History events
1320 — (1th of Tishrei, 5081) Pope John XXII issues a bull against the Talmud. Calling it «the damned initiatives of the perfidious Jews,» he orders that «the plague and deadly diseased weed [of Judaism] must be pulled out by its roots.»
1578 — (3th of Tishrei, 5339) Pope Gregroy XIII “ordered the Jews of Rome to contribute 1,100 gold scudi (Approximately $12,600) toward the maintenance of the Casa dei Catecumeni (Home for Converts to Christianity)
1654 — (3th of Tishrei, 5415) 23 souls, big as well as little arrive in North America.”
1871 — (18th of Elul, 5631) Décret Crémieux (named for Adolphe Cremieux) conferred French citizenship on all Jews living in Algeria, which had been a department of France. Arabs and Berbers were not made French citizens
1939 — (20th of Elul, 5699) The invading Nazis shot 180 Jews in the city of Czestochowa. When the Jews refused to burn the Torah, the Germans burned the rabbi, Abraham Mordechai
1942 — (22th of Elul, 5702) Jews in Macedonia are required to wear the Yellow Star.
1968 — (11th of Elul, 5728) In Tel Aviv, one person was killed and 71 were wounded when three bombs exploded “in and near a bus station
2001 — (16th of Elul, 5761) Hamas took credit for today’s bombing on Hanevi’im Street in Jerusalem which injured 20 innocent civilians
People
1609 — (5th of Elul, 5369) Rabbi Judah Loew Ben Bezalel, ….. the Maharal of Prague, passed away. Born in 1525, he spent most of his life in Prague where he gained fame for his philosophic works and his commentaries including one on Rashi’s Commentaries. He was an advocate of reforming Jewish education, drawing on the words of Pirke Avot for his inspiration. His fame was not limited to the Jewish community and the Emperor Rudolph was counted among his admirers. For many the Marhal’s greatest claim to fame was tied to a fictional creation called the Legend of the Golem. That legend is a medieval version of the story of Frankenstein, according to which the Maharal breathed life into a human-like figure by sticking a slip of paper with the Tetragrammaton to his forehead. This gigantic figure would be called forth to protect the Jews whenever they were in danger. Such was his popularity that there is a statue of him near the old city hall — a singular honor for Jew from the Middle Ages. The term Maharal comes from the first Hebrew letters of the phrase (Moreinu ha-Rav Loew, «Our Teacher and Rabbi Loew»)
1808 — (12th of Elul, 5568) Michael Sachs, German rabbi, born
1827 — (12th of Elul, 5587) Rabbi Simcha Bunim Bonhart of Peshischa, a leader of the Chasidic movement passed away today
1997 — (2nd of Elul, 5757) In Jerusalem three Hamas suicide bombers simultaneously blew themselves up on the pedestrian mall, killing five Israelis including three 14 year old girls — Sivann Zarka, Yael Botvin and Smadar Elhanan