Invasion of Russia
Napoleon's Invasion of Russia in 1812 promised to bring the first Jewish emancipation to the Pale of Settlement. Hasidic Rebbes in Poland and Russia were divided on the issue, between supporting western freedom from imperial anti-Semitic decrees, to regarding Napoleon as the opening to heresy and agnosticism. According to Hasidic legend, the fate of Napoleon was decided not on the battlefields, but between the theurgic prayers and deeds of the Hasidic Rebbes.