Case file of Rebbe Yisrael Friedman of Ruzhin, including official documents from his interrogation, shortly following his arrival in Sadigura (Sadhora), while the threat of being extradited to Russia was still hovering over him. The file includes: records of the interrogations of the Rebbe, his escorts, the leaders of the Jewish and Christian communities in Sadigura, and other witnesses; a French travel document which the Rebbe used to illegally cross the border; documents, letters and memoranda from the Rebbe and his followers, and from the various district offices of Bukovina, Galicia and Moldavia, pertaining, amongst other things, to the Rebbe's request for a permit to reside in Sadigura, and more. Sadigura, Czernowitz (Chernivtsi), Lviv, Iaşi and Nadvorna, January 1842 – July 1843. German. Three handwritten signatures of the Rebbe.
In 1838, the Rebbe was imprisoned by the Russian authorities for close to two years, on unsubstantiated charges. Following his release, the authorities placed him under tight police supervision, which greatly limited him, and in 1842 the Rebbe escaped Russian territory. After much suffering and wandering, he settled in Sadigura, Bukovina, a part of the Austrian Empire. The Russians demanded the Rebbe's extradition from Austria. The Austrian authorities did not accede to the request of the Russians, yet decided to independently and comprehensively investigate the affair – the Rebbe's identity, his illegal crossing of the border, his purpose in coming to Sadigura and his intentions in regard to his residence there (see below for more details).
This is a historic case file, containing the original records of the investigation conducted by the Austrian authorities at the end of the winter 1842, and other documents. This file discloses many hitherto unknown facts about the Rebbe's private life, his family, his wife's family, and much information regarding his escape route and wanderings throughout the principalities of Bessarabia, Moldavia, Galicia and Bukovina, before he settled in Sadigura. It offers a detailed record of dates and locations, the people who accompanied him and assisted him on his treacherous journey, as well as other noteworthy information.
Shortly following the Rebbe's arrival in Sadigura on Thursday evening, eve of 1st Adar (February 10) 1842, a special interrogator named Wagner was assigned by the district office in Czernowitz, to investigate the affair. During the interrogation, the Rebbe identified himself under a fictitious name: Yisrael Donnenfeld (see in detail below). The investigation extended over almost one month, from 7th Adar to 2nd Nisan (February 17 – March 13) 1842, during the course of which the Rebbe, three men who accompanied him across the border, eight Jewish and Christian witnesses from Sadigura and the surroundings, and the leaders of the Jewish and Christian communities in Sadigura, were questioned. The interrogation was conducted in German (in his interrogation, the Rebbe attests that he speaks German but cannot write it), and comprised one hundred and seventy-six questions and answers, with the signatures of the interrogator and interrogatee at the end of each interrogation. The present case file includes dozens of interrogation transcripts in German. Three of them are signed by the Rebbe.
The first interrogation day began in the early morning hours of Thursday, 7th Adar (February 17) 1842 in the home of the Rebbe in Sadigura. Due to the Rebbe's weakness and poor health, the interrogation was conducted while the Rebbe "was lying in his bed… with the Ten Commandments on his forehead [=tefillin]". The interrogation continued until nightfall, and comprised thirty-six questions (question 1-36). Some two weeks later, on 19th Adar (March 1), a follow-up interrogation was conducted by the same interrogator, based on a memorandum received from the Russian authorities in Iaşi with new information pertaining to the Rebbe (this memorandum is also included in the file). This interrogation comprised two additional questions (questions 49-50).
Apart from the Rebbe, the following were interrogated by the district interrogator: Michel (son of R. Yaakov) Goldenthal, a French citizen, resident of Iaşi, whose French travel document served to smuggle the Rebbe and his escorts over the border (questions 37-48); the Rebbe's attendant Jüdel Fischel (questions 153-164); the wagon driver Schmiel Ber (questions 165-176); Moische Donnenfeld, the Rebbe's so-called brother (questions 51-54); several Jewish citizens of Sadigura: Benisch Ebner, leader of the Jewish community in Sadigura (questions 55-66), Hirsh Parolla (questions 67-78) and his brother Wolf Parolla (questions 79-90), Srul Kippel (questions 91-102) and Jankel Gronich (questions 103-115); the leaders of the Jewish community in Sadigura (questions 116-120); the Christian judge of Sadigura (questions 121-134); a Christian resident of Sadigura (questions 135-144); leaders of the Christian community in Sadigura (questions 145-148); the local government in Sadigura (questions 149-152).
Wagner's interrogation was preceded by a brief interrogation by the local government of Sadigura. During this interrogation, which took place on Sunday, 3rd Adar (February 13) 1842, three days after the Rebbe's arrival in Sadigura, the Rebbe was asked four questions, to which he responded in detail.
The Rebbe's signatures appear in three places in the records: at the beginning of the district interrogator's questioning – on the morning of 7th Adar (before he was presented the questions), at the end of the interrogation that day (beneath the answer to question 36), and at the end of the follow-up interrogation on 19th Adar (beneath the answer to question 50). The Rebbe signed in these three places with his name "Yisrael" alone, unlike his usual signature "Yisrael son of R. Shalom" (the Rebbe did not include his father's name in his signature, since he was using a fictitious identity – that of Yisrael son of Herz and Feige Donnenfeld of Sadigura, see below in detail).
The file contains two more signatures in the name of the Rebbe, but these were presumably written by his followers: the preliminary investigation on 3rd Adar (by the local interrogator in Sadigura) is signed at the end: "Yisrael Friedman, born Donnenfeld", and the document pertaining to the Rebbe's permit to reside in Galicia, dated summer 1843, bears the signature: "Yisrael Friedman" (the letter Nun at the end of Friedman, which is thicker than the other letters of the signature, was possibly written by the Rebbe).

Travel Document
The present case file includes the French travel document which served to smuggle the Rebbe across the border from Russian Moldavia to Austrian Bukovina. This document discloses much information which is not documented in any other source (or is only partially documented, sometimes incorrectly), pertaining to the Rebbe's escape, and his month-long journey through various towns of Bukovina and Galicia, before he settled in Sadigura. This document, which was shown to the district interrogator, became one of the central documents in the interrogation. The Rebbe was confronted with the information it contains and compelled to adapt his version of the story to it. The central part played by the owner of this document, Michel Goldenthal, in the illegal border crossing affair, recurs in the answers of most of the interrogatees.
The certificate was issued by the French consulate in Iaşi, capital of Moldavia, on 4th Shevat (January 15) 1842, to Michel Goldenthal, who was accompanied by his "brother" the Rebbe (in the records, Michel Goldenthal is described as the son of the sister of Rebbetzin Sara, wife of the Rebbe) and his servant (the attendant Jüdel Fischel). The travelers were journeying in a carriage harnessed to four horses, driven by Schmiel Ber, their wagon driver. Their destinations were Vienna, capital of Austria, and Pest, Hungary (presently the eastern part of Budapest).
The travel document is printed and filled-in by hand (in French), with signatures and seals of the French consul in Moldavia. In the left margin, under the title "Passe-port", there is a detailed physical description of the passport holder, Michel Goldenthal. On the verso of the document, inscriptions (in German), documenting seven places where the Rebbe and his party stopped-over on their way to Sadigura, including dates, signatures, inked stamps and paper seals (affixed to verso) of the inspectors and controllers at the various checkpoints and customs offices. The places documented include: Yas (Iaşi) and Botoshan (Botoșani) in Moldavia, Shotz (Suceava) and Kimpolung (Câmpulung Moldovenesc) in Bukovina, Kosov (Kosiv) in Galicia, and more (in the district interrogator's interrogation, question and answer 21, the Rebbe mentions other places they visited, with detailed information of the dates and times, until their arrival in Sadigura on February 10, 1842).
The inscriptions on verso of this travel document reveal that the Rebbe's escape from Moldavia essentially began on Shabbat Parashat Bo, 4th Shevat 1842 (the day the travel document was issued). Since the danger of the Rebbe being extradited to Russia became increasingly concrete day by day, this journey was considered life-saving, which is permitted on Shabbat (see: Responsa Beit Yaakov, 115).

The file also includes other documents pertaining to the affair: protocol signed by the heads of the Jewish community in Sadigura, including a signed declaration attesting to the Rebbe's fictitious identity, February 13, 1842; a document issued by the district office in Czernowitz, addressed to the interrogator Wagner, describing the background of the case and the objectives of the interrogation, February 14, 1842; memorandum issued by the district office of Moldavia in Iaşi, addressed to the district office of Bukovina in Czernowitz, asking to prove the Rebbe's Russian citizenship (question 49 of the Rebbe's interrogation deals with this memorandum), February 21, 1842; several documents and letters from summer 1843 pertaining to the Rebbe's permit to reside in Galicia and Bukovina, including an interesting and rare documentation of the Rebbe's hesitation where to settle: directive from the Galician commissionership in Lviv addressed to the head of the district office in Czernowitz, stating that the Rebbe will have to officially apply for a permit to reside in Galicia, and prove that he possesses at least 10 thousand florin, May 31, 1843; letter signed in the name of "Yisrael Friedman" (presumably signed by one of the Rebbe's followers), in which the Rebbe requests to retract his previous application for a permit to reside in Sadigura until he reaches a final decision where to settle, Czernowitz, July 17, 1843; letter signed by the heads of the Nadvorna community, addressed to the Galician commissionership in Lviv, requesting that the Rebbe be granted permission to settle in their city; and more.

[52] leaves, written on both sides, of interrogation transcripts + [18] leaves – other documents. Approx. 35 cm. + [1] leaf, travel document. 44.5 cm. Overall good condition. Stains. Tears to a few leaves. Placed in an elegant leather folder, with gilt ornaments and matching leather case.

The Ushitz Affair – The Imprisonment of Rebbe Yisrael of Ruzhin and His Escape from Russia
In 1836, during the Rebbe's tenure in Ruzhin (Ruzhyn), two men were found murdered in Ushitz (Nova Ushytsia), Podolia. The victims were both Jewish informers, who would report to the authorities Jews who were not listed in the resident register and thereby avoided serving in the military, as well as Jews guilty of tax evasion (the Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat 388:10, rules that informers may be killed, while the Rambam in Hilchot Mamrim 3:2 even considers it a great mitzva). During the course of the investigation of the affair, Joseph Perl, a maskil, produced a memorandum in which he claimed that the murder was perpetrated under the directives of the Rebbe of Ruzhin. At the beginning of the summer 1838, the Rebbe was incarcerated and held in the army prison in Kiev for 22 months for interrogation. The Rebbe was eventually exonerated and on 15th Adar I 1840, he was allowed to return to his home in Ruzhin. Nevertheless, even following his release, the authorities placed him under tight police supervision, which greatly limited him.
In the summer of 1841, when he realized that his enemies were secretly plotting new libels against him, the Rebbe decided to leave Ruzhin, which was under the dominion of the general governor of south-western Ukraine, and move together with his entire family (including his mother Rebbetzin Chava) to Kishinev (Chișinău), capital of Bessarabia. Indeed, in September 1841 (Elul or Tishrei 1841), the Rebbe and his entourage reached Kishinev. A few weeks later, the Rebbe was notified from a reliable source that by direct order of Czar Nicholas I, the Rebbe was to be banished from the Jewish Pale of Settlement, and exiled to one of the remote regions deep into Russia. This would leave him distanced thousands of kilometers from any Jewish settlement, and thus in effect isolate him from his Chassidim and people. After heavily bribing the governor of Kishinev, several of the Rebbe's followers succeeded in obtaining documents with which the Rebbe could travel to Moldavia (which was then an independent principality, under Ottoman rule and Russian patronage). In Moldavia, the Rebbe stayed amongst his Chassidim in Iaşi and Botoshan for some three months, from mid-end of October 1841 until mid-January 1842 (the members of his family remained in the interim in Kishinev). When the Rebbe's expulsion orders were received by the governor of Kishinev, he immediately requested of the Moldavian authorities to extradite the Rebbe. As soon as the Rebbe and his entourage became aware of the danger, they decided to distance themselves entirely from any Russian influence and to relocate to Bukovina or Galicia, which were under Austrian rule.
On Monday Parashat Beshalach, eve of 7th Shevat, at 7 pm, the operation to smuggle the Rebbe over the border from Botoshan, Moldavia, to Shotz (Suceava), Bukovina, began. The two cities are separated by the Siret river, and wondrous stories which occurred while crossing the frozen river in the middle of the night are recorded in Chassidic lore. From the records and travel documents in the present case file, it emerges that the party crossed the border using a travel document issued for Michel Goldenthal, who was accompanied by the Rebbe, his attendant Jüdel Fischel and the wagon driver Schmiel Ber, who drove a carriage harnessed to four horses. The Rebbe is registered on the document as Michel Goldenthal's brother. After over three weeks of wandering through the various towns of Bukovina and Galicia, the Rebbe and his party reached Sadigura, Czernowitz region on Thursday night, eve of 1st Adar 1842, at 9 pm.
However, this did not signal the end of the Rebbe's tribulations, and the danger of expulsion still hovered over him. Apart from the fact that the Rebbe required a permit to settle permanently in Bukovina (which he entered illegally), the Russian authorities continued to put pressure in various diplomatic ways on the Austrian government to hand him over to them, the Austrians on their part decided to open an independent investigation to clarify the identity and provenance of the Rebbe (investigation which is documented in the present records). Through various ingenious ploys, the Rebbe's followers attempted to rescue the Rebbe from the threat of being extradited to Russia. In the Sadigura civil registry, they found a listing of a child named Yisrael Donnenfeld, son of Herz and Feige Donnenfeld of Sadigura, who had disappeared some forty years earlier at the age of eight, and had not been heard of since. Given that the age of this Yisrael Donnenfeld corresponded with that of the Rebbe, it was suggested that the Rebbe assume his identity. According to this plan, the Rebbe would pretend that at the age of eight, he was adopted by his rich uncle Shalom Friedman of Pohrebyshche, Podolia, saying that the uncle, who had no children of his own, had visited Sadigura on a business trip, and seeing his relative's precarious financial situation, had decided to adopt Yisrael as his own child and take him back home with him. The Rebbe thus grew up in the home of his uncle, and took on his surname – Friedman. Presently however, he had decided to return to his hometown. For the duration of a month, the Rebbe and the various witnesses presented this version of the story to the interrogators, claiming that the Rebbe was actually this Yisrael Donnenfeld, who was adopted in his youth and currently wishes to return to his hometown. He is therefore actually an Austrian citizen, and cannot be extradited to Russia (this pretense is documented in great detail in the interrogation transcripts).
The Russians efforts to bring the Rebbe back to their territory continued for over a year, during which the extradition request was deliberated in the highest echelons of the Russian and Austrian authorities. Although the Austrian authorities realized at the end of the investigation that the Rebbe's story was fabricated, and that he is indeed, as the Russians claim, a Russian citizen, son of Shalom Friedman of Pohrebyshche, they preferred to abstain from expelling the Rebbe. They rejected the Russians' extradition request under various formal excuses and pretexts, and claimed that according to the Austrian immigration rules, any person who can prove that he is in possession of ten thousand florin can receive a permit to settle there. The Rebbe indeed sent a declaration attesting that he possesses the said amount, and he thus divested himself of the danger of extradition to Russia. Eventually, the Russian gave up on trying to get the Rebbe extradited, and decided to suffice with revoking the Rebbe's Russian citizenship, and preventing him from ever returning to Russian territory. In the summer of 1844, the Rebbe's relatives (his mother, his wife Sarah and his children) were ordered to leave Kishinev (which had been home to them since the end of 1841), and exit Russian territory immediately. In the beginning of Elul 1844, the family were reunited in Sadigura. Receiving a residence permit for the Rebbe and his family took another few years, and entailed repeated applications and extensive correspondence with the district offices of Galicia and Bukovina. In Cheshvan 1845, following the intervention of Baron Salomon Rothschild, a permit signed by the Emperor Ferdinand I of Austria was received, allowing the Rebbe to continue living in Sadigura (it appears that the Rebbe never received Austrian citizenship until his dying day).
This account, in all its details, was known until this day primarily from the writings of the Rebbe's close attendant R. Yosef Rath, who accompanied the Rebbe in some of his wanderings during that winter of 1842, and recorded his memories in great detail (an adapted and abridged version was first published in the book Yeshuot Yisrael, Podgórze 1904, while the original, full version was first printed in the book Magdil Yeshuot, Jerusalem 1990). See the book of Prof. David Assaf, The Regal Way, Stanford University Press, 2002, chapters 6-9, for a detailed description of this story.
This historic file includes transcripts of the interrogations conducted by the Austrian authorities in the end of winter 1842, and other documents related to this affair, and it provides us with direct, first hand ev