๐๏ธ Today In Jewish History โ 7th Av
๐๏ธ Nevuzaradan Arrives in Jerusalem
On 7 Av, Nevuzaradan, the chief executioner and commander of the Babylonian forces under Nevuchadnezzar, arrived in Jerusalem to complete the destruction of the city and the Beis HaMikdash.
As recorded in Sefer Melachim:
โืืืืืืฉ ืืืืืฉื ืืฉืืขื ืืืืืฉโฆ ืื ื ืืืืจืืื ืจื ืืืืื ืขืื ืืื ืืื ืืจืืฉืืืโ (ืืืืื ืโ ืื, ื)
Although the Beis HaMikdash would be set ablaze two days later on Tishah BโAv, Chazal teach that the process of destruction had already begun upon his arrival. The final days of the First Commonwealth were unfolding, and the tragedy of the Churban entered its decisive stage.
๐๏ธ 1391 โ The Massacres of Seville
In the year ืงื โื (1391), one of the most devastating tragedies of medieval Spanish Jewry occurred. Anti-Jewish violence erupted in Seville, led and incited by the infamous archdeacon Ferrand (Fernando) Martรญnez, whose anti-Jewish agitation had continued for many years. Historians identify him as the principal instigator behind the massacres that began in Seville and later spread throughout Spain.
The attacks led to the murder of many Jews and marked the beginning of a wave of persecutions that swept across the Iberian Peninsula. The massacres of 1391 are regarded as a turning point in the history of Spanish Jewry and a precursor to the eventual expulsion of the Jews from Spain in 1492.
During this turbulent period, great Torah leaders such as the Rivash (Rabbi Yitzchak bar Sheshet) and the Rashbatz (Rabbi Shimon ben Tzemach Duran) guided their communities through the crisis and worked to save Jewish lives wherever possible.
๐ฏ๏ธ Todayโs Yartzite โ 7th Av
๐ฏ๏ธ 1910 โ The Passing of Rabbi Moshe Greenwald, Author of Arugas HaBosem
In the year ืชืจโืข (1910) passed away the gaon and tzaddik Rabbi Moshe ben Rabbi Amram Greenwald ืืฆืดื, author of the celebrated responsa ืขืจืืืช ืืืืฉื and Rav of Chust.
Rabbi Moshe was one of the leading rabbinic authorities of Hungarian Jewry at the turn of the twentieth century. A distinguished disciple of the Ksav Sofer, he combined the traditions of Pressburg scholarship with profound Chassidic devotion. He served successively as Rav of Humennรฉ, Kisvรกrda, and finally Chust, where he established a renowned yeshivah.
His responsa, ืฉืโืช ืขืจืืืช ืืืืฉื, became a classic work of halachic literature and are frequently cited by later authorities. He was a fierce defender of traditional Torah Judaism and opposed the growing Reform movement of his day. Through his descendants, he became the patriarch of the distinguished Greenwald rabbinic family and the spiritual ancestor of the Pupa Chassidic dynasty.
Among his notable students was Rabbi Shraga Feivel Mendlowitz, one of the architects of twentieth-century Torah education in America.
๐ฏ๏ธ 1926 โ The Passing of Rabbi Simcha Bunim Ehrenfeld, Author of Maaneh Simcha
In the year ืชืจืคโื (1926) passed away the gaon Rabbi Simcha Bunim ben Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld ืืฆืดื, Rav of Mattersdorf, author of ืืขื ื ืฉืืื.
A direct descendant of the illustrious Chasam Sofer, Rabbi Simcha Bunim continued the great rabbinic tradition of Mattersdorf and served as one of the leading Torah authorities of Austrian Jewry. Following him, his son Rabbi Shmuel Ehrenfeld would continue the dynasty and eventually rebuild the institutions of Mattersdorf in America after the destruction of European Jewry.
His sefer Maaneh Simcha reflects the depth, precision, and fidelity to mesorah that characterized the school of the Chasam Sofer. Through his teachings, ืชืืืืืื and descendants, his influence continues to be felt in Torah communities around the world.