This Day in History – January 22/25 Teves

In 5319/1559, the first edition of Chovos Halevavos was published in Italy.

In 5478/1717, Frankfurt’s Jewish streets and shuls were burned down and many Jewish valuables destroyed or confiscated. This date was declared a public fast day in Frankfurt.

Yahrtzeiten

5645/1885, Harav Yosef Rosen, zt”l, Rav of Telshe and Slonim

5688/1928, Harav Eliyahu Meir Feivelsohn of Yekatrinoslav, zt”l

5742/1982, Harav Shlomo Mazuz, zt”l, machaber of Sho’el u’Meishiv Kerem Shlomo and Cheshek Shlomo.

5598/1838

Harav Moshe Tzvi Gitterman, Rebbe of Savran, Zy”a

Harav Moshe Tzvi Gitterman was born in 5535/1775, the oldest son of Harav Shimon Shlomo, zt”l, the Maggid of Savran, who was a talmid of the Mezritcher Maggid.

Rav Moshe Tzvi was known for his qualities of kedushah even as a youth. At the age of 12 he was already fluent in the entire Seder Nezikin.

He traveled to Harav Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev, zy”a, and to Harav Baruch of Mezhibuzh, zy”a, where he absorbed Torah and Chassidus and became a cherished talmid.

His first Rebbetzin is unknown; in his second marriage, his wife was the daughter of Harav Dovid Halevi of Stefin, the son-in-law of the Zlotchover Maggid, zy”a.

After his father’s petirah in 5562/1802, Rav Moshe Tzvi succeeded him as the Maggid of Savran.

When the Berditchever Rebbe was niftar, Reb Moshe Tzvi was appointed Rav in Berditchev, only to return to Savran some years later.

Eventually, Rav Moshe Tzvi became Rav of the two kehillos of Uman and Keshanov.

When Rav Baruch’l of Mezhibuzh was niftar in 5571/1811, Rav Moshe Tzvi assumed the mantle of leadership and officially began leading Chassidim.

Rav Moshe Tzvi was greatly honored by, and was very close with, many of the generation’s leading Rebbes and Rabbanim.

In 5591/1831 he moved to Chichelnik, where he was niftar six years later, on 25 Teves 5598/1838.

Rav Moshe Tzvi was buried in Chichelnik, and an ohel was built on his kever. It is known as a makom tefillah where tefillos were answered.

The Ribnitzer Rebbe, zy”a, a chassid of Rav Baruch of Chichelnik, zy”a, said that the most famous kever he knew for answered prayers was that of Rav Moshe Tzvi, especially for banei, chayei umezonei (children, life and livelihood). The ohel attracted the largest nesiah in Ukraine, especially on his yahrtzeit.

The divrei Torah of Rav Moshe Tzvi are printed in Likutei Shoshanim, of which a new, expanded edition was published in 5746/1986.

Zechuso yagen aleinu.

Jan. 22

In 1901, Britain’s Queen Victoria died at age 81 after a reign of 63 years; she was succeeded by her eldest son, Edward VII.

In 1970, the first regularly scheduled commercial flight of the Boeing 747 began in New York and ended in London some 6 1/2 hours later.

In 1973, former President Lyndon B. Johnson died at his Texas ranch at age 64.

In 1998, Theodore Kaczynski pleaded guilty in Sacramento, California, to being the Unabomber responsible for three deaths and 29 injuries in return for a sentence of life in prison without parole.

In 2007, Iran announced it had barred 38 nuclear inspectors on a United Nations list from entering the country in apparent retaliation for U.N. sanctions imposed the previous month.

In 2009, President Barack Obama signed an executive order to close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp within a year. The facility remained in operation as lawmakers blocked efforts to transfer terror suspects to the United States; President Donald Trump later issued an order to keep the jail open and allow the Pentagon to bring new prisoners there.