The Second Imprisonment of the Alter Rebbe

The Second Imprisonment of the Alter Rebbe

The Peter and Paul Fortress, St. Petersburg.

The Second Imprisonment of the Alter Rebbe took place in 1800 (תקס"א), following a new wave of denunciations submitted by opponents of the Chassidic movement — roughly two years after the first arrest. While the physical conditions of this imprisonment were less severe than the first, the charges were more serious: the denunciation targeted the teachings of Chassidus itself, aiming to have its study formally prohibited and its spread halted. The arguments nearly persuaded the imperial authorities, and opposition to Chassidus had reached a new intensity.

The ultimate outcome, however, was a greater victory than the first: the Tsar granted the Chassidim full freedom, and the period following the release saw an unprecedented expansion of Chassidic teaching, free from persecution or bans.

Historical Background

Main article: Imprisonment and Liberation of the Alter Rebbe

In 1798 (תקנ"ט), the Misnagdim — rabbinic opponents of Chassidus — had accused the Alter Rebbe of collecting funds for the Ottoman Empire with the aim of undermining Russian rule. He was arrested, sentenced to death as a rebel against the state, and held for fifty-three days before proving his innocence and being released on Tuesday, the 19th of Kislev, 1798.

Upon his release, he was brought — by mistake — to the apartment of the Misnaged Rabbi Nota Notkin, who lived on the ground floor of the same building as the Chassid Rabbi Mordechai of Liepli. Notkin had been among the informers who brought about the first arrest. He confronted the Alter Rebbe with sharp words, but when the Alter Rebbe rose to leave, Notkin's attitude underwent a complete reversal — and when the Alter Rebbe was arrested again two years later, Notkin was among those who worked actively to secure his release.

Even after the victory of the first liberation, the Misnagdim did not relent. They organized a new complaint to the Tsar, this time focused on the substance of Chassidic teaching, with the goal of outlawing it entirely.

The Arrest

Less than two years after his release, on the 24th of Tishrei, 1800 (כ"ד תשרי תקס"א) — the day after Simchas Torah — the Alter Rebbe was summoned to St. Petersburg.

A Chassidic tradition relates that when news reached the Alter Rebbe that he was to be arrested again, he sent an urgent messenger to Prince Lyubomirsky — who governed the towns and settlements around St. Petersburg and was friendly with one of the Chassidim — to consult him on whether to surrender. The messenger entered the Prince's chambers in the middle of the night. The Prince's advice was not to flee; he even provided 500 rubles to cover the costs of the journey.

This time, no soldiers came to take him by force. The Alter Rebbe traveled to St. Petersburg voluntarily, in compliance with a government order, with several wealthy Chassidim posting bond guaranteeing his timely appearance.

While he was en route, officials searched his home and seized approximately one hundred books and handwritten manuscripts. Among the confiscated materials was a prayer in the Alter Rebbe's own handwriting for the wellbeing of the Tsar — a detail that later worked in his favor during the proceedings.

In early Kislev, the senator and poet Derzhavin — who had been dispatched to White Russia to investigate the causes of famine there, and who was strongly influenced by the Maskilim (proponents of the secular Haskalah movement) and by the Misnagdim — submitted a report containing recommendations for addressing the famine and reforming Jewish life. The report included a critical passage about the Alter Rebbe's court, which contributed to the basis for his arrest.

Because so many senior ministers had met the Alter Rebbe personally during the first imprisonment and had been deeply impressed by him, the conditions of the second arrest were considerably better. Rather than being held in the Peter and Paul Fortress — reserved for those accused of rebellion against the state — he was detained in a furnished room in the city of St. Petersburg itself, near the offices of the Secret Council (the Tainyi Sovet).

The relatively comfortable conditions allowed the Alter Rebbe to write responsa even during his imprisonment; a number of these letters have been preserved and published in his collected correspondence.

The Charges and the Responses

According to one account, during the second imprisonment the Alter Rebbe was required to appear before the informer Avigdor and respond face-to-face to his accusations. Since the two argued in Hebrew, which the judges could not follow, each party was instructed to submit his arguments in writing.

One surviving document in the informer Avigdor's handwriting lists his accusations — the majority of which are challenges to fundamental concepts of Chassidic teaching, aimed at demonstrating that Chassidus had departed from the Torah as received by earlier generations. The charges included:

1. How can one say that a person should fear nothing, since God is the one who acts and does everything — for by that logic, no person could be punished for a transgression, since God is the one acting through him.
2. How can one say that a person should fear no creature other than God, when the Torah itself records that the Patriarchs and King David did fear other human beings?
3. Chassidus teaches that if a person is drawn to something, it indicates a divine spark within that thing which he must elevate — but how can this apply when a person is drawn to sin?
4. The leaders of Chassidus send large sums of money to the poor of the Land of Israel — far more than was ever collected before Chassidus emerged — while Jewish law establishes that "the poor of your own city take precedence."
5. Chassidim treat testimony and oaths lightly.
6. Chassidim are disrespectful toward their parents.
7. Chassidim take money from their families to meet financial obligations to their Chassidic leaders, while Jewish custom holds that a young man under twenty may not give gifts without his parents' knowledge.
8. The Chassidic practice of traveling to the Rebbe is puzzling: if the purpose were Torah study, the Rebbe could simply send his teachings in writing — so what necessitates the great expense of travel and the crowding together in one place?
9. Chassidim follow the instructions of their leaders more than those of Moses.

The Alter Rebbe composed written responses to these charges — and to others that have not reached us — in Hebrew, and his answers were translated into Russian for the ministers to review.

He concluded his response with the following words:

I am weary of bearing the insults, the humiliations, and the falsehoods with which he has fabricated great slanders against us — the like of which have never been seen or heard since the days of Poland, when the priests would accuse the Jews of requiring human blood for Passover and similar libels, on account of which much innocent blood of our people was spilled. And surely he too has neither seen nor heard any of this — yet what does he care, as he goes about freely and opens his mouth and tongue as he pleases. He himself admitted that he had only heard these things and did not himself know them with certainty, yet he troubles our merciful lord the Emperor, may his glory be exalted — without first clarifying the matter through the proper courts of law. No servant who is truly loyal to the Emperor, may his glory be exalted, and is a beloved son to his father, may impose upon his honor unless the matter is beyond doubt. And now I have none to rely upon except our lord the Emperor, may his glory be exalted. But I trust in the great kindness of the Emperor, may his glory be exalted, and in his humility — that in his great kindness his eye will look down from his holy dwelling upon the downtrodden and perceive the truth. And if I am innocent — from the straits He will bring me forth and deliver me.

On the 10th of Kislev, the Emperor transferred the deliberations regarding the Chassidic movement to the Senate. At the same time, Avigdor submitted an additional denunciation in which he copied passages from the Tanya — the foundational Chassidic work composed by the Alter Rebbe — and demanded the account books recording the charitable contributions collected from Chassidim.

The Release

On the 23rd of Kislev, 1800 (כ"ג כסלו תקס"א), Tsar Paul ordered the Alter Rebbe's release, placing him under house arrest. That same day, the Alter Rebbe signed a commitment — together with two guarantors — to reside in the home of a certain Tzebert, where other Jews lived, and not to leave St. Petersburg until permitted to do so.

On the 27th of Kislev (כ"ז כסלו), the third night of Chanukah, the Alter Rebbe was released from imprisonment. An additional tradition holds that the final release came on the 29th of Kislev, the fifth night of Chanukah. The Rebbe wrote of the discrepancy: "One may say that both dates — the 27th and the 29th of Kislev — marked events of liberation (even in the plain sense)."

One of the key advocates who worked toward the Alter Rebbe's final release was the former Misnaged Rabbi Nota Notkin, who had set as his condition that after the release the Alter Rebbe would visit the homes of three leading Misnagdim. The Alter Rebbe agreed, on the condition that the visits not take place immediately upon release but rather some time later.

The advocates spent many weeks searching for a legal avenue that would allow the Alter Rebbe's full release. When the Russian Tsar died and a new Emperor was crowned, they pressed for the Alter Rebbe's release under the law providing for the freeing of prisoners upon the accession of a new Tsar. The Alter Rebbe was the first prisoner released under this provision by Emperor Alexander — who, tradition records, remarked that the advocacy had been unnecessary, as he would have ordered the release in any case.

Full and unconditional freedom — for the Alter Rebbe and for all Chassidim — was formally granted on the 10th of Nissan.

Aftermath

Visits to the Misnagdim

In fulfillment of his agreement with Rabbi Nota Notkin, some time after settling in Liadi the Alter Rebbe traveled to visit three leading Misnagdim: Rabbi Moshe Chafetz of Zavsz, Rabbi Yehoshua Zeitlin, and Rabbi Yoel of Amtchislav. The purpose of the visits was twofold — to honor the agreement, and to quiet the long-standing controversy through direct encounter with the leaders of the opposition.

The first of the three was Rabbi Moshe Chafetz, one of the great Talmudic scholars of the generation, known for his intellectual severity — he addressed no one by any title, only by first name. When the Alter Rebbe entered, the scholar put to him a question that had troubled him since his youth, one which no one he had ever consulted had been able to resolve. The Alter Rebbe answered that the two apparently contradictory Midrashic sources depended on an explicit Talmudic dispute regarding the communal sin-offering brought by the Sanhedrin. Rabbi Moshe accepted the answer with great admiration, rose to offer him a seat, and asked his wife to bring refreshments for the distinguished guest.

The second visit was to Rabbi Yehoshua Zeitlin of Shklov, whom the Alter Rebbe visited directly afterward. Zeitlin had arranged a test: his non-Jewish servant, who spoke Yiddish, was to bring the Alter Rebbe non-kosher wine. The servant brought, by mistake, mead instead. The Alter Rebbe recited the appropriate blessing and drank — and then told Zeitlin that while he had indeed passed this particular test, there was nonetheless a question regarding the entire wine cellar, since a non-Jew had entered it.

Later in the meeting, Zeitlin asked the Alter Rebbe for a Talmudic source supporting the Chassidic teaching that Torah study and the fulfillment of commandments performed without proper intent do not ascend to the highest spiritual realms. The Alter Rebbe cited an explicit Talmudic passage and, when Zeitlin could not locate it from memory, directed him to tractate Pesachim — where the verse "Your kindness reaches to the heavens" (Psalms 57:11) is applied to Torah performed without intent, while "Your kindness towers above the heavens" (Psalms 108:5) refers to Torah performed with pure, devoted intent.

The third visit was to Rabbi Yoel of Amtchislav, who received the Alter Rebbe with great honor and greeted him with the words "Shalom aleichem, Rebbe." When the Alter Rebbe expressed surprise at being called his Rebbe, Rabbi Yoel explained that in his youth, when the Alter Rebbe had still been living in Vitebsk, he had once posed a question to him in Talmudic law and the Alter Rebbe had answered him. The Alter Rebbe then asked why, if this were so, Rabbi Yoel had not redeemed him — for a student is obligated by law to redeem his teacher from captivity. Rabbi Yoel replied that if money could have accomplished it, he would have done everything in his power — but he had seen no way to help bring about his release.

The Move to Liadi

At the time of the Alter Rebbe's release, Prince Lyubomirsky governed the towns and villages near St. Petersburg. One of the Chassidim who was friendly with the Prince told him of the Alter Rebbe's greatness, of the devotion of thousands of followers, and of the sorrow felt by the Chassidim over the government's insistence that the Alter Rebbe remain in St. Petersburg. The Prince developed a strong desire to meet him. When they met and he was struck by the Alter Rebbe's personality, the Prince offered him a choice: if the Alter Rebbe would agree to settle in one of the towns under his jurisdiction — either Dobrovna or Liadi — the Prince would arrange permission with the authorities. The Alter Rebbe agreed to settle in Liadi, and the Prince ordered homes to be built for the Alter Rebbe and his Chassidim.

The Chassidim of Liozna attempted to persuade the Alter Rebbe to return to lead their community, offering to cover all costs for visiting Chassidim and all his other expenses. The Alter Rebbe declined with a touch of lightness, remarking that it is written that a great man should not remain in the same town for more than twenty years.

On Friday, the eve of Shabbos Nachamu, the 14th of Av, 1801 (י"ד מנחם אב תקס"א), the Alter Rebbe arrived in Liadi with five thousand Chassidim. The town quickly became the capital of Chabad Chassidus. From that point, the Alter Rebbe and his Chassidim lived in peace, free from the pressure of the Misnagdim. His communal leadership spread throughout White Russia and Ukraine, and tens of thousands of new Chassidim joined the movement during these years.

Preventing Further Denunciations

Information reached the Alter Rebbe that even after the second victory, Avigdor continued to plan further denunciations.

In a special letter addressed to the Senate and to the Tsar, the Alter Rebbe requested that the authorities take steps to prevent Avigdor from again stirring up trouble and disrupting the community's peace. He also asked that a judgment be issued requiring Avigdor to compensate him for all damages caused by his false denunciations.