It was on this day in 1949 that the Aliyah known as “Magic Carpet,” immigration of thousands of Yemenite Jews to Israel, began. During this operation, some 49,000 Yemenite Jews were airlifted to Israel aboard British and American transport flights. The official Hebrew name of this operation was Kanfei Nesharim, or “On the Wings of […]
It was on this day in 1938 that the Nazi pogrom, later known as Kristallnacht or the “Night of Broken Glass,” took place throughout Germany and Austria. This event was precipitated by the murder of a German Embassy official in Paris at the hands of a Polish-born Jew. Looking at the severity and extensiveness of […]
It was on this day in 1917 that the British government gave final approval to the adoption of the Balfour Declaration. This was a document that declared British support for those Jews who were trying to establish a Jewish homeland in the Holy Land. It was written by the UK’s Foreign Minister, Arthur James Balfour. […]
It was on this day in 1939 that the Nazi Governor of conquered Poland issued a prohibition against the ritual slaughter of animals. This was directed at those Jewish people who wanted to slaughter their animals in accordance with the laws of kashrut so that they could eat things in accordance with their beliefs. The […]
Cheshvan is the month that is commonly associated with darkness and gloominess. Some believe that Cheshvan is the month in which the flood occurred which bolsters the idea it is the month of darkness. On the other hand, we must consider that, though darkness and gloom tend to elicit negative emotions, darkness doesn’t mean that […]
According to tradition, it was on the 11th day of Cheshvan that Methuselah, the grandfather of Noah, died. If this is accurate, Methuselah’s death may have been the indicator to Noah that the flood was on its way. It is also believed that this is the date that Rachel, the wife of Jacob, died as […]
It was on this day in 1898 that Theodore Herzl arrived in Jaffa on his first and only trip to the Holy Land. Herzl was a very important and instrumental person in the Zionist Movement of the late 19th and early 20th century. The Zionist Movement paved the way for the creation of the state […]
“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord… Noah was a just man, and perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God.” (Genesis 6:8-9) The Bible says that Noah was “just” which is to say “righteous” and that he was “perfect,” which literally means “undefiled, complete.” From this description, we understand that he […]
It was on this day in the year 66 A.D. that Jewish insurgents returned from a victory over Roman forces under their commander, Cestius. It would be one of the last victories for these Jewish combatants. In a few years, Jerusalem and its Temple would lay in ruins and the people of Judea decimated. Considering […]
Not too many years ago, a gentleman who was studying the Holocaust and the events that led up to it, including the mindset of the people during that time, concluded that study asking the question: “How is it that so many otherwise intelligent people could so blindly follow a few men and their agenda, and […]
From time to time in life, it’s common for people to come to a place of reflection – looking back on our lives and remembering, even analyzing, some of the things we’ve experienced through the years. We think upon things we’ve done, things we shouldn’t have done and things we wished we had done; relationships […]
It was on this day in 1936 that Germany and Italy entered an alliance with one another which would lead, in part, to World War II. Later, Japan also entered this alliance, forming the Axis Powers. Unfortunately, this alliance would lead to the greatest conflict the world had ever before seen. However, according to the […]
