November 26
43 BCE: The Second
Triumvirate alliance of Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus ("Octavian",
later "Caesar Augustus"), Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, and Mark Antony is
formed. This power sharing arrangement would fall apart. Octavian would defeat
Mark Antony and remove Lepidus leaving him as the sole ruler of the Roman
Empire. Initially, Antony’s defeat and Octavian’s victory did not
change the situation for the Jews living in Judea. Herod had made
the mistake of backing Antony. So if Antony had won, Herod would have
kept his kingdom. But Antony’s defeat did not cost Herod his
kingdom. In one of the history’s greatest acts of political
audacity, Herod went to the island of Rhodes where he met with
Octavian. He admitted that he had supported Antony but convinced the
young Caesar that this was a good thing because he now he would give Augustus
the same level of support. Impressed by Herod’s audacity (and in
need of allies) he left Herod on his throne. So the outcome for the
Jews of Judea, in the short term, was the same no matter what. In
the long run, the Jews probably did well with the victory of Augustus since he
would follow the same kind of comparatively benevolent policies followed by his
uncle Julius including exempting the Jews from emperor worship and respecting
Jewish laws by exempting Jews from appearing in court after dark on Friday or
on Shabbat.
1346: Coronation of
Charles IV whose decision in 1349 to turn over the taxes paid by the Jews of
Frankfurt to the citizens of that city could not prevent the pogrom that
followed his departure from the city, as King of the Germans.
1504: Queen Isabella I
of Castile, the first Queen of united Spain passed away. Born in
1451, Isabella is one of history’s more fascinating monarchs. She
was every bit as wiley, clever and effective as Queen Elizabeth of England,
even though she does not get her share of credit for these
traits. Isabella did have Jewish advisors, physicians and
financiers. But in the end her devout Catholicism and need for funds
to finance “crusades” against Moslems proved the undoing of her Jewish
subjects.
1572: King Maximilian II
expressed his intention “to expel the Jews of Pressburg (Bratislava), stating
that his edict would be recalled only in case they accepted Christianity.”
1669: As events
surrounding the blood libel that would lead to the death of Raphael Levi
unfolded, two swineherds found the head and the neck of a child in the woods
near Metz. Despite the fact that two surgeons testified that the
body parts came from a recently killed person, officials decided that this was
the body of the Christian child that had been reported missing and killed more
than a month ago. These body parts would be used in the trial of
Levi where he was found guilty. He was buried alive, protesting his
innocence to the end. This blood libel was part of a series of
persecutions aimed at the Jewish community of Metz and would end with their
expulsion from the city.
1645: Today, Scottish
Calvinist minister and Cromwell supporter John Dury who had met Manasseh ben
Israel in 1644 and who favored re-admitting Jews to England “gave a well-known
sermon to Parliament styled “Israel’s Call to March out of Babylon into
Jerusalem.”
1696: In London, Richea
Asher and Moses Raphael Levy gave birth to Abigail Levy, the wife of Jacob
Franks and the mother of Phila, David, Naphtali, Rachel and Moses Franks.
1713: Birthdate of
Barbados native Deborah de Leon, who married Isaac Gomez in 1738.
1715(30th of Cheshvan):
Rabbi Joseph ben Mordecai Ginzburg, author of Leket Yosef passed away today.
1724(21st of
Kislev, 5485): Portuguese born physician and son of Maranos Moses (Fernando)
Moses who settled in London to serve as the physician for Portuguese noblewoman
Catherine, the wife of King Charles II of England and who along with
his brothers Andreas and Antonio openly defined themselves Jews while becoming
the father-in-law of Moses (Antonio) da Costa in 1698, passed away today.
1764: David Mendez
Machado and his wife may have given birth to Rebecca Machado, the husband of
Jonas Phillips.
1768: In Trois-Rivières,
Canada, Aaron Hart and Dorothea Judah gave birth to shipping magnate and banker
Moses Hart, the adopted father of Alexander Thomas Hart and the Uncle of Craig
Hart.
1775: The American
Navy began using chaplains within its regular service. However,
Rabbis were not allowed to serve as Chaplains until 1862 when President Lincoln
sponsored legislation allowing ordained Protestant, Catholic or Jewish
ministers to serve as Chaplains.
1783: In Jamaica,
Abraham Rodrigues De Leon and his wife gave birth to Abigail De Leon, the wife
of Joseph Henriques.
1788(26th of
Cheshvan, 5549): Mrs. Joseph Abrahams passed away today in Savannah, GA.
1789: Once the United
States had been established as an independent nation, President George
Washington proclaimed a day of national thanksgiving for November 26, 1789.
Congregation Shearith Israel held a service on that first Thanksgiving Day (and
has continued to do so each year since), at which time Rev. Gershom Mendes
Seixas delivered an address. He noted that the Jewish community had reason to
rejoice "as we are made equal partakers of every benefit that results from
this good government; for which we cannot sufficiently adore the God of our
fathers who hath manifested his care over us in this particular instance;
neither can we demonstrate our sense of His benign goodness, for His favourable
interposition in behalf of the inhabitants of this land."
1794: David and
Elizabeth Levy were married today at the Great Synagogue.
1796: Birthdate of
Amsterdam native and resident of St. Louis, Sidney Zadoc Aloe, the husband of
Nancy Hart Aloe with whom he had five children – Seline, Janet, Francie, Albert
and Sarah.
1800: Salomon Rothschild
married 18 year old Caroline Stern, the only daughter of Jacob Stern a wine
seller. As can be seen from the Ketubah (wedding contract) this was
another beneficial marriage arranged by A.M. Rothschild.
1802: As the Jews of
Maryland seek full equality on November 26, 1802, a petition "from the
sect of people called Jews" specifically stating their grievance, namely,
"that they are deprived of holding any office of profit and trust under
the constitution and laws of this state," was referred to the General
Assembly, which read it and referred it to a special committee of five
delegates, including the two Baltimore representatives, with instructions to
consider and report upon the prayer of the petitioners for relief. A month
later the petition was refused by a vote of thirty-eight to seventeen. The
attempt to secure the desired relief was repeated at the legislative session of
1803; again proving unsuccessful, it was renewed in the following year.
1805: In London,
Elizabeth Kahn and Samuel Gershon gave birth to Isaac Gershon.
1807: In Philadelphia,
Zalegman Phillips the son of Pvt. Jonas Phillips and Rebecca Mendez Machado and
his wife Arabella Phillips gave birth to Rebecca Phillips who became Rebecca
Cohen when she married Jacob Cohn, Jr. with she had one son, Zalegman Cohen.
1822: Seventy-two year
old Karl August von Hardenberg who as Prime Minster of Prussia pursued many
liberal policies including working to guarantee equal rights for the Jews,
passed away today.
1832: In Finsbury,
Esther and Joseph Moses Levy gave birth to Emily Levy.
1834: Birthdate of
Isabella H. Polock, the wife Morris Rosenbach and mother of literary collector
Abraham Simon Wolf (A.S.W.) Rosenbach.
1835: In Baja, Hungary,
Baruch Asher Perles and his wife gave birth to Rabbi Joseph Perles, whose works
included essays on the lives of Nachmanides, and Shlomo be Aderet, the Spanish
sage known as the Rashba.
1837: Isaac Solomon
married Mary Benjamin at the Great Synagogue today.
1840: In Italy Marco and
Giustina Luzzati gave birth to Annetta Luzzati who became Annetta Foa when she
married Giuseppe Foa, the Grand Rabbi of Turino.
1840: Sixty-five-year-old
anti-Semite Karl von Rotteck who “wrote in 1828 that ‘the Jews had to be
de-Jewified” and who “rejected Jewish emancipation with the argument that their
religion was…antisocial as well as anti-national” passed away today.
1840: In Sebes, near
Eperies, Hungary, Isaac Rubovits and Salie Klein gave birth to Edward Rubovits,
a teacher in Hungary and husband of Mathilde Kiss who was in the “book, stationery
and printing business in Chicago” while also serving as “vice president of Zion
Congregation and Isaiah Temple.”
1841: The Voice
of Jacob published “Alleged Progress of London Jews Towards
Christianity” which reported that “the attempt of a few gentlemen, of the West
End section of the town, to form a synagogue there, with certain omissions from
the established liturgy, and in contravention of the regulations of one of the
London congregations, of which they have been and are yet members… These
gentlemen are not known as a congregation, but as an association, deeming
itself qualified to abrogate the customs which Israelites have observed for
centuries… While the almost universal feeling condemns this movement as the
presumptuous attempt of a handful of laymen, and while therefore there need be
no apprehension of the evil spreading, the only wise policy would be to treat
the attempt as neither formidable by numbers, by status (at least theological),
nor otherwise possessing a single element of union.” The Voice of Jacob was
published fortnightly and was the first publication that provided “real-time”
reports on events in the Jewish community. The article refers to
attempts to established London’s first Reform Congregation which became known
as the West London Synagogue of British Jews
1842: The University of
Notre Dame is founded as private Catholic University. Since 1992, Rabbi Dr.
Michael Signer has filled the Abrams Chair of Jewish Thought and Culture and
has served as the Director of the Notre Dame Holocaust Project. “The Notre Dame
Holocaust Project promotes educational opportunities about the destruction of
European Jewry during World War II for the university community.” http://www.nd.edu/~msigner/2005_spring/nd_holocaust_project.shtml.
For more information
about opportunities offered to Jewish students attending Notre Dame see http://campusministry.nd.edu/ecumenical-interfaith/jewish-resources
1843(3rd of
Kislev, 5604): Seventy-one year old Hertz Salomon Schwarzschild, the son of
Salomon Jacob Schwarzschild and Ester Maas passed away today.
1844: One day after she
had passed away, “Simha Harris,” the wife of Michael Harris with whom she had
had six children was buried today at the “Brompton (Fulham Road) Jewish
Cemetery.
1847: In Poland,
Gertrude and Israel Guraowsky gave birth to Rabbi Abraham Guranowsky, the
husband of Bertha Guranowsky who came to New York where he was one of the
founders of Beth Israel Synagogue.
https://kevarim.com/rabbi-avroham-guranowsky/
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1912/09/21/100376495.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1848: Birthdate of
Odessa native and “Yiddish-language folk poet and composer” who was encouraged
in his work by Abraham Goldfaden and Sholem Aleichem.
1849(11th of Kislev,
5610): Julius Eduard Hitzig a German author and civil servant passed away. Born
Isaac Elias Itzig) at Berlin in 1780, he was a member of the wealthy and
influential Jewish Itzig family Between 1799 and 1806 he was a a
Prussian civil servant, after which he became Criminal Counsel at the Berlin
Supreme Court in 1815 and its director in 1825. In 1808 he established a
publishing house and later a bookstore. He was very active in Berlin’s literary
circles. Heinrich Heine, of all people, reportedly made fun of his
name change.
1852: At the Greene
Street Synagogue, Rabbi Morris Raphall preached a sermon based on the opening
words of the 92nd Psalm, “It is good to give thanks unto the
Lord –to sing praise unto Thy name, O most high!”
1855: Adam Mickiewizc, a
noted Polish poet and ardent nationalist died today in Constantinople while
working with his friend Armand Levy, to organize a Jewish legion, the Hussars
of Israel, comprising Russian and Palestinian Jews. The legion was
supposed to join in the fight against the Russians during the Crimean
War. Polish nationalists believed that a Russian defeat would help
undermine the authority of the Czar and help lead to the liberation of
Poland. [Mickiewizc was not Jewish and I have not been able to find
an explanation why he was organizing a Jews for this fight.]
1858: James (Jacob)
Seligman, the son of David and Fanny Seligman and Rosa Seligman gave birth to
Jefferson Seligman, the graduate of Columbia who gave up to study of medicine
to pursue a career in fiancé which led to his become a senior partner in J
& W Seligman who was the husband of Julia Seligman and an avid
equestrian.
1858: In London, Barnett
Abrahams, the principal of Jews’ College, and his wife gave birth to Israel
Abrahams, the Jewish scholar whose works included A Companion to the
Authorized Prayer Book and Jewish Life in the Middle Ages.
1858: It was reported
today that Rabbi Isaac Leeser, head of Beth El Emet has written a series of
articles about the Mortara Affair that have appeared in the Philadelphia
Ledger and that “indignation meetings in reference to the Mortara
Affair" have been held. For more about the Mortara Affair see:
1858: In New York,
members of the Jewish community expressed their indignation over the tactics
used by the police when arresting three of their co-religionists on charges of
selling lottery tickets. Among other things they were protesting the fact that
the police had arrested a rabbi who was leading his congregation in prayers.
The three have posted $1,000 in bail
1859: In Philadelphia,
David Hays Solis and Elvira Nathan Solis gave birth to Emily Grace Solis, who
became Emily Grace Solis Solis-Cohen when she married her cousin Dr. Solomon
Solis-Cohen.
1861: During the Civil
War, Samuel Alexander, who would later be killed in fighting at Dranesville,
VA, completed a ninety day enlistment as an Assistant Surgeon with the 44th Regiment,
part of the First Cavalry
1862: During the Civil
War, Jonas H. Kaufman began his service as Assistant Surgeon with 151st Regiment
of the Pennsylvania volunteers serving with the Union Army.
1862; Birthdate of
German native Julius Tuteur, who in 1881 settled in Ohio where founded the
Electric Vacuum Cleaner Company, which was sold to General Electric in 1945 and
served as chairman of the board of the Central Brass Manufacturing Company and
the Foundry Equipment Factory.
1862: Birthdate
of Sir Marc Aurel Stein. Born in Budapest, Stein was a Hungarian
Jewish archaeologist who became a British citizen. He was also a professor at
various Indian universities. Stein was inspired by Sven Hedin's work, Through
Asia.His travels and research in central Asia, particularly in Chinese
Turkistan, revealed much about its strategic role in history. In 1906,
Stein uncovered a group of mummified corpses near Loulan, in Central Asia.
Their well-preserved bodies were clad in woolen garments and they wore tall
felt hats decorated with jaunty feathers. The men were bearded and their facial
features seemed European. Stein dated them to c.100 BC. When the Dunhuang
Caves, China, closed for centuries, were reopened, he discovered 15,000 manuscripts
(1907), including the Diamond Sutra, reputed to be the first dated printed book
(868 A.D.). He passed away on October 26, 1943.
1864: Corporal Benjamin
L. Kauffman, transferred from Company D of the 90th Regiment to
Company H of the 11th Regiment today.
1867: Birthdate of
French political leader Abraham Schrameck who endured anti-Semitic attacks by
the Action francaise starting at the turn of the century was interred by the
Vichy government which did not turn him over to the Nazis thus making it
possible for him to avoid the fate of most French Jews.
1868: On Thanksgiving
Day, Rabbi Marcus Jastrow delivered a sermon at Congregation Rodeph Shalom in
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
1869: Birthdate of
Alfred Eicholz, M.A., M.D. and B.Ch. the graduate of Emmanuel College,
Cambridge and husband of Ruth Adler, the second daughter of the Chief Rabbi of
the British Empire who, among other things served as His Majesty’s Inspector of
school for the Blind, Deaf and Mentally and Physically Defective in England and
Wales and the Council and Education Committee of the Jews’ College while
writing papers for the British Medical Journal
1871: Five days after he
had passed away, 67 year old Emanuel Mocatta, the son of Jacob and Rebecca
Mocatta, was buried today at the “Balls Pond Road Jewish Cemetery.”
1871: In Koenigsberg. Rachel
Bogotty and Wolf Jerowitz gave birth to University Medical College of Kansas
City, MO trained surgeon Herman D. Jerowitz, the professor of therapeutics and
the University Medical College and professor of clinical surgery at Woman’s
Medical College in Kansas City who was a member of Congregation B’nai Jehuda in
Kansas City, MO>
1872: In St. Louis, MO,
Ignatz and Anna (Kohn) Hartman gave birth to Washington University Law School
graduate Judge Moses Hartman the husband of Carrie A. Scooler with whom he had
three children and who was President of Congregation B’nai El
1872: In Baltimore, MD,
Helen Guggenheimrer and Herman H. Cone, the brother-in-law of Jacob Adler and
the co-owner of the dry goods store Cone and Adler gave birth to Julius
Washington Cone, the husband of Laura Cone and the “founder of Proximity
Manufacturing Company” which later became known as Cone Mills.
1874: In New York
City, Arnold and Ida (Lagowitz) Tanzer gave birth to Ivy League (Harvard
and Columbia) educated attorney Laurence A. Tanzer, a founding member of the
Citizens Union and “the senior member of the law firm of Tanzer, Mullaney,
Mitherz and Pratt and the husband the husband of the Florence Keller Tanzer
with whom he had two daughters.
1876: Birthdate of
Isadore Bernstein, the New York native who wrote scripts for 65 films from 1914
through 1938.
1876: It was reported
today that the Hebrew Charities and Purim Association plan to sponsor a Hebrew
Charity Ball next month at the Academy of Music.
1879: In Germany, Jakob
and Ida Edelchen Baruch gave birth to Bertha Baruch who became Bertha Wallach
when she married Joseph Wallach with whom she had two children, Ernst and
Herbert.
1879: “The Man With The
Evil Eye” published today described the exploits of “Albert Lavergene, alias
Abraham Levy, an Alsatian Jew” who confessed to having stolen $30,000 worth of
diamonds while living in France two years ago and who is known to his wife’s
relatives as “the Jew” or “the man with the evil eye” because of the way he
used to beat her.
1880: Luther R. Marsh
will deliver a lecture entitled “On the Power of the Alphabet” at meeting of
the Young Men’s Hebrew Association at Lyric Hall. (Marsh was prominent New York
lawyer who developed an interest in Spiritualism. He was not Jewish)
1880: “Disraeli’s Latest
Novel” published today provided a detailed review of Endymion by
the Right Honorable Earl of Beaconsfield.
1881: It was reported
today that the influx of immigrants from Russia is overwhelming the resources
of the United Hebrew Charities. As many as 400 Jews have been
arriving each week, most of whom are “destitute and helpless.”
1882: “Monmouth and the
Wye” published today provides a brief history of medieval England that includes
the reminder that “butchery of the helpless Jews at York, when the despairing
wretches hurled their children from the battlements upon the howling murderers
below and the slew each to the last man” “cannot drop from the memory of
mankind….”
1883: The
Baltimore Sun reported that the colony started for Russian Jewish
immigrants in Middlesex County, Virginia has been abandoned.
1883: It was reported
today that the current issue of the Nineteenth Century features Dr. Charles
H.H. Wright’s Paper “The Jews and the Malicious Charge of Human Sacrifice”
which “goes over the whole history of the recent outrages in Europe.”
1883: Robert Solomon, an
Anglo-Jewish Cape Town diamond dealer arrived in New York this evening
aboard SS Servia of the Cunard Line.
1883: It was reported
today that “David Phillipson…who graduated from Hebrew Union College” last July
“has accepted a call from a congregation in Baltimore, MD.
1884: It was reported
today that three prizes – a diamond ring, a bracelet and a face pin – were
awarded to the ladies who had sold the most tickets to this year’s grand ball, a
charity event sponsored by the Hebrew Orphan Asylum Society.
1885: During
Thanksgiving services a large throng listened to an address by Rabbi Kaufmann
Kohler at Temple Beth-El that reviewed the principles adopted by the Reform
Rabbis at their meeting in Pittsburgh, PA.
1885: Birthdate of Heinrich Brüning, German
Chancellor from 1930 to 1932 who, for whatever shortcomings he may have had,
worked to keep Hitler from coming to power a stance that led to his
self-imposed exile to avoid being arrested by the Nazis.
1886:
In Munich, Joseph Schülein, the of Joel (Julius) Schülein and Jeanette
Schülein, and his wife Ida gave birth to Elsa Haas, the wife of Dr. Alfred
Haas.
1886: The New
York Times featured a review of The Land the Book by
William Thomson, a book that examines the material in the scriptures with the
information gained by explorations in Palestine through 1880. While some of the
information in the Old Testament is “not borne out by facts…many more points”
in the Scripture “have been corroborated” that the results cannot have failed
to find favor with Jews.
1887: In New York City,
Michael and Rosalie (Berkowitz) Goldbaum gave birth to University of
Pennsylvania trained chemist, Jacob Samuel Goldbaum, Ph.D., the instructor in
electro-chemistry at his alma mater and author of numerous works on the subject
who was the husband of Virginia Laib, a member of the board of trustees at
Rodeph Shalom and a member of the board of governors of Hebrew Union College.
1888: In New York City,
Bernhard and Esther Kohn gave birth to University of Maryland trained physician
Louis Winfield the gastroenterologist who did post-graduate work at Johns
Hopkins, rose to become the chief of the gastro-intestinal clinic at Lebanon
Hospital in NYC and wrote the two volume Practical treatise on diseases of the
digestive system published in 1920 and Your Digestive System published in 1944.
1888: As she went to
visit her sister, eighteen year old Yetta Reiner, a Jewish girl who has been in
the United States for two weeks, disappeared when she walked off with a
Hebrew-speaking man on the corner of Norfolk and Hester Street who had offered
“to get her a situation.”
1888: Leo Bamberger the
master of ceremonies, introduced Moses May, the Chairman of the Fair Committee
who introduced Brooklyn Mayor Alfred C. Chapin who officially opened the
charity fair on Clermont Avenue that will raise funds of the Hebrew Orphan
Asylum.
1888: “The Hebrews’
Thanksgiving” published in the Washington Post notes that the Jewish Feast of
Lights, this year Falls on the same date as Thanksgiving.
1888: It was reported
today that the son of the “sexton who dwells in the basement of the synagogue”
on 8th Street in Washington is suffering from typhoid fever.
1889: Police are
expected to arrest Morris Kassofky who gave “a terrible beating” to Jacob Levy
when the latter mistakenly tried to enter his apartment. They live in a
building on Norfolk Street that is inhabited by Jewish immigrants from Poland.
1889: In Newark, NJ,
founding of the Plaut Memorial Hebrew School which held classes daily from 4 to
7 p.m. and was led by Myer S. Hood, the Principle and Superintendent Myer S.
Hood.
1890: “Friends of the
Exiles” described the rejection of request made Jews to help their suffering
co-religionists in Russia by the New York Bureau of the Siberian Exile Petition
Association because “the work of the association…was done by petition” and “the
work for the relief of the Jews required a different kind of effort.”
1890: Twenty-eight year
old Leavenworth, KS native Eugene S. Benjamin, the President and trustee of the
Baron de Hirsch Fund and vice president of the Allied Mutual Liability
Insurance Company marred Miriam Gutman today.
1890: Birthdate of
Newark, NJ, native and New Jersey Law School trained attorney, Judge William
Unterman, “the chairman of the Ninth Ward Democratic Club” and “President of
the Third District of B’nai B’rith who was the husband of Esther Untermann, the
“first woman police judge in the City of Newark,
1891 (25th of Cheshvan):
Rabbi Mordecai Gimpel Jaffe passed away.
1892: “In the Czar’s
Family” published today described the hope that by naming the Crown Prince as
President of the Russian State Council “the repression of Jews…will eventually
be relaxed.” (Things were always going to get better for Russian Jew
– in the future!)
1892(7th of
Kislev, 5653): Sixty year old Mortiz Wahrman the first Jew chosen to chosen a
member of the Hungarian delegation and successful businessman who bequeathed
200,000 crowns to “benevolent societies and “600,000 crowns for the erection of
a Jewish gymnasium (school) passed away today.
1892: In Baltimore, MD,
“Simon and Jennie (Levy) Turk gave birth to University of Pennsylvania trained
attorney and WW I Army veteran Mervyn Russell Turk, the author of Turk’s
“Harvard Notes on Trusts” who was a member of B’nai B’rith.
1893: “Seen in Ceylon”
published today described the commercial life of this island state including
“the keen-faced Jews with long, black ringlets” who “preside over stores of
shining gems.”
1893: Professor Felix
Adler “gave the second lecture in his series on religious leaders” entitled
“Moses and the Prophets” to an overflow audience at the Music Hall in New York
City.
1893: “Jews Expelled
from Besieged Meililla” described the decision of the Spanish General to order
all Jews to leave the Moroccan city as he battles against the
Riffs -- a decision that is consistent with the behavior of
"military commanders in Europe” who “rightly or wrongly” feel that the
Jews are spies for their enemies.
1894:
The will of Adolph Bernheimer which names his widow, his brother Lehman and
William Rothschild as executors was filed for probate today.
1894:
In Washington, DC, Solomon “Sol” Peyser and Eva Dux gave birth to Theodore Dux
“Ted” Peyser who earned a law degree at the University of Virginia and served
in WW I.
1894:
Birthdate of “Ukrainian-born American trade unionist” Jacob Samuel Potofsky who
served as president of the Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America from 1946
until 1972.
1894: In
Columbia, MO, Leo Wiener and Bertha Kahn gave birth to child prodigy and famed
mathematician Norbert Wiener. Among his many accomplishments, Weiner
is known as the discoverer of cybernetics. President Johnson awarded
him with the National Medal of Science two months before his death in 1964.
1895: Today, “Judge
Allison, in General Sessions…dismissed an indictment against” delicatessen
dealer Peter Peiser “who had been arrested for selling sausage on Sunday.”
1896: The University of
Wisconsin football team led by first year head coach Philip King, a Jewish
native of Washington, DC played to a six-six tie against Northwestern in
Evanston, Illinois.
1896(21st of
Kislev, 5657): Joseph C. Wolf who was elected the State Assembly from the 16th District
in 1892 and the State Senate in 1893 passed away today. Born in
1849, the native of Besancon, France and graduate of Columbia Law School
enlisted in the Second New York Light Cavalry at the start of the Civil War
serving with the Army of the Potomac.
1896: Temple Israel and
the West End Synagogue will hold a joint Thanksgiving Service starting at 3
p.m.
1896: Temple Emanu-El
will hold a Thanksgiving Service at 11 a.m.
1896: As part of day
long holiday observance, the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society will hold a
Thanksgiving Service at the synagogue on 11th Avenue and 151st Street.
1896: William Matthew
Flinders Petrie married Hilda Urlin in London. This was the same year that
he and
his archaeological team were conducting excavations at Luxor when they
discovered the “Israel’ or Merneptah Stele
1897: During the Dreyfus
Affair, today the French minister of war “received the following anonymous
letter: ‘Monsieur le Minstre: You will find in a chamber on the sixth story
interesting document concerning the Dreyfus case’ signed “A Patriot”
1897: Through her lawyer
Mr. Jullemier, Madame de Boulancy, cousin and former mistress of Ferdinand
Walsin Esterhazy, had decided to avenge her lover and debtor and sent to
Senator Auguste Scheurer-Kestner letters from this officer, including the
famous "letter of Uhlan". Scheurer-Kestner showed the letter to
Pellieux, military commander of Paris, in charge of the administrative inquiry
on Esterházy
1898: The Emperor and
Empress of German arrive at Potsdam this morning on their return from Palestine
where the Kaiser met with Herzl.
1899: Rabbi Joseph
Silverman delivered a lecture this morning at Temple Emanu-El on “Are We
Children of the Ghetto, or Children of the World?” which was a play on words
using the name of the drama now appearing at a New York theatre.
1899: In Roxbury, MA,
founding of the Helping Hand Temporary Home for Destitute Jewish Children at
the corner of Fort Ave and Beech Glen.
1899: “Rosebery On
Cromwell” published today provided the remarks made by Lord Rosebery at the
ceremony celebrating the tercentenary of Oliver Cromwell including his
observation that Cromwell “was the first Prince who reigned in England who
welcomed and admitted Jews” a fact of which Jews and Englishmen are equally
proud of as can be attested to by the presence of Sir Samuel Montagu, Lord
Rothschild and Benjamin Cohen on the platform at the banquet honoring his
memory.
1899: In Roxbury, MA,
founding today of Helping Hand Temporary Home for Destitute Jewish Children
located at Fort Avenue and Beech Glen.
1900: “De Hirsch School
Enlarged” published today described the dedication ceremonies for the new
dormitory of the Baron de Hirsch Agricultural and Industrial School at Woodbine
which “has a population of one thousand and is the most successful of the De
Hirsch colonies” in New Jersey.
1901: Dr. Alois
Alzheimer, a German psychiatrist at the Hospital for the Mentally Ill and
Epileptics in Frankfurt, who had “married a Jewish widow, Cecilia Geisenheimer
in 1894 after which they had three children, had his first meeting with the
patient who would become the first person to be diagnosed with Alzheimer's
Disease.
1902: “Before an
audience which completely filled the auditorium of the Educational Alliance
Building the Rev. Dr. Emil G. Hirsch, rabbi of the Sinai Congregation in Chicago
and Professor of Rabbinical Literature at the Chicago University, tonight
delivered an address, the topic of which was "The New York East Side
Problem” during which he urged Jews to leave the overcrowded East Side.
1903: On Thanksgiving
Professor Richard Gottheil delivered a lecture on Zionism at a Temple in New
York City which “was accorded a most cordial reception.
1903: Birthdate of Alice
Herz-Sommer, also known as Alice Sommer-Hertz and Alice Sommer, “a Czech
pianist, music teacher and survivor of the Theresienstadt concentration camp.”
http://www.timesofisrael.com/life-and-laughter-from-oscar-nominated-film-about-survivor-110/
1904:Clarence Isaac de
Sola, the “son of Cantor Abraham de Sola and Esther de Sola, and his wife Belle
Maud de Sola gave birth to Jessica E. Mellor who was married to both
Ronald David de Pass and Sir John Mellor.
1905: The First Jewish
Colony on Manhattan Island published today described events that will be
celebrated this Thanksgiving regarding “one of the most important events in
Israel’s History” – the growth of New York’s Jewish population from 23 people
to half a million.
1905: “The contributions
to the fund for the relief of the Jewish sufferers from Russian massacres took
another upward bound” today “under the impetus of additional collections from
many cities, particularly Chicago, which by sending $20,000 more now leads in
contributions outside of New York City, there have been forwarded from there in
all $80,000.”
1905: It was reported
today that the Jewish relief fund has raised $827,579 to help those suffering
from the anti-Semitic violence sweeping Russia.
1905: When Blood Flowed
Like Water at Odessa” published today provided an eye-witness account “of the
awful scenes of carnage” when Russian gentiles attacked the Jews following the
Czar’s proclamation granting the people a Constitution.
1906:
Eighty-one-year-old Cracow native Jehuda Lejb, the liberal political
leader and author who gained fame as Julian Klackzo after he became a Roman
Catholics in 1856 while living in Paris passed away today.
https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/9361-klaczko-julian-judah
1906: Birthdate of
“Rabbi Henry Enoch Kagan” the graduate of the University of Cincinnati and HUC
who was “the first full-time rabbi to be licensed by New York State as a
consulting psychologist” and who was a tireless worker for better relations
between Christians and Jews which did not deter him from raising two sons –
Jonathan and Jeremy – with his wife “the former Esther Miller.”
1907: Birthdate of
Lemberg native and CCNY alum David Ewen, the husband of Hannah Ewen and the
father of Robert, who, starting in the 1930’s became the author of numerous
books about music including biographies of Franz Schubert, George Gershwin
Leonard Bernstein and Irving Berlin.
https://atom.library.miami.edu/asm0069
1907: Fifty-nine year
Eernesto Nathan, the London born son “Sara Levi, an Italian from Pesaro, and
Mayer Moses Nathan” who “obtained Italian citizenship in 1888” began serving as
Mayor of Rome today, making him the first Jew to hold this position.
1908: Birthdate of award-winning
scriptwriter and playwright Leonard Spigelgass, the brother-in-law of
photographer Sanford Roth and the brother Beulah Roth, a “speechwriter for FDR
and Adlai Stevenson” passed away today.
https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-1985-02-17-8501060212-story.html
1909: Sigma Alpha Mu is
founded in the City College of New York by 8 Jewish young men.
1909: Birthdate of Moe
Mizler the London born boxer who was the brother of “British lightweight
champion Harry Mizler.
1910(24th of
Cheshvan, 5671): Parashat Chayei Sara
1910: In what looked
like a “Dress Rehearsal” for the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, today “a
fire at a building in Newark, New Jersey, housing several factories, killed 24
women and girls employed by the Wolf Muslin Undergarment Company”
which “raised concerns about whether a similar disaster could
happen” since lack of exits and the existence of fire hazards had led to this
preventable tragedy.
1911: Birthdate of
Samuel “Sammy” Herman Reshevsky, the Polish born Jewish-American chess
grandmaster who was a strong contender in the World Chess Championship
competitions for a thirty year span.
1912(16th of Kislev,
5673): Eighty-four-year-old Baron George De Worms passed away.
1912: In Chicago, “the
first regular meeting of the K.A.M. Auxiliary is scheduled to be held this
afternoon in the vestry rooms of the Temple where attendees will hear speakers
present “A Practical Symposium on the High Cost of Living.”
1912: Simon Bloom was
elected Mayor of Pine Bluff, Arkansas.
1912: Birthdate of
playwright Eugene Ionesco. There is dispute about Ionesco’s Jewish origins.
According to a sizeable body of evidence, Ionesco’s mother was a Romanian of
Sephardic Jewish origin.
1913: Birthdate of
Josefina Grunfeldova, who in 1942 was deported from Prague to Ujazdow where she
was murdered by the Nazis.
1913: In a letter from
the Chief Rabbi of Salonica to Prince Nicholas of Greece, the rabbi denies
truth of charges of excesses committed by Greek soldiers and declares he has
not sought protection of powers for Jews of Salonica. Three months later the
Greek Prime Minister, Venizelos, assured the Chief Rabbi that the rights of the
Jews would be continued.
1913: Jesse Laksy forms
The Jesse L. Lasky Feature Play Company in partnership with his brother-in-law
Samuel Goldfish (later known as Sam Goldwyn) and his friend Cecil B.
DeMille. The Squaw Man is the company’s first film and it is
an instant hit. It is also the first movie filmed entirely in
Hollywood, California.
1914: Harry Baff charged
today that his father Barnett Baff had been shot dead “at the instigation of a
clique of retail poultry buyers” referred to as the “kosher killers.”
1915: It was reported
today that there were 300,000 starving Jews in Poland and that “5 cents a day
would provide succor for one war victim.”
1915: “Isadore
Hershfield of New York” the official representatives of Jewish relief societies
of America arrived in Berlin today “on a mission of relief for the Jews in the
war areas of Poland and Galicia.”
1916(1st of
Kislev, 5677): Rosh Chodesh Kislev
1916: The list of
contributions received by The Central Committee for the Relief of Jews
Suffering Through the War published today including $22 from the Congregation
Sons of Israel in Frostburg, MD, and $76 from the Congregation Sons of Israel
in Dallas, TX.
1916: In “Half of
War-Stricken Poland’s Population Destitute” published today, Dr. Judah L.
Magnes reported that in Poland, “there is no work that a Jew can do…and
thousands are starving.”
1916: This afternoon,
Harry H. Schlacht of the East Side Protective Association announced
“arrangements for a great peace meeting” which will be held at Public School 4
and whose attendees will include Jacob H. Schiff.
1916: According to an
announcement made today the American Jewish Committee “a Russian Jew named
Gershenovitz…who was sentenced in 1914 to six years of penal servitude because
he was accused of have helped he Germans” was acquitted by the Chief Military
Court based “on evidence gathered by O.O. Grusenberg, a lawyer.”
1916: During today’s
meeting “of the Reichstag main committee it was pointed out that large numbers
of Jews in Poland” who are not working “might be profitably employed in
manufacturing” which help alleviate the shortage of laborers but would also
prove beneficial to the Jews as well.
1917: It was reported
today that Adolph Lewisohn has donated his home at 881 Fifth Avenue to house
the bazaar which be hosted next month by Temple Emanu-El to reduce expenses so
that the maximum amount of money can “go to the relief of Jewish war sufferers
and for welfare work among American soldiers and sailors.”
1917: Jan Kucharzewski
who would tell an interviewer from “the Jewish press” that he was not an
anti-Semite became Prime minister of Poland today.
1917: In Great Britain,
the Manchester Guardian printed the text of the Sykes-Picot
Agreement – the secret document that determined how the Ottoman Empire would be
divided between the UK and France after World War.
1918: Dr. Solomon
Oppenheimer, the Superintendent of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum who has just
returned from Palestine, gives a report on the condition of the Jews in Eretz
Israel.
1918: Rabbi Hyman Gerson
Enelow, a member of the Overseas Commission of the Jewish Welfare Board, wrote
from France today, “There are so few Jewish workers here I regard it a duty to
remain here as long as possible. It has not been possible to do much
for” for those who suffered from the tribulation of the War.
1919: “Madame DuBarry” a
silent film biopic directed by Ernst Lubitsch was released today in Denmark.
1920: Two days after he
had passed away, Robert Hodes, the husband of Leah Hodes, with whom he had had
three children, was buried today at the “Belfast Jewish Cemetery in Northern
Ireland.”
1921: Twenty-nine-year-old
Polytech Institute of Brooklyn trained chemical engineer and holder of an Master’s
degree from George Washington University, William Maurice Wiesenberg the
husband of Helen Anita who was the Austrian born son of Jacob and Antonia Wiesenberg,
who became the “supervising and planning engineer in charge of civil and
mechanical engineering for the Army Ordinance and Construction and a member of
the firm of Lustig and Weil married Helen Anita Weiss today.
1921: The peace treaty
between the United States and Austria which ended World War I between these two
nations was registered with the League of Nations. The separate
treaty was needed because the U.S. Senate, in a further act of the isolationism
that would indirectly lead to WW II, had “refused to ratify the multilateral
Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye of 1919.”
1922: In an article
entitled “Palestine Industries Thriving Capital and Settlers Needed” Dr. Arthur
Ruppin notes the changes that have taken place since Herzl called for the establishment
of a Jewish homeland 25 years ago at the first Zionist
Congress. While “towns of thousands houses have grown up on
neglected ground” the need to develop irrigation projects and travel facilities
represent the biggest challenge for future development as well as creating
investment opportunities for foreign financiers.
1923: “The Wanters” a
drama from the silent film ear directed by John M. Stahl, produced by Louis B.
Mayer and co-starring Norma Shearer was released in the United States today.
1924: Birthdate of
George Segal, sculptor lifelike mixed-media figures.
1924: Ted “Kid” Lewis
(born Gershon Meneloff) lost both the British and European Welterweight crowns.
1925: Birthdate of
pianist Eugene Istomin. He was an American pianist born in New York City of
Russian-Jewish parents. He was famous for his work in the trio, with Isaac
Stern and Leonard Rose, known as the Istomin-Stern-Rose Trio, with whom he made
many recordings, and particularly of music by Beethoven, Brahms and Schubert.
He also played with them in orchestral music, with conductors such as Eugene
Ormandy Bruno Walter and also as a soloist. He passed away in 2003.
1926: In “Palestine
Industry Thriving,” published today Arthur Ruppin describes the social and
economic progress that has been in Eretz Israel in the 25 years following Herzl
opened the founding Zionist conference in Basel, Switzerland.
1926: Birthdate date of
Albert Maysles, the native of Boston, who teamed with his younger brother David
to produce award winning documentary films.
1927(2nd of
Kislev, 5688): Parashat Tolodot
1927: “Representatives
of 25 Jewish young people’s organizations in and around New York with a
membership of 60,000 began the second annual convention of the Metropolitan
League of Jewish Community Associations” tonight “at the Young Men’s Hebrew
Association at 92nd Street and Lexington Avenue.
1928: In Moscow, “Andrei
Navrozov, a writer, and the former Dina Minz, a neuropathologist” gave birth to
their only child “translator and Soviet dissident” Lev Navrozov who in more
than one publication claimed that while serving as Israel’s Ambassador to the
Soviet Union, Golda Meir “had given Stalin a list of Russian Jews who would
fight for Israel” and who then “disappeared at the hands of Stalin’s organs of
state security.”
1928: It was reported
today that “Dr. Louis Finkelstein of the Jewish Theological Seminary” said “the
condition of present-day Judaism” was like “a leaky ship” and that it was
becoming apparent that the ship that was built tin the ghetto must undergo
reconstruction for” use in America.
1928: The Jewish
Telegraphic Agency reports that evidence presented during the trial of a “communist
named Teichman” the Druze Rebellion against the French mandatory government in
Syria received financial and moral support from Communist groups in Palestine.
1929: “Plans for the
intensification and extension of Jewish charitable work throughout the city and
the organization of an all-inclusive fund supported by all coreligionists were
discussed” today “by leaders who hailed with satisfaction the impending, merger
of the New York Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies
with the Brooklyn Federation of Jewish Charities.”
1929: Tonight, “on the
anniversary of his 70th birthday, Alfred M. Cohen, Cincinnati
banker and philanthropist long association in endeavors for the advancement of
Jewish learning, was the guest of honor at banquet given by the board of
governors of Hebrew Union College” which came as a surprise to Mr. Cohen
because he thought he was attending a simple “business gathering of the board.
1930: “Men, women and
children jostled their way through the lobby of the Public Theatre” tonight “to
welcome back, after an absence of eight years, that veteran of the Yiddish
theatre, Boris Thomashefsky, who was appearing in an operetta called
"Eretz Israel" ("Land of Israel"), written by himself with
the musical collaboration of Abe Ellstein.”
1930: It was reported
today that the subsidy granted by the municipality of Brest-Litvosk to the
local Yiddish School has been countermanded by the governor of the district “despite
the fact that the school has government license.”
1931: Dr. Chaim
Weizmann, Zionist leader, in a lecture today before the Keren Hajessod for the
Rhineland and Westphalia on the present states of Jewry and Zionism, said the
unhappy position of the Jews in Germany was really no different from their
position everywhere in the world.
1932(27th of
Cheshvan, 5693): Parashat Chayei Sarah
1932: “At a mass meeting
in the auditorium of the City School of Commerce,” more than a thousand people
heard the Palestine delegates to the eighth national convention for Jewish
workers in Palestine reported on “the successful development of a working
organization to lead youth into productivity” in agricultural endeavors.
1933: Funeral services
were held today “at Temple Adath Israel, in the Bronx” for seventy-three-year-old
Russian born Rabbi Bernhard Rabbino who served congregations in several small
towns including Keokuk, IA and Brunswick, GA, before becoming a lawyer and
champion of the established of the “Domestic Relations Courts in New York” and
who was the husband of “the former Anna Ladewig” with whom he had had four
daughters.”
https://www.jta.org/1933/11/27/archive/funeral-services-held-for-rabbino-civic-worker
1933: In "Two
Contrasting Views of Palestine" published today Jacob Weinstein
reviewed Modern Palestine: A Symposium edited by Jessie
Sampter and Beside Galilee: A First-hand Survey of Zionism and Modern
Palestine by Hector Bolitho.
1933: In an article
entitled “Two Contrasting Views of Palestine,” Jacob Weinstein reviews Modern
Palestine edited by Jessie Sampter with a foreword by Albert Einstein
and Beside Galilee: A First-hand Survey of Zionism and Modern Palestine by
Hector Bolitho.
1934: The cinematic version
of Fannie Hurst’s novel Imitation of Life directed by John M.
Stahl and produced by Carl Laemmle, Jr was released today in the United States.
1935: The Nuremberg Laws
which were aimed Jews “were extended to ‘Gypsies, Negroes or their bastard
offspring.’”
1936: Birthdate of
Yitzhak Yitzhaky, the native of Tiberias, the founder of and director of “Idud,
a village for intellectually challenged children” who was an MK.
1936: Nathan D. Perlman
was “appointed as a justice of the Court of Special Sessions of the City of New
York” today, a position to which he was reappointed in 1945.
1936: For a second time,
“the local rabbinical council protested to the Governor, Marshall Italo Balbo
over the order that all shops in Tripoli are to remain open on all days of the
week expect for Sunday which will force the Jewish merchants to violate their
Sabbath or leave the new part of the city.
1937(22nd of
Kislev, 5698): Fifty-eight year old Yakov Ganetsky, the son of a Jewish factory
owner, who joined the Bolshevik movement and became a close associate of
Vladimir Lenin “was executed today” during Stalin’s Great Purge which was
designed to consolidate the Dictator’s power and which had a distinctly
anti-Semitic tinge.
1937: The
Palestine Post reported that three Jews were wounded when Arab
terrorists shot at a crowded bus, traveling from Nesher to Haifa, and escaped.
1937: In
another example of the anti-Semitism that was endemic to European society,
the Palestine Post reported that a large number of Jews were
again attacked and beaten in various towns in Lithuania.
1938: “Angels with Dirty
Faces” a gangster film with a twist directed by Michael Curtiz, produced by
Samuel Bischoff and with music by Max Steiner was released in the United States
today by Warner Bros.
1938: In Pittsburgh,
during the annual convention of Junior Hadassah, four speakers each agreed that
“Jewish young people of American must pool their energies in a ‘fight for
democracy’ and promote Zionism.”
1938: Today “the
National Republican Club adopted a resolution condemning the ‘relapse into
barbarianism of the present rulers in Germany.’”
1939: The March of the
Hundred, the “new novel” by Manuel Komroff, the author of Coronet
and Two Thieves is on sale for $2.50.
1939: “Two Pioneers of
Russian Music” published today provides Howard Taubman’s review of “Free
Artist: The story of Anton and Nicholas Rubinstein by Catherine Drinken Bowen.
1939: Dr. Mordecai
Soltes, Harry Grayer, Dr. Jacob I. Steinberg, Herman Z. Quittman and Nathan
Seidelman are scheduled this afternoon’s meeting of the Order of Sons of Zion
in Greater New York at the Hotel Astor.
1939: Dr. Henry G.
Knight, Dr. Gabriel Davidson, Professor O.S. Morgan and Dr. Carl B. Woodward
are scheduled to speak at the memorial service for Dr. Jacob Goodale at Temple
Emanu-El.
1939: At Congregation
Emanu-El in New York, Rabbi B. Benedict Glazer is scheduled to speak on “The
Promise of American Life.
1939: At the Free
Synagogue which holds services at Carnegie Hall, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise is
scheduled to speak on “Happiness and Character: Do They Destroy Each Other?”
1939: At Congregation
B’nai Jeshurun in New York, Rabbi Israel Goldstein is scheduled to speak on
“Information Please: A Jewish Intelligence Test.”
1939: At Congregation
Rodeph Sholom in New York, Ludwig Lewisohn is scheduled to speak on “The Answer
to Israel’s Enemies.”
1939: At the West End
Synagogue in New York, “Rabbi Hyman Judah Schachtel will review John
Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath at a lecture-forum service.”
1939: In New York at the
Astor Hotel “a resolution” introduced by Herman Z. Quittman, executive director
of the Sons Zion, “calling on the British Government to admit 50,000 Jewish
refugee families from Eastern and Central Europe into Palestine in the next
twelve months was unanimously adopted” this “afternoon by 200 delegates to the
annual conference of Eastern leaders of the Sons of Zion, a national Zionist
group” described the desperate plight of Jews living in Nazi Germany where
there has been no organized immigration for Jews since last year and where
mothers and wives do not know the fate of their sons and
husbands. “Our people have been pushed back and forth over the
borders. Palestine is the only country in the world where the
arrival of Jewish refugees is greeted with rejoicing and festivities.”
1939: “The third week of
the 1939 merged appeal of the New York and Brooklyn Federation of Jewish
Charities was ushered in” tonight “with a dinner in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
attended by 1,200 representatives of the radio, music, refrigeration and allied
industries including David Sarnoff, Arthur Murray and Benjamin
Abrams.
1939: “1,000 Refugees on
Vulcania” published today described the hopes of 1,000 German Jews fleeing the
Nazis who have sailed from Genoa to settle in the United States.
1939: In Baltimore, MD,
Miss Gisela Warburg, the niece of the late Felix Warburg, who has just returned
from Europe where she helped with Youth Aliyah, told those attending the
sixteenth annual convention of Junior Hadassah
1939: ‘More than a
thousand members of the Jewish community of Teschen, Germany” have been given
two more weeks to prepare for their deportation to Poland.
1939: In South Bend, Indiana, Gertrude and Herman Boorda, gave birth to Admiral
Jeremy Michael Boorda, “the 25th Chief of Naval Operations” and
“the first American sailor to have risen through the enlisted ranks to become
Chief of Naval Operations,” the top position in the United States Navy.
1939: “Death Decreed for
Jews Who Fail to Wear Armbands or Ignore Curfew” published today described the
edict issued in German occupied Poland that “any Jew leaving his home without a
special permit between 5 pm and 8 am may be punished by death” and that Jews
failing “to wear a broad yellow arm band” will also face the death penalty.
1939: “Cantor Kusewitsky
Is Safe” published today brought word that Moijzez Kusewitsky, the chief cantor
of Poland and the cousin of Mrs. Isior Achron has not been by the German
bombing of Warsaw but has escaped with his family to Bucharest.
1939: “May Send Mail to
Poland” published today described a cablegram from Arnold M. Kaiser, secretary
of the Polish Fund of London that included the assertion that letters for those
living in Upper Silesia and Danzig maybe sent through the federation which will
forward them to Geneva before they reach their final destination in Poland.
1940: British
Secretary of State for the Colonies Lord Lloyd calls those who are working to
save Jewish lives by illegally transporting them to Palestine "foul people
who had to be stamped out."
1940: The Nazis
forced 500,000 Warsaw Jews to live in walled ghetto.
1940: “Nearly 600
people, including leaders from the judiciary, education and Newark’s political
and social life” attended a dinner-dance at the Essex House which was a
celebration of Judge William Untermann’s fiftieth birthday.
1941: A fleet of six
aircraft carriers commanded by Japanese Vice Admiral Chuichi Nagumo left Hitokapu
Bay under strict radio silence. On December 7th, the world would
find out that their destination was Pearl Harbor. The arrival of the
fleet would usher in America’s entrance into World War II and all that would
flow from that.
1941: The recapture of
Rostov by Russian forces marked the first major setback suffered by Germany in
World War II, 1941. The German blitz had moved unchecked across the
Soviet Union since June of 1941. By stopping the Nazis at Rostov,
the Soviets forced the German Army to suffer through a Russian Winter from for
which it was ill-prepared. The Germans would resume their offensive
in the Spring of 1942, but the Wehrmacht would have been depleted just enough
that it would fail a year later at Stalingrad which would mark the beginning of
the end for the German military. Unfortunately, none of these
military setbacks would slow down the pace of the Final Solution.
1942: A ship called the Donau sailed
from Oslo’s Pier 1 carrying 532 Norwegian Jews, now classified as prisoners all
of whom would end up in Concentration Camps.
1942 Norwegian police
forces under the direction of the Gestapo handed 532 Jewish prisoners to the SS
at Pier 1 in Oslo harbor. The ship was under the command of Untersturmführer
Klaus Grossmann and Oberleutnant Manig. Men and women were put in separate
holds on the ship, where they were deprived of basic sanitary conditions and
mistreated by the soldiers. Only 9 of the prisoners survived the Second World
War.
1942: At dawn, in
Norway, the Quisling police returned to the home of Isak Plesansky, the founder
and proprietor of the Tonsberg Clothing School and arrested his wife, daughter
and son. All of them would be gassed at Auschwitz within the
month.
1942: ''Casablanca,''
starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, had its world premiere at the
Hollywood Theater in New York. The Jewish connections with this film classic
are so numerous that this should only be considered a partial list. Jewish
actors included Peter Lorre, S.Z."Cuddles" Sakall, and Leonid Kinskey. Conrad
Veidt was not Jewish but his wife was. Michael Curtiz, a Hungarian
Jew, was the director. The script was a product of Jewish writers Julius and
Philip Epstein. The inspiration for the movie came from a play by Murray Bennett. Bennett
got the idea after going to Vienna to help Jewish relatives after the
Aunschluss in 1938. The score was written by Max Steiner…and that
will have to do for now.
1942: Jews in
Piotrków Trybunalski, Poland, who are lured from hiding places by Nazi promises
of no retribution, are taken to a synagogue, locked inside, and subjected to
random gunfire by Ukrainians.
1943: Birthdate of
producer and director Bruce Paltrow, a native of Brooklyn, a graduate of Tulane
University where he is a member of Sigma Alpha Mu Fraternity and a producer who
was responsible for two of television’s best dramatic series - The
White Shadow and St. Elsewhere. He also
directed several episodes of Homicide as well as full length
motion pictures. He died in 2002 after battling cancer.
1944: In an interview
given today on the eve of his 70th birthday, Dr. Chaim Weizmann
said that “any blueprint for the future of what is left of the Jewish people
should include allowing at least 100,000 refugees settle in Palestine annually
and that this “must be undertaken by the United Nations as a measure of
historic justice. He said that this is the least that is owed to the
Jewish people “whose agony in Hitler’s Europe during this war needs no
elaboration.” When he used the term “agony” Weizmann could have included
the loss of his son Michael who died while serving with the RAF.
1944: Government
officials announced that “twelve more arrests were made today in Tel Aviv and
Haifa during continued police searches for suspects connected with” what they
described as underground political terrorist groups.
1944: As World War II
entered its last phase, the Germans decided to hide all evidence of the mass
murders. On orders from Himmler the gas chambers and crematoria at Auschwitz
and Birkenau were blown up.
1945: 21st of
Kislev, 5706): Sixty-seven year old Columbia trained civil engineer “and author
of standard textbooks on the design of bridges, Myron S. Flak who served as a
Major during WW I and who was the consulting engineer on the erection of Temple
Emanu-El passed away today.
1945: In a personal
letter bearing today’s date Nathan Shilkret wrote to his wife about why he
undertook the Genesis Project including the insights that “it was never
intended to be a work of musical art” but rather a creation intended “to appeal
to all record buyers.”
1945: Jewish underground
blows up police headquarters and several electric power stations.
1945: Mandatory
government sends troops to search for arms in Jewish settlements in Sharon and
Samaria.
1945: Soviet Union
proposes submission of the Arab-Jewish problem to Big Five Conference.
1945: Polish Jews
announce in Italy that they intend to proceed to Palestine by any means.
1946(3rd of Kislev,
5707): Stephen Theodore Norman, the only grandson of Theodor Herzl, plunged to
his death off a Massachusetts Avenue Bridge in Washington D.C. at the age of
28. During WWII, Norman had served as a Captain in the British
Army. He visited Palestine in late 1945 and 1946. Severe
depression brought on by the Holocaust and the plight of the Jews after World
War II ended led to severe depression which led to his final moments.
1946: Birthdate of Roni
Milo, future Mayor of Tel Aviv
1946(3rd of
Kislev, 5707): Sixty-six year old Dr. Elias Margolis, the Vilna born son of
“Rabbi Isaac Margolis and Hinde Bernstein Margolis who in 1885 came to the
United States where he received degrees from the University of Cincinnati,
Hebrew Union College and Columbia, led several congregations while leading the
Rabbinical Assembly of JTS and the Synagogue Council of America and raised five
children with his wife Esther Molly Jacobson Margolis passed away today.
1946: Jewish refugees in
Haifa resist British attempts to ship them Cyprus.
1947: Louis Bromfield,
co-chairman of American League for Free Palestine, charges that Arabs have
obtained surplus U.S. arms.
1948: Bulgaria
recognized Israel.
1948: Hans Möser: Ex
SS-Obersturmführer and commander of the Protective Custody Camp at
Mittelbau-Dora who had been condemned to death on 30 December 1947 for his
involvement in the executions of camp inmates was executed in Landsberg prison
today.
1948: Sixteen more
Spitfires in Czechoslovakia were awaiting “an opportunity to fly to Israel.”
1948: Menachem Begin
visited New York Mayor William O’Dwyer
1948: Abba Eban tells a
meeting of the UN Truce Mission that Israel will not let a large force of Egyptians
surrounded by the Israelis in the Negev retreat until the Arab’s accept the
Armistice Resolution.
1949: Pasha el Mulbi
says that the Jerusalem must be held by the Arabs to protect the surrounding
Arab sectors.
1949: Jordan rejected
the plan for an internationalized Jerusalem.
1949: Birthdate of Roni
Milo, Israeli MK and cabinet minister who served as Mayor of his hometown, Tel
Aviv from 1993 to 1998.
1949: Birthdate of
Shlomo Artzi an Israeli folk rock singer-songwriter and composer. Born in
Moshav Alonei Abba he has sold over 1.5 million albums, making him one of
Israel's most successful male singers matching the success of his sister Nava
Semel the author of Kova Zekhukhit (Hat of Glass)
which was the first published work in Israel that addressed topics of the
children of Holocaust survivors
1950: Rabbi Theodore
Friedman is scheduled to speak at a Youth Aliyah Dinner-Dance at the Henry
Hudson Hotel sponsored by The North Hudson New Jersey chapter of Hadassah
1951: The Tales of
Hoffmann “a British Technicolor film adaptation of Jacques Offenbach's opera
The Tales of Hoffmann,” co-directed by Emeric Pressburger was released today in
the United Kingdom.
1952: The
Jerusalem Post reported that in the Knesset Prime Minister David
Ben-Gurion sharply attacked Mapam in the debate on the Prague trial, accusing
it of duplicity and inability to face the truth about the Soviet regime. The
Knesset, by an overwhelming majority, adopted a resolution expressing “its
sense of shock at the trial now proceeding in Prague, which had struck at the
Jewish people... and on the attempts to bring into disrepute the good name of
the State of Israel.”
1952: In Bonn,
“entrepreneur and tobacco industrialist Philipp Fürchtegott Reemtsma” and his
wife gave birth to Jan Philipp Reemtsma “who hired a researcher” at the start
of the 21st century to examine the art collection he inherited
from his father to make sure that none of it had been looted by the Nazis from
its rightful owners, many of whom would have been Jewish.
1952: “Time Out For
Ginger” a comedy starring Melvyn Douglas (Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg) opened on
Broadway today at the Lyceum Theatre.
1953: Mister Kelly’s a
nightclub owned and operated by Oscar and George Marienthal opened today on
Rush Street in Chicago.
1953(19th of
Kislev, 5714): Seventy-nine-year-old Mary Grossmann Buxbaum, the daughter of
Ignaz and Anna Rosenbaum Grossman and the wife of Louis Buxbaum passed away
today after which she was buried in Mount Sinai Cemetery in Cuyahoga County,
Ohi.
1954: Dr. Nelson Glueck,
president of Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, said that
through the use of dense settlement and exploitation of natural resources
Israel's southern Negev desert could be restored to its ancient prosperity.
1954: Birthdate of
Rosalind "Roz" Chast, the Flatbush native who became an award-winning
cartoonist for The New Yorker.
http://jwa.org/people/chast-roz
1956: Sixteen-year-old
Ellery Schempp refused to listen or to participate in the mandatory
Bible-reading exercise of his high school in the Abington School District
outside of Philadelphia. According to one source, Schempp was disciplined for
reading from the Koran during his high school’s mandatory Bible reading time.
After being severely disciplined by the district administrators, Ellery and his
family initiated a lawsuit that would ultimately make its way to the Supreme
Court of the United States. The defendants were the authorities of the Abington
School District. In the end, the Supreme Court ruled that religious recitations
and prayers of any kind were in violation of the Constitution of the United
States if practiced in public schools. Schempp was raised as a Unitarian. “The
minor rebellion led to a landmark Supreme Court case that (much to the relief
of many Jewish students) outlawed school-sponsored prayer.
1956: The Weightlifting
competition at the 16th Olympiad during which Ike Berger won a gold
medal came to an end today.
1958: Birthdate of David
Asper, a Canadian businessman and lawyer who as served as
the Executive Vice President of the Canadian media company CanWest
Global Communications Corp and as Chairman of the National Post newspaper and a
Professor at the Robson Hall Faculty of Law at the University of Manitoba. Born
in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Asper is the eldest son of the late Izzy Asper, founder
of CanWest Global. He is the brother of Leonard Asper, current president of
CanWest Global. In the mid-1980s, Asper represented David Milgaard, who was
wrongfully convicted of murder in 1970. With Asper arguing the case before the
Supreme Court of Canada, Milgaard's conviction was overturned in 1992.[1] Asper
endorsed Toronto Conservative candidate and former Global news anchor Peter
Kent in the 2006 Canadian federal election. Asper is a former trustee of the
Fraser Institute. Asper is also one of the main proponents behind building a
new stadium for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers. If his stadium proposal is accepted
Asper will spend $100,000,000 of his own money to finance part of the stadium
and build a shopping complex on the stadium grounds. In exchange he would
become owner of the team, who are currently community owned. He is currently in
negotiations with the football clubs board of governors over his stadium
proposal. Asper is married to Ruth Asper and has 2 sons and a daughter: Daniel,
Rebecca, and Max.
1958(14th of
Kislev, 5719): Sixty-two-year-old Yale alum and WW I veteran William
Loeb the New York born son of Albert and Rose Guggenheim and the husband of
Mary Frank Loeb with whom he had two daughters who was “a stockbroker and
leader in charitable affairs” passed away today.
1959(25th of
Cheshvan, 5720): Seventy-eight year old Austrian born Columbia University
trained “physician and surgeon” Dr. Joseph F. Saphir, the former “chief of
proctology at Manhattan State Hospital” and the husband of Elsa Saphir with
whom he had had three daughters passed away today.
1960(7th of
Kislev, 5720): Parshat Vayetzei
1960: In Newark,
Delaware Elaine "Leni", a social worker, and William Markell, who
taught accounting at the University of Delaware gave birth to Jack Alan
Markell, the 73rd Governor of the state of Delaware.
1960: ITV network
transmitted the last episode of “The Strange World of Gurney Slade” starring
Anthony Newley who “devised the British comedy series.”
1960: Seventy-eight year
old Mississippi Congressman John Rankin “the equal opportunity bigot” and
outspoken anti-Semite who called Walter Winchell a kike while speaking on the
floor of the House of Representatives and who attacked Albert Einstein passed
away today.
1961(18th of
Kislev, 5722): Anglo-Jewish Zionist leader Israel Cohen who “from 1909 to the
beginning of World War II Cohen directed the English department of the Zionist
Central Office in Cologne and later in Berlin” and whose exciting life was
chronicled in A Jewish Pilgrimage: The Autobiography of Israel
Cohen passed away today.
https://books.google.com/books/about/A_Jewish_Pilgrimage.html?id=-JMaAAAAIAAJ
1963(10th of
Kislev, 5724): Sixty-seven year old Dr. Otto Saphir, the Viennese born
“director of the Department of Pathology at Michael Reese Hospital and Medical
Center” and husband of Ethel Saphir with whom he had had two children passed
away today.
1964(21st of
Kislev, 5725): Sixty-nine-year-old “Dr. Joseph L. Fink, the Springfield, OH
born son of “Rabbi Mendel and Tillie Kagen Fiinkelstein and husband of Janice
Gutfruend and the rabbi emeritus of Temple Beth Zion in Buffalo, NY passed away
today.
http://collections.americanjewisharchives.org/ms/ms0105/ms0105.html
1964(21st of
Kislev, 5725): Sixty-one year old Herbert Solow the editor of the Menorah
Journal who went from being a follower of Trotsky to an editor
of Fortune passed away today.
1965(2nd Kislev,
5726): Eighty year old Sam Shapiro, the husband of Esther Shapiro and the
father of Gustave and David Shapiro passed away today.
1965: “My Ship Is Comin’
In” a song written by Joey Brooks was released today in the United Kingdom.
1966(13th of
Kislev, 5727): Parashat Vayishlach
1966(13th of
Kislev, 5727): Fifty-eight year old Philadelphia bornFannie Turnoff Belsky, the
wife of Abraham Belsky passed away today after which she was buried at
Roosevelt Memorial Park in Trevose, PA.
1966(13th of
Kislev, 5727): Seventy-six year old Galician Poland native Dr. Morris Teller,
the son of Samuel and Annie Teller who graduated from the University of
Pennsylvania after which he was ordained at JTS where he also received advanced
degrees before serving as rabbi of the South Side Hebrew Congregation and who
was the husband of “the former Nellie Ruby and the father of Sheldon Teller
passed away today.
1966: NBC broadcast
“Fame Is the Name of the Game” a mystery movie directed by Stuart Rosenberg.
1967(23rd of
Cheshvan, 5728): Eighty-three-year-old movie executive Albert Warner, the
Polish born son of Benjamin "Wonsal" or "Wonskolaser," a
shoemaker born in Krasnosielc, and Pearl Leah Eichelbaum, who was one of the
four Warner brothers who co-founded Warner Brothers along with Jack, Harry and
Sam and who married his second wife Bessie Levy after the death of his first
wife Bessie Kreiger passed away today.
1968(5th of
Kislev, 5729): Eighty-one-year-old prize winning novelist Arnold Zweig passed
away today.
1973: “Rachael Lily
Rosenbloom (And Don't You Ever Forget It)” with Ellen Greene in the title role
has its first pre-Broadway performance tonight.
1975: An ABC show titled
"Saturday Night Live with Howard Cosell" was cancelled today.
1976(4th of
Kislev, 5737): Eighty-four-year-old Vanderbilt University Medical School
graduate, Julius A. Haiman, “an ear, nose and throat specialist” and adjunct
professor at Polyclinic Hospital passed away today.
1976: The Organizing
Committee of the symposium on Jewish culture appealed to a number of
international organizations and public figures with a call for support.
1977: “A passage
featured in Nelson Algren's 1983 book The Devil's Stocking was
broadcast during the Southern Television hoax which generated international
publicity when students interrupted the regular broadcast through the
Hannington transmitter of the Independent Broadcasting Authority in England for
six minutes” today.
1980: Two months are
premiering in the United States, “Without Warning” a sci-fi film co-starring
Martin Landau was released in France.
1981: Boris
Chernobylskii, who had previously been “detained on the street” and kept in the
police station for two days “was arrested in Moscow” today after which the
Moscow Municipal Court sentenced him to 12 months of imprisonment.
1982: The New York Times
reported that the number of Jewish day schools was “on the rise, especially
among the Orthodox as they catered to the growing number of Orthodox youths,
including the children of Soviet, Israeli and Iranian immigrants.”
1982: Howard
Cossell called his last fight after being disgusted by the Larry Holmes-Tex
Cobb mismatch.
1986: The New
Yorker Magazine published "The Way We Live Now" a short
story about AIDS written by Jewish author Susan Sontag.
1986: “Solarbabies,” a
sci-fi film co-starring Jamie Gertz was released in the United States today.
1986: U.S. premiere of
“The Mosquito Coast” produced by Saul Zaenta and featuring Jason Alexander who
would gain fame as “George Constanza” on “Seinfeld.”
1986: The trial of John
Demjanjuk opened in the Jerusalem District Court today.
1986: “Star Trek IV: The
Voyage Home” directed by Leonard Nimoy who also co-starred in the film with
William Shatner was released today in North America
1987: Five people were
injured in the bombing of a military bus stop in Israel.
1988(17th of
Kislev, 5749): Seventy-six year old Werner Julius Seligmann, the son of Frantz
Seligmann and Erna Seligmann and husband of Irma Seligmann passed away today in
Notevideo.
1989: The New York
Times included a review of The Jews In America: Four Centuries
of an Uneasy Encounter by Arthur Hertzberg.
1990(9th of
Kislev, 5751): Ninety-three year old Samuel Noah Kramer the Ukraine born
husband of the former Mildred Tokarsky and the award winning authority on
Sumerian literature and culture passed away today. (As reported by John Noble
Wilford)
1991(19th of
Kislev, 5752: Seventy-seven-year-old advertising man Norman B. Norman, “a
founder and longtime chief executive of Norman, Craig and Kummel” the WW II
Navy veteran and husband of the former Gail Snyder passed away today.
1992(1st of
Kislev, 5753): Rosh Chodesh Kislev
1992: FOX broadcast the
final episode of “The Heights” a short lived “musical drama series” created by
Eric Roth.
1992(1st of
Kislev, 5753): Ninety-year old Bernard M. Baruch, Jr., the son of the fame
financier passed away today.
1993(12th of
Kislev, 5754): Eighty-two-year-old Brazilian born American composer Bernardo
Segall, the nephew of painter Lasar Segall passed away today.
http://articles.latimes.com/1993-12-01/local/me-62674_1_bernardo-segall
1994: CTV broadcast the
last episode of “Robo Cop” the television series produced by Jay Firestone, the
son of Esther Firestone, the first female cantor in Canada.
1995: Showtime broadcast
“Red Wind,” the final episode of “Fallen Angels” an anthology series developed
by Steve Golin with theme music by Elmer Bernstein.
1996: Publication
of The Book of Jewish Food: An Odyssey from Samarkand to New York by
Claudia Roden.
1997: “Alien:
Resurrection” a sci-fi horror film co-starring Winona Ryder and Ron Perlman was
released in the United States today.
2000: The New
York Times featured reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or about
topics of Jewish interest including Julius Knipl, Real Estate
Photographer: The Beauty Supply District by Ben Katchor
2001(11th of Kislev,
5762): A Palestinian suicide bomber killed himself and lightly wounded two
Border Policemen at the Erez crossing point in the Gaza Strip.
2001: Eric Moonman
“appeared at an ‘Executive Luncheon” hosted by the Centre for Counter Studies during
which he said he thought the media had been, "highly responsible and
supportive of U.S. and international efforts to root out terrorism" and
that when it came to fighting terrorism “we can’t afford to abide by the
Queensbury rules of war in the face of such a dangerous and unscrupulous
threat."
2002: “Ala Sabaar, a
commander of the Aksa Martyrs Brigade, an armed wing of the Fatah movement of
Yasir Arafat, and Aimad Nasharta, an area leader of the militant group Hamas”
were killed tonight when the house they were staying in exploded because
according to the Palestinians who offered no evidence it had been attacked by
an Apache helicopter or an IAF fighter plane.
2003(1st of
Kislev, 5764): Rosh Chodesh Kislev
2003(1st of
Kislev, 5764): Seventy-seven-year-old composer Myer Kupferman passed away
today. (As reported by Allan Kozinn)
http://www.meyerkupferman.com/
2004: In “Nazi
Defendants Venting” published today, William Grimes provides a lengthy review
of The Nuremberg Interviews An American Psychiatrist's Conversations
With the Defendants and Witnesses Conducted by Leon Goldensohn. Edited and
introduced by Robert Gellately.
2005: Start of Jewish
Book Month sponsored by the Jewish Book Council. According to its
website, “The mission of the Jewish Book Council is to promote the reading,
writing and publishing of quality English language books of Jewish content in
North America. To carry out its mission, the Jewish Book Council sponsors a
variety of activities and programs. The most widely known are the National
Jewish Book Awards, established in 1948/9, and the Jewish Book Month. Its
publications include Jewish Book Annual and Jewish Book World.”
2005: Sharon Fichman
defeated Pemra Özgen to win the tennis tournament at Ashkelon.
2005(3rd of Kislev,
5707): Children’s author and illustrator Stan Berenstain passed
away. He and his wife Jan are best known for creating the children’s
book series, “The Berenstein Bears.”
2006: Juilliard
instructor Samuel Zyman praises the talent of Jay “Bluejay” Greenberg during an
interview on tonight’s broadcast of CBS News 60 Minutes.
2006: Just in time for
Jewish Book Month, The Sunday Washington Post book section
featured a review of Somewhere: The Life of Jerome Robbins by
Amdanda Vail.
2006: The Sunday
New York Times list of “100 Notable Books of the Year” includes the
following volumes by Jewish authors or about Jewish topics: Everyman by
Philip Roth, Golden Country by Jennifer Gilmore, Intuition by
Allegra Goodman, A Woman in Jerusalem by A. B. Yehoshua, Courtier
and The Heretic: Leibniz, Spinoza, and the Fate of God in the
Modern World by Matthew Stewart. Greatest
Story Ever Told: The Decline and Fall of Truth From 9/11 to Katrina by
Frank Rich, The Lost: A Search for Six of Six Million, by
Daniel Mendelsohn, Prisoners: A Muslim and a Jew Across the
Middle East Divide by Jeffrey Goldberg and Sweet and
Low: A Family Story, by Rich Cohen.
2006: In
Auckland, New Zealand, The Governor-General of New Zealand, gives a speech
at event celebrating one hundred years of the Auckland Chevra Kadisha and
Benevolent Society attended by Hon Judith Tizard; President of the
Auckland Chevra Kadisha and Benevolent Society, Sonny Beder; President of
the Auckland Hebrew Congregation, Rabbi Jack Engel and former President, Rabbi
Jeremy Lawrence.
2006(5th of Kislev,
5767): Eighty-eight-year-old Jeanne Lesser who had been married to Louis Lesser
for more than 70 years passed away today.
2007: Holocaust denier
David Irving and Nick Griffin anti-Semitic leader of the British National party
are scheduled to speak at the Free Speech Forum sponsored by the Oxford
Union. Britain’s defense secretary Des Browne, three British
lawmakers and Labour Party leader Denis MacShane have all refused to appear
before the group because of Irving and Griffin.
2007: In Jerusalem the
Uganda Pub hosts an Ethiopian evening – music, films, food, lectures and even
Ethiopian beer - followed by DJ and dancing.
2007: Premiere of “Boy
A” starring Andrew Garfield as “Eric Wilson / Jack Burridge.
2007(16th of
Kislev, 5768): Ninety-four year old comedy writer Mel Tolkin, “the man who made
Sid Caser funny” passed away today.
2008: The OU
Bicentennial Convention opens in Jerusalem.
2008: Premiere of “The
Joy of Singing” a French film directed by Ilan Duran Cohen.
2008: The 92nd Street
Y hosts an Israeli Folk Dance Thanksgiving Marathon.
2008: After months of
delay, the Supreme Court is due to hear a petition regarding the 20,000
Subbotnik Jews of Russia, many of whom have found it increasingly difficult in
recent years to get permission to make Aliyah
2008: Attorney-General
Menahem Mazuz notified Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Wednesday that he planned
to indict him on several criminal charges relating to the Rishon Tours affair.
2008(28th of Cheshvan,
5769): Bentzion Chroman, who survived an earthquake in China earlier this year,
was killed when a terrorist invaded the Mumbai Chabad House where he had
stopped briefly today for the afternoon minhah prayer. Rabbi
Leibish Teitelbaum, who helped supervise kashrut was also killed in the attack.
Other victims of the terrorist attack on the Mumbai Chabad House included Rabbi
Gavriel Holtzberg, his pregnant wife Rivka and Norma Shvarzblat Rabinovich.
2008: “Saul Steinberg:
Illuminations,” a travelling exhibition, which will displayed original
Steinberg works opened in London.
2008: “Milk” a biopic
about Harvey Milk, the son of Lithuanian Jewish immigrants, produced by Bruce
Cohen with music by Danny Elfman was released in the United States today.
2009: At the Sixth &
I Lunch & Learn Rabbi Ethan Seidel leads a class studying unsettling
stories containing elements of relativism, confusion, acknowledgment of chaos,
and distrust of authority.
2009: Tikvat Israel
Synagogue in Rockville, MD, features an evening of Israeli folk dancing.
2009: Hamshushalayim, a
three-weekend-long festival, opens in Jerusalem.
2009: Minister of
Culture and Sport Limor Livnat told Likud activists this evening that “I do not
envy the prime minister because I know he is in distress. It isn’t easy to face
an American President.”
2009: This evening,
Palestinian terrorists in Gaza fired five mortar shells toward the western
Negev. The shells landed in an open field in the Eshkol region, causing no
casualties or damage.
2009: Britain’s Chief
Rabbi, Lord Jonathan Sacks gave his first speech in the House of Lords during
which he “apid homage to Britan an said it was a sense of indebtedness to the
country that drives Jews to make the vast contribution they make to society.”
2009: Belgian attorney
and politician Mischaël Modrikamen, the son of Marcel Modrikamen whose father
was “a Jewish immigrant from Poland who had fled anti-Semitism” launched the
People's Party (PP,) which, he claimed, was based on the values of justice,
responsibility and solidarity.
2010: The New York Times
Reviews Nora Ephron’s Last Book
http://jwa.org/thisweek/nov/26/2010/nora-ephron
2010: The National
Museum of American Jewish History opens in Philadelphia, PA
2010: In Brussels,
opening of Party Like a Jew a fun-filled weekend organized by the European
Centre for Jewish Students (ECJS), the largest European organization for young
adults in Europe.
2010(19th of
Kislev, 5771): “Rosh Hashanah of Chassidism.” The 19th day of the
Hebrew month of Kislev is celebrated as the "the New Year of Chassidus
(Hasidism)."“It was on this date, in the year 1798 that the founder of
Chabad Chassidism, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (1745–1812), was freed from
his imprisonment in czarist Russia. More than a personal liberation, this was a
watershed event in the history of Chassidism, heralding a new era in the
revelation of the “inner soul” of Torah. The public dissemination of the
teachings of Chassidism had in fact begun two generations earlier. The founder
of the chassidic movement, Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (1698–1760), revealed to
his disciples gleanings from the mystical soul of Torah which had previously
been the sole province of select kabbalists in each generation. This work was
continued by the Baal Shem Tov’s disciple, Rabbi DovBer, the “Maggid of
Mezeritch”—who is also deeply connected with the date of “19 Kislev”: on this
day in 1772, 26 years before Rabbi Schneur Zalman’s release from prison, the
Maggid returned his soul to his Maker. Before his passing, he said to his
disciple, Rabbi Schneur Zalman: “This day is our yom tov (festival).” Rabbi
Schneur Zalman went much farther than his predecessors, bringing these
teachings to broader segments of the Jewish population of Eastern Europe. More
significantly, Rabbi Schneur Zalman founded the “Chabad” approach—a philosophy
and system of study, meditation, and character refinement that made these
abstract concepts rationally comprehensible and practically applicable in daily
life. In its formative years, the chassidic movement was the object of strong,
and often venomous, opposition from establishment rabbis and laymen. Even
within the chassidic community, a number of Rabbi Schneur Zalman’s
contemporaries and colleagues felt that he had “gone too far” in tangibilizing
and popularizing the hitherto hidden soul of Torah. In the fall of 1798, Rabbi
Schneur Zalman was arrested on charges that his teachings and activities
threatened the imperial authority of the czar, and was imprisoned in an island
fortress in the Neva River in Petersburg. In his interrogations, he was
compelled to present to the czar’s ministers the basic tenets of Judaism and
explain various points of chassidic philosophy and practice. After 53 days, he
was exonerated of all charges and released. Rabbi Schneur Zalman saw these
events as a reflection of what was transpiring Above. He regarded his arrest as
but the earthly echo of a Heavenly indictment against his revelation of the
most intimate secrets of the Torah. And he saw his release as signifying his
vindication in the Heavenly court. Following his liberation on 19 Kislev, he
redoubled his efforts, disseminating his teachings on a far broader scale, and
with more detailed and “down-to-earth” explanations, than before. The
nineteenth of Kislev therefore marks the “birth” of Chassidism: the point at
which it was allowed to emerge from the womb of “mysticism” into the light of
day, to grow and develop as an integral part of Torah and Jewish life.”
2010(19th of
Kislev, 5711): Yahrtzeit of the Maggid of Mezritch, the successor of the Baal
Shem Tov
2010: Alice Herz-Sommer
turned 107 today and is the world’s oldest known Holocaust survivor, as well as
being the second oldest resident of London, England.
http://www.nickreedent.com/index.htm
2011: Pianist Taiyuan
Stepanov and clarinetists Alex & Daniel Gurfinkel are scheduled to perform
“Clarient with a French Flavor at the Eden Tamir Music Center in Ein
Kerem-Jerusalem.
2011: Penultimate
performance of Arthur Miller’s “After the Fall” sponsored by Theatre J (an arm
of the DC Jewish Community Center) is scheduled to take place tonight in
Washington, DC.
2011: A Kassam rocket fired
from the Gaza Strip into southern Israel exploded in the Eshkol Regional
Council area early today.
2011: The Israel Air
Force struck two centers of terrorist activity in the southern and central Gaza
Strip tonight in response to rocket fire into southern Israel, according to the
IDF Spokesman's office.
2012: David Siegel, the
Consul General of Israel in Los Angeles is scheduled to speak at Temple Emanuel
of Beverly Hills.
2012: A scheduled
screening of “Killing Kasztner, The Jews that Dealt with the Nazis” at the
Upper East Side Chabad will be followed by a discussion led by the film’s
director and Dr. Joseph Berger, Holocaust survivor saved by Kasztner.
2012: Ehud Barak, who
over a half-century career became Israel’s most decorated soldier and held the
nation’s trifecta of top positions — chief of staff of the military, prime
minister and, since 2007, defense minister — announced today that he would soon
“leave political life,” withdrawing from elections scheduled for Jan. 22.
2012: The French
Consulate in Jerusalem recently hosted as a guest of honor a Palestinian
terrorist, Salah Hamouri, who was convicted of plotting to kill Ovadia Yosef, a
former chief rabbi of Israel and the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox
Shas party, an Israeli newspaper reported today.
2013: Jewish Book is
scheduled to come to an end today.
2013: Robert Levinson,
“if he is still alive” today “become the longest held hostage in American
history.”
2013: The Center for
Jewish History is scheduled to present “The Reconquest of Jewishness in
Post-War America: Will Herberg and Irving Howe
2013: Rabbi Jonah Layman
is scheduled to lead the Greater Olney Interfaith Thanksgiving Service at
Shaare Tefila.
2013: Alice Herz-Sommer,
the oldest living Holocaust survivor who is the subject of “The Lady in Number
6: Music Saved My Life” is scheduled to celebrate her 110th birthday
http://www.timesofisrael.com/109-year-old-survivor-may-be-headed-to-the-oscars/
2013: Fifth anniversary
of the Mumbai Massacre a terrorist attack on Westerner and Hindus
and institutions that they used including the Naiman House, the Chabad Center
where Jews, regardless of their affiliation could always find comfort and a
meal. The victims included Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg, his pregnant wife Rivka, Israelis
Bentzion Kruman and Yoheved Orpaz, Brooklyn Rabbi Leibish Teitelbaum and
Mexican Jewess Norma Rabinovich.
2013(23rd of
Kislev, 5774): Sixty-six-year-old Guiora Esrubilsky, “a prominent Argentinian
businessman bas in Florida” who “presided over last summer’s Maccabiah Games”
passed away today.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/guiora-esrubilsky-maccabi-world-union-head-dies/
2013(23rd of
Kislev): Seventy-four-year-old legendary Israeli performer Arik Einstein passed
away today. (As reported by Elad Benari)
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/174509#.UpUsIZuA2po
2013(23rd of
Kislev): Ninety-year-old Israel Prize Winner Bracha Kapach passed away one day
before the 96th anniversary of the birth of husband Rabbi Yosef
Kapach.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/bracha-kapach-israel-prize-winning-charity-organizer-dies-at-90/
2013(23rd of
Kislev, 5774): Eight-nine-year-old photographer Saul Leiter passed away today.
(As reported by Margalit Fox)
http://www.gallery51.com/index.php?navigatieid=9&fotograafid=15
2014: In the UK The
Wiener Library for the Study of the Holocaust & Genocide is scheduled to
host “The Crooked Mirror: A Memoir of Polish-Jewish Reconciliation?”
2014: In Melbourne, “The
Israeli Code” and “Shtisel” are scheduled to be shown at the Jewish
International Film Festival.
2014: “Interior Minister
Gilad Erdan canceled the residency permit of the widow of one of the Har Nof
synagogue killers today, effectively deporting her out of Israeli territory and
stripping her of any financial or social benefits.” (As reported by Marissa
Newman)
2014: “Torrential rains
continued to sweep across much of Israel rasing the levels of the Sea of
Galilee by 3.5 centimeters (1.37 inches) marking the highest one-day rise of
the so for the the lake that is one of Israel’s key water sources. (As reported
by Spence Ho)
2015: ”Less than two
weeks since the bride’s father Rabbi Yaakov Litman, and her 18-year-old brother
Netanel were shot dead in a terrorist attack as they drove on Route 60 in the
southern West Bank on November 13” Sarah Techiya Litman and Ariel Biegel were
married this evening at the elevated plaza in front of Jerusalem’s
International Convention Center. (As reported by Renee Ghert-Zand)
2015(14th Kislev,
5776): Sixty-five year old “Amir D. Aczel, a science writer who took readers on
a mathematical mystery tour in “Fermat’s Last Theorem,” his account of how a
famous 300-year-old problem in number theory was finally solved in the 1990s,
and went on to write more than a dozen popular books on intriguing scientific
ideas and discoveries” passed away today. (As reported by William Grimes)
2015: The Chaplains of
the Oxford University Jewish Society are scheduled to host Thanksgiving Dinner
in their home with a traditional Turkey dinner, pumpkin pie “and all of the
trimmings.”
2015: In London,
Professor Roger Luckhurst, Birkbeck, University of London is scheduled to
deliver a lecture on “Blood Fractions: The Octoroon and Other Fantasies” at the
Jewish Museum.
2016(25th of
Cheshvan, 5777): Parashat Chayei Sara
2016: “Two Palestinians
were arrested” this “morning on suspicion of starting a fire” that devastated
the settlement of Halamish” but were later released.
2016: Standing amidst
the ruins of their restaurant Rama’s Kitchen which had been by raging wildfire,
Rama Ben Zvi and Maya Ben Zvi said they would re-build “but that it take time”
in part because they were “still coming to terms with the loss.”
2016: “Monsieur
Mayonnaise” and “Dark Diamond” are scheduled to be shown in Melbourne as part
of the Jewish International Film Festival.
2017: The New
York Times features reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of
special interest to Jewish readers including The Wine Lover’s Daughter:
A Memoir by Anne Fadiman and In Deadly Cure by
Lawrence Goldstone.
2017: Marc “Trestman won
his third Grey Cup with the Argonauts defeated the Stampeders, 27-24.”
2017: Rhe Studio of the
Jerusalem Conservatory “Hassadna” is scheduled to host “Hineh ma Tov!” the
annual concert of works by Israeli composer Emanuel Vahl.
2017: “The Calcalist
business daily reported” today that “US e-commerce behemoth Amazon is preparing
to launch retail sales activities in Israel and is in talks to rent 25,000 sq.
meters (260,000 sq. ft.) of storage space in central Israel to provide the
local market with products.”
2017: The 21st UK
International Jewish Film Festival is scheduled to come to an end today.
2017: Jewish Book Month,
an annual event that provides us with a chance to contemplate Jewish books and
the lives of authors such as Bernard Lewis whose works included Semites
and Anti-Semites and The Muslim Discovery of
Europe continues today.
2018: Tobi Kahn, Rabbi
Dianne Cohler-Esses and Rabbi Esther Azar are scheduled to lecture on “Artist’s
Beit Midrash: Re-Reading Torah.”
2018: Tenth anniversary
of terrorist attack on Hariman House in Mumbai.
2018: Biet Avi Chai is
scheduled to host Professor Daniel R. Schwartz of Hebrew University lecturing
on “Two Views of the Maccabean Revolt”
2018: In Israel
businesses are scheduled to take part in Cyber Monday as can be seen by
“Hazorfim’s Cyber Monday Sale” https://hazorfim.com/en/sale.html and El
Al’s Cyber Monday sales https://hazorfim.com/en/sale.html
2019: In Metairie, LA,
the Slater Torah Academy is scheduled to host its Thanksgiving Dinner.
2019: As part of the UK
Jewish Film Festival is scheduled to a host a screening “It Must Schwing! The
Blue Note Story” at the City Screen Picturehouse at York.
2019: In Palo Alto, CA,
the Oshman Family JCC is scheduled to host Rina Z. Neiman as she
discusses Born Under Fire, “her debut novel based on the story of
her mother, a child prodigy pianist in 1940’s pre-state Israel.”
https://www.jewishbookcouncil.org/rina-z-neiman
https://www.bornunderfire.com/
2020: Virtual Tour with
Josh Hartuv is scheduled to host “Sea to Sea Hike” an hour long version of the
three day trek from the Mediterranean to Kinneret
2020: ““The Soul
Experience” with Rabbi Baruch HaLevi (Rabbi B) and Ariela HaLevi (formerly of
Congregation Shirat Hayam), a virtual, spiritual and healing service
incorporating Jewish-inspired prayer, meditation, mindfulness practice,
chanting, singing, yoga, mystical text study, guided visualization and more” is
scheduled to take place today.
2020: In Palm Beach
Gardens, Temple Judea is scheduled to host a virtual Thanksgiving Minyan with
Cantorial Soloist.
2020: Israelis today
will see continued rainfall mostly in central and northern Israel, along with
some thunderstorms in some areas. Southern Israel that so far this season has
not seen a lot of rainfall, will see mostly local showers.
2020: Congregation B’nai
Torah is scheduled to present “a festive family Thanksgiving day service”
2020: Thanksgiving
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/do-jews-celebrate-thanksgiving
https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/is-thanksgiving-kosher
https://www.jewishboston.com/why-jews-love-thanksgiving/
2021: Based on reports
published yesterday, as of today said
Mexico, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates are among
countries are barred from importing Israeli cyber tech as the list of countries
licensed to buy it has been cut to just 37 states, down from 102. (As reported
by YNET)
2021:
As Jews prepare to observe Shabbat, they can take some measure of “joy” in the
report that Pope Francis will canonize Titus Brandsma, a Dutch priest, academic
and journalist who was murdered in the Dachau concentration camp in 1942 for
preaching against the Nazis, Pope Francis will canonize Titus Brandsma, a Dutch
priest, academic and journalist who spoke out against anti-Jewish laws during
the occupation of his country and who was murdered in the Dachau concentration
camp in 1942 for preaching against the Nazis.
2021:
Black Friday falls two days before the kindle of the first light of Channukah
giving some a chance to complain about commercialism in general and the
commercialization of Channukah in general which leaves readers to wonder how
many of them will be in the synagogue each day for the Torah readings during
the festival of lights.
2021:
The Sixth and Synagogue provides “Shabbat at Home Resources,” a website
designed to provide the materials in a user friendly manner to make for a more
meaningful Erev Shabbat experience.
https://www.sixthandi.org/event/shabbat-at-home-resources-19/
2022:
The Eden-Tamir Center is scheduled to present “Ensemble Millennium/Toscanini
Quartet, Ensemble in Residence and Friends.”
2022:
The Tel Aviv Arts Council is scheduled to present “Sigdiada Ethiopian Music
Festival.”
2022:
Based on previously published information, Itamar Ben-Gvir the leader of “the
far-right Otzma Yehudit part” is scheduled to become the Minister for National
Security in the government of prime minister-designate Netanyahu.( YNET)
2022:
In Tel Aviv, the Nigun Quarter is scheduled “to the fabulous Shablul – one of
Tel Aviv’s most prolific jazz clubs.”
2022(2nd of
Kislev, 5783): Parashat Toldot;
2023: The S.Y. Agnon
house is scheduled to host a new series of lectures starting today with author
and psychologist Esther Peled.
2023: As November 26 begins anti-Semitism from the Left and
the Right continues to increase as the rest of the Hamas
held hostages begin day 51 in captivity.
(Editor’s note: this situation is too fluid for this blog
to cover so we are just providing a snapshot as of the posting at midnight
Israeli time)