History events
67 (25 Sivan 3827) — The Jewish War. Under the pressure of the Romans, the fortress of Japhia, neighbouring Jotapata, fell.
1170 (11 Tammuz 4930) — A series of earthquakes began in Israel, lasting five months
1523 — (13th of Tammuz, 5283) The first printed edition of the Sefer ha-Chinuch (ספר החינוך) appeared. ….. The printing of this comparatively obscure volume within seven decades of the invention of Gutenberg’s printing press demonstrates how quickly “the people of the book” took to the printing of books. Sefer ha-Chinuch was not the first book to be printed in Hebrew. That honor probably goes to Tractate Berakhot of the Babylonian Talmud which was printed by Joshua Solomon Soncino in 1483. . According to the Hillel Website, «Sefer HaChinuch is a unique work in many ways. It was published anonymously and scholars throughout the ages have not succeeded in unearthing the humble author. The book dates to 13th century Spain and is a comprehensive description of the 613 commandments, arranged according to their appearance in the Pentateuch. The description of each commandment includes (a) the concept of the Mitzvah and its Biblical source, (b) the philosophical underpinnings of the commandment, and (c) a brief summary of the laws governing its observance. An English translation of this important work is available
1643 (19 Tammuz 5403) — During the Thirty Years’ War, the Swedish army looted the city of Kremzir (in Bohemia) for refusing to feed and water the troops. 17 Jews were killed, and many were injured.
1899 (18 Tammuz 5659) — Theodor Herzl’s speech in London at a large rally. In it, he told the audience about his intention to establish contact with the Turkish sultan and, under his protectorate, settle Jews in Palestine
1901 — (9th of Tammuz, 5661) Bicentennial of the Bevis Marks Synagogue, the oldest in England. Sephardic Jews founded Bevis Marks in 1701. The congregation is known as the Spanish and Portuguese Jews’ Congregation
1906 — (3th of Tammuz, 5666) In Jerusalem, the Laemmel School a school established “for the secular education of Jewish children” by Fra Elise Herz of Vienna under the auspices of the poet Ludwig August Frankl “celebrated the semi-centenary of its foundation” today
1921 (20 Sivan 5681) — At a meeting of leaders of the Histadrut and Haganah, the decision to transform the latter into a nationwide organisation was approved, although there was an alternative view to make the Haganah a professional organisation.
1938 (27 Sivan 5698) — The kibbutz Allonim was founded using the “Wall and Tower” method
1938 — (26th of Sivan, 5698) Five more bombs exploded today in the quarter between Jaffa and Tel Aviv wounding fifteen Arabs. Soon after the first bomb exploded in the morning a mob of Arabs raided a Jew’s shop and stabbed the proprietor
1939 (9 Tammuz 5699) — The moshav Kfar Netter was established using the “Wall and Tower” method.
1940 — (20th of Sivan, 5700) A split takes place among the leaders of Etzel, also known as the Irgun. They cannot decide whether or not to cease attacks against the British for the duration of the war. Abraham Stern, believing that the timing was ripe to pressure the British by any means to allow full immigration sets up the LEHI (Lohamei Herut Yisrael) Freedom Fighters of Israel.
1941 — (1st of Tammuz, 5701) Hundreds of Jews from Kovno, Lithuania, were executed at the fortified Ninth Fort on the city’s outskirts.
1941 (1 Tammuz 5701) — Shoah. All Jewish men in the town of Torgovitsa (Ostrozhetsky District, Rivne Region) were shot — 486 victims. On the same day, in Ozytychi (Volyn Region), 100 Jews were shot in retaliation for the death of a German pilot.
1941 (26 Sivan 5701) — Shoah. The Białystok Ghetto was established: notices were posted on the city streets ordering the entire Jewish population to move into the ghetto, which occupied about a quarter of the city’s territory. About fifty thousand people were imprisoned in the ghetto. In total, about 110 ghettos were established in the “Białystok” district, which was directly incorporated into the Reich. The ghetto area was surrounded by a high wooden fence with barbed wire. German and Ukrainian police officers were stationed at two checkpoints
1942 — (1th of Tammuz, 5701) Shoah. For the first time British radio carried reports about the fate of the Polish Jews. It said that 700,000 Jews had been killed in Poland to date.
1942 (11 Tammuz 5702) — Shoah. About 5 thousand Jews from Slavuta (Khmelnytsky Region), including those relocated there from Berezdiv, Krasnostav, and Annopol, were shot. Probably on the same day, 750 Jews from Polonne were also shot
1943 (23 Sivan 5703) — Shoah. Another mass shooting of 1 650 Jews in the city of Khmelnik, Vinnytsia Region. Other massacres occurred on January 9, January 16, March 3, June 12, and August 15 in different years of the occupation
1951 — (22th of Sivan, 5711) The Jerusalem Post reported that contracts had been signed for the widening of the Kishon River outlet near Haifa, building of a bridge over it and the construction of a port and dry dock there
1956 — (17th of Tammuz, 5716) Under President Nasser, Egypt seized control of the Suez Canal
1961 — (12th of Tammuz, 5721) Operation Morale, “a clandestine effort headed by Mossad to facilitate the emigration of Jewish Moroccan children to Israel” began today when the first of five convoys left the North African country “under the guise of taking a supposed holiday to Switzerland
1963 (4 Tammuz 5723) — After Ben‑Gurion’s voluntary resignation, the newly formed government was headed by Prime Minister L. Eshkol. He also took over the Ministry of Defence.
1967 (18 Sivan 5727) — The number of Arab residents in Jerusalem decreased to 60 000.
1967 (18 Sivan 5727) — A law was passed in Spain allowing Protestants and Jews to openly practise their religions and register religious organisations. This decree was followed by another one — repealing the famous edict of the Catholic Monarchs expelling Jews, issued in the year America was discovered. This allowed the Jewish community to gain official status — 500 years later.
1996 (9 Tammuz 5756) — An IDF patrol in the Jordan Valley was attacked. Three soldiers were killed, two were wounded. The terrorists had infiltrated from Jordan.
2002 (16 Tammuz 5762) — The IDF’s statistical report on the Al‑Aqsa Intifada. From September 29, 2000, to June 24, 2002, terrorists attacked Israel 13 421 times: 6 358 attacks in Judea and Samaria, 6 470 in Gaza, and 593 within the Green Line. A total of 561 people were killed: 385 civilians and 176 members of the military.
2007 (10 Tammuz 5767) — In Warsaw, a ceremony was held to lay the foundation stone for the Museum of the History of Polish Jews.
2008 (23 Sivan 5768) — Kibbutz Ein Dor, located in the Jezreel Valley, became the first in Israel to begin constructing houses with the option to install photovoltaic panels with a capacity of 1 kilowatt on the roofs — and, if the owners wish, even more powerful ones
2012 — (6th of Tammuz, 5772) Fires raged in the forest around Jerusalem today, with the largest fire near the suburb of Motza. The Jerusalem-Tel Aviv highway was closed to traffic as fire and rescue services scrambled to control the blaze
2012 (6 Tammuz 5772) — The demolition of five houses in the Givat Ha‑Ulpan neighbourhood of the Beit El settlement began. According to the High Court of Justice, these houses had been built on territory disputed with the Arabs. Thirty‑three families were evicted.
2017 (2 Tammuz 5777) — The largest natural history museum in the Middle East opened at Tel Aviv University.
2024 (20 Sivan 5784) — During an anti‑terrorist operation in Jenin, Captain Alon Sakajiu, aged 22, was killed. Another soldier was seriously injured. Many servicemen suffered injuries ranging from light to moderate when vehicles detonated powerful, deeply buried mines
People
1541 — (23 Sivan 5301) Rabbi Jacob Pollack passed away. Born in Poland 1460, he was the first important Polish-Jewish Rabbinic scholar. ….. Prior to his time, the great Talmudic centers had been found in Germany. He helped establish the Talmudic method of study called «Pilpul». This complicated and often hair-splitting method of explanation was originated in southern Germany. It is called mental acrobatics by some, yet is also responsible for the development of the sharp Talmudic mind. Pollack served as a Rabbi in Cracow, moved to Eretz-Israel for a period of time and returned to live in Lublin where he passed away
1629 — (15th of Tammuz, 5389) Lipmann Heller forced to leave his post as rabbi at Prague. ….. Rabbi Yom Tov Lipmann Heller was born in 1579. He was the author of Tossafoth Yom Tov,a major commentary on the Mishna. While he was serving as a Rabbi in Prague, he was involved with the distribution of tax money. He was wrongfully accused by some of showing favoritism in his work. He ended up being taken to Vienna in chains. The Christian officials respected his integrity and released him. Considering that this took place during the Thirty Years War, it is surprising that Heller did not come to some barbarous end. He passed away in 1654
1743 (15 Tammuz 5503) — Rabbi Chaim bar Moshe Ibn Atar, one of the spiritual leaders of his generation, died in Jerusalem at the age of 47.
1775 — (28th of Sivan, 5535) Aryeh Löb ben Mordecai Ha-Levi Epstein (Ba’al ha-Pardes) passed away. ….. He was a Polish rabbi born in Grodno in 1708. At first he refused to become a rabbi, preferring to devote himself entirely to study, but in 1739 he was forced by poverty to accept the rabbinate of Brestovech, Lithuania, and in 1745 he became rabbi of Königsberg, where he remained until his death. He corresponded with Elijah, Gaon of Vilna, and with Jonathan Eybeschütz, with whom he sided in the quarrel about amulets (see Emden-Eybeschütz Controversy). He is the author of Or ha-Shanim, on the 613 commandments (Frankfort-on-the-Oder, 1754), Halakah Aḥaronah and Ḳunṭres ha-Ra’yot (ib. 1754; Königsberg, 1759), Sefer ha-Pardes, in three parts: (1) on the Shema and the observance of Sabbath, (2) sermons, (3) funeral orations (ib. 1759)
1821 — (26th of Sivan, 5581) Adolf Jellinek, Jewish scholar, born
1872 — (20th of Sivan, 5632) Nathaniel Isaacs, the English adventurer who co-founded Port Natal (modern day Durban) and who descried his life in Africa in Travels and Adventures in Eastern Africa passed away today and was subsequently buried at Canterbury
1875 — (23th of Sivan, 5635) Birthdate of Carl Jung, one of the founders of psychoanalysis
1881 (29 Sivan 5641) — Yaakov Kahan (Fichman), an Israeli poet, playwright, translator, and linguist, was born. He died on November 20, 1960.
1902 — Kurt Herzstark, an Austrian engineer and inventor of the Curta mechanical calculator, was born. His father was Jewish, his mother Catholic. He died on October 27, 1988.
1916 — Yitzhak Danziger, an Israeli sculptor and architect, was born. He died on July 11, 1977.
1968 (30 Sivan 5728) — Captain G. Manela and Colonel A. Regev were killed while pursuing terrorists who had infiltrated into Israel via Jordan
1996 — (9th of Tammuz, 5756) Staff Sgt. (Res.) Asher Berdugo, 22, of Kiryat Bialik; Sgt. Ashraf Shibli, 20, of Shibli; and Cpl. (Res.) Ya’acov Turgeman of Rishon Lezion were killed in an ambush along the Jordan River north of Jericho by terrorists who infiltrated from Jordan
2004 — (7th of Tammuz, 5764): Israel’s renowned composer and songwriter Naomi Shemer passed away at the age of 74. Shemer is known to many as the composer of the famous song “Y’rushalayim Shel Zahav» or in English, «Jerusalem of Gold.»