The Jewish citizens of Russia were thrust into a state of anxiety in the Fall of 1827 when Tsar Nickolas I signed the “Statute on Conscription Duty”. Tsar Nickolas I was planning to issue many laws intending to make everyone Russian. The laws included a ban on chadarim (Jewish elementary schools). The Jewish community immediately took action by sending a delegation of prominent rabbanim to Petersberg, which included Tam and Chacham.
Everyone hoped to return home to be with their families in time for Yom Kippur, but it was not to be. The meetings seemed to take forever lasting day after day. Tam and Chacham sadly realized that they would be forced to spend the holiest day of the year in the capital city of Russia.
In their search to find a place where they could daven (pray) on Yom Kippur, the Tam and Chacham learned about a group of Cantonists who would be conducting a secret Yom Kippur service and decided to join them.
Cantonists were Jewish soldiers who had been abducted from their homes and drafted into the Russian army at a very young age. The Cantonist soldiers knew very little about Torah and Jewish beliefs and ways of living, relying only on the distant memories from their few short years at home. When they would finally be released from army service at the age of forty-three, many of them would find that their parents had already died, leaving them no where to go or call home. The passage of time had dulled their memory of the Yiddish language, and many would no longer be able to communicate with their any of their relatives.
This group of Cantonists, whose service Tam and Chacham had joined on that memorable Yom Kippur, clung to their Jewish traditions and identity in the face of severe torture. In spite of all the suffering that they continued to bear because of their religion, these Jewish soldiers felt isolated from the Jewish community and completely alone in the world.
Tam and Chacham participated in the outpouring of emotion as they davened the prayers of Yom Kippur in the Cantonist service. Ma’ariv was followed the next day by Shacharis, Mussaf, and Minchah. Finally, it was time for Ne’ilah, the most important prayer of the year. In many communities, it is customary for the most prominent member of the minyan to lead this sacred prayer.
Shortly before Ne’ilah was scheduled to begin, a Cantonist, who was the spokesman for the group, approached Tam and Chacham saying, “Although you are certainly worthy of leading the tefillos, we would like to ask permission for one of our fellow Cantonists to lead the Ne’ilah service in your stead.” Then he turned to the Cantonist who was to serve as chazzan (leader of Jewish prayer) and asked show his back. The man’s back and muscular arms were covered with terrible wounds and gashes.
“Do you see this?” asked the spokesman. “They are whip-marks. As a young boy he resisted. Every morning he was placed on a bench and given at least 100 strokes of a birch, leaving him bleeding and reeling in agony. After each birching, he was sent to the infirmary where he was treated and then soon beaten again. He absorbed the abuse, did not cry out, and did not relent. You must understand that during our friend’s entire time in the army, he never once ate non-kosher food or desecrated the Shabbos. As a result, he sustained many beatings, but he never gave in. Therefore, we request that he be the one to daven Ne’ilah, since we consider him to be our worthy representative.”
Tam and Chacham were totally astounded at the tremendous self-sacrifice of the seemingly simple man standing before them, and of course, they agreed.
The Cantonist chazan began leading the tefillah and chanted ashrei, followed by uva l’Tzion. When it came time for Kaddish, he paused. Walking up to the Aron Kodesh, he began to speak in a powerful voice, baring his heart as a child speaks to his father:
“Ribbono shel Olam, Master of the Universe It is now the holiest time of the year. What do Jewish people throughout the world ask for at this time?” Answering his own question, he continued, “They ask for three crucial things:
Banai – Children Chayei – life
and M’zonei – sustenance.
we Cantonists don’t need to bother You to ask for these things.
Banai – Children: we’ll never have. When we will finally be released from army service, there will be no one to marry us! No Jewish woman will agree to marry us because we know little to nothing of Your Torah. Of course, we can’t marry non-Jewish women either. We know that we will never get married and so unfortunately, we will never be blessed with children.”
With tears filling his eyes, the Cantonist continued,
Chayei – life: what kind of life is this to live, so estranged from the rest of the Jewish People? We don’t desire a long life.
M’zonei – sustenance: sustenance: we don’t need to ask You for food. As soldiers in the Russian army, the tzar supports us and provides us with our needs. So what do we ask for at this auspicious time?”
As tears streamed down his cheeks, the Cantonist cried out:
“There is only one thing that we ask for!” Then, in the traditional tune that is recognized in shuls throughout the world, he called out, “Yisgadal v’yiskadash sh’mei raba – We ask that the Name of Hashem be sanctified and that His name be recognized throughout the world.”
With tears freely flowing, he continued to recite the rest of the Kaddish.
After Yom Kippur, Tam and Chacham learned from that the Cantonist’s moving words what a person should truly pray for. Instead of focusing only on one’s own personal needs, we should pray that the Name of the Holy One blessed be He should be sanctified and that we should constantly bring about a kiddush HaShem in the world.
May all your tales end with Shalom (peace)
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Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation. (Joel 1:3)
