The Heroic Struggle: The Arrest and Liberation of Rabbi Yosef Y. Schneersohn of Lubavitch in Soviet Russia [Hardcover]

Joseph Isaac Schneersohn (Author), Alter B. Metzger (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1998

This book traces the history of the arrest and subsequent release from prison for "counter revolutionary activity" of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn in 5687 (1927). The Rebbe staunchly endured deprivation and torture, physical and mental, in an event meant to destroy the Jewish Underground, and emerged from his ordeal miraculously alive and undaunted, his defiant stance entirely intact. He was able to continue leading the Jewish resistance, leadership continued by his son-in-law and successor, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, and to lay the foundation, ultimately, of the current Jewish revival in the former Soviet Union.

Editorial Reviews

Language Notes

Text: English (translation)

Product Details

• Hardcover: 344 pages
• Publisher: Kehot Pubns Society (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0826604390
• ISBN-13: 978-0826604392
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,020,883 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The light in Soviet prison, July 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Heroic Struggle: The Arrest and Liberation of Rabbi Yosef Y. Schneersohn of Lubavitch in Soviet Russia (Hardcover)

By resisting the Stalin regime and creating the organizations and the atmosphere that survived those dark days, the Rebbe inspired and enabled the rebirth Yiddishkeit in all the lands of the former Soviet Union.

It is possible that without the underground movement inspired by the Rebbe instead of refusniks and the massive exodus of the 80s and 90s, Russian Jewry might have dissolved in a haze of assimilation.

In The Heroic Struggle we have Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak's own account of his ordeal. As riveting as a contemporary thriller He writes: "... sensitive and talented authors would find much material for lengthy works on the nature of human feeling and conduct by merely depicting ... the ... two hours from my arrival in the prison ... " Actually the Rebbe hasn't left much for other authors. His narrative is vividly detailed, insightful and sensitive. From the remarkably detailed description of his cell to the penetrating analyses of his captors, interrogators and fellow prisoners, the Rebbe involves the reader in his experience.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A harrowing testimony of an enduring human spirit, March 7, 2004

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Heroic Struggle: The Arrest and Liberation of Rabbi Yosef Y. Schneersohn of Lubavitch in Soviet Russia (Hardcover)

Edited and translated by Rabbi Alter B. Metzer from the memoirs of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (the foremost Jewish religious leader of Stalinist Russia circa 1927), The Heroic Struggle is the true and riveting story of Rabbi Schneersohn's arrest and brutal mistreatment for his conspiring with other members of the Jewish community to create an underground network that would allow Judaism to survive despite Communist persecution of religion, religious beliefs, religious ceremonies, and religious symbols. A harrowing testimony of an enduring human spirit, and culminating in Schneersohn's miraculous release after his death sentence was commuted to exile, The Heroic Struggle is a superb contribution to 20th Century Jewish History reading lists and reference collections as being a profoundly inspirational testimony about the power of fighting for one's roots and beliefs.