History events
-1312 — (10th of Tishrei, 2449) According to the Bible, the day on which Moses came down from Mt. Sinai with the second set of Tablets on which the Ten Commandments were inscribed
-423 BCE (2 Tishrei 3339). Gedaliah ben Ahikam, the last governor of Judah appointed by the Babylonians after the destruction of the Temple, was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy. Gedaliah was a worthy and respected member of the community; his governance was beneficial. The Babylonians were not interested in completely ruining their province, so the Jewish community began to actively revive, and its prosperity started to grow. Agriculture and viticulture developed. The recovery was facilitated by peace and security, maintained in part by the forces of the Babylonian military garrison. Gedaliah himself called for loyalty to the Babylonians, and at that time, this compromise was considered the lesser evil. Gedaliah enjoyed the support of the prophet Jeremiah. The death of Gedaliah, along with a group of his supporters and many garrison soldiers, at the hands of radical conspirators led by Ishmael ben Nethaniah, and the subsequent unrest, led to the final elimination of Jewish statehood in the Land of Israel and a series of disasters. Gedaliah had been warned about the conspiracy but rejected his associates’ proposal to secretly kill his enemies
70 CE (7 Elul 3830). The Jewish War. The Romans completed the construction works that preceded the capture of the Upper City of Jerusalem. The assault began
1199 — (8th of Tishri, 4959) Maimonides wrote to Samuel Ibn-Tibbon ….. , who as translating the «Guide to the Perplexed from Arabic into Hebrew. The letter included advice on how to do this as well as plea that Ibn-Tibbon not undertake his planned trip from France to Egypt to visit him. The distance was too great and he would be too busy since to see him for more than an hour since each day except Shabbat he must travel from Fostat to Cairo where he spends half a day ministering to the Sultan and his court. Then he travels back to Fostat where he is besieged by Jews, Moslems, et al all seeking his medical skill and advice
1267 — (9th of Elul, 5027) Ramban (Moses Nachmanides or Moses ben Nachman) arrived in Jerusalem. ….. Born in 1194, Nachmanides was a famed commentator on the Torah and Talmud and a major communal leader in Spain. He also was the court physician to King James of Aragon (a part of Spain). King James forced him to defend Judaism in a public debate with Pablo Christiani, a Jew who had converted to Catholicism. To make a long story short, Nachmanides vigorous defense angered the Dominican friars and Nahcmanides was forced to flee. He gave life to a Jewish community in Jerusalem that had fallen on such hard times that it had trouble gathering a minyan. Among other things he built a synagogue in Jerusalem that was the sole such building for several centuries to come
1531 — (19th of Elul, 5291) Jews of Brest ordered to obey court of Rabbi Mendel Frank
1599 (21 Elul 5359). The authorities of Bavaria issued a decree requiring Jews who wished to live in this German land or simply to pass through it to pay special taxes: the “Schutzbrief,” which granted the privilege of residence, and the “Geleit,” which guaranteed free movement
1614 — (8th of Tishri, 5375) Anti-Jewish riots at Frankfort-on-the-Main, under Fettmilch, 1614
1825 (18 Elul 5585). Journalist Mordecai Manuel Noah issued a proclamation inviting Jews from all countries to the colony “Ararat” he had newly founded; the ceremonial groundbreaking took place in Buffalo the same year. The location was chosen mainly due to its promising commercial prospects, as “Ararat” was surrounded by the Great Lakes and lay close to the Erie Canal, which had recently been dug. Noah believed it was perfectly suited to become the greatest industrial and commercial center of a new, better world. Having appointed himself “judge and ruler” of Israel, Noah issued a proclamation declaring the founding of a Jewish kingdom in the Great Lakes region until the restoration of the Palestinian kingdom. However, the city was never built
1836 — (19th of Elul, 5596) Reconstruction begins on the “Synagogue of Rabbi Judah Hasid” in Jerusalem
1909 — In the Russian journal “Vesy” (editor V. Bryusov), an article by writer A. Bely, titled “Stamped Culture,” was published; it addressed the detrimental impact on Russian culture of the activities of Jewish critics.
1919 (6 Elul 5679). In Petrograd, the leaders of the Central Bureau of the Zionist Organization of Russia were arrested. The following day, arrests of Zionist figures began in Moscow as well. However, after some time, all were released, and in November, the Zionist bureau was even allowed to resume its activities
1921 (28 Av 5681). The 12th Zionist Congress began in Karlovy Vary. It lasted 14 days.
1927 (4 Elul 5687). The authorities of Vilna approved the charter of a society whose goal was to establish a Jewish scientific institute for research in the fields of philology, history, economics, and pedagogy
1929 — (26th of Аv, 5689) Amir el-Hussein, Grand Mufti and President of the Supreme Moslem Council warned of “a grave national revolt” by 60 million Muslims if Great Britain persists in enforcing the Balfour Declaration.
1939 — (17th of Elul, 5699) Because of the outbreak of WW II, the last of the eight “Winton Trains” did not leave because “all borders controlled by Germany were closed” and the 250 children on board “were never seen again” leading to the assumption that all “perished in concentration camps.”
1941 (9 Elul 5701). The Shoah. Germany issued an order mandating a distinguishing mark for Jews
1941 — (9th of Elul, 5701) Нolocaust. The Ukrainian newspaper Volhyn carried the following — «The element that settled our cities (Jews). . . must disappear completely from our cities. The Jewish problem is already in the process of being solved.”
1942 (19 Elul 5702). The Shoah. In Lviv, as retaliation for the killing of an SS officer by a Jew, the chairman of the Jewish Council, 11 Jewish police officers were hanged, and 175 employees of the Jewish Council were shot. On the same day, the liquidation of the ghetto in Vladimir‑Volynsky (Volyn Oblast) began. The Jewish Council in Lviv issued 36 000 food ration cards to the city’s Jews for September; this meant that the Jewish population of the city had decreased by 40 000 people in August
1942 — (19th of Elul, 5702) Нolocaust. ….. Thousands of Jews from Stry, Ukraine, are murdered at the Belzec death camp; A German shepherd that licks the face of a Jewish baby at the Treblinka extermination camp is savagely beaten by its SS master before the guard tramples the baby to death; Security forces raid five hospitals in the Lódz (Poland) Ghetto, evacuating and slaughtering patients. Babies are thrown out of an upper-story windows, some bayoneted before they hit the ground; In the town Wlodzimierz Wolynski, the Germans asked the Jewish Council to gather 7,000 Jews for transport. Jocob Kogen a member of the council committed suicide because he did not want to bear the responsibility of sending people to their death
1943 — (1th of Elul, 5703) Нolocaust. ….. Jews at the Sobibór death camp attack SS guards with stones and bottles. All attackers are killed; There was an uprising in Vilna, Lithuania. After the disaster of July and the death of Yitzhak Wittenberg, many of those in the underground decided to flee the city. The German entry into the ghetto was a surprise and there was no time to organize. Forty fighters led by Yechiel Scheinbaum fought until they were all killed. Approximately 200 more left the ghetto and joined the partisans. A second Aktion on September 23 marked the end of the ghetto
1944 (13 Elul 5704). The fourth convocation of the Assembly of Jewish Deputies of Palestine began its work. It ended on 13 February 1949.
1951 (30 Av 5711). Israel. The official date of the founding of the Mossad intelligence agency (according to other sources, Mossad was founded on 1 April 1951).
1951 (30 Av 5711). The UN Security Council adopted a resolution calling on Egypt to lift the blockade of the Strait of Tiran and the ban on Israel’s use of the Suez Canal. Egypt ignored this resolution
1952 — (11th of Elul, 5712) The Israeli government announced that extra rations for meat and poultry would be available for the High Holy Days
1955 (14 Elul 5715). An air battle took place over northern Gaza between Israeli Air Force aircraft and Egyptian planes that had invaded Israeli airspace. Two Egyptian aircraft were shot down.
1983 (23 Elul 5743). Israel. After Begin left politics, Shamir was elected leader of Likud at a party meeting.
2007 (18 Elul 5767). A new railway route from Tel Aviv to Modi’in began operating.
2011 (2 Elul 5771). The Egged company introduced a new bus route No. 100, which connected the high‑speed lane of the Tel Aviv–Jerusalem highway with Jerusalem.
2013 (26 Elul 5773). The Zenit‑2SB launch vehicle carrying the Israeli communications satellite Amos‑4 was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.
2015 (18 Tishrei 5776). Israeli security forces arrested Basem al‑Saadi, the leader of the Islamic Jihad in Judea and Samaria, in Jenin. The soldiers had to fend off about a hundred Arabs who threw stones, Molotov cocktails, and homemade bombs at them and fired automatic weapons.
2016 (28 Av 5776). As part of the reconstruction of Highway No. 38, the new Shimshon interchange opened, replacing the intersection that had been regulated by traffic lights.
2024 (28 Av 5784). A terrorist attack occurred west of Hebron. A police car was fired upon. Three police officers were killed.
2024 (28 Av 5784). New rules came into effect in all health insurance funds in Israel: to obtain a sick leave certificate for several days, it is no longer necessary to schedule an appointment with a family doctor or visit a clinic. A sick leave certificate can be obtained by contacting the service via the internet or by phone.
2025 (8 Elul 5785). In Northern Samaria, in the settlement of Homesh, a new kindergarten opened — the first to resume operations in the area of communities evacuated as part of the “disengagement” in 2005
People
1834 (27 Av 5594) Yosef Chaim of Baghdad was born — chief rabbi of Baghdad, kabbalist, and spiritual leader of Iraqi Jewry. He died in 1909.
1861 — Lazar Edeleanu was born — one of the most prominent Romanian chemists. He died on 7 April 1941.
1862 — Sarah Bernhardt made her debut on the stage of the Comédie‑Française.
1887 — Poet and writer Yaakov Steinberg was born. He died in 1947.
1891 — Yosef Zaritsky, an Israeli painter, was born. He died on 30 November 1985.
1903 — (9 Elul 5663) Bernard Lazare, an outstanding publicist and social activist, died
1919 — (6th of Elul, 5679) Rabbi Abraham I. Kook arrived in Palestine today to assume his role as Chief Rabbi
1949 — Hryhoriy Surkis was born — president of the Football Federation of Ukraine, owner of Dynamo Kyiv, and a local oligarch.
1986 — (27 Av 5746) Moshe Kraus, a Hungarian Zionist who saved thousands of Hungarian Jews from death in 1944, died.
1994 — G. Rosenblat, the last surviving member of the Jewish Brigade from the First World War, died at the age of 101