Chabad false messiah Schneerson in 1984 had Soviet government release two American Jews detained and slated for execution by KGB
Who saved an American scientist in Moscow?
A few days later, a man who introduced himself as an intelligence agent called me and asked us to meet him. My partner and I arrived at his office and as soon as we closed the door behind us, he said: "Tell me in detail about everything that happened to you there."
- It happened in 1984. We have been living in Boston for many years - I am the head of the chemical research laboratory at Harvard University. I will not hide that my name is widely known among specialists in this field and outside the university.
My partner and I have just finished a very important experiment, the results of which have been widely publicized in the world. The news of our success reached even the USSR, causing great interest. At some stage, we received an offer to visit Moscow University to exchange experience. We were also asked to read a number of lectures for students and among scientists.
In those days, relations between the United States and the USSR were unstable, and the whole idea seemed unrealistic. Nevertheless, we passed the invitation to the rector of our university and asked for his advice. To our surprise, the trip was approved. Diplomatic relations between our countries were complicated, so, despite the "good", our trip was classified and no one except my wife and my partner's wife knew about it.
We were supposed to fly out of New York early in the morning, make a transfer in Europe and from there fly to Moscow. But the day before we left, my phone rang at home:
- Hello, you are being disturbed by the secretariat of the Lubavitch Rebe.
- ???
- Rebbe wants to talk to you.
I was extremely surprised: what can I have in common with the Lubavitch Rebbe? Of course, I heard about it, but I never had contact with "770" - the residence of the Rebbe and could not understand what they wanted from me. I explained that I was busy because I was leaving the city for a few weeks in the morning. In response, the secretary said that if Rebe asked me to come, I should make every effort to do so, especially from there I could go to Kennedy Airport and catch my flight. In the end, I agreed.
It was already late in the morning when I entered the Rebe's office. He greeted me warmly and after an exchange of courtesies got down to business.
- I heard that you are going to Russia. There are Jews in Moscow who have been waiting for a parcel with religious accessories for a long time. Could you take her with you?
I was speechless. How does Rebe know that I'm going to Russia? But Rebe didn't give me time to gather my thoughts:
- Jews are looking forward to this parcel.
- You're putting me in danger. How can I go through customs?
The Rebbe glanced at me and said:
- Do me a favor, and I'll pay you back for it.
I had a good idea of the danger I was exposed to by agreeing to take the parcel. But I just couldn't refuse Reba. On the way back, one of the Hasidim accompanying me said that the package would be handed over to me at the airport. I asked how I would know who to give it to. "They will come to you," he replied without explanation. Before parting, the Hasid said: "Rebbe asked to remind you that he would repay you with a favor for a service."
When our plane landed in Moscow, my heart beat faster: I was a guest of Moscow University..., and what about the parcel? And why did I agree to take her with me?
My friend and I got at the disposal of the airport customs service. We were asked to stand in line and wait. I saw them opening suitcases and bags belonging to other tourists. After a while, it was our turn - ...and at that moment the customs officers left. I looked around with fear.
Apparently, there was a change of posts, and soon one of the officers made a sign for me to go forward, thinking that I had already passed the inspection. I felt the mountain fall off my shoulders, but after a few meters I suddenly found another test ahead: maybe it was KGB officers. One of them started looking through my luggage. But the amazing thing is that the "illegal" parcel seemed to become invisible to him. After 20 minutes, I received a mark in my passport and a permit to enter the USSR. I understood: everything that happened to me was not accidental - as if commands came from Heaven, giving me the opportunity to deliver the parcel to its destination.
The next morning I arrived at the Big Moscow Synagogue on Arkhipov. Previously, I divided the parcel into small bags and brought one with me. The guide who was assigned to me stayed to wait outside. Before I could take a few steps, a Jew in his fifties in a large cap hiding his face came up to me: "Do you have something for me?" I realized that it was the person about whom the secretary Rebe said: "They will come to you."
For three days I brought the parcel to the synagogue in parts and gave it to this person. There were 15 pairs of tfillin, several dozen mezuz and about twenty prayer books. Only now I began to understand the stories about the selflessness of Russian Jews, which I have heard over the years.
On the very first day, we joined the work at the university: we visited the laboratories of our colleagues, gave lectures. Such a program was supposed to last for three weeks. We enjoyed our stay in the capital.
It's been more than a week since our arrival in Moscow. We returned to our hotel room around midnight and quickly fell asleep after a busy day. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Opening the knock, we saw four sullen men in front of us. One of them in English with a Russian accent said that we were arrested. Two of them began to search the room, while the other two were guarding us. After the search, we were handcuffed and taken to prison. It was already early in the morning when we were placed in a dark cell. We tried to protest, saying that we were guests of the country, but no one seemed to care.
The cell we were put in was very clean. A heavy steel door blocked the exit, a narrow bed stood along the wall, and there was a parasha in the corner. There was no one in the cell except us. We started knocking on the door and shouting that we are American citizens and immediately ask for a meeting with the consul, but it was all in vain. Only a few hours later the jailer showed up and asked what we wanted. We demanded a meeting with the consul, but he just laughed and left.
Two long days passed, every hour seemed like an eternity to us. Twice a day the narrow window opened, and we were getting food, but no one talked to us. It was annoying the most - we didn't even know what our fault was. But, finally, we managed to talk to one of the guards, who announced that we are American spies, came to "snatch the best minds of Russia". He also said that within two days we will be shot as spies. Only now I realized the seriousness of the situation.
In desperation, I grabbed his hand and shouted: "How can this be, because it will cause a global resonance - the Soviet Union killed American citizens without trial!?" To which our guard grinned and said: "We often have car accidents..."
Another day has passed. We hardly talked to our partner. He said he would never have thought that such a thing could happen. Late at night, the door opened and three came in. They picked us up, blindfolded us, and took us out. I was sure that this was the end and began to whisper to myself "see" (a prayer for repentance).
We were pushed into the car and taken somewhere. I realized that we are being taken to the place where the "accident" should happen. I was overcome by the feeling that I had finished my work in this world and regretted only that none of my loved ones would find out what happened to me.
Suddenly the car stopped and I heard the voices of people saying something in Russian. They took us out of the car and took off the blindfolds. We saw that we were standing at the foot of the ladder leading to the entrance of the plane. Our things, who came from nowhere, were lying next to each other. Two KGB officers in uniform escorted us to the plane. "This is the last time you're here," one of them said in English. "If you come here again, you'll be over it." Having said that, they turned around and left.
A few minutes later, the doors closed and the plane took off into the sky. Although we left the USSR, we have not yet recovered from the shock we experienced: why were we arrested as spies and why were we then released? All this was unclear.
The next day, we demanded explanations from our superiors at the university, who approved and formalized our trip to the Soviet Union. They, in turn, said that they knew nothing about the arrest: they thought we were fine.
We didn't know what to think. We just had to carry this burden, as we were warned about non-disclosure. I took a few days off to recover from everything that happened.
A few days later, a man who introduced himself as an intelligence agent called me and asked us to meet him. My partner and I arrived at his office and as soon as we closed the door behind us, he said: "Tell me in detail about everything that happened to you there." He said "there" and we understood what he meant. We started telling the whole story without missing a single detail.
After listening to the story to the end, the agent thought for a moment and said: "A few days ago, an unknown person called us and said that you are in prison in Moscow on charges of espionage and will soon be destroyed. He asked us to urgently investigate this case, as you were being prepared to be killed under the guise of a car accident. Then he hung up.
We immediately contacted your university, where we confirmed that you are in Russia. We called the American embassy in Moscow, but they didn't hear anything about you. We realized that something serious was happening. Our superiors contacted the highest officials of the Soviet government. We told them that we knew about your arrest and demanded your immediate release. The Russians denied everything, but we insisted that if you were not released immediately, it would cause an international scandal.
We played blindly, but now I understand that you were actually arrested, and an unknown person called us two days after your arrest. We also know that two hours after our telephone conversations you were put on a plane and expelled from Russia."
Two days later, my phone rang. The secretary of the Lubavitch Rebbe was on the wire. "The Rebbe wants to see you," he said. This time I didn't protest and immediately went to "770". In the evening, I entered the Rebbe's office.
When I came in, Rebe got up and greeted me warmly. He shook my hand and offered to sit down. Then Rebe asked me to tell him how the trip went and how I completed his assignment. I began to tell how I got to Moscow, how I miraculously passed customs, how I came to the Moscow Synagogue. Here the Rebbe began to ask me - who came up to me for the parcel when it happened, who prayed in the synagogue, what they looked like, if I remember their names. The Rebbe asked who was "gabay", what time they started praying, who read the Torah scroll. When I was talking about it, I saw how deeply the Rebbe was touched.
After I finished my report, I hesitated whether to tell about our arrest. After a little thought, I decided to keep it to myself. The Rebbe shook my hand again and thanked me for the completed assignment.
When I was already standing on the threshold, the Rebbe seemed to remember something - he suddenly became more serious:
- Did I repay you with a favor for the service you did for me?
Before I could understand what the Rebbe meant, I was already standing outside the door. And then I realized how stupid I was without guessing that the Rebbe knew about everything that happened to me. Now all the pieces of this puzzle have fallen into place and I understand perfectly well what the Rebb meant by saying "service for service".
- I have a feeling, - Yaakov finished, - that it is "770" that is connected with the anonymous call that saved us...