 | New Moon - 1 Nisan - April
6, 2000
| 1 Nisan 2048 (March 18 1712 BCE) - This
day marks the traditional date the birth of Isaac son of Abraham. He lived from
2048-2228 (180 years). |
| Apr 06 - Mars Passes 1.0 Degrees From
Jupiter |
|
| 2 Nisan 2449 (March
19 1312 BCE) - Traditional date for the setting up of the Tabernacle set up by the
Israelites in the wilderness. The Tabernacle built by Bezallel and Oholiab was made of
acacia wood and covered in gold. There were fine woven materials used in various coverings
and curtains. Most of the vessels (candelabra, table, Alters etc.) were made of either
pure gold or wood with gold coverings. After crossing the Jordan it was moved to Shilo. |
| April 11, 1909: Tel Aviv, the
first modern Jewish city, is founded on the sand dunes north of Jaffa with the building of
60 houses. The actual name Tel Aviv was given only the next year (Hill of Spring) and was
taken from a Babylonian city (Ezekiel 3:15) and used by Nahum Sokolow as the title for his
translation of Herzl's book Altneuland. |
| April 14, 1859: In Galatz,
Rumania, Jews were accused of taking blood from a Christian child (for the baking of
matzos) though not of killing him. Fifteen "culprits" are arrested. The next day
a mob broke into the synagogue, killing some of the worshipers, destroying some fifty
scrolls and demolishing the synagogue. The 15 were soon released with no convictions, yet
the government refused to allow the synagogue to be rebuilt for nearly 20 years. |
| April 15, 1916: France and
Britain divide up the Middle East in the Sykes-Picot Agreement. France was assured of
Syria and the Mousl, with English control of Northern Arabia and Central Mesopotamia.
Pre-state Israel was divided with France controlling the Galilee, Britain the Haifa area
and the rest of the country under international control.
| Apr 15 - Mars Passes 2.3 Degrees From Saturn |
|
| 10 Nisan - Shabbat HaGadol ("Great
Sabbath") - The Shabbat before Pesach. "The customs pertaining
to Shabbat HaGadol, in contrast – even the very existence of such a
special shabbat by this name – are mentioned nowhere in the Mishna or the
Talmud. The custom seems to have originated in Germany during the Middle
Ages, and from there it spread throughout the Jewish world." (Yeshivat
Har Etzion) |
| 11 Nisan 5030 (March
28, 1270): This date marks the anniversary of the death of Moses ben Nachman (born
1194) - also known as Nachmanides or as the RamBaN. He is famed for his commentaries on
the Bible and his prowess in debating (Pablo Christiany, a heretic Jew, in Aragon 1263).
Although King James I decided the debate against him, Nachmanides was favored by the
court. He was banished from Spain after papal pressure was brought against him. He later
settled in Eretz-Israel where he established a synagogue and school for Talmudic studies. |
| April 19th is one of the blackest days
on the Jewish calendar. From the 11th (1014) through the 20th (1903) century, this date is
remembered for the atrocities which took place. (Source: The Hagshama Department The World
Zionist Organization, http://www.wzo.org.il)
| 1014: In 1013, the Civil War in Spain broke out between
Arabs and Berbers. This resulted in the first Jewish massacre in Cordoba in April 1014,
and the subsequent decline of the community both in population and importance. |
| 1283: In Mayence (Mainz), Germany, as a result of a ritual
murder accusation (blood libel), thirty-six Jews were slain. |
| 1343: A massacre in Wachenheim, Germany which began before
Easter, soon spread to surrounding communities. |
| 1506: During a service at St. Dominics Church in Lisbon,
Portugal, some of the people thought they saw a vision on one of the statues. Outside, a
newly converted Jew-turned-Christian raised doubts about the "miracle." He was
literally torn to pieces and then burnt. The crowd led by two Dominican monks proceeded to
ransack Jewish houses and kill any Jews they could find. During the next few days,
countrymen hearing about the massacre came to Lisbon to join in. Over two thousand Jews
were killed during these three days (April 19-21). |
| 1566: Pope Pious V, three months into his reign , rejected
the leniences of his predecessor and reinvoked all the restrictions of Paul IV. These
included being forced to wear a special cap, the prohibitions against owning real estate
and practicing medicine on Christians. Communities were not allowed to have more than one
synagogue and Jews were confined to a cramped ghetto. |
| 1903: Riots broke out after a Christian child was found
murdered in Kishinev (Bessarabia). The mobs were incited by Pavolachi Krusheven, the
editor of the anti-Semitic Newspaper Bessarabetz and the vice governor Ustrugov.
Vyacheslav Von Plehev, the Minister of Interior supposedly gave orders not to stop the
rioters. The Jews were accused of ritual murder. During the three days of rioting, 47 Jews
were killed, 92 severely wounded , 500 slightly wounded and over 700 houses destroyed.
Despite a world outcry, only two men were sentenced to seven and five years in prison, and
twenty-two were sentenced for one or two years. This progrom was instrumental in
convincing tens of thousands of Russian Jews to leave to the West and to Eretz-Israel. The
child was later discovered to have been killed by a relative. |
|
| Pesach - 15 Nisan - April
20, 2000 - Passover
| "Israel's redemption in future days will happen on the
fifteenth of Nisan, the night of Israel's redemption from Egypt, for thus did Moses say,
'In this night God protected Israel against the Angels of Destruction, and in this night
He will also redeem the generations of the future.'" (Legends of the Jews,
Louis Ginzberg, Book 2 - Time Intervals) |
|
| Apr 22 -
Lyrids Meteor Shower Peak |
| 21 Nisan 2448 (April
7, 1312 BCE): The traditional date for the parting of Red Sea for the Israelites on
their way from Egypt. |
| Apr 26 - Moon Occults Neptune |
| Apr 28 - Mercury Passes 0.3 Degrees From
Venus |
| Yom Hashoah - 27 Nisan - May
2, 2000 - Holocaust Remembrance Day |
| 28 Nisan 2488 (April
14 1282 BCE): Traditional date marking the fall of the walls of Jericho. |
| May 4, 1999 - Arafat vowed to declare a
Palestinian state on this date with Jerusalem as its capital. |
| May 05 - Eta
Aquarids Meteor Shower Peak
|
