๐๏ธ Today in Jewish History โ 2nd Tishreiy
๐ฏ๏ธ At the Conclusion of the First Day of Creation
At the end of the first Shabbos of creation, Adam HaRishon and Chavah sat in fasting and tears from sunset throughout the night. After their sin with the Tree of Knowledge, they feared that the darkness which had descended upon the world meant that creation was returning to chaos and void because of their transgression.
When dawn finally arrived, Adam realized that the cycle of day and night was the natural order established by Hashem. Filled with gratitude, he brought an offering to Hashem and praised the Creator for the renewal of light.
๐ฏ๏ธ This was mankindโs first experience of nightfall and the first realization that even after failure and judgment, Hashem grants renewal and hope.
๐ฏ๏ธ The Creation of Fire
On the first Motzaei Shabbos, after the conclusion of the first Shabbos in history, fire was revealed to Adam HaRishon.
Chazal teach that Adam struck two stones together and produced fire. In gratitude to Hashem for this discovery, he blessed the Creator who brings forth the lights of fire.
๐ฏ๏ธ This event is the source for the blessing over fire recited during Havdalah each Motzaei Shabbos.
๐ฏ๏ธ Ezra HaSofer and the Discovery of the Mitzvah of Sukkah
On the second day of Rosh Hashanah, the leaders of the people gathered around Ezra HaSofer to study the Torah in greater depth.
While studying, they found the commandment that the Jewish people should dwell in sukkos during the festival of Sukkos.
This led to a renewed observance of the mitzvah among the returning exiles and strengthened Torah life in the early Second Temple period.
๐ฏ๏ธ The gathering demonstrated the commitment of the returning exiles to rebuild Jewish life upon the foundation of Torah.
๐๏ธ Todayโs Yartzites โ 1st Tishreiy
๐ฏ๏ธ The Martyrdom of Rabbeinu Amnon of Mainz
A revered Ashkenazic tradition associates the second day of Rosh Hashanah with the martyrdom of Rabbeinu Amnon of Mainz ืืโื.
According to the famous account recorded in medieval sources, after suffering terrible persecution for his refusal to abandon Judaism, Rabbeinu Amnon was brought into the synagogue on Rosh Hashanah and recited the moving piyut:
ืื ืชื ื ืชืืงืฃ ืงืืืฉืช ืืืื
Immediately thereafter, he returned his soul to his Creator.
Because of this tradition, many communities begin the repetition of Mussaf directly with Unesaneh Tokef, without preceding piyutim.
๐ฏ๏ธ His words became one of the most powerful and beloved prayers of the Yamim Noraโim.
๐ฏ๏ธ The Martyrdom of Rabbi Tuviah and Rabbi Yisrael of Brno
On this day we remember the holy martyrs Rabbi Tuviah ben Rabbi Yosef Shlomo and Rabbi Yisrael ben Shalom ืืโื, who were murdered during a blood libel in Brno.
They sanctified Hashemโs Name with steadfast faith and courage during a time of persecution.
๐ฏ๏ธ Their memory remains among the many ืงืืืฉื ืืฉืจืื who gave their lives for their Judaism.
๐ฏ๏ธ 1799 โ The Passing of Rabbi Avraham Yekusiel Zalman Rappaport
In the year ืชืงื โื (1799) passed away the gaon Rabbi Avraham Yekusiel Zalman Rappaport of Brody ืืฆโื.
One of the distinguished rabbinic figures of Galicia, he was respected for his Torah scholarship and leadership and belonged to the renowned Rappaport family, which produced generations of Torah scholars.
๐ฏ๏ธ 1922 โ The Passing of Rabbi Yisrael Perlow, the Yenuka of Stolin
In the year ืชืจืคโื (1922) passed away the holy Rabbi Yisrael ben Rabbi Asher Perlow of Stolin, known throughout the Chassidic world as the Yenuka of Stolin, ืืฆโื.
Having assumed leadership at a young age, he became one of the most beloved leaders of Karlin-Stolin Chassidus. He was renowned for his warmth, love of fellow Jews, and uplifting prayers.
๐ฏ๏ธ His influence helped preserve and strengthen the Karlin-Stolin tradition for future generations.
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๐๏ธ Today in Chabad History โ 1st Tishreiy
๐ฏ๏ธ Second Day of Rosh Hashanah, 5703 (1942) โ Rebbetzin Sheina Hornstein Taken to the Crematoria at Treblinka
On the second day of Rosh Hashanah, 5703 (1942), Rebbetzin Sheina Hornstein, the youngest daughter of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the Frierdiker Rebbe, was taken by the Nazis to the crematoria of the Treblinka death camp and murdered al kiddush Hashem.
When the Frierdiker Rebbe was rescued from Poland at the beginning of World War II, he desperately sought to bring his daughter, Rebbetzin Sheina, and her husband, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Hornstein, with him. This proved impossible because they were Polish citizens, while the Rebbe and members of his immediate household held Latvian citizenship and were therefore able to leave Poland.
After arriving in the United States, the Frierdiker Rebbe made relentless efforts to secure their rescue. Numerous letters preserved in his correspondence testify to his attempts to obtain visas, permits, and every possible avenue of escape. Despite all his efforts, their rescue was not achieved.
Like countless other Polish Jews, they were deported to Treblinka, where the Nazis carried out the mass murder of hundreds of thousands of Jewish men, women, and children.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe would later note this date as the yahrzeit of Rebbetzin Sheina Hornstein and would recite Kaddish in her memory.
๐ฏ๏ธ The martyrdom of Rebbetzin Sheina Hornstein on Rosh Hashanah stands as one of the painful tragedies suffered by the family of the Rebbeim during the Holocaust and serves as a reminder of the destruction that befell European Jewry during those terrible years.