Rav Yechezkel Taub Kuzmirer Rebbe, Nechmod Mizohov (Shevat 17, 5616 / 1856 - 169th Yahrzeit)
Rabbi Yechezkel of Kuzmir [17 Shevat 1856], a disciple of the Seer of Lublin, was the grandfather of the first Modzitzer Rebbe, a famous chassidic dynasty best known for its creative and exciting chassidic music.
http://www.ascentofsafed.com/cgi-bin/ascent.cgi?Name=rebbeBios
Rav Chaim Palagi (Shevat 17, 5628 / 1868 - 157th Yahrzeit)
Hacham Chaim Palagi was born in Izmir to Cali Kadin and to Hacham Yaakov Palagi in 1788. In 1807, at the age of 19, Hacham Chaim Palagi married, and in 1813 he received his ordination as Hacham Shalem from his grandfather, Chief Rabbi Rishon LeZion Hacham Raphael Yoseph.
Hacham Chaim Palagi did not accept any public position while his father was still living, and it was only in 1828 that he agreed to serve as a dayan in the Rabbinic Court and as Head of the Beit Yaakov Rabi yeshiva in Izmir. In 1837 Hacham Chaim Palagi was appointed President of the Great Rabbinic Court of Izmir, and in 1857 he was appointed Hacham Bashi, the highest rabbinic office in Izmir.
Hacham Chaim Palagi spoke out for the poor of his community and would reprimand its wealthy individuals in his sermons. He legislated takanot (Halachic enactments) and founded charitable institutions; he toiled to establish a Jewish hospital in Izmir and enlisted the support of renowned philanthropists.
Hacham Chaim Palagi began writing at the age of 16 and is famous for his numerous books, over 80 in number. His books deal in a broad range of topics, and include 7 books on the Bible, 9 on the Talmud, 15 on Midrash and sermons, books on morals, and 24 books on Halacha, Kabbala, Responsa. When he completed a book, Hacham Chaim Palagi would hold a se'udas mitzvah – a consecrated festive meal - and distribute his books gratis. He never sold his books.
On 11 Av, 5601 (1841), a fire broke out in Izmir, destroying the Jewish neighborhood and burning 54 of his books. Over the years, Hacham Chaim Palagi restored many of his writings and had them reprinted, leaving a small number in manuscript form.
Hacham Chaim Palagi passed away 17 Shevat, 5628 (1868). He was buried in the ancient cemetery of Izmir in an official state funeral, attended by Turkish military and state officials as well as representatives of foreign countries.
His books include Pe'ulat Tzaddik LeHaim – his first book, Semicha LeHaim Responsa – which he authored with his grandfather and teacher, Hacham Raphaek Yoseph Hazan – Rachamim LeHaim, Artzot HaHaim, Lev Haim, Haim LeRosh, Kol HaHaim, Matza Haim, Tzeddakah Haim, Pe'ulat Tzaddik LeHaim, Ginzei Haim, and Birkat Mo'adecha LeHaim – his last book, published a day before his death.
A few quotes from the Rabbi on 'Love of Israel' in which he teaches that a person who has no merit of their own has a share in their fellow-person's merit, as they are partners
All Israel have a portion in the World-to-Come. This can be interpreted to mean that since we share the understanding that "All of Israel are responsible for one another", they are to be considered partners in fulfilling the commandments, and in upholding and studying the Torah. And just as partners share benefits, the People of Israel share each other's merit in one another's Torah and good deeds... The Bible does bring evidence: "And your people, all of them are righteous" – and each has her or his own. Should you ever find totally empty people among Israel, they nevertheless "Shall possess the land for all time". "For all time" means that this includes even those who have nothing of their own.
Pe'ulat Tzeddek LeHaim, p.a, Siach Israel Publishing, Jerusalem 1998
https://hyomi.org.il/eng/mobile/page.asp?id=186
Rav Meshulam Dovid Soloveitchik (Shevat 18, 5781 / 2021 - 4th Yahrzeit)
Rav Meshullam Dovid Soloveitchik was the fifth of the twelve children of Rav Yitzchak Zev and Rebbetzin Alte Hindel Soloveitchik. Born in Brisk in the early 1920s, Rav Dovid grew up under the vigilant eye of his father, who took a firm and meticulous approach to his children’s chinuch.
Rav Dovid was still a young bachur when the onset of the Second World War turned his own world upside-down. Years later, he remembered an Erev Shabbos in the summer when the sky suddenly filled with German planes. Rav Dovid hurried to a small local shul, where he recited the entire sefer Tehillim with great emotion. He attested years later that it was the most fervent recitation of Tehillim that he experienced in his life. Two weeks later, the Germans occupied Brisk and the Soloveitchik family fled.
In the aftermath of the German invasion, the family was torn asunder. The Brisker Rav managed to escape to Vilna along with four of his sons: Rav Yosef Dov, Rav Chaim, Rav Raphael, and Rav Meshullam Dovid. Several months later, three more children managed to evade the Nazis’ clutches and join them: Rav Meir Soloveitchik and his two sisters, the future Rebbetzins Lifsha Feinstein and Rivka Schiff. Tragically, the rebbetzin and her three remaining children (two other children had passed away years earlier) were not destined to reunite with their family; they remained trapped in Brisk and were murdered by the Nazis. The Brisker Rav and his surviving children ultimately made their way to Eretz Yisrael, where he became one of the foremost spiritual leaders of the generation and established his own yeshiva.
The Brisker Rav’s eldest son, Rav Yosef Dov (Berel) Soloveitchik, took over the leadership of the Brisk yeshiva in Geulah after his father’s passing, while Rav Meshullam Dovid and Rav Meir Soloveitchik went on to open prestigious yeshivos of their own. After Rav Berel’s passing, his own eldest son, Rav Avraham Yehoshua, took the helm of the original yeshiva of Brisk.
Rav Dovid’s memories of the town of Brisk remained crystal clear even in his old age. Rabbi Shimon Yosef Meller, the acclaimed biographer of the Brisker dynasty, once traveled to Belarus in an effort to save part of the Jewish cemetery from demolition. Before his trip, he met with Rav Dovid Soloveittchik to ask if the rosh yeshiva remembered anything about the grave of the Bais Halevi, his great grandfather. To Rabbi Meller’s surprise, Rav Dovid dictated a series of flawless, detailed directions to the grave—nearly eight decades after his departure from Brisk.
Rav Dovid Soloveitchik was suffused with the reverence for his forebears that typifies the members of the Brisker dynasty. Every word of a Brisker gadol was a treasure, every anecdote priceless. When Rabbi Meller was preparing his multivolume biography of Rav Chaim Soloveitchik, he discovered that he had enough stories about Rav Chaim’s acts of chessed alone to fill a separate volume. Nevertheless, he was concerned that dedicating an entire volume to that subject would detract from the image of Rav Chaim as a master Torah scholar that he was seeking to develop. Rav Dovid Solovetichik, however, had a different view. “Every story that isn’t published is a shame,” he asserted.
Today, Rav Dovid Soloveitchik’s yeshiva is located in the Gush Shmonim neighborhood in Yerushalayim. While he was raising funds for the building’s construction, Rav Dovid conveyed a powerful lesson to the members of his kollel. One day, he announced to ...
