Yahrtzeits – 10 Kislev
Rav Moshe Mordechai Margulios, Rav and Av Beis Din Cracow, author of Chasdei Hashem (1616)
Rav Pinchas Menachem Elazar Justman (Yustman) of Piltz, the Sifsei Tzadik (1920). He was a grandson of the Chidushei HaRim.
Rav Refael Dabosh of Libya (1926), son of the famous mekkubal from Lybia, Rabbi Frija Dabush. He was Av Beis Din in Tripoli.
Rav Moshe Mordechai Epstein (1866-1934), Rosh Yeshiva of Slabodka and Chevron yeshivos. Born in the town of Bakst in the Vilna district, he learned at Volozhin while still quite young. After his marriage in 1889, he moved to Kovno. Three years later, one of his sisters married Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer, one of the greatest of Rav Chaim Soleveitchik’s students. The two developed a close relationship. In 1894, Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel offered both of them positions at Yeshiva Kenesses Yisrael of Slobodka. He authored Levush Mordechai. Both Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer and Rav Moshe Mordechai married daughters of Reb Shraga Frank, one of the wealthiest men in Kovno, and in whose attic Rav Yisrael Salanter began teaching mussar to Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel and Rav Yitzchak Blazer.
Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer (1870-1954), author of Even HaEzel, rosh yeshiva of Slutsk and Eitz Chaim-Yerushalayim, disciple of Netziv, Rav Chaim Soloveitchik, and the Chafetz Chaim. Father-in-law of Rav Aharon Kotler, and uncle of Rav Shach.His wife was descended from Rav Meir Eisenstadt, author of Ponim Meiros. Both Rav Isser Zalman Meltzer and Rav Moshe Mordechai married daughters of Reb Shraga Frank, one of the wealthiest men in Kovno, and in whose attic Rav Yisrael Salanter began teaching mussar to Rav Nosson Tzvi Finkel and Rav Yitzchak Blazer.
Yahrtzetis – 11 Kislev
Rav Yehoshua Katz, Rav in Krakow (1734)
Rav Yaakov Yitzchak Halevi of Pressburg, author of Imrei Ravrevei (1762).
Rav Simcha Ashkenazi of Dessau [Dasseau] (1785)
Rav Yechiel Heller, Rav of Sovalk [Suvalk]. Among his sefarim are Shailos U’Teshuvos Amudei Ohr, Ohr Yesharim on the Haggadah, Oteh Ohr on Shir HaShirim, and Kinah L’Dovid which was a hesped on Rav Dovid Luria. He was niftar at the age of 47.
Rav Yitzchak Friedman (1924). Born in Sadigura, both of his parents were grandchildren of the Ruzhiner Rebbe. In 1903, he married, and with the passing of his father, he set up his court in Rimanov. He was niftar during a fund-raising expedition in the United States. A close friend and relative collected hespedim for the Rebbe in a sefer called Akeidas Yitzchak.
Today in History – 10 Kislev
· The Fourth Lataran Council in 1215 marked the zenith of Papal power. During the papacy of Pope Innocent III (1161-1215) old anti-Jewish decrees were expanded and Jews compelled to wear a yellow “Badge of Shame” to distinguish them from Christians. It was enforced in France, England, Germany and later in Hungary.
· All Jewish wine was dumped by Arabs and heavy fines imposed on the Jewish community of Yerushalayim, 1521.The Arabs blamed the Jewish use of wine for a severe water shortage.
· King Maximilian II attempted to expel the Jews of Pressburg, stating that his edict would be recalled only if they accepted Christianity, 1572. The Jews remained in the city without abandoning their religion.
· 27,000 Jews of the Riga ghetto taken for execution, 1941
· Russian forces launched their winter offensive against the Germans along the Don front, 1942.
· Himmler ordered the destruction of Auschwitz’s crematoria to hide all evidence of the mass murders, 1944.
Today in History – 11 Kislev
· A Jewish community which had existed since Roman times is expelled from Naples, 1510, fifteen years after the Spanish conquest of the island
· Death of Baruch Spinoza, a Jewish heretic who was excommunicated in Amsterdam for his philosophy of pantheism, 1677.
· Hans Frank, the Nazi Gov. of Poland, required Jews to wear a blue star, 1939.
· 7,000 Minsk Jews executed 1942
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