We are in the thirty-fourth lesson in the chain of tradition, the fourth part of the life story of the Rebbe Rayatz. We began the description of the year 5656, and we read that he founded the yeshivos in Bukhara, and we will continue further.
On the 15th of Sivan, he was imprisoned in Shpalerna. Regarding the entire episode of the imprisonment of the Rebbe Rayatz, there is a very detailed account, for the Rebbe Rayatz himself wrote a detailed diary of all the events of the imprisonment. The imprisonment began on Tuesday, the 14th of Sivan, at the beginning of the 15th, at twelve-thirty at midnight, after the Rebbe finished receiving chassidim for yechidus. Then the episode of the imprisonment began. And here it is written briefly that it was on the 15th of Sivan. The imprisonment was called Shpalerna.
On the 4th of Tammuz he was sent to his city of refuge, Kostroma. Here there is a correction, for seemingly it should be written the 3rd of Tammuz, which is the day on which he was sent. After the pressure that was upon them, they wanted to decree upon him a sentence of the opposite of life, only that there was already pressure to release him. So they wanted, on Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, the 30th of Sivan, which is the first day of Rosh Chodesh Tammuz, Thursday, to send him on that very day from prison into exile for three years.
The Rebbe asked them when he would arrive in Kostroma, to the city of refuge. They told him: You will arrive on Shabbos. The Rebbe said to them: On Shabbos I will not travel under any circumstances, only if you take me out of here by force. I will not leave here. And it was a matter of mortal danger to remain there every additional moment. But he understood that they were planning the entire process in order to bring about that the Rebbe would travel on Shabbos, and he says: On Shabbos I do not travel. In the end they gave in, and sent him off on Sunday, which was Gimmel Tammuz. Essentially they sent him away for three years.
But what happened afterward? It is written: On the 12th of Tammuz he was informed that he was granted freedom. When he was in Kostroma, the arrangement there was that once a week he had to come and present himself at the offices of the GPU, to show his presence, that he had not fled the city. On Tuesday, the 12th of Tammuz, which is also the birthday of the Previous Rebbe, he presented himself at the offices of the GPU in Kostroma. He was together with the chassid Reb Eliyahu Chaim Althaus, who accompanied him.
The official who was sitting there says to the Rebbe: "I am happy to be the first to inform you that we have received an order to release you completely," for there had been pressure and lobbying throughout the world the whole time. And at that very moment it is described there that the chassid Rabbi Eliyahu Chaim Althoiz was in shock. He lost his composure, and the Rebbe had to calm him down. But because on that Tuesday there was some gentile holiday in the city of Kostroma, he could not receive the release document on that day. He received the release document the following day, on Wednesday, the 13th of Tammuz. This is what is written here further on, that on the 13th of Tammuz he was set free, for on the following day he actually received in practice the release document itself.
Years later, in 5705 (1945), I believe, the Previous Rebbe spoke about the imprisonment and about the redemption. In the sicha he says that during those nineteen days he sat in prison: "I did not think about myself at all. I knew that I was not alone. I have a father, I have a grandfather, I have a great-grandfather," meaning all of our Rebbeim, may their memory be a blessing. "I did not think about myself at all and I did not worry at all." Thus the Previous Rebbe testified about himself regarding the days he sat in prison, from the 15th of Sivan until the 3rd of Tammuz.
The Rebbe lived in Leningrad before they took him to prison. The moment he was released to freedom, he returned to Leningrad, to his city, but in the city he returned to, the offices of the GPU were very angry that they had not succeeded, that the worldwide pressure had caused his release. There was a very great fear that they would immediately seek revenge, that they would look for a pretext once again to put him in prison.
From this pressure they understood that there was no way out. The Rebbe had to leave the city of Leningrad, and then the Rebbe, as is written here on behalf of the authorities, moved his residence to the settlement of Malachovka. Malachovka is a village, about a half hour's drive from Moscow, and he moved to live there, near Moscow, so that there would be somewhat fewer eyes constantly upon him there.
On the other hand, it was also clear that the Rebbe needed to figure out how to leave Russia as quickly as possible, because his stay in Russia was dangerous the entire time, for he was seen as a revolutionary fighting against the government. So there was very extensive intercession, throughout the entire imprisonment, both in Russia and in Latvia and in Riga. All sorts of government officials and connections. There is much description of this; one can see it in the accounts printed in the biography book.
Initial approval was given in principle that they were willing for the Rebbe to leave Russia, but at first they said they were willing on condition that the entire family, including his wife, his daughters, and his mother, would remain in Russia. They would be hostages, so that he would not carry out revolutions against the regime outside of Russia. But the Rebbe did not agree to this, and in the end the pressure helped and they agreed to release everyone.
Afterward there was a whole story. He also wanted to release all his furniture and all his books, and to take books out of Russia. This too is an entire process according to the law—there is someone there who must approve the removal of books. In short, the pressure helped, and as it is written here, on Isru Chag of Sukkot, he departed from Russia.
Before this, on Sukkot and Simchat Torah of that same year, 5688, the official farewell from the chassidim took place at the Simchat Torah farbrengen. They sat in a large hall, where several hundred chassidim had gathered. The Rebbe spoke words of strengthening and encouragement to the chassidim. He told them: "All in all, I am merely relocating from one place to another, but we are not parting. We will still see each other in the future."
And in practice, on Isru Chag he departed, together with the entire family, with his mother the Rebbetzin, with the daughters, another six chassidim, and four wagons full of his furniture and books. All of this they allowed him to take out. Since the Rebbe too joined him and departed, and at first there was pressure from those who did not want the Rebbe to leave, he said to them: "This is my son-in-law." The Rebbe was already at that time the groom of the daughter. They said to him, "A son-in-law? Find a son-in-law outside the country, another son-in-law." He said to them: "Such a son-in-law I will not find in any place." And that was the pressure. In the very end, they agreed to everything.
Let us look at one more line. He travels from Russia and settles in Riga. He arrived in Riga, Latvia, and there he founds a yeshiva. It is told that when the Rebbe arrived in Riga, the chassidim in Riga once asked him, "How do you feel now, after all that you went through in the past half year, with all the events and all the pressure and the danger to your life?" So he told them a statement like this: "If someone were to offer to sell me for a billion one moment of suffering in the future, I would not buy it. But if someone were to offer to buy from me for a billion one moment of the suffering that I had, I would not sell it." So said the Rebbe.