I woke up today to a text, in Hebrew, from a nice lady which gave me a whole shpiel about ‘Yud tet Kislev’ in Hebrew.

I used to think all this OTT ‘celebration’ of the 19th of Kislev, the day the Alter Rebbe was released from jail (the first time…) was just harmless Chabad ‘bigging themselves up’ stuff. I still think it’s Chabad bigging themselves up, and I no longer think it’s so harmless.

If Breslov celebrated as a ‘holiday’ every time Rav Natan Sternhartz got miraculously released from Russian jail, or R Shmuel Horowitz, or R Levi Yitzhak Bender, let’s just say no-one would get a lot of learning done.

But this is Chabad’s way, to take something, blow it out of all proportion, and then run a big PR campaign, for centuries, that somehow they are better and more important and more ‘special’ than everyone else, and so EVERYONE has to know about the ‘yud tet Kislev’, and EVERYONE has to bend the knee and ‘respect’ the Alter Rebbe for paying a huge bribe to get released from Russian prison.

Okayyy then.

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Here is what the text I got sent, translated from the original Hebrew:

“Shalom, on the day of the chassidic geula, Yud Tet Kislev, when the Alter Rebbe left prison after 53 days, l’kitrug (‘in accusation against’) the 53rd chapter of his book the Tanya, which is considered as the 53 chapters of Chumash that Moshe received from Sinai.

Bsorot Tovot and geula shleimah to our friends, to family [deleted to maintain privacy] and all of Am Yisrael!

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Before we continue with a bit of real history, I just wanted to tell you about a conversation I had with a friend of mine who lives on a moshav somewhere southwards.

The first thing she told me is about this divorcee she knows with a few kids, who made teshuva ‘Chabad style’ and is now spending a fortune she doesn’t have trying to follow Chabad minhagim.

This woman has a barmitzvah coming up, and she was told she should buy special ‘Chabad’ tefillin for her son. What’s ‘special’ about Chabad tefillin? You ask. I also did. Apparently, they have much bigger batim to house the klaf – and the klaf itself is written in something called the ‘Alter Rebbe Ktav’, or ‘Alter Rebbe writing’.

I looked into this a little, and it means they have scribes trained to copy the Alter Rebbe of Chabad’s handwriting, and to write the tefillin in ‘his’ writing.

Not only that, where a mechudar set of tefillin will cost you around 3,000 shekels in Israel today, these ‘special Chabad tefillin’ cost 11,000 shekel.

This woman literally is struggling to put bread on the table, but this is what she’s being told she needs to shell out in order for her son to lay tefillin the Chabad way…

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While we’re talking about Chabad and tefillin…

On my little break this week, we ended up in a yishuv in the Shomron that didn’t have a lot of eating options. Mamash, the last option was a hummus place that had pictures of the Rebbe plastered all over the wall.

I wasn’t so keen, but what can you do.

When I went to wash hands, I noticed there was a ‘Chabad tefillin table’ set up next to the sink, with a pair of tefillin on a surface covered in a huge picture of the Rebbe laying tefillin, that bore these words prominently across the top:

Yechi Adoneinu Moreinu V’Rabbeinu Melech HaMoshiach L’olam Va’ed,

(Translation: Long live our master, our teacher and our rabbi king moshiach forever and ever.)

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Snippet from HERE:

In the years 5753-5754 (1993-1994), the Rebbe encouraged the niggun “Yechi Adoneinu Moreinu V’Rabbeinu Melech HaMoshiach L’olam Va’ed” at almost every opportunity when he appeared before the public, and as a result, the declaration in this form spread more and more. Chabad Chassidim today proclaim ‘Yechi Adoneinu’ at the end of every prayer and at various events, print the declaration in many publications, and also sing this niggun frequently.

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BTW, this is not a small fringe sect.

Believing the that Rebbe STILL IS Moshiach is mainstream ‘Badd thought – take a look at THIS, on the Chabadinfo site, from just five months ago.

Snippet:

For several decades now, many Chabad institutions, such as the Vaad L’Hafotzas Sichos as well Beis Moshiach Magazine, refer to the Rebbe with the title “Melech HaMoshiach.” • We asked the Beis Moshiach’s Vaad HaRuchni — Rabbi Zalman Liberow, Rabbi Berel Lipsker, and Rabbi Nachman Shapiro — to explain the importance of referring to the Rebbe with this title and what impact does this have on the readers?

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All I can tell you, is that my husband started to feel pukey after we left that place.

He’s blaming it on the hummus, but I have my own opinions of what turned his stomach.

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But enough of all this, let’s get back to some real history, let’s also ‘celebrate’ Yud Tet Kislev, which is apparently the ‘chassidic geula’ because the Alter Rebbe paid a huge bribe to get out of Russian jail…

I decided to look a little bit more into the story, nothing too deep, nothing too heavy, just to see what traces are left of it in ‘real history’.

Here’s what turned up.

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EXHIBIT 1: A ‘loose translation’ (that’s missing so many crucial bits…) of the Alter Rebbe’s interrogation in the Czarist prison, from his ‘Kislev 19’ incarceration in 1798.

(From a ‘badd site HERE.)

Here are the snippets that took my eye:

 

Q: What’s your occupation? Do you pay taxes?

A: I live from my wife’s income. She deals in bread and other goods. I am a member in the guild of businessmen level three. I give a percentage of my income to taxes. I own a tavern.

Q: We received information that you are the leader of a new Jewish sect. Answer properly, what is the difference between this Jewish sect and standard Judaism.

A: Because this is a complicated question, I can’t answer it without a translator.

Q: What is the source of this sect, who is the leader, who are the followers, and who was the leader in the previous generation.

A: There is no new sect to speak of. It’s only a different interpretation of the holy scriptures, and every rabbi interprets according to his level of understanding. The purpose of these new interpretations is to inspire devotion and fervor for G-d and his laws. I have gained my knowledge from the study of books.

Q: What is the importance of the sect, and how do you draw followers?

A: The question is too complicated to answer without a translator.

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First, let’s give some more background.

This interrogation was happening in 1798 – 40 years after the Baal Shem Tov had died.

Even though things moved so much slower in the old days, to pretend that the BESHT’s chassidut was a ‘new sect’ 40 years later after the BESHT had died, just doesn’t jive with the facts.

The ‘new sect’ was Chabad / Lubavitch, specifically. And the Alter Rebbe effectively dodged the question of how his ‘new sect’ of Chabad / Lubavitch differed from standard Judaism by claiming he needed a translator.

Now, it’s possible that he actually got a translator and answered that question – if you find that info, let me have it.

But I haven’t seen that info published anywhere. Yet.

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Here is the Wiki page devoted to ‘Kislev 19th’, where we learn more details of what we’re told happened:

The official process began on May 8, 1798, when a defamatory letter, signed by “Hirsch Ben David,” (a pseudonym) was sent to the chief prosecutor of Czar Paul I.

The author of this letter, who was likely acting in concert with the heads of the Mitnagdim in Vilna, leveled three main claims against Rabbi Shneur Zalman (referred to as Rabbi Zalman Ben Baruch):

1. That Rabbi Shneur Zalman was involved in rebellion and conspiracy.
2. Shneur Zalman and his companions were accused of leading a life with no framework of law.
3. They were branded thieves and bribe-takers.

Another aspect of the accusations was the transferring of funds to Israel for poor people in Israel which was at the time under Ottoman rule. Russia and the Ottoman empire were extremely hostile to each other, recently having fought a war. Shneur Zalman was thus accused of supporting the Ottomans.

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We already went into the sticky question of whether the Alter Rebbe really was transferring money to the Chassidic Aliya in Israel, under the leadership of Avraham Kalisker of Tiberius, HERE.

Snippet:

In the National Library in Israel, there is a doctoral dissertation typewritten (!) that contains excerpts of letters from Avraham Kalisker, head of the Chassidic yishuv in Tiberius, stating clearly that the Alter Rebbe was refusing to release charity funds to R Kalisker, unless R Kalisker wrote in praise of the Tanya.

R Kalisker explains that he is totally unable to do that – and also states that if any of the money from the Alter Rebbe in the past was also given with that condition attached, i.e. that R Kalisker should publically write in support of the Tanya, he wants to repay every penny.

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Bottom line: By 1798, the Alter Rebbe had been refusing to pass the collected Tzedaka money along to the Chassidic aliya for months because of the dispute of the Tanya…

And that’s how he could ‘prove’ to the Tzar that he wasn’t sending money to Eretz Yisrael.

Because he really wasn’t.

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Here’s a bit more, about ‘Kislev 19th’ from the Wiki site:

Tachanun is not recited.^[24] The last verses of Psalm 55, “He has redeemed my soul in peace,” are traditionally sung on this day. These verses are a reference to the experienced by the Alter Rebbe on this day. Rabbi Shneur Zalman said: “Whoever participates in my celebration will merit to see nachas from his descendants.”^[25] The day is also marked by many other non-Chabad Chassidic groups.^{[citation needed]}

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I left the citations in for this snippet, so you can see the propaganda in full flow, especially this bit:

The day is also marked by many other non-Chabad Chassidic groups.^{[citation needed]}

Good luck finding that ‘citation’ for this idea. If you do turn something up, I’d be happy to see it.

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Now, you might not know this, but Alexander I of Russia and the Alter Rebbe got very cosy, after the Alter Rebbe was ‘miraculously’ freed from prison.

Alexander I was the son and successor of Tzar Paul I, who was murdered in a palace coup in 1801.

 After Alexander I ascended the throne, the Alter Rebbe agreed to go to work for him as a ‘spy’, sending his chassidim into the camp of Napoleon I during the Franco-Russia war.

There is a whole ‘badd story about this, involving Moshe Meisels, who is almost caught red-handed spying for the Tzar, but apparently dodges the bullet because he’d perfected the ability to split his intellect off from his emotions, and so had become a superlative liar.

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HERE is where you can read the whole story, and where you’ll also learn this:

The Rebbe’s contribution to Russia’s victory was recognized by the Czar, who awarded Rabbi Schneur Zalman descendents the status of “An Honorable Citizen For All Generations.” Five generations of Chabad Rebbes were to make use of this special standing in their work on behalf of the Jews of Russia.

You also might not know this, but that same Alexander I was initially an enthusiastic freemason and ‘mystic’ – take a look at this cover, a contemporary picture of him shaking hands the freemason way, with Napoleon:

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And then, after Napoleon turned on Russia, and after he saw the destruction atheistic/satanic masonry wrought in France, Alexander ‘made teshuva’.

He became a born-again evangelical, literally.

And then, he started working very closely with the British Bible Society, and Lewis Way, main funder of the London Society for Promoting Christianity Amongst the Jews (LJS) to try and a) get Russia’s Jews converted on mass b) become the ‘next Cyrus’ who would lead the converted Jews back to their ancestral homeland, Eretz Yisrael.

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One of Alexander I’s ‘big plans’ was to encourage conversion by offering converted Jews big tracks of land in Russia.

These converted Jews could even manage their own communal affairs, and maintain their own communal structures, etc.

Bottom line: it was an early attempt at ‘Jews for yeshu’, where the main requirement was baptism and stated belief in Yoshki as the messiah, but then you could carry on wearing your shtreimel, eating your honey cake on Rosh Hashana, and drinking your schnapps on Shabbos.

This bit of Russian-Jewish history has been almost totally scrubbed – but I’ve found it described in missionary journals from 200 years ago, as it was happening.

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One of the Tzar’s main missionaries was a man called ‘Mr Moritz’, a converted Jews from St Petersburg, who made a lot of trouble.

I’m sure it’s just a CO-IN-CID-ENCE, but this is exactly the same time that ‘Moshe’, the Alter Rebbe’s son, converted to xtianity and apparently went to work for the Tzar as a missionary to the Jews.

That he converted is 100% fact – the documents were found by David Assaf in the Russian archives, and proved that the ‘badd had been lying about Moshe for almost 200 years.

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To get back to ‘Alexander I’.

(His Wiki page is HERE.)

He created something called The Holy Alliance, which was basically a plan to make Europe totally ‘xtian’ again, ahead of the (second…) coming of Yoshki. This is another part of history that has been almost totally scrubbed.

When The Holy Alliance fell apart, Alexander got so jaded with royal life and politics, that he seems to have faked his own death, and went to live as a wondering monk with a reputation as a holy man and miracle-worker in the Russian Orthodox church.

Take a look at THIS, snippet:

Rumours have long suggested that emperor Alexander I staged his death in 1825 and became holy man Feodor Kuzmich, also known as Feodor Tomsky.

A theory was that he wanted forgiveness for any role he may have played in the assassination of his father Pavel I in 1801, or in benefiting from the work of others in slaying the tsar.

Now analysis by Svetlana Semyonova, president of Russian Graphological Society, suggests strong similarities between the handwritings of Alexander I and the mysterious monk.

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Before Alexander I ‘died’, he made sure that his unsuitable next-in-line heir, Constantine, wrote a formal letter dropping his claim to the Russian throne, which then passed over to the infamous Nicholas I.

Nicholas I is the one who actually implemented the very cruel Cantonist decrees, to try to decimate and ‘force convert’ Russian Jews.

But, that original plan was Alexander I’s, in 1803 – just, Rabbenu managed to push it off 25 years, as the Breslov sources teach explicitly.

And meantime, Alexander I became an evangelical ‘philosemite’ and tried to convert the Jews with kindnesses and big tracts of land, instead of simply murdering them in pogroms and trying to deport them to other countries.

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So.

‘Yud Tet Kislev’ – what did we learn, now we put all this back into some real, historical context?

Was it really the ‘chassidic geula’?

Was the Alter Rebbe already being suspected of trying to subvert the Baal Shem Tov’s chassidic movement, even during his lifetime, and creating a ‘new Jewish sect’ that actually was NOT ‘standard Judaism’?

How are the Frankists mixed-up in all this?

And the Freemasons?

And the evangelical xtians?

What’s the real reason ‘Alexander’ is such a popular name with the ‘Badd?

How did Moshe Shneuri’s conversion to xtianity affect how the ‘badd community was being treated by the Tzar, particularly in terms of all the massive tracts of land they seem to have had under their control, particularly in and around the Kherson province?

And last but not least: what sort of deal did the Alter Rebbe have to cut with the Tzar, and the Tzar’s secret police, in order to be ‘released miraculously’ from Russian prison?

Questions, questions, questions.

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I’m sure we’ll come back to this again, sadly.

But in the meantime, let me leave you with this ‘story’ from last week, from the Daniel Amram Telegram Channel:

(This is a screenshot with the English translation:)

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And this is where you can play the video yourself:

Ah bless!

In the true spirit of the interfaith cooperation between the Alter Rebbe and  born-evangelical Alexander I 200 years ago!

Whatever.

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PS: You might also find this interesting, from 2015:

https://forward.com/opinion/323267/why-is-chabad-helping-christian-extremists/

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And this, from 2008:

Chabad and Christian fund team up

Collel Chabad launched a joint project with the International Fellowship of Christians & Jews in aiding Israeli needy families Full Story