The Information Channel Felist.Com -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do not Reply this message! Please send messages to address on bottom of the message or to kehilasmy@yahoo.com Cortesy of [ http://anshe.org ] Congregation Anshe Emes, Los Angeles The update of Jewish History of this week YAHRTZEITS Sunday, 29 Nissan * Rav Moshe Pallier of Kobrin (1784-1858). A close follower of the Rebbe, Rav Mordechai of Lechovitch and his son, Rav Noach, he became the first Rebbe of the Kobrin dynasty in 1833. His teachings are collected in Imros Taharos. * Rav Mordechai Shalom Yosef Friedman, Sadigerer Rebbe, the Keneses Mordechai (1897-1979) The son of Rav Aharon of Sadiger, and grandson of the second Sadigerer Rebbe, Rav Yisrael. Monday, 30 Nissan * Rabbeinu Yosef Halevi ibn Migash (Rimigash), talmid of the Rif (1077-1141). As head of the famous academy of Lucena, Spain, R' Yosef taught numerous disciples including Rabbi Maimon, father of Rambam. Rambam's praise of R' Yosef in uncharacteristically ecstatic. "The depth and scope of his wisdom astound all who study his words" said the Rambam. Having absorbed R' Yosef's teachings from his father, Rambam refers to R' Yosef as "my teacher". * Rav Chaim Vital(1543-1620). Born in Tzefas in Israel, two years after his family moved there from Calabria, Italy. He learned under Rav Moshe Alshich from the age of 14, for several years. He then learned kaballah from Rav Moshe Cordevero, the Ramak. In 1570, the Arizal came to Tzefas from Egypt, and after the petira of the Remak, Rav Chaim became the Arizals closest disciple. He wrote Etz Chaim, Shaarei Hakanos, and Shaarei Kedusha (a guide to achieving ruach ha-kodesh and nevuah), and edited and organized all existing manuscripts of the words of the Arizal, today know as Kisvei Arizal. He died in Damascus. His kever was later moved to Kiryat Malachi. * Rav Avraham Broide of Frankfurt (1717) * Rav Nesanel Weill, Av Beis Din of Karlsruhe and author of Korban Nesanel (1769). On October 17, 1750, he was elected to be Oberland- rabbiner for both Markgrafschaften of Baden-Durlach and Baden- Baden, and also all of the Unterlande. His son, Rav Yedidya Taya Weil, is the author of the Hagadah Marbeh Lesaper.(listed as 15 Iyar in Yated 2007) * Rav Yaakov Emden(1698-1776), known as Yaavetz (Yaakov ben Tzvi), son of the Chacham Tzvi. Settled in Altoona in 1733. He was involved in a famous controversy over an amulet (kameya) written by Rav Yehonason Eibeshutz, Rav Yaakov claiming that the amulet demonstrated an acceptance of Shabsai Tzvi. * Rav Chaim Meir Yechiel of Drohbitch (1924) * Rav Moshe Hershler, editor of Talmudic Encyclopedia and publisher of many sifrei Harishonim. (1991) Tuesday, 1 Iyar * Reb Abba Shaul, one of the Talmudic sages * Rav Yaakov Beirav, born neat Toledo, in Spain. After serving as a rabbinical leader in Fez, Morocco, and Cairo, Egypt, he became the chief rabbi of Tzefas. He reinstituted semicha in Eretz Yisrael (1474-1546) * Rav Menachem Mendel of Vitebsk (1720or 1730-1788). A close talmid of the Maggid of Mezritch, he - along with Rav Avraham of Kalisk - led a contingency of 300 chassidim to Eretz Yisrael in what was the first large aliya of the talmidim HaBesht. * Rav Tzvi Hirsch Ashkenazi, the Chacham Tzvi (1660-1718); learned in Salinka at 14 years of age under Rav Eliyahu Covo; married the daughter of the Av Beis Din of Altuna-Hamburg-Wandsbeck (AHU) in 1689, and succeeded him in 1705; became Azhkenazi Rav of Amsterdam in 1710; went to Temishlev, Poland in 1714; then to Lemberg (Lvov); father of Rav Yaakov Emden. * Rav Akiva Yosef Schlesinger, the Lev Haivri (1922) * Rav Avraham of Slonim, the Beis Avraham (1889-1933), grandson of the founder of Slonimer Chasidus, the Chesed LAvraham. * Rav Moshe Shmuel Shapira (1914-2006). Born to Rav Aryeh, the dayan of Bialystok and grandson of Rav Refael (the Toras Refael) of Volozhin, who himself was a grandson of the Netziv. As he was born during WW I, his family had fled from Bialystok to Minsk, where his uncle, Rav Chaim of Brisk, lived at the time. In 1933 Rav Moshe Shmuel left home and set out for Yeshivas Ohel Torah of Baranovitch headed by Rav Elchonon Wasserman. In the summer 1936, he moved to Mir, where became a talmid muvhak of Rav Baruch Ber Lebowitz of Kaminetz. In 1938 he fled to Eretz Yisrael. His father eventually joined him. His mother and two brothers remained behind and perished in the Holocaust. His cousin, the Brisker Rav, arrived in Eretz Yisrael around the same time. Rav Moshe Shmuel became one of his closest talmidim. After his marriage in 1946 he learnt in Kollel Chazon Ish for a year and then served as a maggid shiur in Yeshivas Kol Torah in Yerushalayim for three years. The Chazon Ish, to w hom he became very close, requested him to open a yeshiva in Beer Yaakov together with the renowned mashgiach, Rav Shlomo Wolbe. In 1963 Rav Moshe Shmuel published the first volume of his sefer "Kuntrus HaBiurim". It included his shiurim on Gittin, Kiddushin and Nedarim. He printed ten additional volumes over the years. He also wrote the seforim "Shaarei Shemu'os" and "Zahav Misheva." Most of his voluminous writings are, however, still unpublished. Rav Moshe Shmuel was a member of the Vaad HaYeshivos for fifty years. In 1968 Rav Yechezkel Sarna and the Beis Yisrael of Ger invited him to join the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah of Agudas Yisrael. Wednesday, 2 Iyar * Rav Shmuel Shmelke Horowitz of Nikolsburg, known as the Rebbe Reb Shmelke (1726-1778). The firstborn son of Rabbi Tzvi Hirsh of Chortkov, Shmuel Shmelke traced his ancestry back to the Baal HaMaor and to Shmuel HaNavi. As a teenager, he and his brother Pinchas - who was to become the Baal HaFlaa of Frankfurt - would study bechavrusa; their chidushim were printed by Rav Pinchas in a kunterus called "Sheves Achim." In their early years, Shmuel Shmelke and Pinchas studied Torah in nonchasidic Lithuanian yeshivos; but after traveling to Mezritch and meeting the Maggid, they became his ardent followers. After becoming a chasid, he became Rav of Ritchval, the site of his famous yeshiva that produced his many famous talmidim. After serving there for 10 years, he became Rav of Shiniva. Then, in 1773, he was invited to become Rav of Nikolsburg in Moravia. Although he was there only 5 years, he made a powerful impact, an dhe remains associated with that city to this day. Among hi s disciples are the Chozeh of Lublin, Reb Menachem Mendel of Rymanov, Reb Yisrael of Koznitz, Reb Mordechai Banet and Reb Moshe Leib of Sassov. His homilies and novellae were published in Divrei Shmuel, and anthologies of his Torah thoughts were published under the titles Imrei Shmuel, Nazir Hashem and Shemen Hatov. [Yated 2006 and 2007 says 1 Iyar] * Rav Moshe Zakan Mazuz of Djerba (1851-1915). Rav and Av Beis Din in Djerba, he authored Tzadik Venisgav; Shaarei Moche (a collection of responsa); Shem Moshe. * Rav Avraham Badush of Mexico, author of Me'oros Avraham * Rav Yehuda Meir Abromowitz (1915-2007). He was the chairman of the Agudath Israel World Organization for many years (co-chairman with Rabbi Moshe Sherer when he was alive). He was one of the last Talmidim of Rav Meir Shapira. Thursday, 3 Iyar * Choni Hama'agal (see see Menachot 94b, Rashi). * Rav Aryeh Leib Tzintz of Plotzk, the Maharal Tzintz (1833). Author of Get Mekushar, Maayanei Hachachma on Bava Metzia, Yayin Hamesameyach on Hilchos Yayin Nesech, and a peyrush on Pirke Avos. * Rav Yeshaya Steiner of Kerestir (1851-1925). Born in Zbarav, Hungary, he lost his father at the age of 3. When he was 12, he was taken by his mother to Rav Tzvi Hirsch of Liska, the Ach Pri Tevua, whom he succeeded as Rav of Liska. He himself was succeeded by his son, Rav Avraham. (Yated 2007 says 1825) * Rav Abba Berman, Rosh yeshiva Iyun HaTalmud (1919-2005). Born in Lodz, Poland to Rav Shaul Yosef, who considered the Chafetz Chaim his primary rebbi. He was a descendant of the Kli Yakar. After his Bar Mitzvah, Reb Abba began to learn at the Mir and became very close to Reb Yerucham Levovitz. He fled to Sanghai with the yeshiva at the outset of WW2, then migrated to America. He was one of the founders of the Mir in Brooklyn. In Brooklyn, he married Rebbetzen Itka Greenberg. After several years, he moved to Eretz Yisrael and founded Yeshiva Iyun HaTalmud in Bnai Brak. He also lectured frequently at Ponevezh. The yeshiva relocated to Yerushalayim, then to Kiryat Sefer in Modiin Ilit. His many shiurim were published in five sefarim, also named Iyun HaTalmud. He is survived by his Rebetzen and 6 daughters. * Rav Yosef Breuer(1882-1980). Born to Sophie Breuer, youngest daughter of Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch and Rav Salomon Breuer, then rabbi of Papa, Hungary. Rav Hirsch died in 1888 in Frankfurt, and in 1890, when Rabbi Salomon Breuer was chosen to succeed him, the family moved to Frankfurt. Joseph became his father's talmid and was ordained by him in 1903. He attended the universities of Giessen and Strasbourg, earning his Ph.D. in philosophy and political economy in 1905. In 1911, Rabbi Breuer married Rika Eisenmann of Antwerp. He assumed his first rabbinical position in 1919 when he was appointed rabbi of Frankfurt's Klaus Shul. Following Kristallnacht in November 1938, Rabbi Breuer and his family emigrated to Antwerp, and then to the Washington Heights section of Manhattan. Friday, 4 Iyar * Rav Yosef Dov (Yoshe Ber) Solevetchik of Brisk, the Beis Halevi, father of Rav Chaim Solevetchik. Yosef Dov (1820-1892) was born in Nisvizh, near Minsk, to Reb Yitzchak Zev Soloveitchik. Rav Yitzchak Zev was a grandson through his mother of Rav Chaim of Volozhin. Although Reb Yitzchak Zev was not a Rav he was known as a baki in Shas and Shulchan Aruch. By the time Yosef Dov was ten he knew Mesechtas Bava Kama, Bava Metzia, Bava Basra, Brachos, Gittin and Kiddushin by heart and was already writing his own chiddushim. When he was 11 his father brought him to Volozhin to learn under his uncle, Rav Itzeleh, the Rosh Yeshiva and son of Rav Chaim of Volozhin. After his marriage, his father-in-law supported him for thirteen years. In 1849, Rav Itzeleh of Volozhin passed away. Less than four years later, his successor, Rav Eliezer Yitzchak Fried also passed away. The Rabbanim decided that two descendants of Rav Chaim of Volozhin, the Netziv and the Beis Haleivi, would lead the ye shiva. The Netziv would be Rosh Yeshiva and the Beis Haleivi would be assistant Rosh Yeshiva.The sefer Beis Haleivi is comprised primarily from the shiurim he gave in Volozhin. His derech halimud was something that was completely new and original to the Volozhiner Yeshiva and was very different from the traditional way that shiurim were given there. His sefer Beis Haleivi was published in 1863. In 1865, a delegation from the city of Slutzk came to the Beis Haleivi to present him with a ksav rabbanus that was signed by all of the respected members of the community and recommended by Rav Yitzchak Elchonon Spektor, the Kovno Rav. The Beis Haleivi served as Rav of Slutzk for close to ten years, but his unbending battle against the maskilim and the wealthy eventually forced him from the city. In 1865, a delegation from Brisk came to him and offered him the position of Rav to replace Rav Yehoshua Leib Diskin who had just moved to Eretz Yisrael. The Beis Haleivi served as Rav in Br isk for 17 years until his passing. * Rav Yaakov Sasportes, Rav of Amsterdam and antagonist of Shabtai Tzvi (1695). He served as envoy to the Spanish court in Morocco and later became head of the yeshiva in Amsterdam. In his battle against Shabsaism, he produced Tzitzis Novel Zvi in which he collected vast material, including pamphlets and letters, and refuted Shabsi Tzvi's messianism in detail. * Rav Shmuel Eliyahu Taub, Modzhitzer-Tel Aviv Rebbe (1984) * 5 Iyar * Rav Moshe Zorach Eidelitz of Prague, author of Ohr Layeshorim, Berurei Hamiddos, and Meleches Machsheves, and Ohr LaYeshraim (1780 or 1755). Orphaned as a youth and raised by Rav Yonasan Eibeshutz, Rav Zorach grew to become a dayan and darshan in Prague. His great, great-grandson, Rav Eliezer Eidletz of Los Angeles, is one of the leading authorities on kashrus in the world. [according to some - 12 Iyar] * Rav Yeshaya Pick, author of Haga'os to Mesores Hashas and Sheailas Shalom (1799). * Rav Chaim Meir Yechiel Shapira of Mogelnitz (1849). Raised and taught by his maternal grandfather, the Koznitzer Maggid, he was the disciple of the rebbes of Lublin, Pesichah, Apta, andRuzhin. He married the granddaughter of the Rebbe Reb Elimelech of Lyzhinsk. * Rav Meir Auerbach (1815-1878). Born in Dobri, he became the Rav of Kalisch, then made aliya to Eretz Yisrael in 1860, replacing Rav Shmuel Salant (who was traveling) as Rav of Yerushalayim. Upon the latters return, they shared the position. Rav Meir played a central role in the establishment of the neighborhood of Meah Shearim. He is the author of Imrei Binah on Shulchan Aruch. * Rav Eliezer Chaim Rabinowitz of Yompoli (1916). JEWISH HISTORY Sunday, 29 Nissan * A tavern dispute in Elisabethgrad, Russia on blood libels led to massive pogroms against the Jews in Odessa and Kiev, 1881. In all, over a hundred and sixty riots occurred in southern Russia. Ignatyev, the Minister of the Interior, insisted that the Jews caused the pogroms. General Drenbien refused to endanger his troops by sending them in "for a few Jews". * 3 Jews killed and many wounded by Arabs in Petach Tikva, 1921. * Death of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, due to a cerebral hemorrhage, 1945. Monday, 30 Nissan * Sixtus Senesis, an apostate Jew who became a Dominican, tried to convince the governor of Cremona, Italy, to burn the Talmud, 1559. The governor demanded witnesses before he would give the order. Vittorio Eliano, the converted grandson of Elias Levita and Joshua dei Cantori, bore witness that the Talmud was full of lies about Christianity. A few days later approximately 10,000 seforim were burned. The Zohar was not touched since the Pope and the Catholic church was interested in its publication, believing that it would supplant the Talmud and make it easier to convert the Jews. * Eight Jews were martyred at Przemysl, Poland, 1659. * Jewish students were barred from German schools, 1933. * Demolition of Yamit completed, 1982 * Female suicide bomber blows herself up at the Mahane Yehuda market, Jerusalem's main outdoor market, killing six people and wounding over 104 just hours before Shabbos, 2002. Among those killed was Rivka Fink, 74, grandmother of nine. Tuesday, 1 Iyar * Moshe carried out a census of all Bnei Israel in the Sinai Desert according to Hashem's instructions, 1309 BCE. * The construction of the First Beis Hamikdosh began on this day, 831 BCE.. * The foundation of the Second Bais Hamikdosh was laid, c. 360 BCE. Wednesday, 2 Iyar * The first printed edition of Mishnayos with Rambam's commentary was published in Naples, 1492 * The Supreme Council of the Peace Conference recognized the Balfour Declaration and proclaimed Eretz Yisrael a mandated territory under British administration, 1920. * German forces marched into Holland, 1940. * Liberation of 40,000 prisoners at Bergen-Belsen by the British, 1945. Thursday, 3 Iyar * Portuguese Marranos who had reverted to Judaism were burned in Ancona, Italy by order of the Pope, 1556. The atrocity at Ancona led the famous Dona Gracia of the House of Nasi to spearhead a boycott against the port of Ancona as a countermeasure to the Pope's repressive policies. This marked a rare Jewish effort by the free Jewish communities of the world to hit back at their enemies. * The establishment of Jewish congregations in Lower Austria was prohibited, 1857. * Anti-Jewish riots broke out in Craiova, Roumania, 1883. * Mordechai Anielewicz, commander-in-chief of the uprising in the ghetto of Warsaw, was killed in action, 1943. * Bet-She'an was captured by the Haganah, 1948. Friday, 4 Iyar * The Rambam, travelling by ship from Fez to Yerushalayim in 1165 was caught in a storm. He prayed to HaShem, and accepted upon himself to fast on this day for the rest of his life. * Jews were expelled from Berne, Switzerland, 1427. (Expulsions of Jewish communities continued unabated throughout the 15th century: Treves, 1419; duchy of Austria, 1421; Cologne, 1424; Zurich, 1436; archbishopric of Hildesheim, 1457; Schaffhausen, 1472; Mayence, 1473; Warsaw, 1483; Geneva, 1490; Thurgau, 1491; Spain, Sicily, Sardinia, Lithuania, 1492; Mecklenburg and Arles, 1493; Portugal, 1497; Nuremberg 1499; Provence, 1500.) * Date of decree of Spanish expulsion, 1492 * The Arabs of Jaffa surrender to the Haganah forces. U.S. recognizes Israel de facto. Shabbos, 5 Iyar * Pope refuses to allow Jews of Cordova, Spain to build a shul, 1250. * The English fleet headed by Capt. Venables and William Penn seized the island of Jamaica, occupying Santiago de la Vega (later known as Spanish Town), 1655. They were welcomed by the Marranos, who began to openly acknowledge their Jewish religion and soon after founded a shul at Port-Royal. A Jewish community descended from these original Jews exists there until today. * When a Jew in a neighboring town to Minsk was accused of knifing a Christian girl to use her blood to make matzos, King John III Sobieski released him and decreed that only under the conditions of 3 Jewish and 3 Gentile witnesses could such an accusation be leveled, and only the king could judge such a case of ritual murder, 1666. The same decree was confirmed by his successor, Stephan Batory a year later. In 1665, Sobieski sentenced to death a nobleman who had ridden his horse into the beis medrash in Brisk and killed the gabbai of the shul. The nobleman's family was forced to pay compensation to the family of the murdered man. King John III Sobieski confirmed the right of the Jews in Minsk to own real estate and engage in all trades and commerce, despite the opposition of the local population. According to legend, after the death of Stephan Batory in 1686, there was a meeting of the Council of Ministers in Warsaw to elect a new king. However, they could not come to an a greement and followed a suggestion by Prince Radzivill that Rabbi Saul Wohl be made king for one night, until they made a decision. During that one night, Rav Wohl affirmed all the decrees pertaining to the welfare of Jews, and the next day they elected Zygmund the Third. * A letter of Empress Catherine II of Russia opened the way for limited settlement of Jews in Riga, 1764. * Napoleon retreated from Acco, giving up his dream of conquering the Near East, 1799. * A decree issued prohibiting the import by Russian Jews of books in any language, 1800. * Joseph Rivlin laid the cornerstone of the first private home to be erected outside the wall of Yerushalayim marking the beginning of the modern Yishuv, 1869. * Israelwas proclaimed an independent state, 1948. The first legislative act of the provisional government of the State of Israel provided for the repeal of the British White Paper of 1939, which had restricted Jewish immigration and the acquisition of land in Eretz Yisrael * A Hezbollah car bomb killed 63 people, 17 of them Americans, at the U.S. embassy in Beirut, 1983. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Please visit our web page http://www.kehilasmy.org ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SHIDDUCHIM for RUSSIAN BAALEY TESHUVAH Worldwide in Russian http://www.toldot.ru/shiduchim ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Buy books with 10% off from Artscroll and Artscroll will donate us 5% of your purchase: http://artscroll.com/linker/kehilasmy/home -*-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Unsubscribe: http://felist.com/member/unsub?grp=lit.kmymembers&email=e@mail http://felist.com/ mailto:ask@felist.com