Hashmonean King Alexander-Yannai (Jannaeus), an avowed enemy of the Jewish sages, died on this date. So great was his cruelty and the ruthlessness with which he persecuted the Sages and those loyal to them (some 50,000 were killed in the years 82-76 BCE), that the day of his death was declared a holiday.
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King Yannai
On this day, Shevat 2 (January 14, 1793), a frenzied mob gathered around the Jewish ghetto of Rome with the intention of setting it on fire. Miraculously, heavy rains began to fall, and it became impossible for the bloodthirsty horde to carry out their plans, thus saving the homes and lives of the Jews from destruction. Every year, that day, also known as Moed di Piombo (“Holiday of Gray [Clouds]”), has been celebrated as a day of thanksgiving by the Jews of Rome.
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Other "Purims"
Shevat 2 is the yahrtzeit (anniversary of the passing) of Chassidic Master Rabbi Meshulam Zusha of Anipoli (1718?-1800), a disciple of the 2nd leader of the Chassidic movement, Rabbi DovBer of Mezeritch.
Despite Rabbi Zusha's erudition and great piety, he was distinguished by his self-effacement and simple ways. A characteristic saying of his goes: "If it were offered to me to exchange places with Abraham our Father, I would refuse. What would G-d gain from this? He'd still have one Zusha and one Abraham..." His colleagues said of him that he was literally incapable of seeing anything negative in a fellow Jew.
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More about Rabbi Zusha
A gift is a gift, but a gift to one in need is an investment, a seed planted in the ground.
Hidden beneath the earth, a seed decays to nothingness. Yet out of that nothingness it unlocks the endless, transformative power of the earth: The power to reproduce.
The seed germinates. A delicate sprout breaks through the earth’s surface. In time, it will grow and mature to provide many thousands of fruits and seeds like itself. And that process will replicate itself, theoretically, ad infinitum.
A seed ignites the power of the earth, but a gift of kindness seeds the very ground of the cosmos—for out of Divine Kindness the universe emerged, of Kindness it is built, and with Kindness it is sustained and nourished.
And what are the fruits for those who seed kindness? G‑d’s kindness. Beyond infinite, yet here for you in this world.
Invest kindness in those who are in need. The fruits of your investment will be beyond wonder.