Shedding light on one of the most historic moments of the chassidic movement: Rav Yisroel of Ruzhin’s daring escape from Russia to his rebuilding in Sadigura

Photos Kedem Auction House, Jerusalem

Shabbos parshas Bo, January 15, 1842. Iasi, Moldavia. The horse and carriage are ready for departure. The French passport issued that morning is in order, and the small party immediately hits the road, haste and secrecy the watchword of this daring escape. For the passenger is none other than one of the greatest chassidic tzaddikim of the time, Rav Yisrael Friedman, “the Heilige Rizhiner.”

The story of the Ruzhiner Rebbe’s escape from Russia and subsequent resettlement in Austria has always been something of a mystery. I was always intrigued by the dramatic tale, an anomaly in the annals of the chassidic movement. Much was known and yet much was missing, while an entire gamut of books attempted to reconstruct the story — with limited success.

The memoir of Reb Yosef Roth, the Rebbe’s loyal gabbai, Rabbi Dr. Menachem Brayer (the current Boyaner Rebbe’s father) in his The House of Rizhin, Professor David Assaf’s voluminous writings on the dynasty, and the writings of several others, all added significant, little-known details to the story of the Ruzhiner’s life and the glorious dynasty that followed.

And yet pieces of the puzzle were still missing. Imagine, for one of the most famous and important leaders in the history of chassidus, an entire chunk of his story is unknown: How did the Rebbe obtain the appropriate travel documents enabling him to cross the border? What did the Austrian officials want from him when they investigated him upon arrival? Why wasn’t he deported back to Russia? When exactly did the border crossing take place? How and when did the Ruzhiner come to choose the town of Sadigura as his new home?

Now, there’s been an information breakthrough. Being a known history buff, I recently received a phone call from Kedem Auction House. “Come down to the office, we have something of significant interest that we’d like to show you,” they told me. I was shown a large leather-bound file, with the word “Rizhin” emblazoned in gold on the spine. Inside were, among other papers, the detailed protocols of the investigation the Austrian officials carried out with the Ruzhiner Rebbe and those close to him, shortly after he entered Austrian territory.

The thick file contains pages and pages handwritten in German. Memorandums, protocols of the interrogations, travel papers, bureaucratic documents all written in dry official language, yet a veritable treasure trove, shedding light on one of the most historic moments of the chassidic movement:Rav Yisroel of Ruzhin’s daring escape from Russia to his rebuilding in Sadigura.

Among the technical words, something stuck out — a bold signature, another, and yet another. It was the Ruzhiner Rebbe’s own handwriting! I took out another document that caught my eye. It was a French passport. The custom official’s stamps were still legible. With rising excitement, I soon realized that I was holding the very travel papers the Ruzhiner held in his own holy hands and used for his escape across the border.

“The file gives us a unique glimpse into one of the most famous events in the chasssidic world in general, and in Ruzhin in particular,” explains Meron Eren, cofounder of the Kedem Auction House. “At the same time, it reflects the special, steadfast character of the Rebbe during one challenging period in his life. Items of this kind that incorporate such a significant historic-Jewish blend are particularly unusual as they include so many documents and details that were previously unknown.”

Buried in these aging papers is a fascinating story, a puzzle that historians, researchers, and chassidim have longed to resolve for close to two centuries. What was he interrogated about? What story would the Rebbe tell his new hosts? What secrets does this newly-discovered file contain? Will it yield some of the answers?

Determined to find out, I set out to reconstruct the narrative from the beginning. Very little of this priceless file has been properly researched, and the secrets contained therein may keep researchers busy for years to come.