On the third day of Chanukah, in the year 5561 (תקס"א; 1800) the Alter Rebbe was released from his second imprisonment.
This was a victory for the teachings and spiritual lifestyle of Chassidus, far more so than the liberation [on Yud-Tes Kislev] two years earlier. For the libel of 5559 (תקנ"ט; 1798) had been aimed primarily against the Alter Rebbe; in 5561 the main libel was directed against the teachings of Chassidus and against the chassidic way of life.1
