The Day Tyranny Ended: A King’s Death and a Nation’s Relief

In the Scroll of Taanit, it is recorded that the second of Sh'vat is a joyous day during which mourning is forbidden. The scroll explains why this day was chosen: On the 2nd of Sh'vat, the wicked King Alexander Yannai died, and as it is said, when the wicked perish, there is joy before Hashem, as written, "When the wicked perish, there is jubilation."

When King Yannai fell ill, he ordered 70 of Israel's elders (Sanhedrin) to be imprisoned. His evil plan was to have them killed so that Israel would mourn the death of their great leaders and not celebrate the death of their wicked king.

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Yannai's wife, a noble woman named Queen Shlomtzion, who was the sister of Shimon ben Shetach, the head of the Sanhedrin and one of the leading sages and elders of Israel at that time, played a crucial role.

Upon Yannai's death, Queen Shlomtzion kept his demise secret. She took his royal signet ring and commanded the warden of the prison to release the 70 elders, falsely claiming that King Yannai had ordered it.

Indeed, the prison warden freed the 70 sages of Israel. Only afterward did Queen Shlomtzion announce King Yannai's death, and the Jews established the 2nd of Sh'vat as a joyful day commemorating both the miraculous rescue of the 70 elders and the death of the wicked King Yannai.

From the Scroll of Taanit, Page 11:

"On the second of Sh'vat, there is a joyous day, forbidding mourning. Why was this month chosen differently? It was because, on the first of the month, Herod died, and on this date, King Yannai died, bringing joy before Hashem when the wicked leave the world. They said, when King Yannai fell ill, he captured 70 elders of Israel, imprisoning them, and told the prison warden, if I die, kill these elders, so until Israel laments my death, they will mourn their great ones. It is said he had a good wife, named Shlomtzion, and when he died, she removed his ring and sent it to the prison warden, stating in a dream the master has permitted the elders' release. They were released, and went home, and afterwards, she announced King Yannai died, establishing it as a joyous day."

"Everything written in the Scroll of Taanit to forbid mourning is to fast thereafter, and not before. Rabbi Yosi says not before nor after. When nothing is written about mourning but about the abstaining alone, fasting is done before but not after. Rabbi Yosi says after but not before. But on good days and new moons, it is permitted before and after. Why were some forbidden and others allowed? These are words of Torah, and the words of Torah do not need strengthening, but the words of scribes require strengthening. Rabbi Yosi ben Dosa says in the name of Rabbi Yosi the Galilean, anyone who swears to fast on the eve of Shabbat and festivals, it is a vain oath, as part of the eve of Shabbat is like Shabbat, and part of the eve of the festival is like a festival."