows us to discover Rabbi Yisrael's escape route from Ruzyn to his escape across the border into the Austrian Empire.
It also teaches about the story of the cover used by the Rebbe and his integration into the life of the community in Sedigura. The file also contains three handwritten signatures of the Rebbe, which are extremely rare.
Among other things, the interrogation file includes precise dates on the Rebbe's escape journey, and previously unknown details regarding his family and the date of their arrival in the Austrian Empire and the union between them and the Rebbe, a French travel document that he carried, and more.
From the documents we learn that the Rebbe of Rozhin began his escape journey in the midst of a holy Sabbath, Parshat Ba, which fell on 4 Shevat 1772. The danger hanging over the Rebbe's head was so great that this journey was considered a "pikuach nefesh docha Shabbat.".
In 1838 (1838), due to denunciations and plots against the Rebbe, he was arrested on charges of seeking to kill two moralists.
The Rebbe spent about two years in a Russian prison, but even after he was released, the authorities continued to monitor him and thus restrict his movements, until the Rebbe decided to flee Russian territory.
To complete the move, he adopted the identity of a Jew who had disappeared nearly 40 years earlier and claimed at the border crossing that he was the same person, joining the home of the parents of that disappeared boy who lived in Sedigora, which was in the territory of the Austrian Empire.
After he completed the escape process, the Tsarist authorities issued a formal request to the Austrian authorities to hand him back over to them.
Following that extradition request, local authorities opened an investigation against the Rebbe of Rozhin as well as against a number of people involved in smuggling him across the border.
The investigation, which lasted about a month and included over 170 questions, was discussed by the highest levels of Russian and Austrian officials. Although the Austrians concluded that the Rebbe had indeed been smuggled into their country illegally, they did not see fit to extradite him and, on condition of transferring a symbolic sum of 10,000 florins, declared that he would be able to obtain a residence permit in accordance with Austrian law.
"The investigation file of the Rebbe of Rozhin is a unique item like no other," explains Maron Aran, owner of the Kedem auction house. "It allows us a one-time glimpse into one of the most famous events in the world of Hasidism in general and in Rozhin Hasidism in particular - and at the same time reflects the unique and steadfast character of the Rebbe, in one of his most difficult hours. Items of this kind that incorporate such a significant historical-Jewish mixture are especially extraordinary when they include so many documents and details that were previously unknown.".
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