Jewish History

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How Albert Einstein inspired Mandy Patinkin to rescue refugees

‘In my life,’ said Patinkin, ‘what he’s known for is not the theory of relativity, but the theory of relatives.’

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n 1391, a wave of anti-Jewish riots swept through Christian Spain, leaving thousands dead and leading many thousands more to accept Christianity (sometimes by force) or to flee the country. As a result, the Church became increasingly suspicious of the sincerity of these former Jews’ conversions, which were then duly investigated by the Inquisition. Ecclesiastical authorities were particularly exercised about the possible influence of Spain’s large Jewish population on their former coreligionists, a concern that eventually led to the expulsion of the remaining Jews in 1492.

(full article online)

The Massacres of 1391 and the Beginning of the End of Spanish Jewry » Mosaic

Politics, property, and prejudice in medieval Seville.

mosaicmagazine.com

 

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Eight Jewish Nobel Laureates You Should Know | My Jewish Learning

In 1895, Swedish inventor Alfred Nobel founded the Nobel Prize, a set of annual awards given to individuals with world-class ...

www.myjewishlearning.com

 

[surada]

I love History and there is a lot of Jewish history to be learned. This is the perfect place to dig through it and unearth lots of that history which is not known.

If anyone finds any of that history they have been fascinated with, or wish others to know, please post it here.

Ancient Israeli artifacts intended for an exhibition in Washington in 2019 are stuck at Mar-a-Lago, with Israel struggling to get them back

Israel loaned ancient ceramic candles to the US for a brief exhibition. Almost four years later, they're "stuck" at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.

www.businessinsider.com

 

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At the core of ‘Oppenheimer,’ a debate about how to be Jewish

At the center of Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" is a dispute between physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer and Lewis Lichtenstein Strauss.

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Preserving the vanished Jewish history of Rouyn-Noranda, a small Quebec town

It’s a 10-hour drive away from Montreal.

thecjn.ca

 

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Louis Slotin, a little-known Canadian, helped build the real-life atomic bombs portrayed in 'Oppenheimer'

"He was one of the forerunners in what has become radio-chemotherapy today," his niece says.

thecjn.ca

 

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The Jewish Community of Oporto recently announced it is working to preserve the 17th-century records of the Portuguese Inquisition.

Under a protocol signed in 2019 between the Torre do Tombo National Archive in Lisbon and the Oporto Jewish Community, the latter undertook to pay for the preservation of 16th-century Inquisition case records.

Oporto's Jews to preserve Portugal's crumbling Inquisition records - JNS.org

The city's community called for help in saving the unique documentation.

www.jns.org

 

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Today in Jewish History​

• First Temple Invaded (423 BCE)
After nearly a month of fierce fighting inside Jerusalem (see "Today in Jewish History" for Tammuz 9), the armies of King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylonia broke through into the Temple compound, where they feasted and vandalized until the afternoon of Av 9, when they set the Holy Temple aflame.

Links: The Destruction of the Holy Temple

 

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Two description of Tisha B'Av in 19th century newspapers​

In the 19th century, apparently, Jews referred to Tisha B'Av as the "black fast" and Yom Kippur as the "white fast."

The earliest description I can find in English-language newspapers is from The Argus of Western America
25 Jun 1828. It was printed in Kentucky, which was "western America 'at the time.

The article is about the customs of Jews altogether.



Towards the end, it describes fast days, and then descends into bizarre claims and antisemitism.



A much more accurate description can be found in The Western Daily Press (Bristol, England) 13 Aug 1883:

Two description of Tisha B'Av in 19th century newspapers

Blogging about Israel and the Arab world since, oh, forever.

elderofziyon.blogspot.com

 

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The Black Death, which erupted across Europe and lasted for about four years (1347-51), caused immense devastation, and it appears that the mortality rate among the European population was between 25% and 45%. The immediate consequences of that pandemic had a significant impact on the Jewish population, as the Jews were accused of poisoning the wells that led to the outbreak of the plague, which spread on a massive scale. Throughout Europe, severe persecutions against Jews began, resulting in the death of many Jews and the extinction of hundreds of communities. Various sources, both Hebrew and Christian, bear witness to these events, preserved in our hands, descendants of that time and later.
Knowledge of Jewish martyrology during the Middle Ages, specifically lists documenting Jews who were martyred for sanctifying the Name of God, has been preserved in the manuscript books of various communities, primarily in Germany, which were collected by Siegmund Salfeld, Das Martyrologium des Nürnberger Memorbuches. Information regarding the events of the Black Death is somewhat fragmented. Salfeld heavily relied on one of the manuscript books, but he also supplemented the lists with information from other sources, including individual prayers and elegies that address those persecutions. Additional lists pertaining to martyrdom have been conserved in Hebrew manuscripts.

An unknown memory list has been preserved in a compilation of legal and liturgical texts from the 14th century, or possibly slightly thereafter, which were bound together and written on parchment in various Ashkenazi scripts. This compilation is housed in the library of the University of Gießen in Germany, and it includes: (a) a prayer book following the Ashkenazi custom, (b) laws of prayers according to Rabbi Elazar ben Nathan (Rabbanite), (c) Sha’arei Dura by Rabbi Yitzchak ben Meir Dura, (d) a collection of prayer customs following the “Würzburg” and “Mainz” traditions, (e) Tashbetz by Rabbi Shimson ben Tzadok.


(full article online)

A List of Communities in Ashkenaz Obliterated by Violence During the Black Death

Jewish martyrology from medieval Germany

www.tabletmag.com

 

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Today in Jewish History​

• Salvation of Baghdad Jewry (1733)

In 1733, the Persian conqueror Nader Shah Afshar laid siege to Ottoman-held Baghdad. Knowing that Persian rule would not bode well for them, the Jewish community prayed for an Ottoman victory. On 11 Menachem Av, an Ottoman force led by Topal Osman Pasha drove away the Persian forces and the siege was lifted. The Jewish community commemorated this day each year, refraining from reciting the penitential prayers of tachanun.

 

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ews first came to Ireland in 1079, when a group of five merchants, probably from Normandy, petitioned for admission and were rejected, according to the “Annals of Inisfallen,” a chronicle of the medieval history of Ireland. There were some Jews in Ireland during the 12th and 13th centuries, but when Britain expelled all of its Jews in 1290, the Jews of Ireland, too, were forced to leave.

A Jewish community wasn’t reinstated until late in the 15th century, as refugees from the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal sought a safe haven. There were only a handful of Jews living in Ireland for the next three 300 years, most of whom immigrated due to persecution in other parts of Europe. For the most part Jews lived (and still live) in and around Dublin, but there was a congregation in Cork from 1725 to 1796, and another that was established around 1860. These communities were mostly populated by people in the import business, specifically wine imports.

(full article online)

History of Jews in Ireland | My Jewish Learning

jewish learning judaism jews in ireland tamar fox chaim herzog leopold bloom

www.myjewishlearning.com

 

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‘The Button Of Tears And Blood’

My introduction to this era was the purchase of a small celluloid pinback button which had a paper insert dated 1916 on the reverse.

www.jewishpress.com

 

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Today in Jewish History​

• Nachmanides' Disputation (1263)
By order of King James I of Aragon (Spain), Nachmanides (Rabbi Moses ben Nachman, 1194-1270) was compelled to participate in a public debate, held in the king's presence, against the Jewish convert to Christianity, Pablo Christiani. His brilliant defense of Judaism and refutations of Christianity's claims served as the basis of many such future disputations through the generations.

Because his victory was an insult to the king's religion, Nachmanides was forced to flee Spain. He came to Jerusalem, where he found just a handful of Jewish families living in abject poverty, and revived the Jewish community there. The synagogue he built in the Old City is in use today, and is perhaps the oldest standing synagogue in the world.

• 770 Acquired (1940)
On this date in 1940, the building at 770 Eastern Parkway in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York was purchased by Agudas Chassidei Chabad (the Chabad-Lubavitch community) to house the living quarters, study and office, Yeshivah, and synagogue of the sixth Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneersohn (1880-1950), who had arrived in New York (following his rescue from Nazi-occupied Warsaw) five months earlier. It also served as the headquarters of his son-in-law and successor, the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, and continues to be the center of Chabad-Lubavitch's global network of institutions of Jewish education and outreach.

 

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The Women's World Cup led her to take another shot at professional soccer — and brought her back to her Jewish roots

The 2019 World Cup brought Jess Ayers back to women's soccer — and also led her to reconnect with her Jewish roots.

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Paul Reubens, beloved Pee-wee Herman actor, dies at 70

Paul Reubens, the actor and comedian beloved for his role as Pee-wee Herman, died following a private battle with cancer.

ew.com

Paul Reubens, son of a founding Israeli Air Force pilot and father of Pee-wee Herman, dies at 70

Paul Reubens, who created the childlike character of Pee-wee Herman, died after a private battle with cancer.

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A look at some numbers — from seven to 18 to 613 — that have Jewish significance.

Significant Numbers in Judaism | My Jewish Learning

jewish numbers, judaism numerology, jewish magic, jewish superstition, judaism supernatural, gematria, Rabbi Geoffrey W. Dennis

www.myjewishlearning.com