This Day in History – 6 Iyar/April 16

6 Iyar

In 4773/1013, many Jews of Cordoba, Spain, were massacred by the soldiers of Suleiman ibn al-Hakim.

In 5680/1920, Great Britain’s mandate to govern Eretz Yisrael began.

In 5708/1948, the British mandate over Eretz Yisrael came to an end, exactly 28 years after it began. On 5 Iyar, the State of Israel was declared. The armies of Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded Eretz Yisrael.

Yahrtzeiten

5104/1344, Rabbeinu Levi Ben Gershom, zt”l, the Ralbag

5527/1767, Harav Yitzchak Halevi Horowitz of Hamburg, zt”l

5591/1831, Harav Moshe of Zhvil, zt”l, son of Harav Yechiel Mechel of Zlotochov

5669/1909, Harav Yosef Meir, zt”l, the Imrei Yosef of Spinka

5706/1946, Harav Yaakov Chaim Perlow of Stolin, zt”l

5715/1955, Harav Menachem Mendel Halberstam, zy”a, Stropkover Rebbe of Williamsburg, the Divrei Menachem

5762/2002, Harav Rafael Levin, zt”l, Rosh Yeshivah of Beis Aryeh and son of Harav Aryeh Levin, the Tzaddik of Yerushalayim

5600/1840

Harav Moshe Safrin of Sambur, zt”l

Harav Moshe Safrin, born in 5525/1765, was the son of Harav Yitzchak Eizik of Kfar Safrin, a disciple of the Chozeh of Lublin.

Reb Moshe was also a talmid of the Chozeh of Lublin, and he would travel as well to the courts of other Rebbes, such as Harav Menachem Mendel of Rimanov, the Kozhnitzer Maggid, Harav Elazar of Lizhensk and Harav Moshe of Pshevorsk.

Following the petirah of the Chozeh, Reb Moshe became a devoted chassid of his brother, Reb Tzvi Hirshof Ziditchov, whom he followed for nearly 40 years. In 5591/1831, after Reb Tzvi Hirsh’s petirah, many of his chassidim saw Reb Moshe as their new Rebbe. Following the petirah of another brother, Reb Yisachar Berish, about 10 months after Reb Tzvi Hirsh’s passing, most of the Ziditchover chassidim flocked to Reb Moshe.

Reb Moshe was very close with many other Rebbes of his generation, including Harav Meir of Premishlan and Harav Yisrael of Ruzhin.

The divrei Torah of Reb Moshe were published in the sefer Tefillah L’Moshe, and many of his words are brought by his son, Harav Yehudah Tzvi, in his Daas Kedoshim.

Reb Moshe was niftar on 6 Iyar 5600/1840 at the age of 75. He was buried in the ohel in Ziditch.

Reb Moshe was survived by his sons, Harav Yehudah Tzvi of Rozle, who was the son-in-law of Reb Tzvi Hirsh; Harav Koppel, Rav in Ridick; Harav Yeshayah of Saniatin; and Harav Michel of Ziditchov.

Zechuso yagen aleinu.

April 16

In 1789, President-elect George Washington left Mount Vernon, Va., for his inauguration in New York.

In 1862, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln signed a bill ending slavery in the District of Columbia.

The Confederacy conscripted all white men between the ages of 18 and 35.

In 1912, American aviator Harriet Quimby became the first woman to fly across the English Channel, traveling from Dover, England, to France in 59 minutes.

In 1917, Vladimir Ilyich Lenin returned to Russia after years of exile.

In 1945, U.S. troops reached Nuremberg, Germany, during the Second World War.

In 1947, the French ship Grandcamp blew up at the harbor in Texas City, Texas; another ship, the High Flyer, exploded the following day (the blasts and fires killed nearly 600 people).

Financier Bernard M. Baruch said in a speech at the South Carolina statehouse, “Let us not be deceived — we are today in the midst of a cold war.”

In 1963, Martin Luther King, Jr., wrote his “Letter from Birmingham Jail” in which the civil rights activist responded to a group of local clergymen who’d criticized him for leading street protests; King defended his tactics, writing, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

In 1972, Apollo 16 blasted off on a voyage to the moon with astronauts John W. Young, Charles M. Duke, Jr. and Ken Mattingly on board.