By Rabbi Sholom DovBer Avtzon

Governor-General Chavonsky had his personal reasons for wanting the Mitteler Rebbe to be arrested. So even though both local courts decided in the Rebbe’s favor, he refused to sign the documents confirming their decision to close the investigation and absolve the Mitteler Rebbe from any wrongdoing. 

On Rosh Chodesh Sivan, 5687 (1827), the Governor-General sent the court’s findings and decisions, together with his objections, to the Russian Senate.

When the Mitteler Rebbe heard that his case was going to be reviewed and decided by the Senate, he feared that he might have to go to Petersburg to defend himself. 

In addition to his personal situation at that time, there was an extremely pressing communal issue facing the entire Jewish nation. The Mitteler Rebbe was informed that the government was seriously considering the immediate implementation of its plan to conscript Jewish boys into the army for twenty-five years of service. Should this come to pass, the consequences would be catastrophic.

The seriousness of both these situations warranted a trip to Haditch in order to daven at his father’s Ohel. 

Accompanied by his oldest son, Reb Menachem Nochum, he began the long journey. However, he shocked the chassidim in each city by deviating from his usual custom of saying maamorim in each city or town through which he passed. Indeed, he did not say even one maamar along the way.

In addition, whenever he picked up a pen to write a maamar Chassidus, something happened to prevent him from writing. Gradually it dawned on everyone expecting to hear him say (or at least write) Chassidus that this was evidence of the severity of the Heavenly accusations against the Rebbe.

They arrived in Haditch in Elul of 5587 (1827) shortly before Rosh Hashanah and remained there for the entire month of Tishrei. As soon as they arrived there, the Mitteler Rebbe resumed his custom of saying maamorim on every occasion.

On the way there, the Mitteler Rebbe remarked to his son and the other chassidim who were present, “My father was in his fifty-fourth year when he was first taken to Petersburg. At that time, the Heavenly Court gave him a choice: pain and suffering, or death. He chose suffering.” 

As the Mitteler Rebbe was about to turn fifty-four himself, he was evidently hinting to the chassidim that since the Senate was considering to call him to Petersburg, [the option of pain and suffering was alreadt taken by his father. This meant that] the other choice was the only option left for him.

One time, after davening at great length at his father’s Ohel, he joyfully announced, “I successfully persuaded my father to relieve me from being Rebbe.” 

The chassidim who lived there and who had come from nearby cities for yom tov thought he meant that he finally had permission to move to Eretz Yisroel, something he frequently expressed a desire to do. They cried out in response, “The Rebbe cannot leave us like sheep without a shepherd!”

He replied, “My son-in-law HaRav Menachem Mendel will be with you. He will be your trusted shepherd.”

The chassidim cried out again, “This cannot happen! We will not allow the Rebbe to move away from us.”

The Rebbe did not reply. The chassidim happily thought this meant they had convinced him to stay. But had they keenly observed his expression, they would have realized that their relief was only wishful thinking. The true and full meaning of his words would be understood six weeks later.

After Tishrei, the Mitteler Rebbe left Haditch and began his return home to Lubavitch. However, after traveling about 200 miles, the Mitteler Rebbe began feeling ill. Since they were on the road with no place to stop, they continued their trip with the hope that he would feel better, or at least that they would reach a big city.

When they came to the city of Niezhin, they stopped to rest. However, a few days later, it became evident that his illness was so serious that he had to remain bedridden and was unable to continue the journey.

Thinking that he just needed a complete rest, the doctors forbade him from doing anything that would cause him to exert himself. This also meant much to his chagrin that he would not be allowed to say any maamorim. They hoped that with this complete rest, he would recuperate and regain his strength.

But instead of improving, the Mitteler Rebbe’s vital signs became progressively weaker, and he slipped into a semi-conscious state. On the second of Kislev, the greatest doctors in that area were called in to see what they could do. Upon completing their examination, they were astounded that someone in such a medical condition could still be alive. 

One of the doctors said, “His strength comes from saying Chassidus. Right now he is semi-conscious, but as you will see, if we allow him to say Chassidus, his strength and vitality will return.”

The other doctors saw that they had nothing to lose. The Rebbe wasn’t responding to any of their medications or treatments, and his condition was quite critical. If there was even the slightest chance that saying Chassidus would help him, why not give it a try? So one of the doctors went over to him and said, “Rebbe, you can say Chassidus.” 

When the Mitteler Rebbe heard this, he opened his eyes and slowly sat up, and some color returned to his face. He immediately instructed his gabbai that the chassidim be called to hear a maamar. 

When they arrived, he said in a weak voice, “I will now reveal secrets of the Torah that were never said before.” Immediately, everyone pressed as close to him as possible to hear his every word — indeed his every breath. 

When one chossid realized he was too far away to hear the Rebbe’s words, he climbed onto a piece of furniture and bent over to get closer. In so doing, his hat inadvertently fell on the Rebbe.

The Mitteler Rebbe was silent for a moment and then said, “Evidently this is a sign from Heaven that I should not reveal what I had intended. So I shall say a different maamar.” As the week continued, he said another maamar every day, but he never again referred to the maamar he thought of saying. 

The doctors were amazed that the Rebbe was able to sit up and speak, especially for such a considerable amount of time. Seeing this drastic change in his condition, the chassidim became hopeful that his health was indeed improving.

One of the maamorim he said was an explanation as to why Jewish boys as young as five or six were being drafted into the army. 

He explained, “The nature of a person is that when he is not allowed to do something, he is inspired with a desire to do it. In this case, Jewish soldiers are being forcibly denied the opportunity to do any mitzvos. Therefore, their desire to do a mitzvah is awakened in a very powerful way.

“Right now, since many Jews are doing mitzvos without feeling, this decree will cause them to yearn for mitzvos.

“G-d forbid to say this was done to punish the Jewish people; rather it was done to correct a problem. Whatever Hashem does is for the good and benefit of His people.”

This maamar inspired those present, as well as those who heard its review, to do fulfill mitzvos with much more excitement and passion. Its effect on the chassidim was immediately recognizable and was everlasting.

Although the Mitteler Rebbe was now saying maamorim, the chassidim saw that he was getting weaker. On Tuesday, the eighth of Kislev, the chassidim fasted and said the entire Tehillim, hoping to arouse Hashem’s compassion and give the Rebbe strength.

That night the Mitteler Rebbe instructed them to go home and say l’chaim. He explained that happiness sweetens [and therefore changes] the [severity of the] judgment.

Obeying his wishes, everyone left except for the Rebbe’s son, Reb Menachem Nochum, and his personal attendant, who kept vigil at his bedside.

Listening intently, they heard him repeating with great enthusiasm and devotion the words, בידך הקדושה והטהורה הנני מוסר נפשי רוחי ונשמתי,“Into Your holy and pure hands I give over my life, my spirit and my soul.”

A while later that night, the Rebbe awoke and called for his chassidim, as he wished to depart from them while saying Chassidus. 

Before he began saying the maamorei Chassidus, he heaped praise on the Jewish nation. He emphasized how they fulfill mitzvos in the best possible manner — particularly the mitzvah of tzedakah — despite their difficult financial circumstances. That, the Mitteler Rebbe emphasized, is their true character. Hashem sees the truth and knows that their shortcomings are an insignificant part of who they really are.

Throughout the remainder of the night, he said three maamorim and gave guidance and instruction to the chassidim who were there.

Turning to his son Reb Menachem Nochum he said, “You see that my sun is setting before its proper time, since my [fifty-four] years of life are not close in number to the years of my parents.

“Now the sun which is setting on me will begin to shine again when you use your abilities to publish my manuscripts on the entire Torah. This precious book, entitled Toras Chaim (The Torah of Life), will be a source of life to those who learn it.

“[The fact that even after my petirah] I will be able to [continue guiding the public in their service of Hashem] will, in turn, assist my neshomah to shine in Gan Eden, since I will be able to explain the teachings of my saintly father to [whomever will learn the sefer].”

Right before sunrise, while he was in the middle of saying the third maamar and as he was saying the word “chaim”(life) in the possuk “Ki imcha mekor chaim — for with You is the source of life,” he was nistalek, on his fifty-fourth birthday.

He was buried that day in Niezhin and an ohel was built around his holy resting place shortly afterwards.

To this day, thousands of Jews come there to daven, knowing that in the zechus of the tzaddik, their prayers will be accepted.

His son-in-law the Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek was known to have said, “A histalkus as remarkable as this has not occurred since the histalkus of the Rashbi [Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai]” (who was also nistalek while saying the word “chaim”). 

The Rebbe the Tzemach Tzedek also said that the Mitteler Rebbe’s life was completely spiritual. He phrased it (as mentioned earlier) that if one were to cut the Mitteler Rebbe’s finger, Chassidus would flow from his veins instead of blood. 

The Torah says that the days of tzaddikim are complete. The Mitteler Rebbe is one of the few tzaddikim in which this can be seen in actuality, as his histalkus was on Tes Kislev, exactly fifty-four years from the day of his birth.

For his chassidim, that Wednesday was reminiscent of the saying of our sages “Bayom harevi’i nitlu hame’ioros,” which means, “On Wednesday, the light [that was created on Sunday] was placed in the heavens to illuminate the world.” But when nitlu is spelled with a tes it means, “On Wednesday, [i.e., in the fourth millennium,] the light, [i.e., the Beis HaMikdash,] was taken away, and now the Rebbe was nistalek.” 

Indeed, the light of his chassidim was taken away. It remained dark until six months later when his nephew and son-in-law HaRav Menachem Mendel finally agreed to become Rebbe.

With this came an end to the fifteen years of the Mitteler Rebbe’s Nesius. During that time, the Mitteler Rebbe devoted his whole heart and soul to the welfare of the Jewish people. Notwithstanding the tremendous opposition that faced him and the suffering he endured, he drew hundreds of thousands of Jews to Chassidus during these years. 

May we all merit to be connected to him and follow in his ways.

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While the reader might have received the impression that the Mitteler Rebbe was physically weak, I would like to quote something his son Reb Menachem Nochum said about him:

“All our family are healthy — except for the Rebbeim, whose health is undermined by the suffering which Jewry undergoes. My grandfather (the Alter Rebbe) was as strong as iron. If not for his hard work and the persecution and suffering resulting from his communal activity, he would have lived for 120 years. 

“My father (the Mitteler Rebbe) was also a sturdy man. If not for the grinding poverty of his brethren, and the decrees which recall the Greek kings of old, he would have lived with the same degree of vigor experienced by a chassidishe young man when he grasps the difference between daas elyon and daas tachton. But he took all that poverty and all those decrees to heart — until he persuaded my grandfather to take him to his abode.”

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Rabbi Avtzon is a veteran mechanech and the author of numerous books on the Rebbeim and their chassidim. He is available to farbreng in your community and can be contacted at [email protected]