๐ฏ๏ธ Todayโs Yartzite โ 28th Elul
๐ฏ๏ธ The Fourth Day of Creation
According to the traditional reckoning that Creation began on 25 Elul, the day of 28 Elul corresponds to the Fourth Day of Maโaseh Bereishis.
On this day Hashem placed the heavenly luminaries in the sky:
โืืื ืืืืจืืช ืืจืงืืข ืืฉืืืโ
โLet there be luminaries in the firmament of the heavens.โ
The Torah explains their purposes:
- To distinguish between day and night.
- To serve as signs.
- To determine seasons and festivals.
- To establish days and years.
- To illuminate the earth.
The sun, moon, and stars thus became not only physical sources of light but also the celestial clock through which the Jewish calendar and the ืืืขืืื are determined.
As Rosh Hashanah approaches, the creation of the luminaries reminds us that history unfolds according to a Divine plan and timetable.
๐ฏ๏ธ The Death of Shaul HaMelech and His Sons
Many traditional chronologies associate this period of Elul with the final events of the war against the Philistines that culminated in the deaths of:
- Shaul HaMelech
- Yonasan
- Avinadav
- Malki-Shua
on Mount Gilboa.
Some sources place these events approximately four months after the passing of Shmuel HaNavi.
Scripture itself deliberately minimizes the details of the catastrophe, and David HaMelech later proclaimed:
โืื ืชืืืื ืืืชโ
โTell it not in Gath.โ
Thus, the exact number of casualties and many details of the battle remain unstated in Tanach.
Many have the custom during these days before Rosh Hashanah to review the concluding chapters of Sefer Shmuel I, which recount these dramatic events and Davidโs lament for Shaul and Yonasan.
๐ฏ๏ธ 1898 โ The Passing of Rabbi Yisrael of Skver
In the year ืชืจื โื (1898) passed away the holy Rabbi Yisrael Friedman of Skver, son of Rabbi Yitzchak of Skver, ืืฆโื.
A descendant of the Chernobyl dynasty, Rabbi Yisrael was known for his holiness, humility, and devotion to his chassidim.
In many communities it became customary to visit cemeteries and invoke the merit of tzaddikim on 28 Elul, in connection with his yahrzeit and the proximity of the Days of Judgment.