It is said that the renowned chasidic mashpia, Rav Dovid Horodoker zt”l, wept when Czar Nicholas II was overthrown during the Russian Revolution of 1917. “Why do you shed tears over the fall of a tyrant?” he was asked. “I weep,” replied the holy chasid, “because a great mashal in chasidus is gone.”
He was referring to the mashal most employed by chasidic teaching that is the metaphor of “kingship.” Our relationship with Hashem is described by the Torah as that of a child to his father, a disciple to his master, a flock to its shepherd, among others. While these metaphors each express another facet of the bond between man and Hashem, there is a dimension to the relationship that can only be expressed by the model of a subject’s relationship to his king. On Rosh HaShanah, more than any other time, is the idea of Hashem’s Kingship most prominent, and it is our goal and purpose on the Jewish New Year to coronate the Almighty once again, as King over the entire world.
Thus, when the Czar of Russia – a tyrannical monarch with unlimited control and power – was overthrown, a rebbe of chasidim wept. How would a “king-less” generation understand the utter surrender of self that the king-subject relationship epitomized? How would they comprehend the awe accorded the One and only King whose rule is absolute and incontestable? What model would they have for one who transcends the personal to embody the soul of a nation? Never mind that most kings of history were unworthy metaphors of the divine sovereignty – nevertheless, he was still a king. A king is a king! And now that king is gone! And so, Rav Dovid wept.
During the Napoleonic wars of the 19th century, there were many righteous Jews who eagerly awaited liberation by Napoleon’s armies. No longer would the Jewish people be locked into ghettos and deprived of their means of earning a livelihood; no longer would the country be allied with a religion hostile to the Jewish faith. Liberated from the persecution and poverty that had characterized Jewish life on European soil for a dozen centuries, the Jewish people would be free to deepen and intensify their bond with Hashem in ways previously unimaginable. Indeed, there were those who believed that a French victory would ready the world for the coming of Moshiach and the final redemption.
But there were other more cautious voices in the Jewish community who prophesied the exchange of material poverty for spiritual woe. Yes, the ghetto walls would fall; yes, the financial centers, professional alliances, and universities of Europe would open their doors to the Jew. But at what price! The demise of the shtetl would mean the destruction of the spiritual center of Jewish life, the breakdown of the Jewish family and community, and the compromising of the Jew’s commitment to Torah u’mitzvos. Yes, Napoleon would free the Jewish body, but he would all but destroy the Jewish soul.
A major force in the Jewish opposition to Napoleon was the renowned Baal HaTanya, Rav Schneur Zalman of Liadi zt”l. His prowess opposing Napoleon was almost legendary. He did more than warn against the dangers of emancipation; he battled Napoleon on all fronts, interceding on high to effect the French monarch’s downfall and aiding Russia’s earthly effort to defeat him. There was even a chasidic spy, Rabbi Moshe Meisels of Vilna, who, at the Baal HaTanya’s behest, worked as an interpreter for the French High Command and relayed their battle plans to the Czar’s generals. Under strict and secret orders of the Rebbe himself, Rabbi Moshe Meisels would learn of the French military schemes and relay them through secret couriers to the Russian military. This helped, in no small amount, to turn the tide of a number of battles.
But the Baal HaTanya himself shouldered the lion’s share of responsibility for Napolean’s downfall. His avodah during that period of time was of an ascetic level and moved worlds in a literal sense, to effect Divine retribution for the enemy. Chasidim tell of a “contest” that took place on the morning of Rosh HaShanah between Rav Schneur Zalman and the Maggid of Kozhnitz, Rav Yisroel Hopstein zt”l, to decide the outcome of Napoleon’s war against Russia. Throughout the davening on Rosh HaShanah, much is recited about the coronation of Hashem Melech, King of the Universe; but the moment of the shofar blast is the precise time when it actually takes effect. It is the moment when the Almighty rises way above and takes His subjects into His loving embrace, effectuating His Divine involvement in human affairs for the coming year.
Both Rebbes understood that this moment of this very year was auspicious, and each endeavored to be the one to sound the shofar in the fateful year of 5573 (1812-1813) and thereby hope to influence the supernal decree. The Kozhnitzer Maggid arose well before dawn, immersed in the mikvah, began his prayers at the earliest permissible hour, prayed speedily, and sounded the shofar as early as time would allow him. But Rav Schneur Zalman bested him on this occasion. Departing from his common practice and his typical preparations before t’filah, this year, he sounded the shofar literally at the crack of dawn, even before the morning prayers. He gathered together a minyan of Yidden and, at the exact second of dawn, the Rebbe himself blew the shofar with a series of strong and shrill blasts. All those present could feel a change happening right before them, and the Rebbe, too, felt confident that his work was complete: Napolean would fall that very year.
When events were borne out and the military might of the Czar defeated the French armies, people came to recognize that Rav Schneur Zalman had a large hand in affecting these events. Even the Kozhnitzer Maggid had to admit that this was the case. “The Litvak (‘Lithuanian,’ as Rav Schneur Zalman was affectionately called by his colleagues) has bested us,” he said, far far away in the town of Kozhnitz, to his uncomprehending disciples.
That very year, the Baal HaTanya passed away while fleeing Napoleon’s advance on Moscow in the winter of 1812. Nevertheless, his role in the defeat of Napoleon was recognized by Alexander I, the Czar of Russia, who awarded him and his descendants the title and privileges of a “Citizen Honored for Posterity.”
Rabbi Dovid Hoffman is the author of the popular “Torah Tavlin” book series, filled with stories, wit and hundreds of divrei Torah, including the brand new “Torah Tavlin Yamim Noraim” in stores everywhere. You’ll love this popular series. Also look for his book, “Heroes of Spirit,” containing one hundred fascinating stories on the Holocaust. They are fantastic gifts, available in all Judaica bookstores and online at http://israelbookshoppublications.com. To receive Rabbi Hoffman’s weekly “Torah Tavlin” sheet on the parsha, e-mail This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
