Yud Beis–Yud Gimmel Tammuz
Yud Beis–Yud Gimmel Tammuz, the 12th and 13th days of Tammuz on the Hebrew calendar, are celebrated as a holiday by the Chabad Hasidic community. The holiday commemorates the liberation of Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the sixth Chabad Rebbe, from Soviet imprisonment. Schneersohn was born June 21, 1880 (12 Tammuz 5640). The day is marked by public gatherings, additional study and prayer.
History
On Wednesday, June 15, 1927 (Sivan 15, 5687) Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn, the sixth Rebbe of the Chabad Hasidic movement, was arrested and incarcerated by the Soviet communist regime for “counter-revolutionary activities”. The main allegations against Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak were that he continued to maintain a network of religious schools where Torah and Jewish religion were taught. Initially sentenced to death, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak received a sentence of three years exile in the city of Kostroma.
On Tuesday, July 12, 1927 (Tammuz 12, 5687) the Rabbi Schneersohn was ordered to register as a prisoner at the Russian government offices in Kostrama. At that time, he was notified that the order had been received to grant him complete freedom. However, due to bureaucratic delays he was released the following day on Wednesday, July 13, 1927 (Tammuz 13, 5687).
Chassidim are so grateful to HaShem that we call the month of Tammuz Chodesh HaGeulah, the month of redemption.
Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn himself explained that his release was not just a private matter. One year after he was released, he wrote a letter to the chassidim about the celebration of these days. In the letter, the Rebbe writes: “It was not myself alone that HaShem redeemed on Yud-Beis Tammuz, but also all those who love the Torah and fulfill its commandments, and also all those who bear the name ‘Jew.’ ”
Celebrations
Each year on the Hebrew dates of Yud Beis and Yud Gimmel Tammuz, Chabad Hasidim celebrate Rabbi Schneersohn’s release. The two-day celebration is called a “Chag HaGeulah” and public gatherings (“farbrengens”) are held and the story is retold.
15th Tammuz
In the Hebrew year 2448 (1312 BCE), Chur, the son of Miriam, was killed when he stood up and tried to dissuade the Israelites from building the Golden Calf. As a reward for giving his life to preserve Jewish faith, Chur merited to have a grandson, Betzalel, who became the architect of the Tabernacle; the great King Solomon descended from him as well. During that tense time in the desert, Moses’ brother Aaron used a different strategy to stop the Golden Calf: He pretended to agree to building the Calf, but suggested that they wait until the following day. Aaron hoped that by then Moses would return to the camp and resolve the issue peacefully.
Tammuz 15 is also the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Chaim Ibn Attar (1696-1743), a holy man known by the title of his biblical commentary, Ohr HaChaim. Ohr HaChaim earned his livelihood as a silversmith, yet he always made Torah study his primary occupation. He would sit engrossed in study, and only when his last coin was spent did he engage in worldly matters. Ohr HaChaim once mistakenly caused an affront to the King of Morocco, who had him thrown into a pit of lions. Ohr HaChaim put on his tallit and tefillin, and when he was thrown into the pit, the lions gathered around him respectfully. Seeing this, the king proclaimed, “Now I know there is a God of Israel.” Ohr HaChaim is credited with initiating the idea of placing a note in the Western Wall; he gave this advice to the Chida, one of his students who was traveling from Morocco to Israel. Ohr HaChaim eventually moved to Italy and spent the final few years of his life in Israel. Legend says that he would study in Jerusalem with Elijah the Prophet, in the same building where the Arizal was born two centuries earlier. Today, the grave of Ohr HaChaim, located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, is a popular place of pilgrimage and prayer.
