This Day in History – 15 Teves – December 28

15 Teves

In 5248/1487, the first printed edition of Sefer Mitzvos Gadol was printed in Soncino, Italy.

Yahrtzeiten

5495/1734, Harav Mordechai, zt”l, Rosh Mesivta of Levov

5587/1827, Harav Refael of Bershad, zt”l

5738/1977, Harav Chaim Mordechai of Nadvorna, zt”l

5747/1987, Harav Bentzion Moshe Meir Mandelbaum, zt”l, mechaber of Ohr Moshe

5683/1923

Harav Shmaryahu Noach Schneerson of Bobroisk, zt”l

Harav Shmaryahu Noach Schneerson was the son of Harav Yehudah Leib of Kapust, who was the son of the Tzemach Tzedek of Lubavitch. He was born in 5607/1847.

Reb Shmaryahu Noach was the youngest child of his father, who cherished his youngest son. His father taught him Torah and educated him in the ways of Chassidus. Reb Yehudah Leib instructed his oldest son, Reb Shlomo Zalman, to learn Chassidus with Reb Shmaryahu Noach.

The brother of Reb Yehudah Leib, Harav Yisrael Noach of Niezin, found Reb Shmaryahu Noach to be a worthy bachur. He set his eye on his nephew in his early years, hoping to take him as chassan for his daughter, and eventually did so.

After the petirah of the Tzemach Tzedek, Reb Shmaryahu Noach moved to Kapust to live near his father. Following the petirah of his father, on 3 Cheshvan 5627/1866, Reb Shmaryahu Noach moved to Lubavitch, settling there with his mother. The oldest son of Reb Yehudah Leib, Reb Shlomo Zalman, succeeded him as Rebbe in Kapust.

When Reb Shmaryahu Noach was 23, he was chosen to be Rav of the chassidim in Bobroisk, near Minsk. He would deliver Chassidic talks every Shabbos.

From time to time, Reb Shmaryahu Noach would travel to Kapust, to the court of his brother.

After the petirah of his father-in-law, in 5643/1883, the chassidim in White Russia asked him to come to Niezin, in place of his father-in-law. Unfortunately, this never came about.

After the petirah of Reb Shlomo Zalman, on 27 Iyar 5600/1900, the chassidim asked Reb Shmaryahu Noach to take his place in Kapust. He traveled to Kapust for Tishrei 5661/1900 and resided there for the entire month. Later, Reb Shmaryahu Noach returned to Bobroisk, where the chassidim continued to flock to his court.

In 5661/1901, Reb Shmaryahu Noach founded a yeshivah in Bobroisk, headed by his son Reb Menachem Mendel. Many bachurim flocked to this yeshivah, and they were later tested by Rabbanim for semichah. After the upheaval in 5665/1905 the only yeshivah that remained in the Lithuania region was this one. The number of bachurim in the yeshivah grew drastically.

Reb Menachem Mendel, the son of Reb Shmaryahu Noach, was killed on 2 Av 5679/1919 by anti-Semites, in the train
station in Sinelnkovo, near Yekaterinoslav.

Reb Shmaryahu Noach was also actively involved in the many battles of the local Jews. He attended the gathering of Rabbanim in St. Petersburg in Adar 5670/1910, and stood at the forefront of the battle against the socialists and the Zionists.

Reb Shmaryahu Noach was niftar on 15 Teves 5683/1923, after serving as Rav of Bobroisk for 53 years. He was 76 at his petirah.

In 5724/1964, his grandson published Shemen Lamaor, Reb Shmaryahu Noach’s work on the Torah.

Zechuso yagen aleinu.

Dec. 28

In 1832, John C. Calhoun became the first vice president of the United States to resign, stepping down because of differences with President Andrew Jackson.

In 1846, Iowa became the 29th state to be admitted to the Union.

In 1912, San Francisco’s Municipal Railway began operations with Mayor James Rolph, Jr., at the controls of Streetcar No. 1 as 50,000 spectators looked on.

In 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance.

In 1972, Kim Il-sung, already prime minister of North Korea and general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, became the first President of North Korea.

In 1982, Nevell Johnson, Jr., a black man, was mortally wounded by a police officer in Miami, setting off three days of race-related disturbances that left another man dead.

In 1989, a magnitude 5.6 earthquake hit Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, killing 13 people.

In 2000, U.S. retail giant Montgomery Ward announced it was going out of business after 128 years.

In 2009, 43 people were killed in a suicide bombing in Karachi, Pakistan.

In 2010, popular protests began in Algeria against the government.