I had seen photos of it and heard the story of devotion, sacrifice and bravery behind it, but had never seen it.
Last month I visited the exhibition of the Lubavitch Library in Brooklyn, home to hundreds of thousands of rare books, manuscripts and artifacts belonging to the glorious dynasties of Chassidic Rebbes dating back to the Baal Shem Tov.
The display that caught my attention most was a book of Zohar that had belonged to the Rebbe’s father, Rav Levi Yitzchok Schneerson, the legendary chief rabbi of Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine. This is no ordinary Zohar, since the margins of its pages are filled with his novel interpretations and explanations of the ancient text, in tiny handwriting of red, blue, green and black.
Rav Levi Yitzchok served as the spiritual leader of Russian Jewry long after all other rabbis had either been exiled or murdered by the Communist regime. After the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe was banished from the Soviet Union in 1927, Rav Levi Yitzchok was the only remaining rabbi of stature to openly fight against the Communist anti-Jewish oppression, ensuring that Jewish observance and education continue to thrive behind the Iron Curtain.
Days before Pesach 1939 he was arrested on false accusations of high treason and sentenced to five years in the remote region of Chi’ili, Kazakhstan - far removed from any semblance of Jewish life or community. For a scholar and leader of his caliber, the isolation from fellow Jews was certainly the most acute and painful aspect of the harrowing experience.
His wife, Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson voluntarily joined him and the most important things she brought from home were several Torah books for him to study. Seeing his delight and pleasure with these treasures she understood that he wished to write down the many novel ideas he developed while studying as he was accustomed to doing back home.
She learned to produce ink from wild berries and Rav Levi Yitzchok diligently wrote until the margins of all the books were filled with his brilliance - in short hand and in multiple colors - published decades later in a five-volume set as his eternal legacy.
He never returned home from exile and a few months after his release, Rav Levi Yitzchok passed away in Alma Ata, Kazakhstan on the 20th day of Av and was buried in a tiny Jewish section of a large cemetery - emblematic of the ultimate spiritual and physical sacrifice he endured for Judaism.
When I saw the pages of the Zohar filled with his colorful writing on display at the exhibition, it dawned on me how this illustrates the ultimate Jewish strength. Even while enduring unbearable suffering and pain, one can continue to be a shining light of devotion, wisdom and leadership for generations to come.
This Wednesday will be the 75th Yahrzeit of Rav Levi Yitzchok. I encourage you to learn more about him, his teachings and his legacy and to be inspired by his message of unwavering faith and devotion under all circumstances.