The Rebbe Rayatz, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, was born to his father, Rebbe Shalom Dov Ber, the fifth Lubavitcher Rebbe on the 12th of Tammuz, 5640 (1880). At the age of eight, he began hearing Chasidic discourses and matters pertaining to being a rebbe from his father. At eleven, he began donning tefillin, and at fifteen, his father appointed him as his secretary for public affairs. At seventeen, he married his wife Nechamah Dinah and was appointed director of the Tomchei Temimim Yeshivah, which his father had just founded. In 1913, he participated in the Rabbinical Committee that assisted the defense in the Beilis trial. In 1920, his father, the Rebbe Rashab passed away, shortly after the Communist revolution began. The Rebbe Rayatz was appointed as his successor and began vigorous activities for Judaism in Russia. As a result of his activities, the Rebbe was arrested on the 15th of Sivan 5687 (1927) by the GPU and sentenced to death without trial. After international pressure, the death sentence was commuted, and he was sent into exile in Kostroma on the 3rd of Tammuz. The international pressure continued, and on the 12th of Tammuz, the Rebbe was released to his home. The actual release took place the next day, on the 13th of Tammuz, and since then, the 12th and 13th days of Tammuz are marked as the Festival of Redemption of the Rebbe Rayatz. The Rebbe Rayatz passed away on the 10th day of Shevat, 5710.
On the 12th and 13th of Tammuz, we commemorate the Festival of Redemption of the Previous Rebbe, Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (the Rebbe Rayatz), and his release from Soviet imprisonment. The Rebbe was arrested due to his vigorous activities in spreading Judaism throughout Russia, at a time when the Communist regime prohibited such activities, and he faced a death sentence by firing squad. The Rebbe Rayatz documented his days of imprisonment in a diary. From his account, we learn of the strength he displayed and the self-sacrifice he maintained throughout his incarceration. Eventually, the sentence was commuted to exile and later completely annulled. The Rebbe was released from prison and subsequently left the borders of the Soviet Union.
Head Held High
The story of the imprisonment began about a month before the miraculous release. On the 15th of Sivan, the Rebbe was arrested, and an important and courageous decision accompanied the first hours of his confinement. In his diary, the Rebbe relates that when he was brought into the fortress prison, he faced a fundamental dilemma: One option was to try to cooperate and 'go with the flow' with the interrogators and police officers, avoiding confrontation with them, aiming to reduce suffering as much as possible. The second option was to proceed with his head held high and with pride, knowing that the reason for his imprisonment—spreading Judaism—was itself the fulfillment of the true law, the law of Torah, and to disregard the interrogators entirely. The Rebbe describes the magnitude of the dilemma and the difficulty of the decision, but when he decided to adopt the second option and go proudly into imprisonment, all the suffering he encountered in prison became bearable. The Rebbe stood before the interrogators with great strength, confident in the righteousness of his path, and did not hesitate to assertively demand what was due to him. For example,
At a certain stage of the interrogation, when the investigator tried to break the Rebbe's spirit and make him ‘confess’ and express remorse, he opened the drawer and took out a loaded gun, which he pointed at the Rebbe's face. "This toy," laughed the investigator, "has already caused many people to open their mouths…." The Rebbe was not frightened for a moment and answered him sharply and confidently: "This toy frightens someone who has one world and many gods, but for someone who has one God and two worlds, there is no fear at all!"
Demanding Self-Sacrifice of Others
With the Rayatz, we encounter a unique self-sacrifice, the likes of which we have not seen since the kings of the House of David. The Rebbe not only acted with fearless self-sacrifice and risked his own life but also demanded the same from others. He sent emissaries throughout Russia to continue teaching Torah, perform circumcisions, and build ritual baths. The Rebbe literally demanded this from his chasidim.
Let us not be mistaken. The Rebbe knew well the dangers facing those emissaries. Some of them were indeed caught and arrested. In the best case, those emissaries were sent to exile in distant Siberia for ten or twenty years. In the less favorable case, they were sent to their deaths. Nevertheless, the Rebbe did not hesitate. What the Rebbe demanded of himself, he dared to demand from others.
Who is a Leader?
At that time there was a chasidic Jew who became close to the Rebbe Rayatz. He saw in him a holy Jew, a man of self-sacrifice, and became his ardent follower. Nevertheless, there were several practices of the Rebbe, related to his approach in leading the community, that this chasid found difficult to accept. He presented this difficulty to his former rebbe, whom he had followed before becoming close to the Rebbe Rayatz. "Rebbe," the chasid addressed his former teacher, "how can I reconcile my mind and accept the ways of my teacher and Rebbe?" The chasid’s previous rebbe furrowed his brow and answered: "My fellow rebbes and I belong to the category of tzaddikim of the generation. One can learn from us ways of holiness and purity, love of God, love of Israel, and more. But he—the Rebbe Rayatz—belongs to a different category of tzaddikim; he is one of the leaders of the generation."
What is the difference between an ordinary tzaddik and a tzaddik who is also a leader? A tzaddik is an individual who, in his conduct, serves as a symbol and exemplar for our emulation. But a leader is an individual who is not satisfied with just that. He shoulders responsibility for the entire people and is concerned with leading them to their destiny. By the power of his command, he instructs each person in his role and life’s-mission.
When it comes to leadership of self-sacrifice, this difference is magnified sevenfold. An ordinary tzaddik would sacrifice his life for the fulfillment of Torah and mitzvot. "And all your people are righteous," and indeed in every Jew there exists the power to sacrifice his soul if needed. But a leader of self-sacrifice is a leader who is capable of explicitly demanding this from others as well.
