 Like many of the Russo-Jewish scholars of that time, he started a whisky distillery business, and with his versatility and energy made quite a success of it.But unfortunately, private distilleries in cities were prohibited by the Russian government by the law of 1845, and as a consequence Barit was financially ruined.When Sir Moses Montefiore visited Vilna in 1846, he spent considerable time in Barit's house, and was guided by his advice as to the form of the petition to Emperor Nicholas I, on behalf of the oppressed Russian Jews.