This Day In History 15 Teves/January 2

In 5248/1487, the first printed edition of Sefer Mitzvos Gadol was printed in Soncino, Italy.

Yahrtzeiten

5495/1735, Harav Mordechai, zt”l, Rosh Mesivta of Levov

5587/1827, Harav Rafael of Bershad, zy”a, a talmid of Harav Pinchas of Koritz, zy”a

5738/1977, Harav Chaim Mordechai, Rebbe of Nadvorna, zy”a

5747/1987, Harav Bentzion Moshe Meir Mandelbaum, zt”l, mechaber of Ohr Moshe

5683/1923, Harav Shmaryahu Noach Schneerson of Bobroisk, Zt”l

Harav Shmaryahu Noach Schneerson was the son of Harav Yehudah Leib of Kapust, zy”a, who was the son of the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch, zy”a. He was born in 5607/1847.

Reb Shmaryahu Noach was the youngest child of his father, who cherished his youngest son. His father taught him Torah and educated him in the ways of Chassidus. Reb Yehudah Leib instructed his oldest son, Reb Shlomo Zalman, to learn Chassidus with Reb Shmaryahu Noach.

The brother of Reb Yehudah Leib, Harav Yisrael Noach, zy”a, Rebbe of Niezin, found Reb Shmaryahu Noach to be a worthy bachur. He set his eye on his nephew in his early years, hoping to take him as chassan for his daughter, and eventually did so.

After the petirah of the Tzemach Tzedek, Reb Shmaryahu Noach moved to Kapust to live near his father. Following the petirah of his father, on 3 Cheshvan 5627/1866, Reb Shmaryahu Noach moved to Lubavitch, settling there with his mother. The oldest son of Reb Yehudah Leib, Reb Shlomo Zalman, zy”a, succeeded him as Rebbe in Kapust.

When Reb Shmaryahu Noach was 23, he was chosen to be Rav of the Chassidim in Bobroisk, near Minsk. He would deliver chassidic talks every Shabbos.

Occasionally, Reb Shmaryahu Noach would travel to Kapust, to the court of his brother.

After the petirah of his father-in-law, in 5643/1883, the Chassidim in White Russia asked him to come to Niezin, in place of his father-in-law. Unfortunately, this never came about.

After the petirah of Reb Shlomo Zalman, on 27 Iyar 5600/1900, the chassidim asked Reb Shmaryahu Noach to take his place in Kapust. He traveled to Kapust for Tishrei 5661/1900 and resided there for the entire month. Later, Reb Shmaryahu Noach returned to Bobroisk, where the Chassidim continued to flock to his court.

In 5661/1901, Reb Shmaryahu Noach founded a yeshivah in Bobroisk, headed by his son Reb Menachem Mendel. After the upheaval in 5665/1905, the only yeshivah that remained in the Lithuania region was this one. The number of talmidim grew drastically.

Reb Menachem Mendel, son of Reb Shmaryahu Noach, was killed on 2 Av 5679/1919 by anti-Semites, in Sinelnkovo, near Yekaterinoslav.

Reb Shmaryahu Noach was also actively involved in the many battles of the local Jews. He attended the gathering of Rabbanim in St. Petersburg in Adar 5670/1910, and stood at the forefront of the battle against the socialists and the Zionists.

Reb Shmaryahu Noach was niftar on 15 Teves, 5683/1923, after serving as Rav of Bobroisk for 53 years. He was 76 at his petirah.

In 5724/1964, his grandson published Shemen Lamaor, Reb Shmaryahu Noach’s work on the Torah.

Zechuso yagen aleinu.

Jan. 2

In 1788, Georgia became the fourth state to ratify the U.S. Constitution.

In 1893, the U.S. Postal Service issued its first-ever set of commemorative stamps to honor the upcoming World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago as well as the quadricentennial of Christopher Columbus’s voyage.

In 1900, U.S. Secretary of State John Hay announced the “Open Door Policy” to facilitate trade with China.

In 1974, President Richard Nixon signed legislation requiring states to limit highway speeds to 55 miles an hour as a way of conserving gasoline in the face of an OPEC oil embargo. (The 55 mph limit was effectively phased out in 1987; federal speed limits were abolished in 1995.)