This Day in History – 14 Adar 1/February 14

14 Adar I

Today is Purim Katan. No Tachanun is recited, and no eulogies are conducted. The Shulchan Aruch Orach Chaim 697:1 cites an opinion that joy and festivity should be increased, but rules that there is no obligation to do so; “nevertheless, a person should increase somewhat in festivity … for ‘One who is of good heart is festive always’ (Mishlei 15:15). In many chassidishe courts, tischen are held on Purim Katan.

In 2369/1394 B.C.E, the bris of Moshe Rabbeinu took place in Mitzrayim. (According to the Midrash, Moshe Rabbeinu was born circumcised.)

In 3405/356 B.C.E, the nes of Purim was celebrated a day after the Jews fought their enemies on the thirteenth of Adar. (However, we commemorate the nes of Purim in Adar II.)

In 5751/1991, the Gulf War led by the United States of America against Iraq ended. Thirty-nine Scud missiles were lobbed into Eretz Yisrael by the murderous regime of Saddam Hussein, then the dictator of Iraq. Miraculously, only one missile caused extensive damage. One person was killed.

Yahrtzeiten

5586/1826, Harav Yaakov Kahana, zt”l, mechaber of Geon Yaakov

5689/1929, Harav Moshe Mordechai Morgenstern of Pilov, zt”l

5755/1995, Harav Shimon Schwab, zt”l, Rav of Khal Adas Yeshurun of Washington Heights

5765/2005, Harav Chaim Kamil, zt”l, Rosh Yeshivas Ofakim


 

Shaar blatt of sefer Noda BaShe’arim.
Shaar blatt of sefer Noda BaShe’arim.

5612/1852

Harav Dov Berish Ashkenazi, zt”l, Rav of Slonim and Lublin

Harav Dov Berish Ashkenazi was born in 5562/1802. His father, Rav Moshe, was a descendant of Harav Tzvi Ashkenazi, the Chacham Tzvi.

In the generation of Harav Akiva Eiger, the Chasam Sofer, and others of that caliber, Rav Dov Berish was one of the leading Torah lights.

In 5595/1835, at the age of 33, Rav Dov Berish was appointed Rav in Slonim. He was a charismatic leader, as well as one who stood by his principles. He wasn’t shy about reprimanding people when he saw a need for improvement. For example, when a Dayan was appointed in the city as a result of bribery, Rav Dov Berish fought it, quoting the psak of the Shulchan Aruch (Choshen Mishpat 8:61): “It is forbidden to stand in front of any Dayan who is appointed because of gold and silver, and furthermore it is a mitzvah to … denigrate him.” Yet, he was always kind and available to help the poor and underprivileged.

Rav Dov Berish was a foremost halachic authority, and many she’eilos were addressed to him.

In 5604/1844, following the petirah of Harav Meshulam Zalman Ashkenazi, Rav Dov Berish was called upon by the kehillah of Lublin to be their Rav. He held this position until his petirah on Purim, 14 Adar, 5612/1852. He was interred in Lublin.

After Rav Dov Berish’s petirah, his brother published his sefarim. In his hakdamah he writes that Rav Dov Berish wasn’t zocheh to arichus yamim, passing away in his fiftieth year and leaving no children. Among his better-known sefarim are Noda BaShe’arim, she’eilos u’teshuvos on all four parts of Shulchan Aruch, with a section dedicated to maseches Gittin and the related halachos; and Shaarei Yerushalayim, his chiddushim on Talmud Yerushalmi.

Zecher tzaddik livrachah.


 

February 14

In 1778, the American ship Ranger carried the recently adopted Stars and Stripes to a foreign port for the first time as it arrived in France.

In 1859, Oregon was admitted to the Union as the 33rd state.

In 1903, the Department of Commerce and Labor was established. (It was divided into separate departments of Commerce and Labor in 1913.)

In 1912, Arizona became the 48th state of the Union as President William Howard Taft signed a statehood proclamation.

In 1924, the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Co. of New York was formally renamed International Business Machines Corp., or IBM.

In 1949, Israel’s Knesset convened for the first time.

In 1979, Adolph Dubs, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, was kidnapped in Kabul by Muslim extremists and killed in a shootout between his abductors and police.

In 1984, 6-year-old Stormie Jones became the world’s first heart-liver transplant recipient at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. (She lived until November 1990.)

In 2004, guerrillas overwhelmed a police station west of Baghdad, killing 23 people and freeing dozens of prisoners.

In 2009, savoring his first big victory in Congress, President Barack Obama used his weekly radio and internet address to celebrate the just-passed $787 billion economic stimulus bill as a “major milestone on our road to recovery.”

In 2013, billionaire Warren Buffett agreed to buy H.J. Heinz Co. for $23.3 billion in the richest deal ever in the food industry.

American Airlines and US Airways announced an $11 billion merger that turned American into the world’s biggest airline.

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