The calendar Itim L’Bina lists the 22 of Sh’vat as a YOM TOV mentioned in Megilat Taanit. The Yom Tov marked the death of someone who was probably an oppressive local ruler. This holiday was observed from 3426-3438 (334-322 BCE), which corresponds to the reign over Eretz Yisrael of Alexander the Great. So, happy Sh’vat 22, even though we haven’t celebrated it in 2325 years. The 23rd of Sh’vat, on the other hand, was a fast day (for righteous individ- uals) to mark the day that all the other tribes went to battle against the tribe of Binyamin in the wake of the Pilegesh B’Giv’a fiasco. The 25th is the yahrzeit of Rabbi Yisrael Salanter (1886), father of the Mussar Movement. The 26th is the yahrzeit of the TAZ. [The
Parshat Yitro Homepage]
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