This Day in History – 29 Iyar/May 29

29 Iyar

In 3830/70 C.E., the Romans completed the construction of banks around Yerushalayim in preparation for the final assault on the third wall surrounding the city.

In 5234/1474, anusim of Segovia, Spain, were killed al kiddush Hashem. Hy”d.

In 5397/1637, Hakadosh Harav Avraham ben Yitzchak and six other Jews were killed al kiddush Hashem in Cracow. Hy”d.

In 5575/1815, Napoleon Bonaparte was defeated in battle at Waterloo.

Yahrtzeiten

5610/1850, Harav Meir of Premishlan, zt”l

5702/1942, Harav Shmuel Shlomo Leiner of Radzin, Hy”d

5445/1685

Harav Shmuel Heide, zt”l, mechaber of Zikukin D’nura on Tanna D’vei Eliyahu

Harav Shmuel Heide was the son of Harav Moshe, darshan and maggid in Prague. Rav Shmuel’s dedication to learning helped him grow great in Torah and yiras Shamayim. For most of his life, he served as Dayan in Morawitz (near Prague).

He is best known for his Zikukin D’nura U’viurin D’esha, his lengthy commentary on Tanna D’vei Eliyahu. The old print of Tanna D’vei Eliyahu is hard to decipher so Rav Shmuel edited and made corrections, but he warns in his hakdamah that one should not learn from his edition until he has first checked the original text.

Initially Rav Shmuel was hesitant to undertake this project, but after he davened many tefillos and observed many fasts, Hashem allowed Eliyahu Hanavi and his talmid Rav Anan to reveal themselves to Rav Shmuel and let him know the correct explanations and the accurate wording of the sefer.

Rav Shmuel divided his commentary into three parts: on Eliyahu Rabba, on Eliyahu Zuta and on the 20th perek of Eliyahu Zuta. This third section was never printed.

When the sefer was published, the Gedolei Hador heaped praise on the mechaber, stating that he had restored the correct nusach of the Tanna D’vei Eliyahu.

Rav Shmuel was niftar on Shabbos Parashas Bamidbar, Erev Rosh Chodesh Sivan, 29 Iyar, 5445/1685, and buried in the old cemetery in Prague.

Zecher tzaddik livrachah.

May 29

In 1765, Patrick Henry denounced the Stamp Act before Virginia’s House of Burgesses.

In 1790, Rhode Island became the 13th original colony to ratify the United States Constitution.

In 1848, Wisconsin became the 30th state of the union.

In 1914, the Canadian ocean liner RMS Empress of Ireland sank in the St. Lawrence River in eastern Quebec after colliding with the Norwegian cargo ship SS Storstad; of the 1,477 people on board the Empress of Ireland, 1,012 died. (The Storstad suffered only minor damage.)

In 1917, the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, was born in Brookline, Massachusetts.

In 1932, World War I veterans began arriving in Washington to demand cash bonuses they weren’t scheduled to receive until 1945.

In 1953, Mount Everest was conquered as Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tensing Norgay of Nepal became the first climbers to reach the summit.

In 1961, a couple in Paynesville, West Virginia, became the first recipients of food stamps under a pilot program created by President John F. Kennedy.

In 1973, Tom Bradley was elected the first black mayor of Los Angeles, defeating incumbent Sam Yorty.

In 1999, Discovery became the first space shuttle to dock with the International Space Station.

Olusegun Obasanjo became Nigeria’s first civilian president in 15 years, ending a string of military regimes.