Today in Jewish History

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Iyar 6

 

In 1881, a wave of pogroms swept 166 towns in southern Russia, after Jews were blamed for the assassination of Czar Alexander II. In these pogroms, thousands of Jewish homes were destroyed, and hundreds of Jews were killed and injured. The new czar, Alexander III, blamed the Jews for the riots and issued a series of harsh restrictions against the Jewish community. In the wake of these pogroms, some 2 million Jews fled Russia, many settling in the United States.

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Iyar 7

 

In 1943, the first Jewish agricultural settlement was established in the Negev, Kibbutz Gevulot. David Ben-Gurion believed that the Negev -- encompassing about half the land mass of Israel -- was the fledging country's great frontier. Though the Negev was virtually uninhabited and thought by many to be uncultivable, Ben-Gurion believed that the desert could be tamed and turned into an asset. Many agricultural innovations, such as the use of hydroponics, have been developed in order to cultivate the Negev. And today, Beersheba -- first known as the biblical watering hole for Abraham's sheep -- is a modern city of 190,000.

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Iyar 8 

 

In 1516, the Jews of Venice were forced to move to an enclosed area, the site of an old metal foundry. The Italian word for foundry is "ghetto," thus giving rise to a byword that would, over the centuries, describe the persecution of Jews. In 1555, for example, Pope Paul IV created the Roman Ghetto, and in the 20th century the Nazis forced Jews into dozens of ghettos -- the Warsaw Ghetto alone held 450,000 people (30% of the entire population of Warsaw), crammed into a tiny area.

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yar 9

 

In 1948, the Arab Legion captured the police station on Mount Scopus, isolating it from the rest of Jerusalem. One month earlier, a convoy of 78 Jewish medical personnel en route to Mount Scopus were killed in a merciless Arab ambush. After 1948, Hebrew University and Hadassah Hospital both closed their Mount Scopus facilities and relocated to western Jerusalem. When Jerusalem was reunited in 1967, these facilities reopened on Mount Scopus.

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Iyar 10

 

Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Yitzhak Alfasi (1013-1103), popularly know by the acronym, Rif. Alfasi was born in Morocco, and studied in Tunisia under the famed Rabbeinu Chananel. Alfasi ushered in the era of "Rishonim" (lit: the first ones), the important rabbinic period which culminated in the 16th century Code of Jewish Law. Rabbi Alfasi wrote Sefer HaHalachot, the first codification of talmudic law and a precursor to the great codes of Maimonides and Rabbi Yosef Karo. Alfasi served for 40 years as head of the Jewish community of Fez, Morocco. At age 75, two informers denounced him to the government on a spurious charge, and he moved to Spain. The most famous of his many students is Judah HaLevi, author of the Kuzari.

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Iyar 11 

 

This date marks the death of Judah P. Benjamin (1811-1884), an American-Jewish statesman. Benjamin was the second Jew to serve in the U.S. Senate, representing Louisiana. When another senator accused him of being an "Israelite in Egyptian clothing," Benjamin, who had married into a prominent Roman Catholic family, replied: "It is true that I am a Jew, and when my ancestors were receiving their Ten Commandments from the immediate Deity, amidst the thundering and lightnings of Mount Sinai, the ancestors of my opponent were herding swine in the forests of Great Britain." Two U.S. presidents (Franklin Pierce and Millard Fillmore) offered to nominate Benjamin as the first Jew to the U.S. Supreme Court, but Benjamin declined. During the Civil War, Benjamin served in the cabinet of the Confederacy – variously as Attorney General, Secretary of War, and Secretary of State. In the aftermath of the war, Benjamin was targeted for his Confederate loyalties; a rumor even surfaced that he had masterminded the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. Fearing that he could never receive a fair trial, he burned his personal papers and fled to England under a false name. Benjamin was buried in Paris.

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Iyar 12

 

In 1967, Egypt blocked the Gulf of Aqaba to Israeli shipping. On May 17, Egyptian leader Gamal Abdel Nasser demanded that UN monitoring forces evacuate the Sinai, a request with which UN Secretary-General U Thant cowardly complied. Nasser began the re-militarization of the Sinai, and concentrated tanks and troops on the border with Israel. On May 22, Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, and blockaded the Israeli port of Eilat in the Gulf of Aqaba. The Egyptian blockade violated international law and Israel demanded that it cease. When Egypt failed to act, Israel launched a pre-emptive attack that destroyed 300 airplanes -- nearly the entire Egyptian Air Force -- in a matter of hours. Within days Israel had captured the entire Sinai Peninsula; this would be the bargaining chip for the Israeli-Egyptian Peace Accords of 1979.

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Iyar 13 

 

In 1427, a decree was issued ordering all Jews expelled from Berne, Switzerland. Jews have wandered and settled in over 100 lands on five continents. Throughout the Middle Ages, Jews were subject to frequent expulsions. And amazingly, 90 percent of Jewish families were uprooted in the 20th century -- with mass immigration to America and Israel, and the tragic Holocaust. This is prophesied in Leviticus 26:33: "I will scatter you among the nations..." Yet amidst it all, the Jewish people have miraculously maintained their distinct national identity.

Edited May 2, 2015 by pkrause

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Iyar 14 

 

In 1960, Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann was captured in Argentina. Eichmann was in charge of implementing the "final solution" to exterminate Jews in the concentration camps. In one seven-week period alone, Eichmann transported 400,000 Hungarian Jews to the gas chambers. Eichmann was captured through the efforts of Nazi hunter Simon Wiesenthal and the Israeli Mossad (Secret Service). Eichmann was later put on trial in Israel, which was broadcast worldwide and featured the wrenching testimony of many Holocaust survivors. Eichmann was convicted and executed by hanging, the only capital punishment ever carried out in Israel. His body was cremated and ashes scattered at sea, so that no nation would serve as Eichmann's final resting place.

Edited May 3, 2015 by pkrause

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Iyar 15 

 

Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Meir Baal HaNeis (second century), a prominent scholar whose opinion is quoted more than any other in Mishnaic literature. Rabbi Meir studied under the great Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Yishmael, and was one of five scholars ordained during the persecutions that followed the Bar Kochva revolt. Rabbi Meir's wife was the famous wise woman, Beruriah. When their two sons died, she broke the news gently and comforted him. Rabbi Meir is buried on a hillside overlooking the Sea of Galilee, and today his tomb is a popular place of pilgrimage and prayer. (Some sources list his yahrtzeit as Iyar 14.)

Edited May 4, 2015 by pkrause

[phkrause]

Iyar 16 

 

In the Hebrew year 2448, Manna fell for the first time in the desert of Sene. This came one month after the Exodus, as the supply of matzah the Israelites took from Egypt had run out. The Manna fell six days a week; a double-portion fell on Friday to include Shabbat. Unlike other miracles that were one-time events, the Manna continued to fall day after day throughout the 40 years of Jewish wandering in the desert.

Edited May 5, 2015 by pkrause

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Iyar 17 

 

Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Yechezkel Landau (1713-1793), a brilliant scholar and leader known popularly by the title of his commentary, Nodeh BiYehuda. Rabbi Landau was born in Poland, and became rabbi of the large and influential community of Prague. He also authored Dagul Mervavah on the Shulchan Aruch and Tzelach on the Talmud. Rabbi Landau interceded with the government on various occasions to counter anti-Semitic measures. In one famous incident, the local bakers of Prague had secretly plotted to poison the bread and sell it only to the Jews. Late one night, there was a knock on Rabbi Landau's door. It was one on the bakers, who decades earlier Rabbi Landau had reached out to help. Out of gratitude, this man revealed the plot, and thousands of Jewish lives were saved.

Edited May 6, 2015 by pkrause

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Iyar 18 

 

Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai (100-170 CE), the great scholar and leader during the Roman period following the destruction of the Second Temple. After criticizing the Roman government, Rabbi Shimon was forced to go into hiding with his son for 13 years. They lived in a cave, studying Torah, and subsisting on carob and water. Rabbi Shimon is credited with authoring many works of Jewish law, including the Zohar, the primary source of Jewish mysticism, which he revealed to his students on his final day. Lag B'Omer -- literally the "33rd day of the Omer" -- is the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Shimon and, according to his wishes, is observed as a day of great celebration. Jews throughout Israel light huge bonfires, symbolically illuminating the deeper truths of Torah, as revealed by Rabbi Shimon. The main celebration is at Meiron, the Rabbi Shimon's burial site, where tens of thousands of people gather to light torches, sing and dance in his honor.

Iyar 18 is also the yahrtzeit of Rabbi Moshe Isserles (1530-1572), known by the acronym Rema. His most famous work was notes on the Code of Jewish Law (Shulchan Aruch); these opinions are regarded as the definitive source for Ashkenazi Jewry. The Rema was born and died in Krakow, Poland, where he served as rabbi of the city. Not only a Talmudic and legal scholar, he was also learned in Kabbalah, and studied history, astronomy and philosophy. He penned a Torah scroll that was preserved for centuries in his synagogue in Krakow, until being destroyed in the Holocaust.

Edited May 7, 2015 by pkrause

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Iyar 19 

 

Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Meir of Rotenburg (1215-1293), a great Talmudic commentator and leader of German Jewry, known by the acronym Maharam. When leaving Germany, Rabbi Rotenburg was arrested on false charges, and a huge ransom was imposed for his release. The money was raised, but he forbade it to be paid, on the grounds that it would encourage further hostage-taking of Jewish leaders. At great personal sacrifice, he preferred to remain in prison, in order to save many others from a similar fate. He died in captivity seven years later, however his body was not surrendered for another 14 years, when a Jew named Alexander Suskind gave away most of his fortune to ransom the body -- on condition that he would later have the honor of being buried alongside Rabbi Rotenburg.

Edited May 9, 2015 by pkrause

[phkrause]

lyar 20

 

In 1311 BCE (Hebrew year 2449), the Jewish people left Mount Sinai to go to Israel. If the Jews hadn't complained about the difficulties of traveling in the desert, they would have entered the Land of Israel immediately. As it was, they wandered in the desert for 40 years before entering the land.

On this date in 1800, D.M. Dyte, an English Jew, saved the life of King George III of England. King George was attending a theater presentation, when a lunatic in the audience fired a gun pointblank at the king. Two bullets missed their target, passing harmlessly over the king's head. It was revealed that D.M. Dyte had struck the would-be assassin's arm as he pulled the trigger. As a reward, Dyte asked for (and was granted) a monopoly on the sale of opera tickets.

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Iyar 21 

 

In 1882, the Jewish agricultural settlement of Alliance was founded in New Jersey. Jewish immigrants from eastern Europe proposed this settlement as a utopian experiment, with the thought that through agriculture the Jewish people would become emancipated. Ultimately, the Alliance idea failed, as an industrializing, urban America proved more powerful than the settlers' plan.

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Iyar 22 

 

In 1944, the Nazis began deporting Hungarian Jews to the concentration camps. This would be one of the final tragedies of the Holocaust, as 400,000 Hungarian Jews were taken to the gas chambers in a matter of weeks. Additionally, tens of thousands of Jews died on death marches from Budapest to Austria, and others were shot and thrown into the Danube River. During this time, Raoul Wallenberg, a Swedish diplomat stationed in Budapest, issued thousands of Swedish identity documents to protect Jews from deportation; he is credited with saving tens of thousands of lives.

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Iyar 23 

 

In the Hebrew year 2448, Moses hit a rock in order to provide water for the Jewish people in the desert (Exodus 17:6). This became the Well of Miriam that miraculously accompanied the Jews for the next 40 years.

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Iyar 24 

 

In 1945, Germany surrendered unconditionally to the Allies, one week after Adolf Hitler committed suicide in a Nazi bunker. World War II had engulfed much of the globe and is considered the most costly war in human history. In total, some 50 million people lost their lives -- 20 million soldiers and 30 million civilians.

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Iyar 25 

 

In 1096, Christian Crusaders reached the city of Cologne, only to find the city gates locked by order of the bishop. The Crusaders were en route to liberate the Holy Land from the "infidels," and turned these Crusades into campaigns of slaughter, rape and pillage. This large-scale mob violence, directed primarily against European Jews, served as the model for later pogroms. Muslims were also victims of the Crusaders, which historians believe planted a deep-seeded hatred of the West. In this first Crusade, an estimated 40% of the Jewish community of Europe was slaughtered; only the Jews of Cologne, with their locked city gates, were completely spared.

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Iyar 26

 

Yahrtzeit of Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto (1707-1747), author of classic works of Jewish philosophy, known by the acronym of his name, Ramchal. He was born in Italy where he quickly became known for his vast Torah knowledge and beautiful literary style. It is said that by age 14, he already knew the entire Talmud and Midrash by heart. Ramchal's Path of the Just, which describes a step-by-step process to attaining spiritual perfection, is a classical work of Mussar (Jewish ethics) that is studied widely today. Other of Ramchal's important works include The Way of God, a systemized study of Jewish philosophy, and Da'at Tevunot, an exposition on kabbalistic concepts. Ramchal moved to Amsterdam where he worked as a diamond cutter, and later to Israel, where he perished in a plague at the age of 40. He is buried next to the famed Rebbe Akiva on a hillside in Tiberias.

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Iyar 27

 

In 1945, the Theresienstadt concentration camp was liberated. Theresienstadt was not a death camp by the usual definition. It was the center of a Nazi PR ploy -- a mythic, idyllic city that was supposedly built to protect Jews from the vagaries and stresses of the war. The Red Cross was once allowed to visit Theresienstadt, which was spruced up for the occasion; inmates were dressed up and baked goods suddenly filled the shelves. (The Red Cross concluded that the Jews were being well-treated.) In reality, starvation and disease proved rampant. Of the 200,000 people (mostly Czech Jews) who passed through its gates, thousands died of malnutrition and exposure, and others were sent to Auschwitz.

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Iyar 28 

 

In 1967, Israeli paratroopers completed their capture of the Old City of Jerusalem, restoring Jewish control of the Temple Mount, Judaism's holiest site. Soldiers danced, sang and cried at the Western Wall, the site of Jewish prayers for centuries. A plaza was cleared in front of the Wall, and one week later, tens of thousands of Jews swarmed to the site on the holiday of Shavuot. Iyar 28 is celebrated today as Yom Yerushalayim, commemorating the reunification of the Holy City, which has stood as the capital of the Jewish nation for 3,000 years.

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Iyar 29

 

Yahrtzeit of Shmuel (Samuel) the Prophet (930-878 BCE). Shmuel was born to Chana, who had been barren for many years and prayed intensely for a child. Shmuel was raised in an atmosphere of great holiness, and became a leading prophet in Israel. Shmuel's greatest contribution was in anointing the first king of Israel, Saul, and later anointing King David in his stead. (Some sources list Shmuel's yahrtzeit as Iyar 28.)

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Sivan 1 

 

In the Hebrew year 2448 (1312 BCE), seven weeks after the Exodus from Egypt, the Jewish people arrived at Mount Sinai. They spent the next five days in intense purification and preparation to receive the Torah.