This Day in History 19 Teves/December 27

19 Teves

In 5398/1637, the Catholic Church in Recife, Brazil, closed the two shuls that existed there.

Yahrtzeiten

5573/1812, Harav Aryeh Leib Heller, zt”l, mechaber of the Ketzos Hachoshen, Avnei Milu’im and Shev Shmaatsa

5632/1871, Harav Avraham Shmuel Sofer, zt”l, the Kesav Sofer

5599/1839, Harav Yaakov Horowitz, Rav of Kolbosov and Melitz, zt”l

5609/1849, Harav Elimelech, Rebbe of Rudnik, zt”l


5740/1980

Harav Shalom Leifer Of Nadvorna, Zy”a

Harav Shalom of Nadvorna, zy”a.

Harav Shalom was born in 5654/1894 in the city of Bochnia. His father was Harav Bertche of Satmar, zy”a, the second son of Harav Mordechai of Nadvorna, zy”a. He was educated by his father, Rav Bertche, who imbued him with a striving for Torah, holiness and purity.

Sadly, Rav Shalom was orphaned at the tender age of 11. This, however, did not deter him from achieving a life of spiritual greatness. As a bachur Rav Shalom went to learn in the yeshivah of Harav Eliyahu Klein, zt”l, in Holomin. He later joined the yeshivah of Harav Yehuda Greenwald, zt”l, the Rav of Satmar.

He merited receiving semichah at a very young age from his great Rebbi, Rav Greenwald.

Rav Shalom married the daughter of Harav Dov Ber Teumim, zt”l, the Dayan of Pshevorsk and the son-in-law of the Pshevorsker Rav, Harav Chaim Hersh Ashkenazi, zt”l. After the wedding, the young couple settled in Satmar. There, Rav Shalom served Hakadosh Baruch Hu in kedushah and taharah.

After several years of living at home, the task of supporting the family was left to Rav Shalom and his older brother, Rav Yosef, zt”l, (who later became known as the Pittsburgher Rebbe-Ashdod).

To manage this great burden, the brothers decided to travel to America in 5686/1926 to collect money for their sisters’ dowries.

Happy to have been given the zechus of making an impact on the lives of Torah-thirsty Yidden, Rav Shalom settled on the East Side of Manhattan, where he lived for many years. Later the Rebbe moved to the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn, where he re-established his beis medrash, Khal Chassidei Nadvorna. His brother, Harav Yosef, settled in Pittsburgh.

Rav Shalom rarely left the confines of his own home.

The Rebbe was renowned for hachnasas orchim. His home was always open to all. No matter how often a visitor would pass through his house, Rav Shalom would greet him with a smile. He would care for all his guests’ needs — materially, by providing them with food, drink and a bed to sleep in, and spiritually, by being mechazek them with good eitzos and showering them with brachos.

The Rebbe was niftar on 19 Teves, 5740/1980.

Zechuso yagen aleinu.


Dec. 27

In 1945, the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund were formally established.

In 1949, Queen Juliana of the Netherlands signed an act recognizing Indonesia’s sovereignty after more than three centuries of Dutch rule.

In 1968, Apollo 8 and its three astronauts made a safe, nighttime splashdown in the Pacific.

In 1995, Israeli jeeps sped out of the Yehudah and Shomron town of Ramallah, capping a seven-week pullout, giving Yasser Arafat control over 90 percent of its one million Palestinian residents and one-third of its land.

In 2001, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld announced that Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners would be held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

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