This Day, July 15, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 15763 BCE: Forty-one years before their conquest of Israel, the Assyrians observe and record a solar eclipse which is the basis for much of the dating of activities in the Fertile Crescent,...
View ArticleThis Day, July 16, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 16622: The Prophet Mohammed begins his Hijra from Mecca to Medina. This marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar. The importance of this to Jewish history should require no explanation.1099:...
View ArticleThis Day, July 17, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 171203: The Knights of the Fourth Crusade capture Constantinople forcing the Byzantine emperor Alexius III Angelus to flee from his capital into exile. Unlike other Crusades, the focus of the...
View ArticleThis Day, July 18, in Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 1864: During the reign of Emperor Nero, the Great Fire begins in Rome. After the fire, Nero avoided the initial inclination to blame the blaze on the Jews. Instead, he targeted the nascent...
View ArticleThis Day, July 19, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 1964: During the reign of Nero, The Great Fire at Rome comes to end. According to the Jewish Encyclopedia, Jews had been living in Rome since the second century before the Common Era since “the...
View ArticleThis Day, July 20, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 20356 BCE: In Macedonia, King Philip II and Queen Olympia gave birth to Alexander the Great. You can draw a straight line from Alexander’s Hellenization of Asia Minor to Chanukah to Tisha B’Av,...
View ArticleThis Day, July 21, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 21285: Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler. This was part of an attempt to shore up the imperial authority. In another such step, Diocletian “ordered all the people …to accept his...
View ArticleThis Day, July 22, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 221099: During the First Crusade, in what has to be one of the most ironic moment of the Middle Ages, Godfrey of Bouillon, one of the leaders who had extorted money from the Jews in Mainz and...
View ArticleThis Day, July 23, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 23501: A violent earthquake hit Eretz Yisrael during which the town of Akko was totally destroyed. 636: Following the Battle of Yarmuk Arabs took control of most of Eretz Yisrael from the...
View ArticleThis Day, July 24, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 241148: Louis VII of France lays siege to Damascus during the Second Crusade. The Second Crusade gained nothing for the Christians. The failure of the crusade may help explain “the long period...
View ArticleThis Day, July 25, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 25306: Constantine I was proclaimed Roman emperor by his troops. Under the rule of Constantine, Christianity would in effect become the official religion the Roman Empire. This was the beginning...
View ArticleThis Day, July 26, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 26 412: “Emperors Theodosius II and Honorius ban compulsion of public service or court appearances for Jews on the Sabbath or any other Jewish holy day. Thus all legal issues involving Jews must...
View ArticleThis Day, July 27, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 271192: As Richard the Lionheart and Saladin continued their conflict during the Third Crusade, Saladin laid siege to Jaffa.1214: French King Phillip II defeats the forces headed by Otto IV, the...
View ArticleThis Day, July 28, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 28450: Theodosius II the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Emperor from 408 to 450 passed away. His reign was not a good period for the Jews people. In 425 “on the death of the Jewish Patriarch Gamaliel...
View ArticleReadings for Saturday, August 3, 2024, and Rosh Chodesh Av
Readings for Saturday, August 3, 2024Matot(30:2-32:42) Bamidbar (Numbers)Matot is the ninth sedrah in Bamidbar (Numbers). The sedrah takes its name from the first significant word in the first...
View ArticleThis Day, July 29, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 291099: Pope Urban II, the man behind the First Crusade, passed away. Considering the impact of the Crusades on the Jews of Europe, his impact on Jewish history is self-obvious.1108: Philip I,...
View ArticleThis Day, July 30, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 30 762:Caliph Al Mansur founded the city of Baghdad. By the start of the 10th century wealthy...
View ArticleThis Day, July 31, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
July 31904: Thessaloniki, which is also known as Salonica, is sacked and looted by Saracens (an Arab group). The Jewish population of Thessaloniki dates back at least to the first century of the...
View ArticleThis Day, August 1, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
August 1 30 BCE: Mark Antony died. Following the victory of Octavian and Antony over those who had murdered Julius Caesar, Antony became ruler of the Eastern half of the Roman Empire. Antony did...
View ArticleThis Day, August 2, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
August 2338 BCE: A Macedonian army led by Philip II defeated the combined forces of Athens and Thebes in the Battle of Chaeronea, securing Macedonian hegemony in Greece and the Aegean. Phillip was the...
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