6 Adar · Yahrzeit
Yahrzeit of Rabbi Naftali Amsterdam
Rabbi Naftali bar Shlomo Amsterdam (1832–1916) — one of the leaders of the Mussar movement.
Yahrzeit - 6 Adar
Resting place - Har HaZeitim (Mount of Olives)
He was born in the town of Salant (Lithuania) and was a student and assistant of the great Rabbi Yisrael Salanter.
After his marriage, he refused to become a rabbi and opened a bakery in his home to earn a living, but Rabbi Yisrael forbade him to work as a common laborer, so he sought a rabbinical position instead. In 1867, he was appointed rabbi of Helsinki (later the capital of Finland), where he served for about eight years.
In 1870, he tried to move to the Novgorod rabbinate, but the attempt was unsuccessful, and he returned to Helsinki until 1875, when he resigned and returned to Kaunas.
In Kaunas he lived in poverty, and Rabbi Yisrael sent him to St. Petersburg as a teacher together with his friend Rabbi Yitzchak Blazer, where he served for about a year. He then served as rabbi in the towns of Yashvin and Alexot, and finally left the rabbinate and devoted himself to educating the youth.
He moved to Israel shortly after his wife's death. He is buried on the Mount of Olives.
May the merit of the tzadik protect Am Yisrael!
(https://dailyzohar.com/tzadikim/1030-Rabbi-Naftali-Amsterdam)