This Day in History – 29 Av/August 5

29 Av

Yahrtzeiten

5591/1831, Harav Moshe of Zaloshen, zt”l, mechaber of Mishpat Tzedek

5617/1857 Harav Yosef Meir of Machnovka, zt”l

5669/1909, Harav Shmuel Salant, zt”l, Rav of Yerushalayim

5702/1942, Harav Menachem Mendel Alter, Hy”d, Rav of Paviniecz

5705/1945, Harav Avraham Dov of Rachmistrivke, zt”l

5742/1982, Harav Eliezer Zusha Portugal, the Skulener Rebbe, zt”l


 

5671/1911

Harav Yisrael Shalom Yosef Heschel, zt”l, of Mezhibuzh

Born in Zhinkov in Cheshvan 5613/1853, his father was Harav Avraham Yehoshua Heschel, son of Harav Meshulam Zusha of Zinkov. The child was named for his maternal grandfathers, Yisrael after the Ruzhiner Rebbe and Shalom Yosef after the Ruzhiner’s oldest son, Harav Shalom Yosef, his mother’s father.

In Elul 5626/1866, he married the daughter of his great-uncle Harav Avraham Yaakov of Sadigura.

Reb Yisrael Shalom had a sharp mind, humility and sterling middos.

Following the petirah of his father in 5641/1881, Reb Yisrael Shalom was appointed Rebbe in Mezhibuzh. It is related that his father-in-law, the Sadigura Rebbe, was asked how he allowed him to serve as Rebbe in Mezhibuzh, for it was known that the Rebbes in Mezhibuzh were niftar young. The Sadigura Rebbe answered that “just as the Baal Shem Tov lived in Mezhibuzh for 30 years, so will Reb Yisrael Shalom”… Reb Yisrael Shalom was niftar 30 years later, in 5671/1911.

After the petirah of his first wife on 25 Sivan 5647/1887, Reb Yisrael Shalom married the daughter of Harav Yaakov Shimshon Chodorov of Bahapli. They had four sons and five daughters.

The sons were Harav Avraham Yehoshua Heshel of Mezhibuzh-Tarnipol, Hy”d; Harav Yitzchak Meir of Mezhibuzh and later Haifa; Harav Moshe of Mezhibuzh, Hy”d; and Harav Pinchas, zt”l.

The daughters were Rebbetzin Chavah Sarah, wife of Harav Mordechai Shlomo of Boyan, zy”a; Rebbetzin Mirel, wife of Harav Mordechai Shalom Yosef of Sadigura-Pszemishel; Rebbetzin Leah Rochel, wife of Harav Shmuel Feiner of Cracow; Bluma Reizel, who passed away young; and Chayah Miriam Sima, who was killed in the War.

Reb Yisrael Shalom was niftar on 29 Av, Erev Rosh Chodesh Elul, 5671/1911, in Dvenzhkeh near Vizhnitz and buried in the ohel in Vizhnitz near the Tzemach Tzaddik. He was 58.

Zechuso yagen aleinu.


 

Today’s Highlight in History:

On August 5, 1953, Operation Big Switch began, as remaining prisoners taken during the Korean War were exchanged at Panmunjom.

On this date:

In 1864, during the Civil War, Union Adm. David G. Farragut led his fleet to victory in the Battle of Mobile Bay, Ala.

In 1884, the cornerstone for the Statue of Liberty’s pedestal was laid on Bedloe’s Island in New York Harbor.

In 1912, the Progressive Party, also known as the “Bull Moose Party,” convened in Chicago. (The party was formed by former President Theodore Roosevelt following a split in the Republican Party.)

In 1933, President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the National Labor Board, which was later replaced with the National Labor Relations Board.

South African anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was arrested; it was the beginning of 27 years of imprisonment.

In 1963, the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union signed a treaty in Moscow banning nuclear tests in the atmosphere, in space and underwater.

In 1969, the U.S. space probe Mariner 7 flew by Mars, sending back photographs and scientific data.

In 1981, the federal government began firing air traffic controllers who had gone out on strike.

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