This Day in Jewish History

[1 Tishrei] Sixth day of Creation, bears, cows, human being. Birthday of Kayin and Hevel. Sarah, Rachel, Chana each prayed for offspring and were answered favorably on Rosh HaShana. Yosef […]

[1 MarCheshvan] Biblical plague of Dever. The seventh and last of the Crusades ended, 1270. Rabbi Yehuda HaChasid arrived in Jerusalem, 1700. He died 3 days later. A shul was […]

[1 Kislev] Beginning of winter in Israel according to Rabbi Yehuda (Bava Metzi’a) Egyptian plague of SH’CHIN (boils). [2 Kislev] Jews of New York were allowed to swear without reference […]

[7 Tevet] Three leaders of Babylonian Jewry were arrested by Persian officials, 468, sparking a wave of persecution of the Jews of Babylonia. Supposed liberties granted Russian Jews by the […]

[1 Shevat] The Biblical plague of ARBEH (locust). Moshe Rabeinu begins his farewell address to the people and review of the Torah, final year of wandering. [2 Shevat] Death of […]

[1 Adar] Beginning of the Plague of Darkness. Yahrzeit of Ibn Ezra, 1164. Private Purim of Rabbi Yom Tov Lipmann Heller, Rav of Cracow, 1643. Yahrzeit of the “Shakh” (major […]

[1 Nissan] The erection of the Mishkan was completed. Moshe completed the consecration rites of Aaron and his sons. Aaron performed the first sacrificial rites. Death of Nadav and Avihu, […]

[1 Iyar] Egypt was afflicted by the first biblical plague. An Israelite gathered wood on Shabbat in the Midbar. This marked the first public violation of Shabbat. Moshe was ordered, […]

[1 Sivan] The Flood’s waters began to recede. Bnei Yisrael arrived in the wilderness of Sinai. Korach and his followers vanished into the depth of the earth. Massacre of the […]

[1 Tammuz] Yaakov and family went down to Mitzrayim (according to one source. This would be the establishment of the first voluntary Jewish settlement outside of Eretz Yisrael). Many Jews […]

[1 Av] Peaks of the tallest mountains emerged above the receding waters of the Flood. Egypt was afflicted with Frog(s). Yahrzeit of Aharon HaKohen. (This is the ONLY yahrzeit mentioned […]

[1 Elul] Beginning of the Third Plague in Egypt. G-d tells Zerubavel (via Chaggai) to rebuild the Beit haMikdash. Beginning of the year for purpose of animal-tithes. according to the […]

[January 1] Violent earthquake shook Eretz Yisrael; over 2000 died in Tzfat, another 700 in T’veriya, 1837. Several restrictions on Jewish ownership of land went into effect in Russia, 1808. […]

[February 1] First time a rabbi gave the invocation at a session of the U.S. Congress, 1860. The Palestine Post building in Jerusalem was bombed, 1948, resulting in the loss […]

[March 1] First organized Arab attack on a Jewish settlement in Eretz Yisrael, 1886, against Petach Tikva. Hitler ordered the establishment of a library of Jewish books and art, 1942. […]

[April 1] Anti-Jewish riots broke out in Jerusalem, 1881. The official Nazi boycott of German Jewish merchants started, 1933. Hebrew University of Jerusalem was opened by Lord Balfour, 1925. The […]

[May 1] 100 47 Jews were killed by Arabs in Jaffa, 1921. Jews from Eretz Yisrael bound for Malta died when their ship was sunk by a German plane, 1943. […]

[June 1] The Arab states and Israel agreed to a cease-fire, 1948. A pogrom broke out in Bialystok, Russia, 1906. [June 2] Viktor Brack, who was Hitler’s supervisor of the […]

[July 1] Titus set up battering rams to assault the walls of Jerusalem, 70c.e. Russian Jews granted permission to print Jewish books, 1862. Pogrom in Jassy, the cradle of Rumanian […]

[August 1] World War I broke out, 1914. The Russian army liberated Kovno in 1944. First reliable report of the Nazi plan to murder all the Jews reached the West, […]

[September 1] World War II broke out, 1939. Mussolini canceled civil rights of Italian Jews and expelled all foreign-born Jews, 1938. Wearing the yellow star became obligatory for all Jews […]

[October 7] Germany decreed that passports of Jews were to be marked with a J, 1939. Hundreds of Jews in Cracow were killed during Hakafot, 1555. [October 8] Nazi pogrom […]

[November 1] Jews of England imprisoned, 1210, by orders of King John. [November 2] Nazis liquidated Riga ghetto, 1943. Weizmann Institute of Science dedicated in Rehovot, 1949. Order from Berlin […]

[December 1] Deganiya Alef, Israel’s (then known as Palestine) first kibbutz was founded, 1909. Jews of Great Russia expelled by order of Empress Elizabeth, 1742. David Ben-Gurion died, 1973. Portuguese […]