Tishrei 30 - October 18

The Knesset gathering or assembly; is the legislature of Israel, located in Givat Ram, Jerusalem.

In 1958, the foundation stone was laid for Israel's Knesset building in Jerusalem. The Knesset is composed of 120 members, the same size as the Great Assembly ("Knesset HaGedola") that served as the rabbinical body during the Second Temple era. (The Great Assembly redacted the biblical books Ezekiel, Daniel and Esther, and composed many prayers such as the Amidah.) Today, the Israeli Knesset is known as a bastion of democracy in the Middle East, with women, Arabs, and other minorities represented.

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Tishrei 3 - September 21

Tishrei 3, in 1825, an American diplomat named Mordechai Manuel Noah laid the foundation stone for Ararat, the first modern-day attempt to establish a national Jewish homeland. To implement his plan, Noah petitioned the New York State legislature for rights to Grand Island, a 27-square-mile parcel of land located between Buffalo, New York and Niagara Falls. Noah also levied a "redemption tax" upon each Jew in the world. Despite a grand opening ceremony, the plan fizzled when no Jews moved to Ararat / Grand Island.

More to view:
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/biography/MNoah.html

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Elul 28 - September 17

In 1849, the first synagogue was dedicated in Cape Town, South Africa, called Tikvat Israel -- "Hope of Israel," referring to the Cape of Good Hope. Originally, the Dutch East India Company's rules required that all residents must be Christians. Only after freedom of religion was introduced in 1803 did Jewish settlers from England and Germany come in significant numbers to Cape Town. Around the turn of the 20th century, the development of diamond and gold mines attracted a large number of Jewish immigrants. South African Jewry enjoyed great prosperity, strongly represented in the commercial and professional sectors. The Jewish community was characterized by a deep attachment to traditional Jewish values and strong bonds with Israel. The Jewish population of South Africa reached a peak of 120,000 in the early 1970s, but with political turmoil and the dissolution of Apartheid, tens of thousands of Jews left to settle in Israel, Australia and the U.S. Tikvat Israel synagogue -- South Africa's first -- is still standing today.

More to view:

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/South_Africa.html

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September 9, 2009    Eul 20, 5769

The students and staff of the Mir Yeshiva, they had fled to Lithuania with the fall of Poland in 1939. There, they were able to obtain visas from the Japanese consul-general in Lithuania, and made a miraculous escape across Siberia by train, arriving in Shanghai where they spent the remainder of the war years. After the war, new Mir yeshivas were established in New York and Jerusalem, which today is the largest yeshiva in the world with over 5,000 students.

More to view:

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/svencionys/svencionys.html

http://www.uoregon.edu/~rkimble/Mirweb/MirHistory.html

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Poverty's Angel

Aryeh Lurie  is keeping a promise he made as a hungry child
 

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In 1729, Congregation Shearith Israel laid a foundation stone in lower Manhattan for the first structure ever designed and built as a synagogue in continental North America. At the time, New York had the only Jewish community in the country; it would be some two decades later before organized Jewish settlement began in Philadelphia, Lancaster and Charleston. Shearith Israel was the only Jewish congregation in New York City from 1654 until 1825, having been founded by Brazilian Jews of Spanish and Portuguese origin. Governor Peter Stuyvesant, known for his anti-Semitic views, had initially denied Jews the right to worship in a public gathering; these Jews fought for their rights and won permission. Today, Shearith Israel occupies a grand structure at 70th Street and Central Park West.

More to view:

http://www.shearithisrael.org/

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  Elul 11, 5769   August 31, 2009 

In 1950, Operation Magic Carpet, which secretly airlifted 45,000 Yemenite Jews to Israel, was concluded. Many of the Jews had never before seen an airplane; they likened the ride to a fulfillment of the biblical verse, "And I bore you on eagles' wings" (Exodus 19:4). According to tradition, Jews had lived in Yemen since the 7th century BCE. Upon arriving in Israel they were housed in tent camps; there was very little infrastructure and resources to accommodate them, as the Jewish population of Israel nearly doubled in its first three years. Yet within a short time, the immigrants had been absorbed into the fledging Israeli society.

More to read:

http://www.alaskaair.com/as/www2/company/History/MagicCarpet.asp

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 Av 29, 5769 - August 19, 2009 

In the Hebrew year 2448, Moses carved the second set of Tablets out of sapphire, as recorded in Exodus 34:4. After seeing that the Israelites had made the idolatrous Golden Calf, Moses broke the first set of tablets (Exodus 32:19) and God then instructed Moses to carve new tablets.  The second set of tablets was placed in the Ark of the Covenant, along with the first broken set. This second set symbolizes the ability of every person to make amends and rebuild anew. In fact, it was on the day of Yom Kippur that Moses came down from Mount Sinai holding the second set of Tablets, and it is on every subsequent Yom Kippur day that we have a special opportunity to make amends.

'So he cut out two stone tablets like the former ones, and Moses rose up early in the morning and went up to Mount Sinai, as the LORD had commanded him, and he took two stone tablets in his hand. '

Exodus 34:4

More to read:

http://www.bibleplaces.com/tabernaclemore.htm

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In 423 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar's troops breached the walls of old Jerusalem and entered the city. Four weeks later, the Holy Temple was destroyed, and the Jews were exiled to Babylon. Originally, a day of fasting and mourning was observed on the 9th of Tammuz. Seventy years later, however, when the Second Temple was built, the fast was abolished and the day was turned into a holiday. Some 500 years later when Jerusalem fell on the 17th of Tammuz -- prior to the destruction of the Second Temple -- the Sages decreed the 17th of Tammuz as a fast day to commemorate both tragedies.

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 Tammuz 7, 5769    - June 29, 2009 Torah reading: Chukat-Balak

In 1938, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt initiated a conference at Evian, France, where 32 world leaders discussed the problem of Jewish refugees. Unfortunately, little was accomplished, as nation after nation offered excuses for their refusal to accept Jewish refugees. Chaim Weizmann was quoted as saying: "The world seemed to be divided into two parts -- those places where the Jews could not live, and those where they could not enter." The conference failed to pass even a resolution condemning German treatment of Jews. The lack of action further emboldened Hitler, proving to him that no country had the moral fortitude to oppose the Nazi assault on European Jewry.

More to view:

http://motlc.wiesenthal.com/site/pp.asp?c=gvKVLcMVIuG&b=394913

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Sivan 29, 5769     June 21, 2009 Torah reading: Korach (ISRAEL : Chukat)

In the Hebrew year 2448 (1312 BCE), Moses sent 12 men -- one from each tribe -- to scout out the Land of Israel. Their mission seemed rather innocuous: devise a strategy for battling the Canaanites and for settling 3 million Jews in the new land. In Israel, God showed the spies encouraging signs that the land is plentiful and rich example -- clusters of grapes so enormous that eight men were needed to carry it (Numbers 13:23). God also made sure the spies encountered heavily fortified Canaanite cities -- which in fact is a sign of Canaanite weakness, since the truly powerful do not need to hide behind walls. Yet after 40 days, the spies came back and recommended against entering the land. The Jews accepted the report, and as a consequence, God said: Because you don't want to enter the land, then all Israelites will die out over the next 40 years in the desert, and only your children will enter the land. The spies delivered their negative report on the calendar day of Tisha B'Av. Hundreds of years later, the destruction of the First Temple occurred on Tisha B'Av, and 500 years after that, the Second Temple was also destroyed on Tisha B'Av. Today, Tisha B'Av is observed as a national day of mourning for the Jewish people.

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 Sivan 19, 5769 - June  11, 2009 Torah reading: Be'halot'cha (ISRAEL : Shlach)

In 1855, the first Jewish hospital in America, Jews' Hospital of New York, admitted its first patient. The phenomenon of Jewish hospitals may have been linked to the experience in Europe, where restrictions were placed on the number of Jewish patients admitted to public hospitals, and even in America where quotas were placed on Jewish doctors studying and practicing. Today, Jewish hospitals are found in dozens of major cities including Los Angeles, Cincinnati and Baltimore. These hospitals are often ranked as tops in their field; for example, Barnes Jewish Hospital in St. Louis is the largest hospital in Missouri, is regarded as one of the nation's top three medical schools, and is ranked as one of America's top-10 hospitals overall.

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 Sivan 17, 5769    June 9, 2009

In the Hebrew year 1656 (2100 BCE), Noah's Ark came to rest on Mount Ararat, as recorded in Genesis 8:4. Though the torrential rains only lasted for 40 days and 40 nights, it would be several months before the waters subsided enough for Noah's Ark to come to rest, and another several months before the dove returned with an olive branch in its beak -- a sign that it was safe to exit the Ark. As symbolized by the rainbow, God promised never to flood the Earth again.

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 Sivan 7, 5769 - June 4, 2009

In 1948, the government of Costa Rica gave diplomatic recognition to the new State of Israel. Due to its political balance, Costa Rica is often referred to as the "Switzerland of Central America." For years, Costa Rica was one of the only countries to house its embassy in Jerusalem. Of the 184 nations with which United States has diplomatic relations, Israel is the only one where the U.S. embassy is not located in the capital city

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 Iyar  16, 5769 - May 10, 2009

In the Hebrew year 2448, Manna fell for the first time in the desert of Sene. This came one month after the Exodus, as the supply of matzah the Israelites took from Egypt had run out. The Manna fell six days a week; a double-portion fell on Friday to include Shabbat. Unlike other miracles that were one-time events, the Manna continued to fall day after day throughout the 40 years of Jewish wandering in the desert.

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Nissan 25, 5769/April 19, 2009

Christian X of Denmark

( September 28, 1870 –  April 20, 1947)

In 1933, King Christian X of Denmark attended the 100th anniversary celebration of a synagogue in Copenhagen, to demonstrate his solidarity with the Jews.

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Nissan 5, 5769 - March 30, 2009

In the Hebrew year 2488, Joshua sent scouts to survey Jericho in anticipation of the Jewish conquest. The mission was risky in the sense that 40 years earlier, Moses had sent scouts to Israel, only to have them recommend against entering the land. This time the mission was successful, and in the ensuing siege, Joshua's troops -- amidst shofar blasts -- encircled Jericho seven times until its walls came down. The events are recorded in the biblical Book of Joshua, chapters 2 and 6.

Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho

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In 1980, Israel and Egypt exchanged ambassadors, marking a new era of cordial, if cold, diplomacy. In 1973, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat had orchestrated an attack on Israel in the Yom Kippur War, but after suffering defeat he became resigned to Israel's existence.

 In 1977, Sadat and Menachem Begin signed the Camp David Peace Agreement, for which they received the Nobel Peace Prize. Much of the Arab world was outraged by Sadat's overtures toward Israel, and he was assassinated by a Muslim extremist in 1981.

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In 1273 BCE (Jewish year 2488), Moses completed his farewell address to the Jewish people, and God informed Moses that the day of his death was approaching (Deuternomony 31:14). Amazingly, the anniversary of Moses' completing his teaching coincides with the date in 1482 of the first printing of the standard format used for Jewish Bibles today: vowel signs, accents, translation (Targum), and Rashi commentary.

More to view:

Israel Calendar

http://www.timeanddate.com/calendar/monthly.html?year=2009&month=3&country=34

Then the LORD said to Moses, "Behold, the time for you to die is near; call Joshua, and present yourselves at the tent of meeting, that I may commission him." So Moses and Joshua went and presented themselves at the tent of meeting.  Deuteronomy 31:14

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Adar 3, 5769   - February 27, 2009

In 350 BC, the building of the second Holy Temple was completed in Jerusalem, as recorded in the biblical Book of Ezra (6:15). The re-building of the Temple had begun under Cyrus when the Persians first took over the Babylonian empire. The re-building was then interrupted for 18 years, and resumed with the blessing of Darius II, the Persian king whom is said to be the son of Esther. The Second Temple lacked much of the glory of the First Temple: There was no Ark of the Covenant, and the daily miracles and prophets were no longer part of the scenery. The Second Temple would stand for 420 years.

Cyrus:

King of Persia, King of Anshan, King of Media, King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, King of the four corners of the World.

More to view:

http://www.farsinet.com/iraninbible/

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