This Day in History – 22 Tammuz/July 25

22 Tammuz

In 5317/1557, the Marranos were given permission to leave Portugal.

Yahrtzeiten

5371/1611, Harav Manoach Hendel, zt”l, author of Chochmas Manoach.

5633/1873, Harav Dovid Morgenstern, Rebbe of Kotzk, zt”l.

5697/1937, Harav Yisrael Yosef of Radoshitz, zt”l.

5701/1941, Harav Avraham Grodzinksi, zt”l, Mashgiach of the Slobodka Yeshiva.

5707/1947 Harav Yitzchak Isaac Langner, Rebbe of Stretin, zt”l


5552/1792

Harav Shlomo of Karlin, Hy”d

The sefer Shema Shlomo, a collection of thoughts and divrei Torah by Harav Shlomo of Karlin.

Harav Shlomo Halevi of Karlin was born in 5500/1740 to Harav Meir. Before his greatness was revealed, Harav Shlomo was an impoverished young Torah scholar with no source of financial support. He studied day and night in the beis medrash, toiling in his Divine service and Torah study.

He was a talmid and devoted yedid of Harav Aharon Hagadol of Karlin, zy”a, and after Rav Aharon’s passing in 5532/1772, Rav Shlomo took on the leadership of Karlin, which he maintained for 20 years.

Under his leadership, Lithuanian Chassidus thrived and expanded. The Rebbe emphasized the avodah of davening with hislahavus in order to maintain closeness to Hashem.

In his youth, he traveled, together with Rav Aharon, to the Rebbe Harav Dov Ber, the Maggid of Mezritch, zy”a. The Maggid attested that Rav Shlomo was destined for greatness and referred to his supreme level in kedushah as that of Moshiach ben Yosef.

The Baal HaTanya said of him, “Ehr iz ah tefach hecher fun di velt (He is a tefach higher than the world).”

Rav Shlomo’s talmid, Harav Mordechai of Lechovitch, zy”a, claimed that his Rebbe knew the language of the birds, the palm trees and the malachim — everything written in Sukkah 28b about Rabi Yochanan ben Zakkai.

Another talmid, Harav Asher of Stolin, zy”a, said that his Rebbe was fluent in astrology and astronomy, and that he had learned it all in places where it is forbidden to think of divrei Torah. Others said that he had learned everything there was to know simply by raising his eyes Heavenward.

(Using calculations he originated, he taught that it is permitted to recite Kiddush Levanah with the Shem haMalchus until 17 24-hour periods after the molad, and indeed, Reb Shlomo’s students and all the Rebbes of the Karlin dynasty did so.)

At the age of 52, Rav Shlomo moved to Ludmir, but he was not to live there long. A war was raging between Russia and Poland, and one Shabbos the Rebbe was shot al kiddush Hashem by a Cossack.

He lived until the following Wednesday, 22 Tammuz, when his pure soul left this world.

His yahrtzeit has the gematria of the passuk “Vayinatlem vayinasem kol yemei olam — He took them and carried them all the days of the universe.” He was buried in Ludmir.

In 5688/1928, Harav Yaakov Moshe Kleinbaum, Av Beis Din of Savala, published Shema Shlomo, divrei Torah and collected writings of Harav Shlomo of Karlin, which were printed in a number of editions.

In 5746/1986, it was reissued by Machon Zecher Naftali as Shema Shlomo Hashalem, in two volumes.

Zechuso yagen aleinu


July 25

In 1866, Ulysses S. Grant was named General of the Army of the United States, the first officer to hold the rank.

In 1952, Puerto Rico became a self-governing commonwealth of the United States.

In 1994, Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and Jordan’s King Hussein signed a declaration at the White House ending their countries’ 46-year-old formal state of war.

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