ה' אייר - אתחלתא דגאולה

 

ה' אייר & מאה שערים-אתחלתא דגאולה It was only after the arrival of the תלמידי בעל שם טוב and תלמידי הגר"א that there was a Kibbutz of  Ashkenazi  Yidden in Eretz Yisroel.  Up until then, there were only a handful of Ashkenazi Yidden in E.Yisroel. The vast majority were the Sephardim.  The Sephardim felt threatened and intimidated by the arrival of the Ashkenazi Yidden. They were upset with the Ashkenazim for not willing to follow  Minhag Eretz Yisroel and adopt the בית יוסף as  the מרא דארעא ישראל (Rav of E.Yisroel)  Ashkenazim continued with the פסקים of the רמ"א and kept up  with their own Minhagim. As the Ashkenazi community kept growing, so too did the animosity between the Sephardim and Ashkenazim.  The Sephardim controlled the Tzedakos, Shechita, Mikvaos, Chevra Kadisha, etc. This created major difficulties for the Ashkenazim. They suffered tremendously.  being beholden & dependent on their Sephardic brethren.    The Chasam Sofer even mentions this in the Teshuvos  how one of his Talmidim described the suffering under  the Sephardim. Harav Meir Auerbach Zt"l (1815-1878) Mechaber of the אמרי בינה the רב ראשי לאשכנזים was the one who decided to brake away from the Sephardi Kehilla. He established a separate Ashkenazi Kehilla. The first thing he managed to do with great difficulty, was a separate Ashkenazi שחיטה. He also managed to take control of the funds from Chutz Laaretz by sending out their own שד"ר.  (Meshulachim-שלוחי דרבנן) R Meir died at the young age of 62 years old. He didn't complete the separation totally. The Chevra Kadisha was still controlled by the Sephardim. R Shmuel Salant Zt"l the successor of R. Meir was the one who established an Ashkenazi Chevra Kadisha. By having their own Chevra Kadisha, the total separation between the Sephardim & Ashkenazim was complete.   The Ashkenazim termed this occasion as the אתחלתא דגאולה that was started by R Meir Auerbach and completed by R Shmuel Salant. This was the beginning of the redemption  of not being dependent on the Sephardim. R Meir Auerbach was one of the founders of מאה שערים & The Bikur Cholim Hospital  מאה שערים was one of the first neighborhoods outside the walled city. R. Meir  Auerbach's Yahrzeit is on ה' אייר Hence, the connection of מאה שערים, ה' אייר  & אתחלתא דגאולה