Rav Moshe Cordovero (Remak) (1522-1570). The Remak was the son of Rav Yaakov, one of the exiles from Cardova, Spain. He studied under the great kabbalists Rav Shlomo HaLevi Alkabetz (who
would become his brother-in-law) and Rav Yosef Karo. Rav Chaim Vital was among his greatest talmidim. He was the author of Tomer Devora and Pardes Rimonim. In the latter book, he systematized all kabbalistic knowledge that had been revealed until then. In his sefer, Ohr Ne’erav, he explains the necessity of studying Kabbalah but also criticizes those who study this subject without prior Torah knowledge, pointing out that one must first study Torah, Mishnah, and Gemara before studying Kabbalah. He also wrote a comprehensive commentary on the Zohar entitled Ohr Yakar, but it was not published for 400 years. Publication of this multi-volume work was finally begun in 1962 and completed in 1989. Although he served as Rosh Yeshiva and as a Dayan, his fame rests on his contribution to Kabbalistic literature and thought.
Rav Yechezkel Katzenellenbogen, the Knesses Yechezkel (1749)
Rav Yaakov Yosef of Ostrah (1849)
Rav Dovid Morgenstern of Kotzk. Son and successor the Kotzker Rebbe, Rav Menachem Mendel
Rav Shaul Moshe Zilberman, the Viershaver Rav, and author of Pardes Shaul (1939)
Rav Nechemia Alter, son of the Sefas Emes (1942).
Rav Gedalya Aharon Kenig, author of Chayei Nefesh, founder of Kiryat Breslav in Tzefas (1981). He was succeeded by his son, Rav Elazar Mordechai Kenig.
Rav Avrohom Golombeck, mashgiach of the Yeshiva of Philadelphia (2008)
Today in History – 23 Tammuz
· Crusaders captured Yerushalayim, 1099.
· Although the Pope decreed against blood-ritual charges in 1247, his decree was ignored for centuries to come.
· Jacob Barsimson left Holland aboard the Peartree for New Amsterdam and landed there on August 22, 1654. He was considered the first Jewish resident of New Amsterdam (New York). A month later, Jews who had fled from Brazil due to the Portuguese conquest of the colony joined him.
· Bogodan Chmielnicki and Cossacks massacred Jews of Vilna,1655
· Baron Lionel de Rothschild became the first Jew to sit in the British parliament, 1858, after a new oath of office was agreed upon that did not refer to Christianity.
· Members of the Irgun, a militant Zionist organization, dressed as Arabs, set off a bomb in the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, which had been the base for the British Secretariat, 1946. Ninety-one people were killed, most of them staff of the secretariat and the hotel: 28 British, 41 Arab, 17 Jewish, and 5 other. Around 45 people were injured.
Yahrtzeits – 24 Tammuz
Rav Yitzchak Grodzinski of Vilna
Rav Yitzchak Kolitz (1922-2003). Born in Elita, Lithuania, to Rav Eliyahu Dovid Nachman Kolitz, Rav of the town and a chavrusa of the Chazon Ish for many years. His father passed away when he was 3 years old. After spening several years in the public school, Rav Yitzchak went to Slobodka when he was 10 years old. In 1935, he moved to Eretz Yisrael with his mother and older brother. At the age of 14, he met Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer, with whom he developed a close relationship for life. He learned at Chevron and became close to Rav Yechezkel Sarna. After the 1948 war, he became a magid shiur in a yeshiva in Rechovot; during that time, he became a ben bayis of the Chzon Ish. In 1955, he was appointed a dayan in Tel Aviv, then Av Beis Din, then Chief Rabbi (following Rav Bezalel Zolti).
Rav Yaakov Yosef (1840-1902). Born in Krozhe, a province of Kovno, he studied in the Volozhin yeshiva under the Netziv, where he was known as “Rav Yaakov Charif” because of his sharp mind. He was one of the foremost students of Rav Yisrael Salanter. In 1888, he accepted an invitation and became the first and only Chief Rabbi of New York, as elected by the Association of American Orthodox Hebrew Congregations. He also took an active role in establishing the Etz Chaim Yeshiva, founded in 1866. He authored Le’Beis Yaakov.
Today in History – 24 Tammuz
· Crusaders under Godfrey de Bouillon massacred (by gathering them in a shul and setting it on fire) and sold as slaves 20,000 to 30,000 Jews of Yerushalayim and barred them from the city for 88 years, 1099
· The Inquisition was established by Pope Clement IV, 1267. Last victim of the Inquisition was executed in Valencia, Spain, 1826 – 559 years later, to the day
· Death of Behrend Lehmann, German philanthropist, court financier and supporter of Torah, 1730
· Military tribunal opened proceedings against several dozen Jews, including the Duyanevetzer Rav and the Rizhiner Rebbe, who were alleged to know about the murder of two Jewish informers, 1837.
{Yahrtzeits licensed to Matzav.com by Manny Saltiel and Anshe.org/Matzav.com Newscenter}
