🗓️ Today in Jewish History – 6th Tishreiy
🕯️ The Decree Following the Sin of the Golden Calf
According to one tradition cited by early authorities, on 6 Tishrei the decree was issued against the generation of the wilderness following the sin of the Golden Calf.
Because of that sin, the Jewish people became liable to punishment by:
- Sword
- Famine
- Pestilence
Although Moshe Rabbeinu’s prayers brought forgiveness and mitigation of the decree, the event remained a reminder of the severe spiritual consequences of the Golden Calf and the power of teshuvah to temper judgment.
🗓️ Today’s Yartzite – 6th Tishreiy
🕯️ 1811 – The Passing of the Zeide of Shpola
In the year תקע”ב (1811) passed away the holy Rabbi Aryeh Leib ben Rabbi Baruch, known throughout the Chassidic world as the Zeide of Shpola (Shpoler Zeide), זצ”ל.
One of the most beloved disciples of the early Chassidic masters, the Shpoler Zeide became famous for his extraordinary love of the Jewish people and his constant efforts to defend them in Heaven.
Countless stories describe how he interceded on behalf of simple Jews and sought to uncover merit even in those who appeared spiritually distant.
The holy Rabbi Yisrael of Ruzhin once remarked that the illumination of the Shpoler Zeide’s soul possesses a unique power to sweeten harsh judgments.
🕯️ For generations he has been remembered as one of the great “defense attorneys” of the Jewish people.
🕯️ 1858 – The Passing of Rabbi Zalman of Bonyhád
In the year תרי”ח (1858) passed away the gaon Rabbi Zalman, Av Beis Din of Pressburg, author of:
מנחה טהורה
Rabbi Zalman was among the distinguished rabbinic scholars of Hungarian Jewry. His sefer Minchah Tehorah earned respect among תלמידי חכמים and contributed to the flourishing Torah scholarship of nineteenth-century Hungary.
🕯️ 1872 – The Passing of Rabbi Mordechai of Talne
In the year תרל”ב (1872) passed away the holy Rabbi Mordechai ben Rabbi David of Talne, זצ”ל.
A member of the illustrious Chernobyl dynasty, Rabbi Mordechai continued the traditions established by his saintly forebears and guided the chassidim of Talne with holiness, humility, and devotion to Torah and prayer.
🕯️ He was among the prominent Chassidic leaders of his generation.
🕯️ The Passing of Rabbi Yisrael Taussig
On this day is also commemorated the yahrzeit of the gaon and tzaddik Rabbi Yisrael ben Rabbi Dovid Yissachar Taussig, Admor and author of בית ישראל.
Rabbi Yisrael was known for his piety, refinement of character, and dedication to the spiritual growth of his followers.
🗓️ Today in Chabad History – 6th Tishreiy
🕯️ 6 Tishrei, 5725 (1964) – The Passing of Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson, Mother of the Lubavitcher Rebbe
On Shabbos Shuvah, 6 Tishrei 5725 (1964), passed away the righteous Rebbetzin Chana Schneerson, mother of the Lubavitcher Rebbe, at the age of eighty-four.
Born on 28 Teves 5640 (1880) in Nikolayev, she was the daughter of the renowned gaon and chassid Rabbi Meir Shlomo Yanovsky, Rav of Nikolayev, and his wife Rebbetzin Rachel.
In 1900, she married Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson, who would later become the celebrated Rav of Yekaterinoslav (today Dnipro). Two years later, their first child was born: the future Lubavitcher Rebbe.
🕯️ The Rebbetzin of Yekaterinoslav
For approximately thirty years, while Rabbi Levi Yitzchak served as Rav of Yekaterinoslav, Rebbetzin Chana stood faithfully at his side.
She was exceptionally educated, widely read, and fluent in Russian. Her intelligence, refinement, and ability to interact with all segments of society greatly assisted her husband’s rabbinic work and influence.
At a time when Soviet authorities were increasingly hostile to Judaism, the Schneerson home became a center of Torah life, communal leadership, and resistance to religious persecution.
🕯️ Exile in Kazakhstan
In 1939, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was arrested by the Soviet authorities because of his tireless efforts to strengthen Jewish observance.
He was sentenced to exile in the remote village of Chi’ili in Kazakhstan.
As soon as Rebbetzin Chana learned where her husband had been sent, she undertook the dangerous journey to join him. Despite the poverty, isolation, and immense hardships of exile, she refused to leave him alone.
Her devotion during those years became legendary.
🕯️ The Ink of Mesirus Nefesh
One of the most remarkable chapters of her life involved preserving her husband’s Torah writings.
In exile, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak had no access to proper ink, paper, or writing materials. Yet he continued producing profound Torah insights.
To make this possible, Rebbetzin Chana personally prepared homemade ink from whatever materials she could obtain. She searched tirelessly for scraps of paper and anything else that would enable her husband to record his chiddushim.
The Torah works of Rabbi Levi Yitzchak that are studied today survived largely because of her self-sacrifice.
Without her efforts, many of those teachings might have been lost forever.
🕯️ Her Legacy According to the Rebbe
At a farbrengen on 6 Tishrei 5746 (1985), the Rebbe spoke about his mother and emphasized that despite the enormous personal difficulties she faced, she accepted an additional responsibility:
to ensure that the Torah teachings of her husband would be preserved and eventually published so that Jews throughout the world could study the inner dimensions of Torah.
The Rebbe explained that her efforts were motivated by a desire to spread the wellsprings of Chassidus and thereby hasten the coming of Moshiach.
🕯️ Final Years in America
After surviving Soviet persecution and exile, Rebbetzin Chana eventually came to the United States.
She spent the final seventeen years of her life in Brooklyn, where she witnessed the extraordinary growth of Chabad under the leadership of her son.
Thousands came to regard her with reverence and affection, recognizing in her a living embodiment of dignity, courage, faith, and mesirus nefesh.
On Shabbos Shuvah, 6 Tishrei 5725, she returned her soul to her Creator.
Her resting place is in New York, near the Ohel.
🕯️ “Beis Chana”
Following her passing, countless educational institutions for Jewish girls around the world were established in her memory under the name:
Beis Chana
These institutions reflect the qualities that characterized her life:
- Faith
- Torah commitment
- Self-sacrifice
- Jewish education
- Devotion to family and community
🕯️ Rebbetzin Chana remains one of the most revered women in modern Jewish history, remembered not only as the mother of the Rebbe, but as a towering figure in her own right whose courage and dedication preserved Torah under some of the harshest conditions of the twentieth century.