History events
-1313 — BCE (21 Nisan 2448) The waters of the Red Sea parted.
-1312 — BCE (3 Nisan 2449) (and 7 Nisan) Moses twice sprinkled the Levites with purifying water so that they could begin their service at the Tabernacle
-1274 — (1 Iyar 2487) Moses sent messengers from Kadesh to the king of Edom, requesting permission for the children of Israel to pass through his country to Canaan—along the main road, turning neither to the right nor to the left. But the king of Edom refused this request, sending an army to meet the Jews—and they withdrew from Kadesh to Mount Hor, also located on the borders of Edom
1191 — (21th of Adar 1, 4951) Eighty Jews were burned at Bray, France for trying to execute a vassal who had killed a Jew
1497 — (16 Nisan 5257) Decree of King Manuel I of Portugal ordering the baptism of the entire Jewish population of the country. Tens of thousands of Jews (including those who had fled from Spain in 1492), gathered in Lisbon to go into exile, were forcibly baptized, after which they were declared full citizens of the state. The majority of those who refused to renounce Judaism were subjected to cruel torture and a painful death. Thus, Shimon Maimi, the last Chief Rabbi of Portugal, and some other leaders of the Lisbon community, for refusing to be baptized, were walled up to their necks standing in a narrow cell
1527 — (17th of Nisan, 5287) Jews of Brest-Litovsk granted free trade and occupation and half of the tolls
1744 — (17 Nisan 5504) Rabbi Chaim Abulafia died in Tiberias. He repatriated from Izmir to Eretz Israel together with a group of associates. He is considered the restorer of the Jewish community of Tiberias. The Arab sheikh, Dahar al-Umar, proposed to Abulafia that he restore the community. Tiberias was at that time destroyed and desolate; the sheikh decided that only the Jews could rebuild this city in a short time and restore it to life. The sheikh appealed to Chaim Abulafia: «Arise, come and settle in Tiberias, for this is the land of your ancestors!» And the rabbi, together with many members of his community, moved to Tiberias. Soon the sheikh was expelled by the Turks, but the Jewish community in Tiberias survived
1834 — (8 Adar II 5594) A pogrom in the Iranian city of Mashhad. Muslims forced Jews to convert to Islam. Forty people were killed, and many were wounded
1839 — (4th of Nisan, 5599) A “pogrom, known as the Allahdad, broke out in the Iranian city of Mashhad. At the time of the pogrom, the city of Mashhad was home to about 2,500 Jews. The event devastated the Jews of Mashhad, who were violently forced into converting to Islam. The ruler of Mashhad ordered the authorities to attack the Jews. A large mob went on to the Jewish quarter and proceeded to burn down the synagogue, destroy Jewish homes and businesses, abduct Jewish girls, kill about 40 Jews and injure many more. The Jews had knives held to their throat and were forced to renounce Judaism and accept Islam. While some of the Jews left Mashhad following the incident, others stayed and would go on to lead a secret Jewish life. While adopting Muslim customs in public, most would maintain Jewish tradition in the privacy of their homes. There are no Jews left in Mashhad today. Most of the descendants of Mashhad’s Jews live in Israel
1844 — (28 Adar I 5604) Jacob Gläsner received permission to conduct services in the synagogue on Uholna Street in Lviv. The Jacob Glanzer Synagogue, with two tiers of galleries, became the second largest in Lviv, after the Great City Synagogue, and the largest in the Krakow suburb
1848 — (14th of Adar 1, 5608) Founding of the Hebrew Education Society of Philadelphia
1897 — (15th of Adar 1, 5657) It was reported today that the Hebrew Education Society of Philadelphia had raised $9,114 last year to support its programs that include weekly lectures by Ephraim Lederer on the U.S. Constitution
1915 — (4 Nisan 5675) A general meeting of the volunteers of the Jewish regiment—the «Zion Mule Corps.» The corps’ commander, Colonel J.H. Patterson, spoke at the meeting, stating the importance for the army of every soldier who does his duty; and a British general who asserted that the Jewish people had now entered into an alliance with the English people.
1923 — (2 Nisan 5683) The Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks) ordered the legalization of the organizations of the leftist «HeHalutz» operating in Russia (RSFSR). However, Stalin insisted on including in this resolution, which did not affect Ukraine and Belarus, a clause granting the GPU (State Political Directorate) «the right to fight counter-revolutionary elements» if they were identified in the legalized «HeHalutz». «HeHalutz» was created to prepare Jewish youth over 18 for labor and armed struggle in Palestine. The leftist «HeHalutz,» however, began to engage not so much in settlement activity in Palestine, but in creating a stationary network of agricultural communes and production-technical artels in areas compactly populated by Soviet Jews.
1942 — (30 Adar I 5702) The Holocaust. From Rava-Ruska (Lviv region), about 1,000 Jews were deported to the Belzec extermination camp in Poland
1943 — (12th of Adar 1, 5703) Dimitar Peshev, who would be honored as a “Righteous Among the Nations” introduced a parliamentary resolution to halt the deportation of the Jews.
1947 — (27th of Adar, 5707) At a meeting of editors held in Tel Aviv today, journalists discussed the warnings of terrorist groups not to publish an offer of a reward by police that was designed to lead to the capture of 18 wanted terrorists. Names on the list include Menachem Begin head of the Irgun and Nathan Friedman head of the Stern Gang. In a letter delivered to 12 Jewish newspapers, the terrorists said that publication would be treated as collaboration and dealt with accordingly. Because they were afraid for the safety of their staffs, the editors agreed no to voluntary publish the list but said they would have no choice but to comply under the law if requested to do so by the government.
1948 — (8 Adar II 5708) The United States openly declared its refusal to support the partition plan for Palestine. State Department officials were unaware that the day before, President Truman had already changed his mind on the matter. «The establishment of a Jewish state depends not on the UN resolution of November 29, but on our ability to achieve this by our own efforts,» Ben-Gurion responded.
2007 — (29 Adar I 5767) Settlers from the village of Netzarim (Gaza Strip) opened a new synagogue in Ariel. Previously, the community’s synagogue did not have a permanent building. Then a wealthy benefactor was found who donated one to the community. This man was businessman Betzalel Newman from Toronto. He dedicated the synagogue to his father on his 85th birthday.
2011 — (13 Adar II 5771) Arabs from Gaza fired on Israeli territory. About 50 mortar shells landed in the areas of the Eshkol and Sdot Negev regional councils. Two people were lightly injured, and several buildings were damaged. The shelling continued for a week.
2012 — (25 Adar I 5772) A terrorist attack. An Arab shot Jews at a bus stop near a school in Toulouse, in southern France. Killed were 29-year-old Rabbi Jonathan Sandler, 6-year-old Aryeh, 3-year-old Gabriel, and 8-year-old Miriam.
2025 — (19 Adar I 5785) The Gaza War. Day five hundred and thirty. Ground forces of the Israel Defense Forces began ground operations in the center and south of the sector with the aim of expanding the security zone and creating a buffer zone between the north and south of the sector
People
1640 — (6th of Nisan, 5400) Rabbi Chaim Algazi of Constantinople, author of Nesivot ha-Mishpat passed away today
1803 — (25th of Adar, 5563): Rabbi Moses ben Abraham, author of Meliz Yosher passed away today
1832 — (17 Adar II 5592) Arminius Vámbéry was born—a Hungarian Orientalist scholar, traveler, and polyglot. Died September 15, 1913.
1864 — (11 Adar II 5624) David Yellin was born—an educator, writer, scholar, and public figure. From 1926, he was a professor of Jewish poetry of the Spanish period at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. Died December 12, 1941.
1868 — Senda Berenson-Abbott was born in Vilnius—the organizer of women’s basketball in the USA, she devised its rules for women, wrote the first book of rules for women’s basketball, and for a long time chaired the USA Women’s Basketball Committee. Died February 16, 1954.
1933 — Philip Milton Roth was born—an American novelist, author of more than 25 novels. Died May 22, 2018.
1936 — Henry Volokhonsky was born—a poet. Died April 8, 2017.
1943 — Hanoch Levin was born in Tel Aviv—an Israeli playwright, theater director, and writer. Died August 18, 1999.
1969 — Nechama Lifshitz (October 7, 1927 – April 20, 2017), a Yiddish singer, repatriated to Israel from the USSR. She performed concerts from 1956, traveling throughout the Soviet Union, everywhere drawing full houses. And this was at a time when even the word «Jew» was forbidden.
2002 — (6 Nisan 5762) Senior Lieutenant T. Zemach of the Israel Defense Forces was killed in the Jordan Valley in a terrorist attack.
2024 — (9 Adar II 5784) The Gaza War. Day one hundred and sixty-five. In a battle in the north of the sector, Warrant Officer Sebastian Haion, 51, from Rosh HaAyin, was killed