Boruch Sholem Schneerson and his Liquor License
Boruch Sholem Schneerson, the grandson of Alter Rebbe one of the sons of Tzemach Tzedek and great-grandfather of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
Why complain that Chaim Prus in Boston applied for a marijuana dispensary license when it is virtually a Chabad (Jewish?) tradition?
Boruch Sholem Schneerson, the son of Tzemach Tzedek and great-grandfather of Ramash, Zalman/Boris, etc. had a monopoly (won at an action) on selling vodka and wine in Orsha district. I am glad that maamad money were put to good use. Tax the hell out of poor yidden so you can have a monopoly on the best drug available then. All in the name of God! And then everyone is surprised there are pogroms in 50 years. And your great-grandson Boris (numerous Schneersons) joins the revolution.
Whatever you say about Boruch Sholem Schneerson, he was the only Schneerson to have two frum grandsons in “our generation” (if you don’t count Bere Gourary). And so that they can pretend they had a proper royal court, everyone was fighting everybody. I hear Chabad has a holiday to commemorate one big fight. What a joke and a shame, really.
Boruch Sholem Schneerson was a merchant of the 3rd guild, had the “Liquor License” for the Orsha district (Оршанского питейного откупа 3-й гильдии купца).
Питейный откуп - “The right to trade vodka and wine for a certain period of time was surrendered at auction by the state that owned the wine monopoly. The tax farmer was the one who offered a large sum at the auction for the right to trade in a certain area. He paid this amount to the treasury as a drinking tax or fee, and for this, he had the right to open drinking establishments and trade in wine in order to receive income.”
Then this was the only way to tax the product at the wholesale level.
April 13, 1847
From: Boruch Schneerson
To: Office of the Governor General of Vitebsk, Mogilev and Smolensk, the city of Vitebsk, Vitebsk district, Vitebsk province.
To: General Adjutant, Cavalier Prince Andrei Mikhailovich Galitsin.
Transcript, decoding of the manuscript by Vasily Kogalovsky.
I will paraphrase because it’s impossible to translate verbatim. Boruch Schneerson complains to the Governor. The manuscript and the Russian text decoded.
On July 4, 1842, I won the right to trade spirits in the Orsha district. A price established for bucket in Orsha district - 2 rubles and 40 kopecks. A bucket in Kopust district - 2 rubles silver. Deputies are assigned to control these prices. But around in the “suburbs” they are selling a bucket for 1 ruble 60 kopecks without proper labels…
Blah, blah, blah, long letter of complaint.
There is also a letter from the Governor promising enforcement, with all request fully granted to Boruch Schneerson.