History events
-1273 BCE — (7 Adar I, 2488 according to the Hebrew calendar) Death of Moses.
-516 BCE — (3 Adar, 3245) On the third day of the month of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of King Darius, the reconstruction of the Temple, which had been destroyed by the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar, was completed. This occurred approximately 70 years after the destruction of the First Temple. At the consecration of the Second Temple, 100 bulls, 600 head of small cattle were sacrificed, and 12 goats were offered as a sin offering, corresponding to the number of the tribes of Israel
1481 — (13th of Adar 5241) The first Auto de Fe took place in Seville, Spain. Six Morrano men and six women were burned for allegedly practicing Judaism
1486 — (7th of Adar 5246) Auto da fé at Toledo at which 740 Jews were reconciled
1699 — (23 Adar I, 5459) The Committee of Spanish-Portuguese Jews of London signed a £2,650 contract with Joseph Avis for the design of a synagogue building
1860 — (19th of Adar 5620) Isaac Baer Levinsohn, the Mendelssohn of Russia, died
1886 — (7 Adar, 5646) The first issue of the Hebrew-language daily newspaper «Ha-Yom» («היום») was published in St. Petersburg. The editor and publisher was I. L. Kantor. In the preface to the first issue, he wrote: «Current daily events can be discussed in Hebrew just as they were in ancient times.» The newspaper was published for two years.
1919 — (12 Adar, 5679) Russian Civil War. A report in the Simferopol newspaper «Yuzhnye Vedomosti» titled «Destruction of a Jewish Colony» stated: «New arrivals from the Aleksandrovsky district relay the horrors that occurred there a week or two ago, especially in the northern part of the district. A gang of bandits attacked three Jewish settlements: Trudolyubovka, Nechayevka, and Sladkovodnoye. In Trudolyubovka, all the men were gathered by the bandits and ordered to pay a tribute. The money was collected and handed over. After that, 70 people were herded into a barn and burned alive. 130 people were killed. In Nechayevka, 18 people were killed; in Sladkovodnoye, 9. The teacher of the Jewish school, Rabinovich, who was accidentally released from captivity, returned to his native village and hanged himself after the horrors he experienced. Many murders were committed in neighboring villages. The pogrom of the Jewish settlements is explained as revenge for the fact that a Jewish militia from Yekaterinoslav defended the city from Makhnovist forces.»
1935 — (9th of Adar-1 5695) The first Palestine-owned ships of modern times will start service here today, restoring to the Jewish people a profession in which they have had little part since the ancient Phoenicians. Two new ships Mount Zion and Tel Aviv sail between Palestine, Constananza and Trieste. While the ships are of “British naval design” they will have Jewish skippers and crews
1940 — (3th of Adar-1 5700) The Nazis began the first mass deportation of Germans Jews to Poland
1941 — (15th of Shevat 5701) The Nazis established the Jewish Council for Amsterdam under Abraham Asscher, prominent Amsterdam businessman and David Cohen, a professor of ancient history at the Municipal University of Amsterdam; In Amsterdam, German soldiers, assisted by Dutch police, encircled the old Jewish neighborhood and cordoned it off from the rest of the city by putting up barbed wire, opening bridges and putting in police checkpoints which meant that this neighborhood was now forbidden for non-Jews effectively making it a Ghetto
1942 — (25 Shevat, 5702) Shoah. Another 448 Jews were deported from Odessa. In total, from January 12 to February 12 inclusive, 30,714 people were deported from the city. On the same day, 800 Jews were shot in Brailov (Vinnytsia region), and 49 Jews were shot in Solonoye (Dnipropetrovsk region). All Jews from Kuzmin were resettled to Krasilov (Khmelnytskyi region)
1944 — (18th of Shevat 5704) Incendiary bombs that exploded simultaneously in Jerusalem, Haifa and Tel Aviv tonight damaged immigration offices in all three cities
1948 — (2 Adar, 5708) War of Independence. An attempt to capture the Arab village of Abu Kabir, located near the Tel Aviv-Jerusalem road, from which attacks on Jewish transport were continuously carried out. Four Haganah platoons attempted to capture the village but were unsuccessful. The operation was named «David» in honor of the fallen Haganah commander David Tauber
1949 — (13th of Shevat 5709) An unidentified aircraft bombed Jerusalem. Based on various sources the plane might have been Egyptian or British
1953 — (27th of Shevat 5713) The Jerusalem Post reported that in his address to UN officers, Syrian Colonel Ghassan Shabib, a senior Israeli-Syrian Mixed Armistice Commission delegate had declared, «This country has no room for both peoples. There should be either Jews or Arabs.»
1953 — (27 Shevat, 5713) The USSR severed diplomatic relations with Israel, accusing it of encouraging anti-Soviet activities. The Israeli government demanded that Soviet diplomats leave the country immediately.
1953 — (27 Shevat, 5713) In connection with the «Doctors’ Plot» and, in all likelihood, the impending deportation of Jews, by decision of the Chairman of the Council for Religious Cults, the synagogues of Georgian Jews (the Akhaltsikhe and Tskhinvali communities) in Tbilisi were closed. Matzah prepared for the upcoming Passover was taken to feed pigs at the Ktsani state farm. Instigated by the authorities, a mob ransacked the synagogues, broke ritual objects, and threw valuable religious items into the street. When in May 1953 the synagogue of the Akhaltsikhe community was reopened, a special restorer from Rostov-on-Don was called in to restore it
1957 — (11 Adar, 5717) The Israeli government decided to ease restrictions on electricity consumption imposed in 1956 due to the Suez Crisis (Sinai Campaign). In particular, shop owners were allowed to keep their display windows lit until midnight.
1958 — (22 Shevat, 5718) The Knesset of the third convocation adopted the first Basic Law: «The Knesset.»
1962 — (8 Adar, 5722) Finance Minister Levi Eshkol informed the Knesset of a new financial stabilization policy, centered on a devaluation of the lira by 70%.
1986 — (3 Adar, 5746) Before the start of the KACH movement’s convention at the Palace of Nations in Jerusalem, about three thousand Arabs and members of left-wing groups attempted to block the way for Rabbi Kahane’s supporters arriving at the convention, attacking them with fists. Police had to call in a mounted unit to quell the rioters. On stage stood an empty chair intended for President Chaim Herzog, who shortly before had been an honored guest at the Communist Party of Israel convention but refused to attend the KACH convention.
1989 — (7th of Adar-1 5749) The Solomon Mikhoels Cultural Center, which is based at the Moscow Jewish Musical Chamber Theater, was dedicated today
1991 — (28th of Shevat 5751) In the early morning hours Iraq carried out its 13th Scud attack. The Scud was hit by the Patriot over a populated section of Tel Aviv and flaming missile parts slammed into the city. At least seven people were lightly injured
2002 — (30 Shevat, 5762) The first rocket attack on Israeli territory using «Kassam-2» rockets.
2007 — (24 Shevat, 5767) Israel. A new information center began operating. By calling 1344, it became possible to obtain the phone numbers of subscribers of all major Israeli telecommunications companies.
2008 — (6 Adar, 5768) In Damascus, one of Hezbollah’s leaders, Imad Mughniyeh, was killed in a car bomb explosion. He was called a super-terrorist and was hunted by many intelligence agencies. Israel denied involvement in the incident.
2013 — (2 Adar, 5773) The Israel Museum in Jerusalem opened an archaeology exhibition showcasing the recently discovered mausoleum of Herod the Great.
2024 — (3 Adar I, 5784) Gaza War. Day One Hundred Twenty-Nine. Two hostages were freed in Rafah
People
1798 — (26 Shevat, 5558) Johann Jakob Rabe, translator of the Talmud into German, died at the age of 88. On December 3, 1771, Moses Mendelssohn wrote: «He has translated the first three parts of the Babylonian and Jerusalem Talmud into German and prepared them for print, but cannot find a publisher for them.»
1837 — (7th of Adar-1 5597) Ludwig Börne, German writer, died
1866 — Lev Shestov, philosopher, was born. Died November 19, 1938.
1888 — (30 Shevat, 5648) Rebbetzin Rachel Slonim, daughter of Rabbi Dov Ber of Lubavitch, died at the age of 90. She had a dream of living in the Holy Land, and it came true. Rachel married Rabbi Yaakov Kuli Slonim, who led the Hasidim who settled in Hebron. Until her death, the Rebbetzin was respected by her community in Hebron for her erudition and piety.
1910 — Anatoly Semyonovich Varshavsky, science fiction writer and popularizer of science, was born. Died August 8, 1990.
1919 — (12 Adar, 5679) Lev Vilsker, literary scholar, expert in medieval Jewish poetry, historian of literature, specialist in Yiddish and Hebrew, was born. Died in Leningrad on February 19, 1988.
1938 — Judy Blume, American children’s author, was born.
1942 — (25 Shevat, 5702) Ehud Barak, future Prime Minister of Israel, was born
1942 — (25th of Shevat, 5702) Avraham Stern was killed after being captured by British authorities in Tel Aviv. Stern was the leader of Lechi a Hebrew acronym for Lohamei Cherut Israel, «Fighters for the Freedom of Israel», לח»י — לוחמי חירות ישראל) also known as the Stern Gang
2003 — (10 Adar, 5763) IDF officer Captain Sh. Shmuel was killed by a sniper in Bethlehem