כא

And so they succeeded with this false testimony, until they prevailed upon the official sent by the district governor — who placed Moharan"as za'l under arrest in Breslov, and moreover seated him among murderers and robbers. The practice of those wicked ones, whenever a new "guest" arrived, was to demand a drink of spirits; and so they demanded of Moharan"as za'l as well. He did not have so much as a single perutah; and so they took several ropes, wove them together into a whip, and prepared to beat him with it. When they finished weaving and one of them lifted the whip in his hand and raised it over Moharan"as za'l to strike him — before he brought it down, Moharan"as raised his voice in a great and mighty cry, until every one of them was seized with panic before him. And the sound of that cry reached the ears of the prison warden in his own quarters; he came rushing in and demanded: "What is this great outcry in my ears?" Immediately Moharan"as stepped forward and told him what had happened — that they were attacking him to kill him — and pleaded to be removed from among them and placed in another room. For the time being the warden did not fulfill this request, but he commanded them not to lay a hand upon him, and he spent that night there. (Afterward, Moharan"as za'l related: at the moment he was being led to prison and arrived at the gate, there came to his memory how the angels of destruction lead a soul to the entrance of Gehinnom — and through that gate it enters. And what made it yet more bitter and painful for him that night was that he could not utter even a single word of holiness — for in that dwelling-place of the wicked, where he sat among them, there stood a large vessel of filth which they all used.) The anash strove to release him from prison and arrange bail according to the law; and even in this the opponents stood as an adversary and prevailed upon the official not to accept any bail — which was against the law. The anash wished to write this to the district governor — and this would certainly have moved the district governor, that the official he had sent was also bribed like the police. But first they asked Moharan"as za'l whether to do this, and he warned and warned again not to do such a thing, for G-d forbid it would add to the trouble, since as a rule the response would not arrive in Breslov quickly; and in the meantime he would be imprisoned for who knows how long. And even when the response arrived, would the opponents — who had great money — remain silent? They would exhaust every possibility and succeed in vindicating the official; and one can understand the conflagration that would then blaze against us, G-d forbid, from the official's wrath. And he therefore warned and warned not to do this; rather: if we are in great trouble, the main thing is prayer to Hashem Yisborach. And also to the official, in supplication to request of him: I am a weak old man in poor health, imprisoned for nothing; and so they did.

And the Rav Shmuel, and also his son Moshe Weinberg, and his wife — who were fluent in Russian and were the ones doing everything, advising and writing during the machlokes — they told the official the whole matter, that this was nothing other than a dispute among Chassidim. (One person was R' Levi, a wealthy man and holder of several government posts, esteemed in the eyes of the authorities, who wished to speak with the official on behalf of Moharan"as za'l — but it was not possible since the official was lodged at the aforementioned Sneior's house.) After all the anash's requests

before the official, and their true words entered his heart, he asked them: "Why do you not give me money as they do — your opponents?" They answered him plainly: "They have money, and we have no money; and moreover, among us there are some who are poor and in need themselves." Nevertheless, 100 rubles were collected from the anash and brought to him. When he saw the hundred rubles he laughed and said: "What does this paltry sum count for me? They give me thousands; and if I wished, another thousand, they would give. Yet nevertheless I will take this gift from you, and be assured I will do you a good turn."