3 years ago

How The Rebbe Killed Stalin

Have you ever heard stories about blood libels? A long time ago, evil goyim would tell people that Yidden killed Russian babies. They said they used their blood to bake matza! Of course, it wasn’t true, but these lies would make the goyim so angry that they would get together to attack Jewish people! Many Yidden were beaten and killed because of these terrible lies • By Baila Brikman, Beis Moshiach Magazine • Full Story

By Baila Brikman, Beis Moshiach

In 1952, less than ten years after the Holocaust, the Yidden in Russia found themselves in more terrible danger. They were faced with a blood libel, just like in the old days! Stalin, the evil ruler of Russia, plotted to kill them all by spreading horrible lies about the Jews!

“The Germans didn’t end up destroying all the Jews, but I will!” Stalin clapped, rubbing his hands together, wickedly. “I’ll make up a story that Jewish doctors are poisoning and killing Russian babies! My guards will torture some Jewish doctors until they say they did these crimes, even though we know they really didn’t!”

Stalin smiled, imagining the effects of his wicked idea. “We’ll give them a fair trial in court, of course. After all, we’re a very fair country! Haha!”

“Everyone in Russia will be so mad at the Jews!” Stalin said, pounding the table with his fist. “They’ll get together to beat and kill them all! But because I’m the leader of Russia and care so much, I won’t let them. I’ll send all 3 million Jews to the farthest, most freezing lands of Siberia, so they will be safe… but they’ll freeze to death and die of hunger! We’ll be rid of these Jews, once and for all, and no one will be able to hold it against me.”

***

What a terrible plot! What would happen to all the Yidden of Russia?

Slowly, these false rumors about the Jews began to spread. “Did you hear, Vladimir?” Ivan whispered. “The Jews are out to kill us!”

“What?” Vladimir stopped, almost choking on his vodka. “But my neighbor Misha is so nice to me! He always lets me taste his kugel!”

“Well, don’t you trust those Jews, Vladimir! Don’t you read the newspapers? They say the Jewish doctors are killing our kids! There’s going to be a trial to see if it’s true.”

Vladimir’s face turned red with anger. “How dare they!? If they’re found guilty, we’ll kill them! Just thinking about it makes me want to beat them up now!”

Now, if these rumors had been true, their anger would make sense… but sadly for the Yidden, people were quick to believe it, even though it wasn’t true at all.

***

Stalin laughed. His plan was working! The newspapers and radios were doing an excellent job at spreading his lies. The people of Russia were getting angrier and angrier at the Jews! They were attacking them on the streets and threatening them with death!

“Men!” he called to his guards. “Get workers to build labor camps in the coldest parts of Siberia! And get hundreds of trains ready to go! On March 5, 1953, just a few days after the Jews celebrate their holiday of Purim, we’ll have a trial – and we’ll rule that every Jewish doctor is guilty! We’ll announce that they were killing Russian babies – that they were planning to kill all of us! On March 12, I will save the Jews from the anger of the people of Russia… just to send them all to die in those frozen camps in Siberia.”

When Stalin said something, you listened right away. After all, he ran all of Russia. No one dared disagree with him. Otherwise, you could be killed. This is how people like Stalin got away with doing such horrible things – they used the fear of the people who worked under them to control them. Even if they didn’t think it was right, his servants rushed to do exactly as he said… in their minds, they had no other choice.

Purim was coming closer, and there was no hope in sight. Everything was in place to send the Yidden to their deaths. The 3 million Jews of Russia were in terrible danger. Only a miracle from Hashem could save them.

***

Far away across the ocean, Chassidim packed inside 770. Purim was coming to an end, which meant that it was time for the Lubavitcher Rebbe’s farbrengen!

The farbrengen lasted many hours. After many sichos and niggunim, something strange happened. The Rebbe began to tell a story.

After the Russian Revolution, the Rebbe Rashab told all of his Chassidim to go vote in the elections. One Chassid was so dedicated to Chassidus – but he didn’t even know how to vote! All he knew was that the Rebbe had said to do it, so listened to the Rebbe. He even toiveled in the mikva and put on a gartel, because he was doing as the Rebbe asked!

After he voted, he heard the people around him shouting, “Hoorah! Hoorah!” Because he was so removed from gashmiyus, he didn’t realize that they were cheering! To him, it sounded like they were saying the Hebrew words “Hu ra—he is bad!”

Because he’d never voted before, he thought that that’s what you have to say after you vote! The Chassid started shouting along with them: “Hu ra! He is bad!”

As the Rebbe told this part of the story to the Chassidim, he copied the Chassid! With a big smile on his face, the Rebbe put his hands into the shape of a triangle and announced, “Hu ra—he is bad! Hu ra! Hu ra!”

When the Rebbe finished telling the story, he copied the Chassid again! He turned to his right and said “Hu ra” three times, and then he turned to his left and said it three times again!

The Chassidim watched the Rebbe in amazement. Why was the Rebbe acting out this story? He never did things like this! He was a Rebbe, not a storyteller! They realized that the Rebbe was doing something big in Shamayim, but they didn’t know what! Following this, the people in the room also followed the Rebbe shooting, “Hu ra”.

Suddenly, the Rebbe’s face became very serious. Even though he had never said two maamarim at a farbrengen before, he started saying a second maamar with many deep Torah thoughts.

***

Far away in Russia, while the Rebbe’s farbrengen was still going on… Stalin suddenly collapsed. Just a few days later… he died. What a miracle! He wouldn’t be able to finish his evil plan. The Yidden in Russia were saved!

No one knew exactly how Stalin died. Some say he was killed secretly, while others say he had sudden problems with his health. Either way, with Stalin gone, the evil plan to torment and destroy the Jews would no longer happen.

Chassidim realized that when the Rebbe was saying “Hu ra” at the farbrengen, he was saying that Stalin was bad. There was no way to know what had happened in Shamayim, but it was clear that the Rebbe had called down a miracle to save the Yidden of Russia.

The Rebbe waited 40 years to say that this was, in fact, a miracle. When Chassidim wanted to give out the second maamar from that farbrengen, they typed it up into a booklet and asked the Rebbe to edit it. The introduction to the booklet said:

“This maamar seems to be connected with the events taking place at that time, leading to the death of the leader of Russia, an enemy of the Jews! This can be proved by the story that the Rebbe told before the maamar.”

By telling the Chassidim that they could print this paragraph, the Rebbe finally hinted that he had performed a miracle that led to Stalin’s death!

The wicked Stalin collapsed on the same day that Haman was defeated so many years ago. Just like in the days of Purim, Hashem saved the Yidden of Russia from the evil man who wanted to destroy them. Hashem always watches over us, and He will always rescue us when we need it most!