This Day in History – 28 Sivan/June 6

28 Sivan

In 1656/2105 B.C.E., the 40-day rain period during the mabul came to an end, according to Rabi Yehoshua.

In 2550/1211 B.C.E., Bnei Yisrael arrived in Midbar Paran.

In 3448/313 B.C.E, after the victory of Geviha ben Pesisa three days earlier, Yishmaelites, Egyptians and Canaanites retreated and left their fields and properties to the Jews.

In 5575/1815, French soldiers, returning home from war, passed Vilna and desecrated many Jewish graves.

In 5701/1941, after escaping Nazi-occupied Paris, the Lubavitcher Rebbe, Harav Menachem Mendel Schneerson, zt”l, arrived in New York.

Yahrtzeiten

5489/1729, Harav Menachem, zt”l, mechaber of Zera Berach

5634/1874, Harav Avraham Chaim Adadi, zt”l, Rav in Tripoli, Libya, and mechaber of Hashomer Emes

5635/1875, Harav Meshulem Feish Levi of Tosh, zt”l

5649/1889, Harav Moshe Yehudah Leib Brisk, zt”l

5708/1948, Harav Shimshon Aharon Polansky, zt”l, Rav of Teplik-Yerushalayim

5751/1991

Harav Yisrael Zev Gustman, zt”l, Rosh Yeshivah of Netzach Yisrael and mechaber of Kuntresei Shiurim

Harav Yisrael Zev Gustman ben Harav Avraham Tzvi was born in 5670/1910. In his youth, he learned in Yeshivas Mir, where he was the chavrusa of Harav Chaim Shmuelevitz, zt”l, later Rosh Yeshivah of Mir.

From there, he went to learn under Harav Shimon Shkop at Grodno, and he became the son-in-law of Harav Meir Bessin, who was the Rav of Shnipishock, an area near Vilna, and a member of the beis din of Harav Chaim Ozer Grodzinsky, the Rav of Vilna.

Following the petirah of Harav Meir, between the engagement and the wedding, Reb Yisrael Zev was appointed to fill his place on the beis din, and as Rav of Shnipishock. He was also appointed Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshivas Ramailes in Vilna.

During the war, Reb Yisrael Zev hid from the Nazis with the partisans in the forests. After the war, he became the Rav of the remnants of the community in Vilna.

His son, Meir, was killed during the war.

In 5709/1949 he was able to escape to America, where he re-established his yeshivah in Crown Heights.

In 5631/1971, he moved the yeshivah to the Rechaviah neighborhood in Yerushalayim, where it continues until today.

Reb Yisrael Zev is best known for his multi-volume Kuntresei Shiurim, an edited and expanded version of his weekly shiurim, which set forth a new concept in learning Gemara. His analysis is as topical and far-ranging as his Rebbi’s, Harav Shimon Shkop, but his conceptual approach to the various sugyos is unique. Each topic is examined in its entirety following a logical sequence of its elements.

On 28 Sivan 5751/1991, Reb Yisrael Zev was niftar, at the age of 81. Thousands marched through the streets of Yerushalayim accompanying him on his final journey. As night fell, Reb Yisrael Zev was buried on Har Hazeisim.

Zecher tzaddik livrachah.

June 6

In 1513, troops of the Swiss Confederation defeated the French in the Battle of Novara.

In 1799, American politician and orator Patrick Henry died at Red Hill Plantation in Virginia.

In 1912, the greatest volcanic eruption of the 20th century took place as Novarupta in Alaska began a series of explosive episodes over a 60-hour period.

In 1925, Walter Percy Chrysler founded the Chrysler Corp.

In 1932, the Senate approved, and President Herbert Hoover signed, a Revenue Act containing the first federal gasoline tax, which was one cent per gallon.

In 1944, Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, on “D-Day,” beginning the liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II.

In 1966, black activist James Meredith was shot and wounded as he walked along a Mississippi highway to encourage black voter registration.

In 1968, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy died at Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Angeles, a day after he was shot by Sirhan Bishara Sirhan.

In 1978, California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 13, a primary ballot initiative calling for major cuts in property taxes.

In 1982, Israeli forces went into Lebanon to drive Palestine Liberation Organization terrorists out of the country. (The Israelis withdrew in June 1985.)

In 1985, authorities in Brazil exhumed a body later identified as the remains of Dr. Josef Mengele, the notorious “Angel of Death” of the Nazi Holocaust.