This Day in History – December 11/9 Kislev

In 5703/1942, 7,000 Jews of Minsk were executed by the Nazis, Hy”d.

Yahrtzeiten

5495/1734, Harav Yehoshua Katz, Rav in Cracow, zt”l

5523/1762, Harav Yaakov Yitzchok Halevi of Pressburg, zt”l, mechaber of Imrei Ravreve

5546/1785, Harav Simcha, Rav of Dessau, zt”l

5622/1861, Harav Yechiel, zt”l, Rav of Suvalk, mechaber of Amudei Ohr

5734/1973, Harav Hershel Friedman of Munkatch, Rosh Yeshivah of Nachlas Tzvi, mechaber of Chemdas Tzvi.

5685/1924, Harav Yitzchok Friedman, Rebbe of Sadigura-Rimanov, Zy”a

Harav Yitzchok Friedman was born in the town of Sadigura. His parents were grandchildren of Harav Yisrael, Rebbe of Ruzhin, zy”a; the Rebbe was also a great-grandson of Harav Aharon Hagadol of Karlin, zy”a, and a fifth-generation descendant of Harav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel of Apta, zy”a.

In 5663/1903 he married the daughter of Harav Asher Yeshaya Horowitz of Rimanov, zy”a, a descendant of Harav Naftali Tzvi of Ropshitz, zy”a, and settled in Rimanov,

In 5663/1903, with the passing of his father, all the brothers became Rebbes in various towns. The Rebbe himself established his Chassidic court in the town of Rimanov.

During World War I, the Rebbe and his family, along with many of the other Rebbes of the house of Ruzhin, fled to Vienna.

In 5684/1924 the Rebbe sailed to the United States to be mechazek his Chassidim in New York and to raise money for the Sadigurer mosdos in Europe. He passed away several months later, on the 11th of Kislev. It is reported that after going to the mikveh in the morning he came down with pneumonia and was immediately hospitalized. As the illness progressed, the Rebbe felt that his life was coming to an end. He started singing the naanuim melody of Ruzhiner Chassidim, and with that he passed away.

Over 20,000 mourners followed his bier to his final resting place at the Mount Zion Cemetery on the Queens-Brooklyn border. A large ohel marks his grave.

The Nazis murdered the Rebbetzin in the town of Rimanov in Elul 1941, but the Rebbe’s children were able to relocate to the United States after World War II.

Directions to the cemetery:

59-63 54th Avenue, Maspeth, NY 11378

Mount Zion Cemetery:

Friedman, Harav Yitzchok (1886-1925)

Sadigerer-Rimanover Rebbe

Main entrance on 54th Avenue (off Maurice Avenue)

Proceed to Right Section Path 22

Left on Path 22 (on foot) about 150 feet, first ohel on the left (Gate 4)

The ohel is always locked; stop at the office for a key. They request a deposit.

Dec. 9

In 1940, British troops opened their first major offensive in North Africa during World War II.

In 1984, the five-day-old hijacking of a Kuwaiti jetliner that claimed the lives of two Americans ended as Iranian security men seized control of the plane, which was parked at Tehran airport.

In 1990, Lech Walesa was elected president of Poland.

In 1993, the Air Force destroyed the first of 500 Minuteman II missile silos marked for elimination under an arms control treaty.

In 1994, representatives of the Irish Republican Army and the British government opened peace talks in Northern Ireland.

In 1998, the United Nations General Assembly declared anti-Semitism a form of racism.