Introduction
In every country Napoleon conquered, he introduced the (French)
Declaration of the Rights of Man, which abolished serfdom and
guaranteed religious tolerance. Understandably, oppressed people everywhere considered him a liberator, and many openly
assisted him in overthrowing their rulers.
CHOF DALED TEVES
THE HISTALKUS
OF THE
ALTER REBBE
I will have to have mesiras nefesh
to humble [Napoleon].
The Alter Rebbe almost a year before his histalkus
By Rabbi Sholom Avtzen
Many of the extremely oppressed Jews at that time were also
taken in by Napoleon. Until then, they’d been restricted from engaging in many occupations; they had to pay a special Jewish tax and were forced to live in ghettos. Napoleon promised
to change all that. So they, too, assisted Napoleon and were of
great help to him in his conquest of Poland.
Once Napoleon captured most of Europe, he set out to conquer
Russia as well. Many tzaddikim were hoping that napoleon would
win. They daven for his success. They believed that a victory for
napoleon would bring relief from the Czars hard decrees against
the yidden.
On Tisha B’Av 5572 (cwwge,-1812),1 he invaded Russia, expecting to receive assistance from the Jews there.
The Alter Rebbe marshaled his chassidim against
Napoleon. He emphasized this by saying:2 “I prefer death than to
live under his rule. I don’t want to be a witness to the
calamity that will befall my nation.”
The mashpia, Rav Shmuel Gronem, related, “The Alter Rebbe
said, ‘Napoleon is a very powerful evil force [kelipah], and I fear
that I will have to have mesiras nefesh (sacrifice my soul) in order
to humble him.’ ”3
1. The date given in Likkutei Dibburim as the day that Napoleon invaded Russia
[proper]; however, the invasion began almost a month earlier on the fourteenth of
Tammuz, when he invaded the former Polish provinces that had been annexed
by Russia.
2. Taken from a letter that the Mitteler Rebbe wrote to the chassid Reb Moshe Meisels.
Printed in Sefer HaToldos of the Mitteler Rebbe, pp.157-163.
3. Likkutei Sipurim, by Rabbi Perlow, p. 74. We see similarly that the Rebbe Rashab
left the city of Lubavitch in order that he not be under German occupation. See essay
on Beis Nissan, vol. 1, pp. 1-11.
1
What did Napoleon represent, and why did the Alter Rebbe
loathe him to such an extent? Why did the Alter Rebbe want
nothing less than a total collapse of Napoleon’s power 4?
For this reason, the Alter Rebbe refused to live in Napolean’s
conquered domain for even a short period of time. Thus, the
Alter Rebbe prayed7 constantly for Napoleon’s downfall.
The Alter Rebbe stated clearly, “that napoleons plan to eliminate
the nobleman/serf or master/slave relationship was part of his
overall Ideology to lead yidden away from the torah”.
In addition, he sent letters to many Jewish communities, urging
them to aid the Russian army in every way possible; encouraging
them not to be dejected or pay attention to the victories of
Napoleon, as they were only temporary. The final and complete
victory would be the Czar’s.
Simply put, Napoleon denied the existence of Hashem, and by
eroding people’s subservience to a human authority figure, he
hoped ultimately to eradicate the people’s reverence for the ultimate authority: Hashem. The promised relief that a Napoleonic
victory would bring the Yidden would thus come at too high price.5
the Alter Rebbe also foresaw that the spiritual level of the Jewish
community would be greatly harmed were Napolean to gain control over Russia.
As the Alter Rebbe wrote6 to the chassid Reb Moshe Meisels: My
beloved friend Moshe, as Hashem lives and by the life of my soul,
this is what Heaven showed me during Musaf on the first day of
Rosh Hashanah. If [Napoleon] Bonaparte is victorious, then the
power of the Jews will be elevated, and they will have plenty of
riches. However, their hearts will become separated and alienated
from their Father in Heaven. [On the other hand,] if [Czar] Alexander is victorious, the power of the Jews will be diminished, and
poverty will increase among the Jews. However, the hearts of
the Jews will rejoice, bind and become securely attached to their
Father in Heaven. And this is a sign for you, that shortly the pleasure of your eyes will be taken away from you [Author’s Note: probably alluding to his [the Alter Rebbe’s] own passing] and the
government is going to begin to draft Jews into its army.
4. In the Mitteler Rebbe’s letter to Reb Moshe, he notes, “My father’s wishes will be
complete when [Napoleon’s] own countrymen rise up against him.” Indeed, shortly
after returning to his own country from his shameful defeat, Napoleon was banished
from France.
5. As was the immediate outcome in many of the cities that his army conquered: the
soldiers would (forcefully) invite people to participate and join in their parties and
merriment celebrating their victory. As would be expected, this brought a laxity in
modesty.
6. The complete letter is printed in letters of the Alter Rebbe, p. 150):
Secretly, he even instructed his chassidim to spy against
Napoleon’s army. His youngest son, Reb Moshe, who was fluent
in French, also heeded this call. He moved to the city of Dasvia,
where the French army headquarters were located. There, he offered his services to the French high command. They eagerly
accepted Reb Moshe, who assisted them by making maps of
the routes that the French army should take, and translating all
the information that the local villagers gave in their native tongue
of Russian, Latvian or Polish. In no time, Reb Moshe gained the
French generals’ trust.
7. Chassidim relate the following story. While the Alter Rebbe was of the opinion that it
is better for the Czar to win, other tzaddikim, namely Rabbi Shlomo Karliner, were of
the opinion that Napolean should win. Since these tzaddikim disagreed about who
should win, the Heavenly court decreed that whoever would blow the shofar first on
Rosh Hashanah, his opinion would prevail.
Rabbi Shlomo Karliner arose early and started to daven as soon as it was permissible
to do so. When he was about to blow the shofar, he said that the Alter Rebbe had
beaten him. The Alter Rebbe had also gotten up early in the morning, but he blew the
shofar before he started to daven.
The Rebbe writes that while this story is true, we have to attribute this to a different
tzaddik, as Rav Shlomo was nistalek many years before this war. It is said that it was
Reb Mendel Rimonover or Reb Yisroel Kosnitzer.
When the Alter Rebbe heard the marching song of Napoleon’s army, he said it was a
(song and a) march of victory. He then decided that the song should be used in one’s
service to Hashem. [On Yom Kippur, before the shofar is blown (at the end of Tefilas
Ne’ilah), it is customary in Lubavitch to sing “Napoleon’s March.”]
We should note, the Alter Rebbe took away from Napoleon his victory march, elevating it for one’s service to Hashem, while Napoleon, as we will relate later on, was unsuccessful in his tireless attempts to obtain something of the Alter Rebbe’s.
2
The chassid Reb Moshe Meisels was fluent in French, Polish and
Russian, and he also offered his services to the French commander. While he was used mainly as an interpreter, he would
also explain to the generals the terrain of the territory when they
prepared their strategy. He would then relay the enemy’s plan to
the Russian army, thus thwarting many of their surprise
attacks.One time, when the maps were being studied by
Napoleon’s generals, Napoleon walked in, put his hand on Reb
Moshe’s chest and accused him of spying.8
Because the Alter Rebbe believed that even though Napoleon was good
to the Jews (that is, he gave them equal rights and abolished the tax on
Jews), and under his regime, the financial and political situation of the
Jews would (probably) improve; The Alter Rebbe also said — and it actually came to pass11 — that when the Czar won, he would definitely remember everything the Jews did to help him win the war. Not only would
he rescind some of the harsh and harmful decrees that had been set forth
against the Jews, but he would also help to improve their situation.12
There was no more time to lose. Anticipating Napoleon’s evil designs to
attack and conquer Russia, the Alter Rebbe instructed his family to be
ready to flee at a moment’s notice.
When he heard that the French army was rapidly approaching,15 .
His task was made all that much easier because the area in which
the French army found itself fighting was made up of former Polish
provinces. Naturally, the French assumed that the Jews living
there would regard them as liberators as the Polish Jews had, and
would similarly come to their aid, as indeed, some Jews did.
Never did they suspect that the Jews in this area would be disloyal.9 Acting as a spy, Reb Moshe was able to pass all his military information to the proper Russian army channels.10
8. Reb Moshe related later that one of the fundamental teachings of Chassidus
saved his life. Chassidus teaches that the mind should rule over the heart, and since
he understood in his mind that his heart shouldn’t beat fast, his mind was able to control his heart. (If his heart had beaten rapidly, it would have exposed his guilt.)
9. Although Napolean was well aware of the Alter Rebbe’s tremendous
opposition to him, he did not realize the amount of effort the Alter Rebbe expended to
ensure his downfall, and to what extent was his influence.
10. Sefer HaToldos of the Alter Rebbe, p. 1029.
11. The Czar bestowed upon the Alter Rebbe the title, “Honored citizen for all of his generations.” Shortly afterwards, the Mitteler Rebbe received from the government some tracts of
land in the Cherson province to establish Jewish settlements.
12. Of course, it wouldn’t compare to the freedom offered by Napolean; however, as mentioned,
Napolean’s freedom came with a heavy price, laxity in one’s fear of the Creator.
3
he reluctantly16 fled Liadi, even though the constant traveling
was not good for his health.
With the assistance of the Russian army, he and his entire family17 began their flight, loaded on four wagons,18 on erev Shabbos19 Pashas Eikev which was Erev Shabbos Mevorchim
Chodesh Elul—22 Av—5572 (cwwge,-1812). Before leaving, he
instructed the townspeople to help themselves to his furniture and utensils and to make sure to remove everything that
was in his house.
15. I head from Reb Meir Itkin wha who heard the following from Reb Meir Simcha
Chein. When the Rebbe Rashab was considering thinking about leaving the city of
Lubavitch, he called in Reb Shmuel Gurary, Rav Rapholovitch and himself, Reb Meir
Simcha.
“We three constituted a Beis Din, and the Rebbe asked us if he could move from
Lubavitch. They immediately replied yes, and I asked, ‘Why, what’s the rush?’ The
Rebbe Rashab replied that since the Alter Rebbe waited until the last moment, it cost
him thirteen years of his life. I immediately said yes, but added, please, not too far.”
16. As his leaving could cause greater anxiety amongst the Jews of that area, the
Alter Rebbe remained there until he saw that he had to leave.
17. Except for his son, Reb Moshe, who was living at the home of his in-laws in the
city of Ulla, and then (as mentioned) moved to Dasvia, and his brother, Rav
Yehuda Leib, who lived in the city of Yanovitch. It should be noted that the
chassid Reb Yitzchok Zelver undertook the responsibility of paying for all
expenses involved in the trip.
To show his appreciation, the Alter Rebbe told him that he would answer all
of his questions. When the Mitteler Rebbe heard this, he gave Reb Yitzchok
some questions that he did not want to personally ask his father.
One of the questions was: “Did he ever see the Baal Shem Tov or the
AriZal?” The Alter Rebbe replied: “How is it possible for me to have seen
them?” [Author’s Note: The Baal Shem Tov was nistalek before the Alter Rebbe
came to Mezeritch (although the Baal Shem Tov did cut his hair at his
upshernish) and the AriZal was nistalek approximately 200 years earlier.]
When Reb Yitzchok repeated this answer to the Mitteler Rebbe, he told him
to go back saying, “The question is not if it was possible; the question is, did
you see them or not?”
The Alter Rebbe then answered, “Yes!” and explained how and when he met
them.
18. Two for his twenty-eight grandchildren that came along, and two for the
grown-ups and provisions.This was in addition to the chassidim who accompanied
him. Exactly how many is unclear, as in one sicha it mentions that there were ten
chassidim, and in another sicha it says there were a total of sixty wagons.
19. The Alter Rebbe considered escaping from Napoleon a matter of pikuach nefesh
(a matter of life and death). Therefore, he not only traveled on erev Shabbos (which
was something he normally didn’t do [see essay on Yud Tes Kislev II, The Redemption of the Alter Rebbe, p. 125], where the black wagon stopped erev Shabbos (since
the Alter Rebbe did not travel erev Shabbos), but even more so, he once continued
his flight from Napoleon on Shabbos, stating that it was a matter of pikuach nefesh
.
After traveling approximately two miles, the Alter Rebbe asked the
commander for a fast carriage and horses. Together with two attendants, he returned to Liadi and instructed them to search
the house for anything that might have been left behind. After a
thorough search, they found a pair of worn-out slippers, a sieve,
and a rolling pin in the attic.
Not wanting Napoleon to obtain any memorabilia from him,20 the
Alter Rebbe took these objects with him, told his attendants to set
fire to the house, and then they left.
This was not a second too early, as immediately afterwards, Napoleon’s soldiers entered the city from the opposite
direction. Despite their utmost efforts, they were unsuccessful in
putting out the fire. All that was left of the Rebbe’s house were
smoldering ashes.
20. Chassidim insist that the Alter Rebbe thought that Napoleon was a sorcerer, and
if he would have gotten hold of anything that belonged to the Alter Rebbe, he would
have used it to guarantee his victory (or in the least, to mitigate against the Alter
Rebbe’s ability to oppose him).
4
In Napoleon’s name, the French soldiers proclaimed that anyone
who would give them something that had belonged to the
Alter Rebbe21 would be richly rewarded with gold coins.
Obeying the Alter Rebbe’s wishes, no one gave them anything. In their anger, the French soldiers burned down the shul that
was adjacent to the Alter Rebbe’s former house. The Alter Rebbe
had foreseen this, and before leaving had instructed the
townspeople of Liadi to remove everything from the shul before
Napoleon’s arrival there.
In the meantime, the Alter Rebbe rejoined his family and the
chassidim, and they continued their flight from the French
army. Half an hour before Shabbos, they managed to reach a
safe haven, and they remained there in the village until motzo’ei
Shabbos. Promptly, he continued his flight, hoping to reach
a Jewish community in the province of Poltava before Rosh
Hashanah.
The rapid advance of Napoleon’s army made it virtually impossible
for the Alter Rebbe and his entourage to rest, and he was forced
to be constantly on the run. Some cities were captured by the
French barely a few hours after the Alter Rebbe had left them. In
one instance, he told his son, HaRav DovBer (the Mitteler Rebbe),
that they should continue their flight on Shabbos as it was a question of pikuach nefesh.
Unfortunately, the entourage made a wrong turn, which put them
dangerously off schedule in addition to having to travel an extra
distance in the freezing weather.22
21. There is an entry in Napoleon’s papers whereby he instructed his soldiers to detain the Jew, Boruchavitch (this is the Alter Rebbe’s official family name).
22. The Alter Rebbe sat in the third wagon. When they reached a crossroad,
sometimes the Alter Rebbe would get out and direct which way to go; other times, he
directed them from his seat on the wagon. One time, his grandson, Rabbi Menachem
Nochum, the Mitteler Rebbe’s oldest son, misunderstood his instructions and turned
the wrong way. By the time he realized his mistake, they were unable to backtrack
(the area by then was captured) and had to continue in a roundabout way.
Sighing deeply, the Alter Rebbe observed, “How good it is when a grandson follows in
the path of his grandfather—and the opposite is true when a grandfather has to
follow the path in which his grandson leads him.”
In addition to the general suffering the Alter Rebbe’s family and
entourage underwent. The Mitteler Rebbe had a personal tragedy.
While they were still on the road, his wife, Rebbetzin Shaina, gave
birth to a baby boy who died shortly afterwards. Since they were
on the run and barely escaping the clutches of the French’s army-- sometimes by less of half an hour --- there was no time to look
for a Jewish cemetery. Tearfully, they buried the infant on the way.
The Mitteler Rebbe wrote to Reb Moshe Meisels:23 “On erev
Rosh Hashanah, my father, the [Alter] Rebbe, confided to me: ‘I
am extremely pained and worried about the battle of Mazaisk [in
history books it is referred to as the battle of Borodino], since the
enemy is becoming stronger and I believe he [Napoleon] is
also going to conquer Moscow.’ He then wept bitterly, with tears
streaming down his face.
“On Rosh Hashanah, my father again called me to him and happily told me the sweet and comforting news: ‘Today, during my
prayers, I had a vision that the tide has changed for the better24
and our side will win. Although Napoleon will capture Moscow, he
will eventually lose the war. This is what was written in Heaven
today.’ ”
The Mitteler Rebbe continued: “That day we ate and drank in
joy and happiness, in good spirit — rejoicing with gladness of
heart. Two days before Yom Kippur, Moscow was captured by
Napoleon’s army, but two months later, on the 15th of Kislev,25
it was driven back, and this was the beginning of Napoleon’s
rapid downfall.”
23. This letter is printed in Sefer HaToldos of the Alter Rebbe, pp. 1031-41.
24. On that day, the battle of Borodino began. It was the first time that the Russian
Army openly engaged the French in a battle, and they inflicted great losses upon
them. Until then, the Russian Army had had little skirmishes and would retreat deeper
into Russia, scorching the land so that the enemy wouldn’t benefit from its produce. However, at the same time, it caused tremendous losses to the citizens of Russia. We should note that the battle began in the early morning, at approximately the
time that the Alter Rebbe blew his shofar.
25. The 15th of Kislev is a fast day for members of the chevra kadisha (Jewish Burial
Society). Being a lifelong member, the Alter Rebbe fasted, and Thursday night after
the fast he invited everybody to drink l’chaim in celebration of Napoleon’s downfall.
This joy, however, was marred by the painful knowledge that the retreating soldiers
would perpetuate much untold misery on the Jewish villages in their path.
5
With the rout of Napoleon’s army, the Alter Rebbe could proceed
in a more relaxed and orderly manner on his journey towards the
province of Poltava, which had not been affected by the war. On
Friday, the 8th of Teves, he and his entourage arrived in the city of
Piena. This was one of the few non- Jewish cities or villages that
welcomed them hospitably (even to the extent of offering free
lodging and firewood).26
As soon as he arrived in Piena, he postponed his plans to reach
the province of Poltava, but instead began immediately to organize a relief campaign for all Jews who were affected by the war.
He sent his oldest son (and successor, the Mitteler Rebbe) HaRav
DovBer to Kremintchuk to arrange housing for the refugees27 of
the war. HaRav Chaim Avrohom (his second son) was sent to the
nearby provinces of Poltava and Cherson to raise the necessary funds to help rebuild the many communities ravaged by
Napoleon’s army. Reb Pinchas Schick,28 a chassid and extremely accomplished businessman, went to Vitebsk to coordinate
the effort and find the most practical solutions of finding some
means of livelihood for the refugees.
No one, however, could foresee the rapid deterioration of the Alter
Rebbe’s health. As the Nassi of klal Yisroel, the Alter Rebbe paid
the heavy price of worrying about the sufferings of the Jewish
community.29
The difficult traveling conditions (especially for someone of advanced years) in an unusually cold winter, and his anguish in general about Napoleon’s influence and effect on the Jewish nation
took their toll. On Monday, the 18th of Teves, the Alter Rebbe became bedridden as his gall bladder had become severely affected.
Nevertheless, the Alter Rebbe continued his efforts on behalf of
the Jewish people and he kept on learning and teaching.30
26. Most towns openly showed their displeasure with the Jews. They reluctantly extended some help out of fear of the soldiers who accompanied the Alter Rebbe. We
can well understand the bitter feelings of exile that were felt by the Jews.
27. This was the reason the Mitteler Rebbe and Rav Chaim Avrohom were not present when the Alter Rebbe passed away. Reb Moshe, as mentioned, was not traveling
with the Alter Rebbe, since he was with the French high command.
28. Also known as Reb Pinchas Reizes.
29. See introduction to A Day to Recall, A Day to Remember, Nissan-Adar.
30. In those days he wrote letter 20 in Iggeres HaKodesh which is one of the most
profound principles of Chassidus.
Five days later, on the 24th of Teves, 5573 (dWge,-1813),
motzo’ei Shabbos Parshas Shemos,31 after Havdala, he wrote a
note32 stating that one of the main purposes of a neshama’s descent to this world (in addition to Torah study) is to do a favor for
another Jew, in whatever way possible. Shortly after he finished
writing, at approximately 10:30 p.m., he was nistalek.
The Mitteler Rebbe noted that, in one of the greatest acts of
mesiras nefesh, the Alter Rebbe put his own life in mortal danger
to do his part to defeat the evil ways of Napoleon. Indeed, the
Alter Rebbe’s ill-fated prophecy came to be, for the humbled last
remnants of Napoleon’s 33 army retreated out of Russia that motzo’ei Shabbos at the time of the Alter Rebbe’s histalkus.
Shortly before his histalkus, the Alter Rebbe said: “Anyone who
will hold onto my klaymkeh [door handle], I will do him a favor [in
return] in this world and the next one.”
The Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek offered eight explanations for this statement. One of them is: “My door handle [or
my ways] does not merely mean learning Chassidus. For
the Alter Rebbe, through mesiras nefesh, instilled in chassidim the practice of ahavas Yisroel,”34 — and chassidim should
live with it.
Since Piena was not a Jewish settlement, the Alter Rebbe was
buried in Haditch35 (in the province of Poltava), which, at a distance of about 100 km., was one of the closest Jewish communities to Piena.
31. For an explanation of the connection between the Alter Rebbe and motzo’ei
Shabbos Parshas Shemos, see Likkutei Sichos, vol. 16, p. 33.
32. Printed in the letters of the Alter Rebbe, p. 15; also in Likkutei Dibburim, vol. IV,
p. 597.
33. In his abovementioned letter in footnote #11, the Mitteler Rebbe writes,
“Napoleon’s total defeat will be when his own countrymen rise against him.” That happened a year later.
34. Sefer HaSichos 5699 (yWmr,), p. 338.
35. According to chassidim, when the Alter Rebbe let it be known that his
intentions were to move to the province of Poltava, many cities vied for the
honor and requested the Alter Rebbe to come to them. The Alter Rebbe did not
respond to them, but mentioned the matter twice to his family and close
disciples. “In Haditch I will certainly be.” From this, they concluded, he wished
to be buried in Haditch.
6