At1 the time of the passing of his father, [the Alter Rebbe,] the Mitteler Rebbe was in Krementchug.2 Anash, [the chassidic brotherhood,] sent [a delegation] asking him to come to our area, [i.e., White Russia].3
At that time he, as well as his entire family, were in dire financial straits. They had abandoned all their possessions in Liadi while fleeing during the war. Everything was lost; their homes were burned and their property was stolen. Any cash that they had taken with them was spent on the expenses of the journey and [afterwards,] they were [virtually] penniless.
As they traveled to our region, Anash assisted the Mitteler Rebbe with an open hand. Wherever he came, he was given ample assistance. By the time he came to Lubavitch, he had assembled a considerable sum, totaling several thousands of rubles. Upon arriving and [establishing his] home, he decided to distribute the money among all his impoverished family members. He thereupon sent a letter to the chassidic communal leader, Reb Pinchas of Shklov,4 stating that he had collected a sizeable sum and had decided to distribute it. [He instructed] Reb Pinchas to form a committee consisting of himself, his brother-in-law Reb Zalman Roizes,5 and Reb Shlomo Freides,6 and they should distribute the money.
Years later, Reb Pinchas passed away in Lubavitch, without leaving any children, Heaven forbid. His nephew, an evil and malicious individual, inherited his estate. [Rummaging through Reb Pinchas’ papers,] he discovered the above letter of the Mitteler Rebbe. Avariciously, he wrote to the Mitteler Rebbe, asking for a large sum of money and [threatening that] if not [given that sum], he would slander the Mitteler Rebbe to the government on the basis of this letter. The Rebbe replied that he would not give him even one cent; there was nothing untoward in the letter and he could do with the letter whatever he wants.
[The Mitteler Rebbe’s response] enraged the man. Joining together with a friend of his of similar moral turpitude [from Vitebsk],7 they connived to slander the Rebbe. What did they do? They added a minor forgery to the letter by adding the letter kuf, [which in Hebrew is equivalent to 100]. Thus instead of the letter stating that the amount collected was three of four thousand rubles, it now read that 103 or 104 thousand rubles had been collected.
With this forgery in hand, they slandered the Rebbe, [stating] that people were assembling in Lubavitch from all nearby cities to plan a rebellion against the government. As proof that this was indeed so, they produced the letter that clearly showed that [during his journey] from Krementchug to Lubavitch, [the Mitteler Rebbe] had succeeded in raising quite a princely sum, something that would have been impossible were he not to have been plotting such a rebellion. Also included in their slander was that he was sending money to the Sultan [of Turkey], that dimensions of his Beis HaMidrash were the exact dimensions of the Beis HaMikdash, and many more similar fabrications.
A [government] directive was issued that the Rebbe be brought to Vitebsk. Special ministerial emissaries of the Czar were sent to bring the Rebbe [to Vitebsk]. When the emissaries arrived, the members of the Rebbe’s household were fearful [and tried to insure] that the Rebbe would not be terrified of their sudden appearance. They therefore came to the Rebbe and told him that a person of stature had arrived from Vitebsk and that he desires to see him. The emissaries came to the Rebbe’s chambers and took him and his son, Reb Nachum, of blessed memory, [with them to Vitebsk]. They also searched the Rebbe’s home to see whether there were documents there that were hostile to the government. But what could they possibly find? There was no such thing. They merely found the accounts of the charities that were disbursed to the impoverished Jews living in Eretz Yisrael which were written by the Rebbe’s holy hand. The slanderers were also there [with them], and said: “This is exactly what we were talking about!”8 They also measured the dimensions of the Rebbe’s Beis HaMidrash to see if they were the same as that of the Beis HaMikdash and found that this was not so.
When the Mitteler Rebbe was brought to Vitebsk, the slanderers told the officials that if they wanted to ensure that the chassidim not engage in deception and fraud, they should bring the Rebbe to the home of the slanderer of Vitebsk who would surely guard well [against the occurrence of this type of trickery].
Doctor Heibenthal,9 may he be remembered for a blessing, went to the Governor-General and told him that according to his intimate knowledge of the refined and gentle nature of the Mitteler Rebbe, if the Mitteler Rebbe would be incarcerated in the home of his accuser and mortal enemy, the slanderer, he would not be able to tolerate this and would be in grave medical danger. Upon hearing this, the Governor-General commanded that he be brought to another house. The house was surrounded by soldiers who prevented anyone from entering it.
When the financial reckonings of the accounts found in the Rebbe’s house had to be translated into Russian, the slanderers said to the minister that he should transfer the papers to a man in Vitebsk — who was collaborating with the slanderers — todo the translation, and to none other than this individual. [They explained that] the chassidimwere cunning, and if it were given to someone else for translation, they would get him to falsify the amounts. This, however, would surely not be so if the accountings were given over to this person.
Truly, there was absolutely nothing untoward in these papers, as they merely contained financial records of moneys disbursed to impoverished Jews, something permissible according to the laws of the land; Jews were entirely within their rights to assist their poor brethren who lived in foreign countries. However, since the slander against the Rebbe asserted that he was bribing the Sultan, chassidimwere fearful that the sums would be interpreted as having been given to the Sultan. Thank G‑d, however, the slanderers themselves made a good and accurate translation. (There are many more details as to how this came about, but here is not the place for this.)
They then came to interrogate the Rebbe. The Rebbe demonstrated to them how the entire slander was completely groundless and without merit, and that the moneys were simply distributed to impoverished Jews in the Holy Land, as explained above. With regard to the note [to Reb Pinchas Reizes], the Rebbe acknowledged that Anash had assisted him on his way home since he was in major financial straits from the expenses during his travels at the time of the war and that all his properties and possessions that had remained in Liadi had burned to the ground. However, the amount raised was nowhere near that stated in the letter, for there was a forgery in the letter, as the letter kuf was added by the slanderers.
When all the above was brought before Governor-General [Chavansky], he was fully convinced that the Rebbe was speaking the truth. He then commanded that the Rebbe and the slanderers appear together before him and that they should confront each other. He would thus be able to see firsthand who was telling the truth and who was lying.
The Rebbe donned his regal garments, his white Shabbos clothing, and his appearance was that of a heavenly angel. He then traveled to the Governor-General in a majestic coach. Upon seeing this, the chassidimfeared that this would rouse the Governor-General’s ire. But this was not at all so. Instead, when the Rebbe appeared before the Governor-General and he beheld the Rebbe’s noble and stately appearance and mien, the Rebbe found favor in the Governor-General’s eyes and he commanded that a chair be brought for the Rebbe.
Then entered the slanderer of Vitebsk. The Rebbe began disputing and contending with him for a long time. When it was the slanderer’s turn to speak, his tongue slipped and he addressed the Mitteler Rebbe with the honorific title of “Rebbe.” The Mitteler Rebbe turned to the Governor-General and said: “Behold what he says. Here he is accusing me of being a swindler and leading a rebellion, and yet now he himself addresses me as ‘Rebbe.’ In the end, truth will come out.”
The slanderer was totally at a loss and all his words made absolutely no sense. Finally, the Governor-General said to him, “I’ve heard enough from you, you scoundrel.” The slanderer was forced to leave in great disgrace and embarrassment, while the Rebbe departed with great honor.
The month of Kislev arrived. In the very month that the Alter Rebbe was twice released from imprisonment, his son, the Mitteler Rebbe, was also informed of his release on the tenth of Kislev.
The event transpired as follows: On the morning of that day,10 the Mitteler Rebbe sent — through his daughters — a petition11 to the Governor-General. When the daughters delivered the petition and the Governor-General read it, it found favor in his eyes. Moreover, the daughters began crying bitterly [about the fate of their father]. The Governor-General told them that there was no need for them to cry or feel so bad, since their father would be released from his imprisonment very soon.
Indeed this was so. The Governor-General hastened to command that the Mitteler Rebbe and those with him be released. By the time the daughters came to the house where the Rebbe was being held, a decree had already been issued by the Governor-General to remove the soldiers guarding the house. The house filled with Anash and the Rebbe immediately delivered a maamar. This day as well, [in addition to the 19th of Kislev,] has been established by Anash as a Yom Tov, with feasting and rejoicing, and on which Tachanun is not recited.
