Yahrtzeits – 24 Kislev
Rav Chaim Chizkiyahu Medini, the Sdei Chemed (1832-1904). Rav Chaim was born in Yerushalayim and was married at 18. After his father was niftar two years later, Rav Chaim’s cousins in Constantinople offered to support his learning if he moved there. After 13 years in Turkey, he took a position of Rav in the small city of Karasubazar in Crimea. He served there for 33 years, fighting the forces of the Kariites, before moving back to Yerushalayim. He lived there for 2 years, then moved to Chevron, where he was appointed Rav of the city in 1880. His Sdei Chemed is a monumental, universally-acclaimed 18-volume Talmudic and halachic encyclopedia.
Yahrtzeits – 25 Kislev
Rav Avraham, son of the Vilna Gaon (1808)
Rav Yaakov Ettlinger (1798-1871), son of Rav Aharon, rosh yeshiva of the local mesivta in Karlsruhe, Germany and grandson of the Shaagas Aryeh. In 1823, he was appointed Rosh Yeshiva of the Beis Midrash in Mannheim, and 12 years later he became Rav and Rosh Yeshiva of Altona. He authored many sefarim, including Aruch LeNer, Binyan Tzion, Bikurei Yaakov. He gave smicha to Rav Shimshon Raphael Hirsch after the latter learned with him for barely a year.
Rav Avraham Mordechai Nissim Harari Raful
Rav Yochanan Twersky, the Tolna Rebbe (1906-1988). He was the son of Reb Dovid Mordechai in Tultchin, where his grandfather, Rav Menachem Nachum was Rav. The latter had moved there from Tolna a year earlier.
Rav Raphael Avraham Sharabi (1875-1927). Son of Rav Shalom Mizrachi Sharabi, he was active in helping the victims of the Damascus blood libel. He authored Divrei Shalom.
Rav Chaim of Antineya, the Tal Chaim (1931)
Today in History – 24 Kislev
· Chanukas habayis of the Second Beis Hamikdash (Chaggai 2:10-23), 3409
· Austrian constitution (Ausgleich ) abolished discrimination based on religious differences, 1867. It included the right to hold office, freedom of occupation, settlement and religion.
· The sinking of the Patria in Haifa, 1940. The Patria was a French ship which carried 1,771 illegal immigrants. The Hagana tried to prevent the British from deporting those aboard Mauritius, but the explosive charge destroyed the ship and it sank, drowning 257 people.
· S.S. commander of Treblinka sentenced to life imprisonment, 1970
· Death of Ido Zoldan, 29 and a father of two, was murdered in a terrorist shooting attack in Samaria. Palestinian Authority terrorists fired on the man as he drove past the village of Funduk, near Kedumim.
Today in History – 25 Kislev
· The Mishkan was finished, 1308 B.C.E. The dedication, however, only took place on Rosh Chodesh Nissan.
· The Mizbeach was dedicated anew by the Chashmonaim, 140 B.C.E.
· Jews ordered expelled from Tennessee by Gen. Ulysses S. Grant during Civil War in 1862. In New York City, 7000 Jews marched in protest against his decision. President Lincoln rescinded his order
· Founding of Zichron Yaakov, 1882.
· President Roosevelt nominated Oscar Strauss to be Secretary of Commerce and Labor. Strauss became the first Jewish cabinet member.
· The order to expel the Jews of Spain (which was carried out on Tisha B’Av 1492) was officially voided on the first day of Chanukah, 1968.
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