There are struggles that seem hopeless. The balance of power leaves no hope for the weaker side. Cold logic says that in such situations, you bow your head and wait for the wave to pass. What's the point of going with your head against the wall?
However, reality has proven that cold logic does not always predict the future correctly. Throughout Jewish history, we have seen that sometimes even a hopeless struggle is won. Hanukkah, for example. What chance did the handful of Maccabees have against the Greek Empire? And they won, because they had a strong faith, and this opened the gates of heaven for them and supernatural miracles occurred.
Warning: Playing with fire!
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We saw this in modern times, ninety-five years ago, in communist Russia. It is the story of a heroic struggle waged by a single man against the most tyrannical government.
The struggle seemed lost from the start. Without weapons, without public support, without tools to fight the evil regime, Rabbi Yosef-Yitzhak Schneerson, the previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, went to war to preserve the Jewish spirit.
He established an underground network of determined and dedicated Hasidim, who scattered throughout the country and tried to preserve the life of Judaism. They opened secret Torah schools, built purification baths, ensured kosher slaughter, circumcision, and the supply of holy utensils and Jewish literature.
The Rebbe was warned that he was playing with fire, but he did not flinch. This is how he instructed his followers - to surrender their souls in practice, without fear or apprehension. The activists were caught one after the other. They were arrested, exiled, and even executed. But in the place of one arrested activist came another. A yeshiva was exposed in one city - the next day it resurfaced and reopened in another city.
And indeed, the Rebbe was imprisoned. For a moment, it seemed that there was no power in the world that could prevent the evil regime from carrying out its plan and, God forbid, from taking the thread of his life. Here a miracle occurred, the power of which is still difficult to estimate today - in the end, the Rebbe was released, and the days of his release, the 12th-13th of Tammuz, became the holiday of redemption.
Broad perspective
After his release, the Rebbe sent a special letter, in which he emphasized the profound significance of the event. "The Holy One, blessed be He, did not redeem me alone on the 12th of Tammuz," he wrote, "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 was not imprisoned as an individual. All the age-old Jewish stubbornness was thrown into prison, in an attempt to eliminate it. The fact that in the end the Communists were forced, through gritted teeth, to release their prey - is the victory of all Judaism.
The story of the Rebbe's imprisonment and release gives us a broader perspective, to examine what is happening in our own day. The Jewish people are infinitely stronger than all kinds of passing phenomena, even if they manage to establish themselves and take over large centers of power. Jewish history has known periods of highs and periods of lows, and in the end the Jewish people triumphed.
This is the power of faith. If only we are determined and fight with dedication and firm faith – God will be with us and we will prevail.
