The Twenty-Third of Sivan

When Germany and Russia divided Poland, Reb Itzikel found himself living under Russian rule. The Russians ordered everyone to register, promising each person a Russian identity card. Reb Itzikel strongly advised the people not to register.

Soon afterward the Russians rounded up everyone who had not registered and sent them away to Siberia. The people who had followed Reb Itzikel's advice were in despair. "For this we did not register?" they cried.

Reb Itzikel calmed them. "Today is the twenty-third of Sivan," he said. "On this day Achashveirosh sent out his second letters, which cancelled the decree. Surely this is a day of favor, and we will merit to be saved."

Not long afterward the Germans broke their pact and conquered the part of Poland that the Russians had held. The Jews who had registered were deported, while those who had been sent to Siberia survived the war.