It was on this day in the year 66 A.D. that the historian Josephus arrived to assume command of some insurgent Jewish forces in the Galilee and consequently save the local Jewish population from an attack by non-Jewish forces. Two months later, the official outbreak of the Jewish rebellion against the Romans began and it […]
It was on this day in the year 42 A.D. that King Agrippa began construction on a gate within the walls of Jerusalem. Six months later, the gate was dedicated and that day became an ancient holiday. If you ever traveled to Jerusalem, you have seen that there are several gates in the Old City. […]
It was on this day in the year 1790 that the first advertisement, offering private Hebrew instruction in an American publication, appeared in The Pennsylvania Packet, placed there by Abraham Cohen. In those days, there were no organized Hebrew schools and so the private tutor was the primary way for most Jewish youngsters to learn […]
According to tradition, it was on this day that Moses was circumcised in Egypt. His circumcision would have occurred in a very troubling time for Hebrew parents who saw the birth of a male child, considering that Pharaoh had ordered their deaths. Later, Moses would be hidden in a basket and placed upon the Nile, […]
It was on this day that the 10 sons of Haman were hung upon the gallows that had been prepared for Mordechai and his fellow Jews. It’s recorded for us in the book of Esther 9:1, 5-6, 10: “Now in the twelfth month, that is, the month of Adar, on the thirteenth day, the time […]
It was on this day in the year 19 B.C. that a dedication ceremony was held to initiate the expansion of the Temple under the auspices of Herod the Great. The historian Josephus recorded that: “In the fifteenth year of his reign, Herod rebuilt the Temple, and encompassed a piece of land about it with […]
It was on this day in the year 1488 that the first printed edition of the Tanach, that is the Torah, the Prophets and the different Hebrew writings, was printed in Soncino, Italy. This occurred in a time when other key events were taking place or were about to take place. This is just four […]
It was on this day in the year 1349 that Jews of Freiburg, Germany were massacred due to the Black Death riots that were sweeping across Europe. During the plague, thousands of Europeans died, with the glaring exception of Jewish populations. Thus, it was believed that the Jews, somehow, someway, were responsible for the plague […]
Today is the traditional date that witnessed the first controversy between the rival schools of Shammai and Hillel. These two Jewish schools of thought emerged in the first century A.D., a time that was characterized by great schism in Judaism. This was the time when the Saduccees, a very unpopular group but who nevertheless led […]
It was on this day, in the year 1969, that one-time Prime Minister of Israel, Levi Eshkol, passed away. Eshkol was actually the third Prime Minister of the Israeli State serving in that capacity from June 1963 until his death in February 1969. Eshkol was leading the nation during the historic and prophetically significant Six-Day […]
Tradition teaches that, on this day, many key events transpired, all of which centered around the culmination of Moses’ life and ministry. Tradition believes that on this day Moses was born in Egypt and, on this day years later, Moses died on Mt. Nebo. Before expiring, however, Moses would give his farewell benediction to the […]
According to Jewish tradition, it was on this day that Moses completed his review of the Torah for the people of Israel and was informed of his impending death. It’s recorded in Deuteronomy 31:9, 14: “So Moses wrote this law and delivered it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who bore the ark of […]
