The Rebbe in the Fortress
Bound by rebels in Tzfas, the Avritcher Rebbe blessed Hashem for His true judgment, and rescue came in that moment.
In Sivan 5598, a revolt against Ibrahim Pasha, who governed Egypt and Syria, reached Tzfas, and armed men fell on the Jewish quarter. Rav Moshe Reisher, who lived through it and described it in Shaarei Yerushalayim, writes that for three days the city was plundered and its Jews stripped of nearly everything. Many fled to hide among the graves at Ein Zaytun. Others, men, women and children, took shelter on the floor of the Bais Medrash named for Rav Avrohom Dov, their chief Rav, and wept.
Rav Reisher's father-in-law, who spoke fluent Arabic, brought gifts to the governor and won his promise of protection. But when the raiders returned, the governor fled. They seized the Rav, bound his hands behind his back, and dragged him with other hostages to a fortress, where he was beaten nearly to death. With swords at his neck, they demanded a thousand purses of coins, a sum the Jews of Tzfas did not have.
The Rav requested water for washing his hands. Accepting the decree, he said, "My children, let me bless Hashem for His true judgment, for this is how He has judged me today." Then he sat to wait.
At that instant another Arab burst in with news that Ibrahim Pasha's soldiers were approaching and would spare no one. The captors fled and left their loot and captives behind. Other Jews soon arrived and cut the hostages' ropes. When people went back, their houses lay in ruins, yet they gave thanks to Hashem that they were alive.
Source: Shaarei Yerushalayim (Rav Moshe Reisher), eyewitness account of the Tzfas riots of 5598.
When the ropes were tight, the Rebbe did not bargain or panic. He washed his hands and blessed Hashem. You may never face anything close to that, but every day has small squeezes: a delay, a bill, a hard conversation. Today, when one arrives, pause for a breath and say a single sentence of acceptance and trust, such as, Hashem, I am Yours and You are with me. Then do the next sensible thing. Calm does not remove the problem, but it lets you meet it as a person of faith.