This Day, October 11, In Jewish History by Mitchell A and Deb Levin Z"L
OCTOBER 11
1138: Massive earthquake strikes Aleppo, Syria. According to tradition, the Jewish community
traces its origins back to the time of King David. This is based on the description of the
conquest of the city by Joab found in the Book of Samuel. The Great Synagogue, the most famous Jewish
edifice in the city was originally built in the fifth century of the Common
Era. The real importance of the community can be traced to the Aleppo Codex, “the earliest known manuscript
containing the entire text of the Bible. Tradition states that Maimonides
consulted the Aleppo Codex when he set down the exact rules for writing Torah
scrolls.” The Codex
was copied by the scribe Shlomo Ben-Buya'a over 1,000 years ago. It was
deposited with the Aleppo community at the end of the 14th Century and kept in
a small vault in the Cave of Elijah under the Joab Ben Zeruiah Synagogue of
Aleppo. The community guarded it for over 600 years." Whatever loss the
community suffered during the earthquake, we know it survived and thrived since
it was visited by Rabbi Petachya of Regensburg (Germany) starting in 1170 and
Benjamin of Tudela in 1173. Benjamin’s
visit was part of his “round the world tour” which he described in his literary
work entitled the Travels of Benjamin.
1285:
Following a false charge that the Jews had purchased a Christian child from an
old woman and then killed, a mob in Munich attacked the Jews community.
Those who escaped the mob took refuge in the synagogue which the mob then
burned killing 180 Jews.
1347:
Emperor Louis IV, the German ruler who had given Gottfried von Eppstein
permission to settle Jews in Eppstein, Homburg and Steinheim in 1335, passed
away.
1394:
Ordination of Benedict XIII, one of the Avignon Popes whom the Catholic Church
classifies as an Anti-Pope. In an
attempt to gain acceptance of his Papacy, Benedict attacked the Jews. Not content to adopt oppressive laws at aimed
Children Of Israel, he initiated the Disputation of Tortosa in 1413 one of
those one-sided debates that the Church loved.
As a result of this one, the works of Maimonides were burned and copies
of the Talmud were to be confiscated so that they could be censored.
1400:
Jews were burned alive in Prague.
1542:
Birthdate of Hayyim ben Joseph Vital Hayyim ben Joseph Vital, a Safed born
rabbi and “foremost disciple of Isaac Luria who “received rabbinical ordination
from his teacher Moshe Alshich” and settled permanently in Damascus, where he
lectured every evening on the kabbalah.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hayyim-ben-Joseph-Vital
1531:
Forty-seven-year-old Huldrych Zwingli, the leader of the Reformation in
Switzerland who at a minimum “studied and admired the Hebrew language, used it
to some advantage” in his work and “took over some Hebraic teachings while
evincing little concern for contemporary Jews” passed away today.
1727:
George II and Caroline of Ansbach are crowned King and Queen of Great Britain.
King George II was the monarch who gave “the royal assent” to the Jewish
Naturalization Act of 1753.
Unfortunately, the act was repealed a year later.
1727:
“Zadok the Priest,” an anthem composed by George Frederic Handel based on First
Kings 1:38-40 which describes the coronation of King Solomon was performed
today during the coronation of King George II.
1741:
George Fredrick Handel completed the second of “Samson,” his oratorio based on
the figure from the Book of Judges.
1764(15th
of Tishrei, 5525): Sukkot
1768(30th
of Tishrei, 5529): Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan observed on the same that “ two
regiments of British troops arrived in Boston to quell the growing rebellion
against the Townshend Acts” which was one of the steps on the path to revolution
against the Crown.
1769(10th of Tishrei, 5530): Yom Kippur
1770(22nd
of Tishrei, 5531); Shemini Atzeret
1771: In
Eppingen, Germany, “Kusche Karoline Maier” and “Laemmle Heinshiemer “gave birth
to “Moses Lemle Heinsheimer, the father of Maier and Jakob Heinsheimer.
1775(17of
Tishrei, 5536): Third Day of Sukkot observed on the same during the America
Revolution that “General William Howe was named the interim commander in chief
of the British army in America replacing Lieutenant General Thomas Gage.
1777(10th
of Tishrei, 5538): Four days after the Americans completed their game-changing
victory at the Battle of Saratoga, Jews observe Yom Kippur
1778(20th
of Tishrei, 5539): Sixth Day of Sukkoth observed as the British realigned their
forces following the defeat at Saratoga.
1783(15th
of Tishrei, 5544): Sukkoth
1786:
Michael Marks married Jochabed Isaacks, the parents of Tarrytown, NY native
Abraham Marks, were married today in Newport, R.I.
1787: In
Georgia Philip Mosses Russell and Esther Mordecai Russell gave birth to Isaac
Russell, their first son and third child who would have two younger siblings.
1788(10th
of Tishrei, 5549): Yom Kippur
1789(21st
of Tishrei, 5550): Hoshanah Rabah observed for the first time during the
Presidency of George Washington.
1791: Today
Joseph Abendanone, the St. Thomas born son of Simon Abendanone and Grace Cohen Delmonte
who settled in Savanah wrote to John Kean, in Philadelphia, PA requesting a
subscription, via D. Ramsey and thanking him for his help asked that the amount
be transferred to the Office of Charleston.
1792(25th
of Tishrei, 5553): Seventy-nine-year-old Hebrew poet and businessman David
Franco Mendes passed away today in his hometown of Amsterdam.
1796(9th
of Tishrei, 5557): Erev Yom Kippur; Kol Nidre is chanted for the last time
during the Presidency of George Washington.
1796: While
sailing to the United States aboard the sloop Simionhoff, Israel Baer Kursheedt
used the English bible of the ship’s captain to explain to him the significance
of Yom Kippur which he was about to begin observing.
1797(21st
if Tishrei, 5558): Hoshanah Rabah observed for the first time during the
Presidency of John Adams.
1800(22nd
of Tishrei, 5561): Shmini Atzeret observed for the last time during the
Presidency of John Adams.
1802(15th
of Tishrei, 5563): Sukkot
1805(18th
of Tishrei, 5566): Fourth Day of Sukkoth observed as Russian and Austrian
forces maneuver on the one side and French Forces under Napoleon maneuver for
position in the upcoming battle of Austerlitz.
1807(9th
of Tishrei, 5568): Erev Yom Kippur; Kol Nidre
1808(20th
of Tishrei, 5569): Sixth Day of Sukkoth observed for the last time during the
Presidency of Thomas Jefferson.
1809:
Birthdate of New Orleans resident Louisa Block Jonas the wife of Abraham Henry
Jonas whom she married in 1829 and the mother of Lucia, Charles, Benjamin
Julian, Sidney, Annie, Edward and Rosalie.
1811(23rd
of Tishrei, 5572): Simchat Torah
1811(23rd
of Tishrei, 5572): Thirty-year-old Rachel de Leon, the daughter of Abraham de
Leon passed away today.
1813(17th
of Tishrei, 5574): Third Day of Sukkot
1813:
“Abraham Hart, a merchant residing at Belvedere, NJ” married Louisa Barnett,
the daughter Easton, PA resident Nathan Barnett.
1816(19th
of Tishrei, 5577): Fifth Day of Sukkoth observed as King Louis XII “duels “with
members of the Chamber of Deputies for political supremacy during what history
has come to call “the Second Bourbon Restoration.
1821(15th
of Tishrei, 5582): First Day of Sukkoth
1824(19th
of Tishrei, 5585): Fifth Day of Sukkoth observed for the last time during the
Presidency of James Monroe.
1826(10th
of Tishrei, 5587): Yom Kippur
1827(20th
of Tishrei, 5588): Sixth Day of Sukkoth observed on the birthdate of Afzal
ad-Dawlah, Asaf Jah V Mir Tahniyath Ali Khan Siddiqi who was the ruling Nizam
of Hyderabad, India, from 1857 to 1869
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afzal-ud-Daulah
1829:
Today, twenty-year old Louisa Block the Virginia born daughter of Louisa Block
married Abraham Jonas, reportedly the first Jew to take up residence in Quincy,
IL and a friend of Abraham Lincoln.
1834(8th
of Tishrei, 5595): Shabbat Shuvah
1834(8th
Tishrei, 5595): Forty-two-year-old Joseph Lopez Hays, the Philadelphia born son
of Baruch and Rachel Hays and the husband of Mary Ann Hays passed away today.
1835: Today
in Moravia, the leaders of the Loschitz Jewish community prepared a contract
that would make Abraham Neuda their rabbi.
1838(22nd
of Tishrei, 5599): Shmini Atzeret
1838: In
Bechtheim, Germany, Ester and Jakob Loeb gave birth to future Chicago resident
Adolph Loeb, the husband of Johanna Loeb.
1838(22nd
of Tishrei, 5599): Sixty-nine year old Silesia native Adolf Martin Schlesinger,
the Berlin music publisher whose “ongoing lobbying on the issue of musical
copyright (prompted by copyright infringement of his publication of Weber's Der
Freischütz), was a major factor in the introduction of the influential Prussian
copyright law of 1830” passed away leaving a business that was so successful
that his widow had no financial problems and his sons were able to expand the
business to include a Paris branch.
1840: In
Germany, Aaron and Augusta Straus Bachrach gave birth to clothing store owner
and future Chicago resident Charles Bachrach, the husband of Leonora Goldman
whom he married in 1868 and with whom he had five children – Marta, Sampson,
William Hertha and Robert.
1842: In
New York City Moses and Esther Lazarus gave birth to Sarah Lazarus, a sister of
Emma Lazarus.
1845(10th
of Tishrei, 5606): The day after the United States opened the Naval Academy in
Annapolis whose most famous Jewish graduated was Admiral Hyman Rickover, Jews
observe Yom Kippur
1845(10th
of Tishrei, 5606): A minyan led by Mayer Klein and Philip Newberg held services
in Chicago, Ill, marking the first time that his occurred in “The Windy City.”
1846(21st
of Tishrei, 5607): Hoshana Raba
1846:
Birthdate of Carlos Enrique José Pellegrini, the Argentine President who was
sympathetic to attempts to settle Jewish refugees in his country.
1847:In
Natchez, Mississippi, Aaron and Jeannette W. Helena Roos gave birth to Emma
Roos who became Emma Mayer when she married Simon Mayer.
1847:
Baruch Rosenstiel, the “on of Samuel Levi Rosenstiel and Bessla Rosenstiel” and
his wife Zippora gave birth of Isaak Rosenstiel.
1850: In
Albany, NY founding of Congregation Anshe Emeth which would consolidate a year
later with Congregation Beth Emeth to for Congregation Beth Emeth.
1850: The
University of Sydney, Australia’s oldest university, opened its doors. Percy
Marks described as “Jewish Renaissance Man” was one of its earliest and most
famous Jewish graduates. The Australian Union of Jewish Students or AUJS is an on-campus
organization whose aim is to promote Jewish continuity. Today the University has a Department of
Hebrew, Biblical and Jewish studies whose website asks and answers the
following: “Why enroll in Jewish Studies
at the University of Sydney?? * Challenging: Where else would you find such a
stimulating fusion of diverse ethnic and religious groups studying together?
Learn about religion and politics in an open and fun environment.
* Educational: Further your knowledge and insights into Jewish Studies. Learn
about the issues around assimilation and Jewish civilization and master
classical or Modern Hebrew or Yiddish.
* Practical: For undergraduate students, taking one of these courses will count
towards qualifications in General Studies or part of your Arts, Arts/Law or
Education degrees. It will also enable budding teachers to pursue a career in
Modern Hebrew, Jewish Studies and Tanach.
* Unique: Delve into Jewish philosophy, history and politics, delivered by
expert lecturers in their fields. There is a Jewish
club called AUJS (Australian Union of Jewish Students) which has many purposes,
one of which is to promote Jewish continuity!
1851(15th of Tishrei, 5612): Sukkoth
1852: Famed
German mathematician Ferdinand Eisenstein passed away at the age of
thirty. Eisenstein’s fate was typical of
many Germans. His parents were Jewish,
but they converted to a Protestant denomination before their son’s birth to
gain full entrée into German society.
1853(9th
of Tishrei, 5614): Erev Yom Kippur; Kol Nidre is recited for the first time
during the Crimean War which had just begun earlier this month.
1854(19th
of Tishrei, 5615): Fifth Day of Sukkoth
1854:
Birthdate Drnice native Wilhelm Jerusalem, the University of Prague educated
philosopher who “is regarded as the discoverer of the literary talent of the
deaf-blind writer Helen Keller” with whom he corresponded.
1854(19th
of Tishrei, 5615): Sixty-nine-year-old Baltimore born David Hart passed away
today in New York.
1855:
Johann Ludwig Schneller, a German Lutheran missionary “bought from the people
of Lifta, a parcel of land outside LIfta, approximately 3 kilmotres (1.9 miles)
northwest of Jaffa Gate.
1857(23rd
of Tishrei, 5618): Simchat Torh
1859: “Anshe
Emeth Memorial Temple, the fourth Jewish congregation founded in New Jersey,
was established in New Brunswick today where it still functions today as the
oldest temple in Middlesex county as well as the oldest synagogue in New Jersey
to still be located in its city of origin.”
1860: In
London, Isaac Mozes Pereira Mendoza and Sara Isaac Monis gave birth to Esther
Mendoza today.
1862:
During the Civil War Joseph Bear who would be wounded on the first day of the
Battle of Gettysburg and who would reach the rank of Sergeant began his service
with Company of the 153rd Regiment.
1863(15th
of Tishrei, 5764): Sukkoth
1863: Sixty-eight-year-old
Jane (Raphael) Salaman, the wife of Isaac S. Salaman was buried today at the
Brompton Jewish Cemetery.
1863: “The
House of Rothschild” published today based on information from the London Globe provided a fascinatingly
detailed contemporary look at this most prominent of Jewish dynasties.
“A
few days ago, our Paris correspondent told us that a congress of the members of
the illustrious house of Rothschild has been sitting at Paris. The purport of
the meeting was nothing less than to rearrange the dominions of the great
banking dynasty. In one word, the great object of the Rothschild congress was
to reduce the five branches of the house who now rule Europe to four, and
following the example of Garibaldi, to strike another sovereign of Naples from
the list of reigning monarchs. Henceforth there are to be but four kings of the
house of Rothschild, with secure thrones at London, Paris, Vienna, and
Frankfort. It is now exactly a hundred years since a poor Jew, called Mayer
Anselm, made his appearance at the City of Hanover; barefooted, with a sack, oa
his shoulders, and a bundle of rags on his back. Successful in trade, like most
of his co-religionists, he returned to Frankfort at the end of a few years, and
set up a small shop in the "Jew-lane," over which hung the signboard
of a red shield, called in German roth-schild. As a dealer in old and rare
coins, he made the acquaintance of the Serene Elector of Hesse Cassel, who,
happening to be in want of a confidential agent for various open and secret
purposes, appointed the shrewd-looking Mayer Anselm to the post. The Serene
Elector being compelled soon after to fly his country. Mayer Anselm took charge
of his cash, amounting to several millions of florins. With the instinct of his
race, Anselm did not forget to put the money out on good interest, so that,
before Napoleon was gone to Elba, and the illustrious Elector had returned to
Cassel, the capital had more than doubled. The ruler of Hesse Casse thought it
almost a marvel to get his money safely returned from the Jew-lane of
Frankfort, and at the Congress of Vienna was never tired of singing the praise
of his Hebrew agent to all the Princes of Europe. The dwellers under the sign
of the Red Shield laughed in their sleeves; keeping carefully to themselves the
great fact that the electoral two million florins had brought them four
millions of their own. Never was honesty a better policy. Mayer Anselm died in 1812, without having the
supreme satisfaction of hearing his honesty extolled by kings and princes. He
left five sons who succeeded him in the banking and money-lending business, and
who, conscious of their social value, dropped the name of Anselm, and adopted
the higher sounding one of Rothschild, taken, from the sign board over the
paternal house. On his deathbed their father had taken a solemn oath from all
of them, to hold his four millions well together, and they have faithfully kept
the Injunction. But the old City of Frankfort clearly was too; narrow a realm
for the fruitful sowing of four millions; and, in consequence, the five were
determined after a while to extend their sphere of operations by establishing
branch banks at the chief cities of Europe. The eldest son, Anselm, born 1773,
remained at Frankfort; the second, Salomon, born in 1774, settled at Vienna;
the third, Nathan, born in 1777, went to London; the fourth, Charles, the
infant terrible of the family, established himself in the soft climate of
Naples, and the fifth and youngest, James, born 1792, took up his residence at
Paris. Strictly united, the wealth and power of the five Rothschilds S was
vested in the eldest born; nevertheless, the shrewdest of the sons of Mayer
Anselm, and the heir of his genius, Nathan, the third son, soon took the reins
of government into the own hands. By his faith in Wellington and the flesh and
muscle of British soldiers, he nearly doubled the fortune of the family,
gaining more than a million sterling by the sole battle of Waterloo, the news
of which he carried to England two days earlier than the mail. The weight of
the solid millions gradually transferred the ascendancy in the family from
Germany to England, making London the metropolis of the reigning dynasty of
Rothschild. Like the royal families of Europe, the members of the house of
Rothschild only intermarry with each other. James Rothschild married the
daughter of his brother Salomon: his son Edmond heir apparent of the French
line, was united to his first cousin, the daughter of Lionel, and granddaughter
of Nathan Rothschild; and Lionel again-M.P. for London -- gave his hand in 1836
to his first cousin Charlotte the daughter of Charles Rothschild, of Naples. It
is unnecessary to say that, though these matrimonial alliances have kept the
millions wonderfully together, they have not improved the race of old Mayer
Anselm, of the Red Shield. Already signs of physical weakness are becoming
visible in the great family. So, at least, hint the French papers in their
meager notices about the Rothschild congress at Paris. From all that can be
gathered out of a wilderness of canards, thin faces and thick fiction, it
appears that the sovereigns of the Stock Exchange met in conference for the
double purpose of centralizing their money power and widening their matrimonial
realm. In other words, the five reigning kings; descendants, according to the
law of primogeniture, of the five sons Mayer Anselm, came to the decision to
reduce their number to four by cutting off the Neapolitan branch of Charles
Rothschild; while it was likewise decided that permission should be given to
the younger members of the family to marry, for the benefit of the race, beyond
the range of first cousinship. What has led to the exclusion of the Neapolitan
line of Rothschild seems to have been the constant exercise of a highly
blameable liberality, unheard of in the annals of the family. Charles, the
prodigal son of Mayer Anselm, actually presented, in the year 1846, 10,000
ducats to the orphan asylum of St. Carlo, at Naples, and the son and heir of
Charles (Gustavus) has given repeated signs of his inclination to follow in the
footsteps of his father. Such conduct, utterly unbecoming of the policy of the
house of Rothschild, could not be allowed to pass unnoticed, and, accordingly
-- we quote the rumor of Paris journalism -- the decheance of the Neapolitan
line has been pronounced. However, Baron Gustavus De Rothschild is not to
retire into private life, like famous Charles V., with only a cassock on his
shoulders and a prayer-book in his hand, but is allowed to take with him a
small fortune of 150,000,000 francs, or about six millions sterling -- a mere
crumb from the table of the descendants of poor Mayer Anselm, who wandered
shoeless through the electorate of good King George III. It is certain that no
romance of Royalty is equal to the romance of the house of Rothschild
1864:
Campina Grande was elevated to the status of city in Brazil. Campina Grande is in northeast Brazil. Based on a recent documentary many Catholics
in that region follow various Jewish customs without being aware of their
origin, In all likelihood, the region was originally settled by Marranos or
Conversos. Their descendants continued
practicing rituals such as not eating pork, circumcising newborn males,
reciting special prayers on the first day of the month and a variety of customs
relating to dealing with the dead without being aware of their origins.
1864 The General News column today reported that “In
consequence of a Jewish feast occurring yesterday, there were fewer buyers at
the yards, and the gentiles had the business of buying and selling to
themselves, -- this gave less animation to the sale yards. It is thought that
the Jews will bring in some stock to-morrow, and that there will be
considerable business transacted.”
1865(21st of Tishrei, 5626): Hoshana Raba on
the same that
“the Morant Bay Rebellion bork out in southeastern Jamaica…”
1867: Birthdate of Abraham L. Saltzstein, who in 1884
came from his native Poland to the United States, finally settling in Milwaukee
where he became a “general agent for the New Mutual Life Insurance Company of
Wisconsin.”
1868(24th of Tishrei, 5629) Parashat Bereshit
1868: Founding of the Philadelphia branch of American
Israelite Universelle whose members included Moses A. Dropsie, A.M. Frechie,
Horace A. Nathans, Isaac P. Hunt, David Teller, Raphael Brunswick, Mayer
Troutman, Abraham M. Kohn, and Dr. Marcus Jastrow.
1869(6th of Cheshvan, 5630): Seventy-one-year-old
Lyon Hart passed away today in his hometown of New York City.
1872(9th of Tishrei, 5633): Erev Yom Kippur
1872: In Greely, CO, Adolph Z. Salomon and the former
Matilda Joel gave birth gave birth St. Louis businessman, Frederick Z. Salomon,
the husband of Helen Salomon and the father of Fred Z. Salomon, Jr.
1874(30th of Tishrei, 5635): Rosh Chodesh
Cheshvan
1874: During today’s opening session of the Supreme Lodge
of the Order of Kesher Shel Barzel, in the Bowery. J.P. Solomon of New York was
chosen as Supreme Rosh. Other officers elected were, Deputy Rosh, L.H. Cohen of
Ohio and Supreme Sopher, A.T. Jones of Pennsylvania.
1874: In Denver, founding of Congregation Emanuel whose
members have included Rabbi William S. Friedman, Henry Frankle and William Weil
and which holds services at 7:45 on Friday evening and at 10:30 on Saturday
morning.
1876(23rd of Tishrei, 5637): Simchat Torah
1878(14th of Tishrei, 5639): Erev of Sukkoth
1878: A fire broke out tonight in New York City “in the
temporary building erected in the yard at #67 Hester Street for the celebration
of…Sukkoth.” The fire took place during
services which created panic among the worshippers all of whom escaped without
injury
1878: It was reported today that dispatches sent from
Berlin by The Pall Mall Gazette (a British publication) say the European Powers
are still refusing to recognize the independence of Romania until the
government at Bucharest fulfills its treaty obligations granting full rights to
its Jewish citizens. The Romanian
government has been using a series of legal gimmicks to avoid granting the Jews
the civil rights that had been promised during negotiations in Berlin.
1879: Citizens of Bolivar County, Mississippi, meeting at
Bolivar Landing passed a resolution denouncing Edward Storm, the Republican
nominee for Supervisor as “a dishonest Jew, the servile tool of the slave owner
before the war and convenient and abandoned ally of the corrupt carpetbagger”
since the end of the Civil War. (This maybe a reference to Edward Storm, a
native of Berlin, Germany who served in the Confederate Army from 1861 until
1865 and is buried in Greenville, MS
1879: It was reported today that there are between six
and seven million Hebrews in the world which is about the same number that were
alive in the days of King David. This includes 5 million Jews in Russia,
200,000 in Asia, 80,000 in Africa and a million to a million and a half in
America. Russia has the largest European Jewish population followed by Austria.
There are only about 500,000 Jews living in Germany 45,000 of whom reside in
Berlin. Most of the African Jews live in
Algeria and Ethiopia. The 13,500 Jews
living in Jerusalem constitute over half of that city’s total population.
1880: In St. Louis, MO, Henry and Anna Cohn gave birth to
Arthur Benjamin Cohn, the husband of Louise Porter.
1881: In Prague, Adolf Kelsen and Auguste Löwy gave birth
to jurist and philosopher and Hans Kelsen.
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/kelsen-hans
1881(18th of Tishrei, 5642): Chol Ha Moed
Sukkoth
1881(18th of Tishrei, 5642: Sixteen-year-old
Bath Hyman, a native of Prussia, passed away today in Louisiana.
1882: Birthdate of Milwaukee, WI native Dr. Hermann
Irving Schlesinger, the University of Chicago trained chemist who rose to be
the department chair at his alma mater while performing research that earned
him “the Priestly Medal, the highest honor of the American Chemical Society.”
1883(10th of Tishrei, 5644): Yom Kippur
1883: Rabbi Kaufman will deliver today’s sermon in German
at Temple Beth-El in New York City.
1883: Chester A. Arthur, who as President would champion the
rights of American Jews visiting Russia and who appointed Adolphus Simon to
serve as one of the first two American delegates to the International Congress
of the Red Cross completed his service today as Chairman of the New York
Republican Party.
1884(22nd of Tishrei, 5645): Shemini Atzeret
1884: It was reported today that the funeral of Dr.
Adolphus Huebsch, the rabbi who has led Ahavet Chesed since 1866 and passed
away suddenly last night will be held on the day after Simchat Torah.
1884: Birthdate of Eleanor Roosevelt.
Contrary to what the anti-Semites said, neither FDR nor his wife was
Jewish. However, Mrs. Roosevelt
certainly had numerous Jewish friends.
As a champion of the downtrodden including Jews seeking to escape
Hitler’s Europe and those seeking to create a Jewish homeland, she certainly
enjoyed a certain kind of celebrity and popularity with Jews living during the
middle of the twentieth century.
1884: “Hebrew Charity For Children” published today presented a summary
of the annual report of the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society. Since its opening in September of 1879, this
New York Institution has received applications for admission from more than 600
boys and girls. In addition to
maintaining sex segregated facilities for those needing residential assistance,
the society provided 7,983 free meals to “poor people and children” not living
in one of these facilities. Mrs. P.J.
Joachimsen will continue to serve as President for another year.
1884: It was reported today that two Jews named “Ritter and Strochlenski”
have been found guilty and sentenced to death in Poland for having “murdered a
Christian girl.”
1885: According to reports published today, there are
100,000 people living in Bagdad, 30,000 of whom are Jews struggling “for a bare
subsistence.”
1885: It was reported today that officials had destroyed an illegal still
near Newburg, NY, that was reputed to be owned by four Jews who escaped
apprehension.
1886: In St. Louis, MO, an inquest was scheduled to be held today to
determine the facts concerning death of Josie Martel who was supposed to have
been killed by her husband Frank Sandmeyer, a Jewish waiter who took his own
life after taking hers.
1887(23rd of Tishrei, 5648): Simchat Torah
1887: Birthdate of New York native and Columbia trained surgeon and
radiation therapist Ira I Kaplan, an active member of the Society for the
Advancement of Judaism.
1888: Rabbi Kaufmann Kohler’s address at tonight’s meeting of the Young
Men’s Hebrew Association was followed by musical program that was conducted by
Frederick Brandies.
1889(16th of Tishrei, 5650): Second Day of Sukkoth
1889: Founding of The United Association
of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing, Pipefitting and Sprinkler
Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada which was affiliated with the
American Federation of Labor led by Samuel Gompers.
1890: Novosti expresses the
opinion that “the expulsion of the Jews from the districts not specifically
assigned to them is one of the main causes of the present critical condition of
commerce.”
1890: A list published today of the newly elected officers of the Hebrew
Sheltering Guardian Society Orphan Asylum included: President – Mrs. Phillip J.
Joachimsen; Vice President – Mrs. Teller; Treasurer –Mrs. Barnett; Secretary –
Mrs. Meyer.
1891: Unless friends or relations claim the body, “the Hebrew Charities
Organization” will bury Anna HIlkofsky, the thirty-six-year-old epileptic who
died tragically yesterday in a fire.
1891(9th of Tishrei, 5652): Erev Yom Kippur.
1891: In Cincinnati, OH, Pauline and Alexander Pappehnheimer gave birth
to Cornell University trained Mechanical Engineer Ralph Pappenheimer, the
husband of Claire and Louise Rauh Pappenheimer and the father tennis player
Ralph Pappenheimer Jr.
1891: “The Fast of Yom Kippur Published today described the differences
in observance between the Orthodox and Reformed Jews while acknowledging that
the holiday is so “popular” that “temporary places of worship have been
established in a number of public halls, particularly on the east side of the
city to accommodate those who are not regular members of any congregation.”
1891: “University of Rochester” published today included a summary of a
speech delivered by David Jayne Hill the school’s president to the Query Club
on “Higher Education” in which he “referred to the achievements of many of the
Jews” whom “he said…were among the leaders of advanced thought and in
literature, art, music and other departments they had brought honor upon the
race. A people without a country, they have made the world their home.”
1892: In New York, today’s Columbus Day Parade included a group of “very
little boys from the Hebrew Orphan Asylum, some of them scarcely five years
old” marking behind “their tiny Drum Major;” a scene that drew “many cheers”
from the onlookers.
1892(20th of Tishrei, 5653): Sixth Day of Sukkoth
1892(20th of Tishrei, 5653): Four-year-old Willie Lewis
Kranson passed away today after which he was buried at the Jewish Cemetery in
Natchitoches, LA.
1892: One of the Columbus Day Parades had a total of 24, 620
participants, 128 of whom were from the Hebrew Orphan Asylum.
1893(1st of Cheshvan, 5654): Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan
1893: Robert Stone, A. Druger, Issac Schachat, Arbram Levin and Harris
Baskin are the five pupils of the Bardon de Hirsh Trade School on East Ninth
Street who have “been turned out of their boarding house” by order of Colonel
J.E. Bloom who had expelled them from the school because “they refused to obey
the rules necessary for discipline in the workshops.”
1894: Otto Slimbach, a well-known bully in the eastern district of
Brooklyn was mortally stabbed by an unknown assailant this evening after having
engaged in drinking at several saloons, beating his mother and going through
the “Hebrew quarter” and indulging in Jew-baiting for further amusement.”
1894: An unknown number of striking cloakmakers, many of whom were
Jewish, were clubbed tonight in Rutgers Place.
1894: General Mercier, the Secretary of War meets with three leaders
including Charles Dupuy, the President of the Cabinet before moving ahead with
the arrest of Captain Dreyfus on charges of selling secrets to a foreign power.
1894: “Who The Nominees Are” published today provides biographies of the
those nominated by Tammany including Nathan Strauss who is their candidate for
Mayor.
1895(23rd of Tishrei,, 5656): Simchat Torah
1895: The list of Tammany Judicial candidates published today included
Joseph E. Newburger, a graduate of Columbia Law School who is a director of the
of the Hebrew Orphan Asylum and President of Rodoph Sholom.
1896: In Moscow, Osip and Anna Jakobson gave birth to Roman Jakobson,
“the father of modern structural linguistics who elaborated sophisticated
theories of language and communication that had profound effects on such
disciplines as anthropology, art criticism and brain research…”
1896(4th of Cheshvan, 5657: Eleven-month-old Julius Kranson
passed away today after which he was buried in the Jewish Cemetery in
Natchitoches, LA.
1896: The Syracuse Section of the National Council of Women was organized
with thirty members being enrolled at that time.
1896: Birthdate of Galicia native
Yosef-Mankehm Holender (Tusker) the Yiddish journalist and WW I veteran of the
Austrian Army who, after surviving the Nazi occupation of France “again became
active in the Zionist labor movement and contributed to Undzer vort (Our word) in Paris…”
http://yleksikon.blogspot.com/2015/12/yoysef-menakhem-holender-tsuker.html
1897(15th of Tishrei, 5658): First Day of Sukkoth
1897: Birthdate of Boston native, violinist and bandleader Leo F. Reisman
who gave pianist and bandleader Eddie Duchin “his big break.”
1897: “Thirty-four new cases of yellow fever were reported today in New
Orleans, four of which were found at the Jewish Home” and they will be treated
at Tuoro Infirmary, a non-sectarian medical facility supported by the city’s
Jewish population.
1897: “The Feast of Tabernacles” published today provided a description
of the celebration of Sukkoth which is immediately followed by the celebration
of Simchat Torah, “The Rejoicing of the Law,” “when the last section of the law
is read in the temples by what is called ‘The Bridegroom of the Law.’”
1898: In New York City, Bertha Raisin and Naum Jaracho gave birth to
Syracuse and Ohio State University educated journalist, editor, publisher and Zionist Julius R. Jarcho, the “publisher
of two Zionist publications, Israel Speaks and Israel Today who
was the husband of Dorothy E. Rambar and Ann Hirsch. (Editors note – do not
confuse him Julius Jaracho, MD born on October 15)
1898: Colonel Theodore Roosevelt delivered his first stump speech tonight
during which he talked about the Rough Riders where all members were treated on
their “merits as a man” whether Protestant, Catholic or Jew.” (Yes the famous
regiment had Jewish members)
1899: Birthdate of Lomza native and CCNY graduate Jacob Granowitz who was
ordained at JTS in 1926, served as a Rabbi in Brooklyn and as a member of the
executive committee of the Menorah Organization.
1899: The Second Boer War in which approximately 2,800 Jews fought on the
British side and 300 Jews fought with the Boers, began today.
1900: Twenty-six-year-old broker Charles Sincere, the Chicago born son of
Henry and Rose Sincere married “Mayme W. Wershinski” with whom he had one son
and one daughter.
1901(28th of Tishrei, 5662): On the Jewish Calendar, yahrzeit
of Rabbi Ephraim Solomon, auth or Tevu’ot Schor who died in 1633.
1902(10th of Tishrei, 5663): Yom Kippur
1903: In New York, Edith and Percy Selden Strauss gave birth to Ralph
Isidor Straus, the brother of Donald and Percy Selden Straus, Jr.
1903: Emil Worms, the Lauterbach, Germany born son of Babbete and Garbiel
Worms and his wife Clara Worms gave birth to New Yorker Erna Strauss, the
husband of Erna Strauss.
1904: Oscar S. Straus, the President of the Board of Trade and
Transportation introduced the Mayor of New York to a meeting of “one hundred or
more foreigners” who had come to the city after the close of the 13th
International Peace Congress meeting in Boston.
1905: “In reply to the petition from the faculties of the St. Petersburg
and Moscow Universities advocating the unrestricted admission of Jewish
students, the Emperor has notified the faculties” of his decision to authorize
the admission of Jews who are apply in excess of the legal percentage” while
awaiting a decision from the National Assembly on this matter.
1906(22nd of Tishrei, 5667): Shemini Atzeret
1906: Birthdate of Charles Revson, Canadian born founder of Revlon
Cosmetics.
1907: “Rothschild’s Little Story” published today recounts how “someone
asked Lord Rothschild how he made all his money” to which he replied, “By
selling too soon and buying too late.”
1908(16th of Sukkoth, 5669): Second Day of Sukkoth observed
for the last time during the Presidency of Teddy Roosevelt who enjoyed wide
Jewish support.
1908: In Brooklyn. “Joseph Cohen and Ray (Rachel) Paley Cohen gave birth
to Matila Cohen the older sister of Karl Paley Cohen, a physical chemist who
became a mathematical physicist and helped usher in the age of nuclear energy
and reactor development while working on the Manhattan Project.
1909: Today Herman Dashel, the editor of the anti-Semitic weekly journal
Die Wahrheit “was convicted of blackmail and sentenced to eighteen months
imprisonment and the suspension of his civil rights for three years.”
1910: In New York, the Alderman adopted a resolution which described
Nathan Straus as an “exemplary citizen, citizen, philanthropist, and friend of
the poor” and called upon him to “continue his splendid efforts in behalf of
the poor and needy in the supply of pure milk…”
1911: Birthdate of Brooklyn native and “American violinist, musicologist,
teacher, writer, and pioneer of historically informed performance, Sol Babitz,
the husband of Mae Babitz and father of “writer and artist Eve Babitz” and “designer
Mirandi Batbitz.”
https://www.maebabitz.com/about/sol-babitz/
1911: “The first meeting of Study Circle No. 1 of the Council of Jewish
Juniors is scheduled to meet this evening where Charles Strauss will lead a
class examining “the Jewish characters in literature from the fifteenth century
to the present day” starting with “The Merchant of Venice” and “The Jew of
Malta.”
1912(30th of Tishrei, 5673): Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan
1912(30th of Tishrei, 5673): Seventy-one-year-old Civil War
veteran Moses Shelt passed away in Covington, KY.
1912: Louis D. Brandeis
addressed some 200 social workers from the charitable and philanthropic
organizations of New York and Brooklyn today at a meeting in the United
Charities Building. Mr. Brandeis in his speech told the workers they might
expect much help from Gov. Woodrow Wilson if he is elected President.
1912: According to reports published today, a special
meeting of the Hebrew Sheltering Guardian Society of New York was held to pass
a lengthy a resolution marking the recent death of Professor Morris Loeb
1913(10th of Tishrei, 5674): Yom Kippur
1913: On Yom Kippur, 26-year-old philosopher Franz
Rosenzweig who was planning on following in the footsteps of his cousin and
converting to Christianity attended services at an Orthodox Synagogue in
Berlin. In a change of heart that
continues to confound many to this day. Rosenzweig’s time at prayer led him to
later declare that conversation “for me is impossible now. I remain a Jew.”
1913: In Rochester, NY, Rose and Harry Simon gave birth
to Hymie Simon, who gained fame as Joe Simon the writer and illustrator who
created Captain America. (As reported by Bruce Weber)
1914: In the Bronx, Russian-Jewish immigrants “Jacob and
Bertha (Nedner) Fine” gave birth to psychologist and chess champion Reuben Fine
passed away today.
https://www.nytimes.com/1993/03/27/obituaries/reuben-fine-american-chess-giant-dead-at-79.html
1914: The Jewish Consumptives Relief Society which had
found in 1904 held its “tenth annual meeting today in Denver, CO.”
1914(21st of Tishrei, 5675): As combined
British and French Armies fought the Battle of La Bassee which was part of
their respective “races to the sea” Jews on both sides of the front observed
Hoshanah Rabah
1915: In “Call Jewish Congress American” published today
it was reported that “in accepting his election as an advisory member of the
Jewish Congress Organization Committee Dr. Henry Moskowitz has written the
Secretary of the committee defending as strictly American in spirit the plan to
form a congress of Jews which shall ‘assert the claims of Israel among the
nations and seek fundamental civil and political rights’ for Jews in the
countries at war.”
1915: “The interviews with Alexi Khvostfoff, the new
Minster of the Interior published today” in Petrograd “do not announce his
program but quote a number of interesting…statements” including his view that
he “would remove most disabilities” that the Jews have had to endure.
1915: Louis D. Brandeis and Dr. Schmarja Levin address he
first Fall meeting of the University Zionist Society which was held” tonight
“at the home of L.A. Steinhard” on East 92nd Street.
1915: The Overseas News Agency distributed a statement
“Fighting in Moscow’s Streets” that includes the belief of the “aristocracy and
merchants of Moscow” that the current rioting is caused by “the disloyalty of
the Jews.”
1915: F.H. Williams wrote from Bristol, CT, asking about
the origins of “Pop Goes the Weasel” saying that his when he was at his
grandfather’s house some time before 1855, he “distinctly heard” “three German
Jews sing: ‘Queen Victoria’s very sick, Napoleon has the measles, Sebastopol’s
not taken yet, Pop goes the Veasles.’”
1916(14th of
Tishrei, 5677): Erev of Sukkoth
1916: Today, German
Minister of War Adolf Wild von Hohenborn promulgated the “Judenzählung” or Jew
Census which was “designed to confirm accusations of the lack of patriotism
among German Jews” but which disproved the charges so it the results were never
made public.
1916: “A novel turn to
an ancient religious service will be given” this evening “when Methodist,
Protestant and Presbyterian Army Chaplains”
take part in Sukkoth services “in the Young Men’s Hebrew Association
Building in Douglas, AZ, under the auspices of the Army and Navy Committee of
the Young Men’s Hebrew and Kindred Council
1916: Today Nathan
Straus wrote to Felix Warburg that in accord with the promise he made last
spring he was enclosing a check for $50,000 “for war relief” and that he hoped
it would help to encourage “American Jewry to do their duty toward their
unfortunate co-religionists abroad.”
1917: Screenwriter
Sonya “Levien married her husband Carl Hovey” today.
1917: Jacob S.
Davidson, his wife and his daughters who are among the refugees from Jaffa and
Jerusalem that have arrived in New York are staying with Davidson brother “who
lives at 120 Cannon Street.”
1918: “Don Cesar, Count
of Irun,” a silent film directed by Buchenwald survivor Jacob Fleck was
released today in the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
1918:”In the Jewish
Maternity Hospital at 270 East Broadway on Manhattan’s Lower East Side” Lena
(Rips) and Harry Rabinowitz gave birth to Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz who gained
fame as choreographer, director, dancer, and theater producer Jerome Robbins possibly
best known for directing Leonard Bernstein’s musical version of Romeo and
Juliet called “West Side Story.”
1918(5th of Cheshvan, 5679): Corporal Nathan
Solomon who was “cited for valor in the Battle of the Marne” was killed in
action today while serving with the Sixth Machine Gun Battalion of the U.S.
Marines Corps.
1918: In Brighton
Raphael Lyons, a turf accountant who died in 1944 and his wife gave birth to
Braham Jack Lyons who gained fame as :”journalist and public relations
consultant” Dennis Lyons whom the Prime Minister gave a life peerage to in 1974
making Baron Lyons of Brighton.
1919: Major General
Hans von Seeckt began serving as the first commander of The Truppenamt or
'Troop Office' which was in all but name, the German General Staff – an
organization that was not supposed to exist under the Versailles Treaty and an
organization whose existence proved that Germany never really had any intention
of accepting the outcome of WW I, long before the Nazis came to power.
1919: After 104
performances on Broadway, the curtain came down on the George Gershwin musical
“La La Lucille.”
1920: More than 1,000
men and women are expected to attend this evening “gala festival” sponsored by
the United Waist League of America” “on the Century Roof atop the Century
Theatre.
1921(9th of
Tishrei, 5682): Jews hear Kol Nidre for the first time during the Presidency of
Warren G. Harding.
1922(19th of
Tishrei, 5683): Fifth Day of Sukkoth
1922: In Berlin, Aron
Zuckermann, “the owner of a metal and leather factory” and “singer Gittel
(Hutsnecker) Zuckermann gave birth to Wolfgang Joachim Zuckerman, the Jewish
refugee who gained fame as “a piano technician and ….harpsichord builder.” (As
reported by Richard Sandomir)
1923: Today, in Ft.
Worth, TX, University of Cincinnati trained engineer, the Chattanooga, TN born
son of Cira Bramson and Wolf Friedman married Mayme Potishman.
1923: In Manhattan “Sam
A. Lewisohn and the former Margaret Seligment gave birth to the third of their
four daughters, Elizabeth Ann Lewisohn, who gained fame as historian Elizabeth
L. Eisentstein. (As reported by Margalit Fox)
1924: Birthdate of
Maurice Sanford Fox, “the son of poor Russian Jewish immigrants” who became “an
American geneticist and molecular biologist, and professor Emeritus of Biology
at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.”
1925(23rd of
Tishrei, 5686): Simchat Torah
1925: In Washington,
the Senators won game three of the World Series with Buddy Myer at second base.
1926(3rd of
Cheshvan, 5687): Twenty-eight-year-old Hymie Weiss, the north side mobster who
was a rival of Al Capone was gunned down today.
http://www.nationalcrimesyndicate.com/hymie-weiss-death-photo/
1926(3rd of
Cheshvan, 5687): Sixty-three-year-old Maxim Vinaver, a Russian lawyer, Duma
member and leader of the Jewish community who moved to Paris after the
Bolshevik Revolution passed away today.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eug%C3%A8ne_Vinaver
1926: Birthdate of
major league baseball player Myron Nathan “Joe” Ginsberg.
1926: “Young April” a
romantic comedy starring Joseph Schildkraut and Rudolph Schildkraut was
released in the United States today
1927(15th of
Tishrei, 5688): Sukkoth
1927: “Funny Face,” a
musical composed by George Gershwin with lyrics by Ira Gershwin, which was
originally called “Smarty” opened today in Philadelphia.
1927: In a statement
made public today, “Justice Jacob Panken of the Municipal Court flatly rejected
an offer of Communist support for re-election.”
1928: It was reported
today that “A.M. Lieber of Chicago, the publisher of the Jewish Daily Press”
has told the Chairman of the Republican National Committee that Republican
Presidential candidate “Herbert would have the support of Jewish people for the
aid given by him to Jews in many lands.”
1929: In Manhattan,
Irving Westin and the former Etta Furman gave birth to Alan Furman Westin “a
legal scholar who nearly half a century ago defined the modern right to privacy
in the incipient computer age” (As reported by Margalit Fox)
1930(19th of
Tishrei, 5691): Shabbat Shel Sukkot
1930: Regina Silver,
the Argentina born “daughter of Gedaliah Bublick and Elka Bublick and her
husband Edward Sholom Moses Silver gave birth to Sarah Feigel Bunim the wife pf
Rabbo Amos Bunim/
1930: “Sinner’s
Holiday,” featuring Noel Madison as “Buck Rogers” was released today in the
United States.
1930: Northwestern
University led by Guard Hyman “Hy” Crizevsky defeated Ohio State in its second
straight win of the season.
1931(30th of
Tishrei, 5692): Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan
1931(30th of
Tishrei, 5692: Sixty-seven Russian born immigrant Jacob Bellin, the husband of
Fanny Bellin and the father of Katie, Samuel, Anna and Sadie Bellin passed away
today after which he was buried at Mt. Hebron Cemetery in Flushing, NY.
1931: Formation of the
Harzburg Front, a right-wing alliance that included the Nazi Party which was
formed to undermine the democratically elected government of Chancellor
Heinrich Bruning, the person who held that post for the longest period of time
during the Weimar Republic.
1932: “The thanks of
President von Hindenburg of Germany were expressed” today “to the Assembly of
Hebrew Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada for a cablegram of good
wishes sent him on August 18 when they were in convention” which had invoked
divine blessings on President von Hindenburg and expressed thanks to him for
protecting anti-Semitism in Germany.”
1932: In Budapest,
Premier Julius Goemboes delivered a speech to the Chamber in which he “asserted
that he had changed his earlier anti-Semitic views and was ready to regard as
his brothers those Jews who had shown heroism in the World War and sympathy toward
the nation’s difficulties since.”
1933(21st of
Tishrei, 5696: Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts trained artist Aaron Henry
Gorson the Kovno born son of Hillel and
Ida (Alter) Gorson and the husband of Rachel fine whose works included
“Portrait of a Steelworker” and “Bridge Across a River” passed away today in
New York.
https://web.archive.org/web/20120425162753/http://artmuseum.msu.edu/collections/recent/Gorson.htm
1933(21st of
Tishrei, 5694): Hoshana Raba observed for the first time during the Presidency
of FDR and Chancellorship of Hitler.
1933(21st of
Tishrei, 5694): Moscow native and Harvard undergraduate Mark Edward Evarts who
in 1889 came to the United States where he attended George Washington
University, practiced law and work in the U.S. Patent Office passed away today
in New York City.
1934: “The disorderly
conduct charge against Sufie Abdul Hamid…who was accused of maligning Jews in a
street corner at 125th Street and Seventh Avenue on September 15 was
dismissed” today “by Magistrate Overton Harris in Harlem Court on the ground
that Hamid’s ‘guilt was not proved beyond a reasonable doubt.’”
1934: It was reported
today the “joint chairmen of the Jewish Representative Council of London, which
was originally formed to organize the boycott of Germany as a reprisal for Nazi
attacks on Jews” have announced that the Jews will terminated their trade
boycott of Germany if normal citizenship rights are restored to German Jewry.”
1935(14th of
Tishrei, 5696): Erev Sukkoth and Erev Shabbat
1935(14th of
Tishrei, 5696): Warsaw native and Sorbonne graduate Israel Eitan, the
philologist who in 1921 came to the United States where he lived in Pittsburgh
and taught at Duquesne University passed away today.
1935: Brooks Atkinson
described last night’s performance of the upgraded version of Gershwin’s “Porgy
and Bess.”
1936: In “Life in Tel
Aviv, That Sudden Town,” published today Katherine Woods reviews Spring Up,
O Well by Ruth Kahn, a book that
describes the Jewish “resettlement of Palestine”
1936: At the Free Synagogue,
Rabbi Stephen S. Wise was one of the speakers at a memorial service honoring
his lifelong friend Reverend S. Parkes Cadman.
1936: “Approximately
150 delegates representing 26 communities” heard Louis Lipsky, the former
president of the Zionist Organization of America deliver a speech at the annual
convention of the Long Island Region today at the Jamaica (Queens) Jewish Center
in which “he described the British attitude toward Palestine as one of
indifference and avoidance of the issues.”
1936: Dr. Stephen S.
Wises presided at a dinner at the Hotel Plaza “at which the American Jewish
Congress honored Louis Sturz, chairman of the finance committee and treasurer
of the World Jewish Congress.
1936: “The American
Jewish Joint Distribution Committee reported” today “that a total of 7,750 Jews
had been helped to migrate from their homes in Germany during the first six
months of this by service agencies affiliated with the committee.”
1936: “While all
available police were shepherding a march of 5,000 Communists through the East
End tonight a group of Mosley’s gangsters shouting Fascist slogans raided
Jewish shops in Mile End Road,” slashing bystanders with razors, hurling bricks
through shop windows, overturning and setting on fire two cars and scattering
the property of the Jews in the roadway,
1936: “An Arab Plot”
published today provides a review of Talbot Mundy’s Jimgim And Allah’s Peace”
an adventure novel whose hero is “Major Grim (Jimgrim) a British Military
Intelligence officer on service in Jerusalem to thwart the plots of the
belligerent Arab sheiks against their age-old enemies, the Jews…”
1937: In Manhattan, garment worker Murray Leibman and the former Grace
Marx gave birth to birth to actor Ron
Leibman whose portrayal of the union
organizer in the film hit Norma Rae won him kudos even if Sally Fields got the
Oscar.
1937: The
Palestine Post published an extensive report on the deteriorating condition of
Jews in Poland and German Upper Silesia. According to Alexander Kahn, the
vice-chairman of the Joint Distribution Committee in Poland, entire Jewish
communities in towns and villages were subjected to unspeakable brutalities of
local nationalists, anti-Semites and hooligans. There were riots at the Vilna
and Lvov universities where Jewish students were beaten and, when forced to
seat on the left side, preferred to stand instead. The Polish administration
welcomed an economic anti-Jewish boycott while trade organizations urged to
create "a ghetto" for Jewish tradesmen in the markets. In the village
of Mushlatova a Jewish merchant and his wife were murdered at night, the fifth
such crime in that district. Note that these outbreaks took place two years
before the Nazis occupied Poland.
Anti-Semitism was part of the European cultural landscape. It was this reality that helped to make the
Final Solution possible. “They did not
hear our cries, not because they were deaf, but because they did not want to
hear them.” Anon
1938: In
Cairo, at the concluding session of the Moslem Congress, the Proposals
Committee presented a resolution making nine demands on the British government
including nullification of the Balfour Declaration, cessation of Jewish
immigration into Palestine, an end to any plans to partition Palestine and end
to the mandate which would mirror the earlier end to the British Mandate in
Iraq.
1939: Dr.
Alexander Sachs, “a Russian born economist” read President Roosevelt “a report
from Albert Einstein predicting that an atomic bomb carried by ship, could
destroy an entire port complex and surrounding area” to which President
Roosevelt responded “with characteristic vigor” brushing “aside the hesitations
of American scientists and officials” and “set the atomic project on its
irrevocable course and pressed it toward the historic climax that came at
Hiroshima after his death.” (From the obituary of Alexander Sachs)
1939: President Franklin Roosevelt received a
letter signed by Albert Einstein urging that the United States begin an urgent
program to develop what would become the atomic bomb. It was Einstein’s support that garnered
Roosevelt’s support for what would be known as the Manhattan Project –
America’s program to build the Atomic Bomb.
At the time, it was viewed as a race which, if won by the Germans, would
have cost the Allies the war.
1939:
Today, Dr. Alexander Sachs, “a Russian born economist” “read to Mr. Roosevelt a
report from Albert Einstein predicting that an atomic bomb, carried by ship
could destroy an entire port complex and surrounding area.”
1940(9th
of Tishrei, 5701): Erev Yom Kippur
1940: “In
compliance with War Department circular No. 5, all soldiers of the Jewish faith
will be granted furloughs” starting at noon today “so they may observe the Day
of Atonement, Yom Kippur.”
1940: In
New York, “at Temple Emanu-El, Rabbi Samuel H. Goldenson” is scheduled to
“preach tonight on “Believing In God.”
1940: In
New York, “at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue, Rabbi David de Sola Pool”
is scheduled to “preach tonight on ‘Hope for Mankind.’”
1940: In
New York, at Congregation B’nai Jeshurun, Rabbi Israel Goldstein” is scheduled
to “preach tonight on ‘Jewish Selfhood.’”
1940: In
New York, “Rabbi William F. Rosenblum” is scheduled to “preach at Temple Israel
tonight on ‘The Philosophy of Faith.’”
1940: In
New York, “Rabbi Louis I. Newman” is scheduled to “preach at Temple Rodeph
Sholom tonight on ‘The Secret of Kol Nidre’s Power.’”
1940: In
New York, “at the Free Synagogue in Carnegie Hall, Rabbi Stephen S. Wise” is
scheduled to “preach tonight on ‘How Can the Prophets Help Us Now?’”
1940: In
New York, “at West End Synagogue, Rabbi Nathan Stern” is scheduled to “preach
tonight on ‘Standing Before the Lord.’”
1940: In
New York, “Rabbi Asher Block” is scheduled to “preach at Tempe Gates of Israel
tonight on ‘The Art of Jewish Living.’”
1940: In
New York, at Mount Neboh Congregation “Rabbi Samuel M. Segal” is scheduled “to
preach tonight on ‘Hear, O Israel.’”
1940: In
New York, “Rabbi Jonah B. Wise” is scheduled to “preach at Central Synagogue
tonight on ‘Can Freedom Starve?’”
1940: As
the deportation of the Jews of Cracow continued a group of un-named Jews were
captured at prayer by an unknown photographer.
http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/exhibitions/this_month/october/05.asp
1940(9th
of Tishrei, 5701): Italian Mathematician Vito Volterra passed away in Rome.
http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/Mathematicians/Volterra.html
1940: The
Glenn Miller Orchestra recorded "A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square,”
“a romantic British popular song written in 1939 with lyrics by Eric Maschwitz”
1941:
Birthdate of Edmond E. Levy the native of Bara who made Aliyah at the age of 10
and rose to become an Israeli judge of the Supreme Court of Israel.
1941: Sol
J. Wallach read a congratulatory letter from President Roosevelt at tonight’s
dinner celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding The
Mendelssohn Benevolent Society which was attended by almost four hundred people
in New York City.
1941: A
Jewish ghetto at Chernovtsy, Romania, is established.
1941(20th of Tishrei, 5702: Sixth Day of Sukkoth; Shabbat
1941(20th of Tishrei, 5702: Thousands of Jews are murdered at
Edineti, Romania.
1942(30th of Tishrei,
5703): Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan
1942: Latvian born
Yiddish scholar and an early director of YIVO in Vilnius, Zelig Hirsch
Kalmanovich who was imprisoned in the Vilna Ghetto wrong in his diary today “On
Simhat Torah eve at the invitation of the rabbi, I went for services in a house
that had formerly been a synagogue and was now a music school ... I said a few
words: 'Our song and dance are a form of worship. Our rejoicing is due to Him
who decrees life and death. Here in the midst of this small congregation, in
the poor and ruined synagogue, we are united with the whole house of Israel,
not only with those who are here today ... And you in your rejoicing, atone for
the sins of a generation that is perishing. I know that the Jewish people will
live ... And every day the Holy One, blessed be He, in His mercy gives us a
gift which we accept with joy and give thanks to His holy name.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RkbZLCB-FXQ
1942(30th of Tishrei,
5703):Over the next 48 hours eleven
thousand Jews from Ostrowiec-Swietokrzyski, Poland, are killed at the Treblinka
death camp
1943: An article in Time magazine entitled “Quality of
Mercy” describes the rescue of the Danish Jews and their trip to Sweden.
“Across the narrow waters of the Ore Sund word came to Sweden last week that
1,800 Gestapo men sent to Copenhagen specialty for the job had broken into
Jewish homes and synagogues during Rosh Hashanah, arresting most of Denmark’s
10,000 Jews. The reports said the
Germans planned to ship their prisoners to the charnel houses of Poland. Next day the Swedish government told the German
Government that there was immediate, unconditional sanctuary for all Danish
Jews in Sweden. The Germans ignored the
offer. At the end of the week, end upwards of 1,000 wretched Jews from Denmark
had found their way across the cold Ore Sund to merciful Sweden.
1943: One
day after rescuing three Jews from the Riga (Latvia) Ghetto by asking guards
for Jews to labor on his property, Yanis Lipke rescues additional Jews using
the same ruse.\
1943: Heinrich Himmler
appeared on the cover of Time magazine.
http://content.time.com/time/magazine/0,9263,7601431011,00.html?internalid=AC
1943: The trains kept rolling to Sobibor. According to Alexander
Pechersky – on this day “the crematorium burned longer than usual. Helpless and
distressed, we looked at the bodies of our brothers and sisters." New arrivals panicked and ran toward barbed wire, only to be
machine-gunned by guards.
1944:
“Laura” produced and directed by Otto Preminger with music by David Raskin was
released in the United States by 20th Century Fox.
1944: U.S.
premier of “To Have and Have Not” co-starring Laruen Bacall (the cousin of
Shimon Peres) in her first major film role and music by Franz Waxman.
1945:
According to reports published today, “Fritz Wiedemann, former German consul in
San Francisco will be a leading Allied witness in the prosecution of Nazi war
criminals” who will be tried according to rules established by the
International Court of Justice. Wiederman had been the lover of Princess
Stephanie who had spied on top Nazis.
1945(4th
of Cheshvan, 5706): Social activist Alice Goldmark Brandeis, the widow of
Justice Louis Brandeis passed away today.
http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/brandeis-alice-goldmark
1945: Early
this morning, a group of armed Jewish attackers overpowered the guards at the
British Army camp at Rehovot and stole a quantity of weapons and ammunition
which they loaded into stolen trucks that were used to make a clean get—away.
1945: The
USS President Warfield was struck from the U.S. Naval Vessel Register. This was but one of the many steps that would
lead this packet steamer to re-emerge as the Exodus in 1947.
1946: Seventy-eight-year-old
Austrian diplomat Alfred Rappaport who had converted to Roman Catholicism in
1883 passed away today.
http://www.austro-hungarian-army.co.uk/biog/Rappaport.htm
1946: Rabbi
Phillip Bernstein of Rochester, NY, who serves as an adviser to Generals Joseph
T. McNarney and Mark Clark” commanders of the American zones of occupation in
Germany and Austria is returning to Germany today after meeting with President
Truman at the White House. Truman
expressed concern for the plight of the Jews and said he wanted more firsthand
information. Bernstein said that the
“original concept of resettling 100,000 European Jews is untenable” since the
number of Jewish displaced persons is closer to 225,000.
1946: One
hundred fifty of the four hundred Jews imprisoned at the Latrun detention camp
began partial hunger strike in protest over their lengthy detention without
ever having been charged let alone tried with any crime.
1946: An
organization called the Arab Higher Fighters executed “two Arab land brokers”
accused of having sold land to Jews.
1947(27th
of Tishrei, 5708): Parashat Bereshit
1947:
“Twenty British constables armed with Sten guns guarded the American consulate
against possible Arab attack today after the United States announced its
support of the partition of Palestine…The precautionary measures followed the
bombing of the Swedish consulate…by Arabs…which was believed to have been an
answer to a speech by the Swedish chairman of the United Nations special
committee on Palestine” at the United Nations which is meeting a Lake Success,
NY.
1947: The
University of Michigan, led by Dan Dworsky who played “linebacker, fullback and
center” defeated the University of Pittsburgh for their third straight win of
the season
1948:
At
1948”
“Where’s Charley?” a musical with lyrics and music by Frank Loesser opened on
Broadway at the St. James Theatre where it “ran for 792 performances.
1948:
After the completion of Operation Taskit – an aerial operation the mapped “the
deployment of enemy forces west of the Jordan River that took five nights to
complete – David Judah, the IAF’s Director of Operations “sent a letter of
congratulations and appreciation to Eddy Kaplansky, who had piloted all five
flights.”
1948: Karl Paley Cohen, a physical
chemist who became a mathematical physicist and helped usher in the age of
nuclear energy and reactor development while working on the Manhattan Project
and his wife Marthe gave birth to the third child, Beatrix.
1949(18th
of Tishrei, 5710): Fourth Day of Sukkoth
1949:
The Paul Baerwald School, “the first United States school of social work in
Europe,” which “will train Jewish
welfare workers in United States techniques for work in their home communities
in Europe, North America and Israel” “was officially dedicated in Versailles
tonight” at a ceremony attend by the U.S. Ambassador to France, “former Premier
Leon Blum and Baron Guy de Rothschild, president of the Jewish Community of
France…”
1950:
In Haifa, “Munio Weinraub (Gitai), an architect trained at the pre-war German
Bauhaus art school, and Efratia Margalit, an intellectual, storyteller and a
teacher” gave birth to Technion and Cal-Berkley architect turned film maker
Amos Gitai, the husband of Rivka Gitai.
http://www.amosgitai.com/html/home.asp
1951(11th
of Tishrei, 5712): In New York City, sixty-eight-year-old Manya Shaikevitsch,
the Odessa, Ukraine born daughter “Nokhem Mayer Shaikevitsch, a novelist and
playwright and Dinneh Bercinsky, the wife of Charles Zunser and the
daughter-in-law of poet Eliakum Zunser who gained as American “journalist,
playwright and artist Miriam Shomer Zunser passed away today.
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/zunser-miriam-shomer
1951:
In Paris, Ruth Ambrunn and Alter Mojze Goldman gave birth to Jean-Jacques
Goldman a Grammy Awards-winning French singer-songwriter, who is hugely popular
in the French-speaking world and since 2003, was the second-highest-grossing
French living pop singer, after Johnny Hallyday.
1952(22nd
of Tishrei, 5713): Shmini Atzeret and Shabbat
1952: Howie Greenfield
knocked on Neil Sedaka’s door and asked him if “he wanted to write songs” with
him. Sedaka “didn’t know how to write
songs and didn’t have any inclination” to learn how to. Greenfield would convince him to change his
mind and Sedaka later said it was a good thing “because we ended up writing
over 300 songs together over the next 20 years.”
1953:
NBC broadcast Paddy Chayefsky’s teleplay “The Bachelor Party” on the Philco
Television Playhous.
1953:
General Mordechai Makleff, the 3rd Chief of Staff of the IDF, and at
32 the youngest to hold the position, announced his intention to resign after
repeated disputes with government leaders.
1954:
“On Your Toes” featuring a
performance by David Winters, born David
Wiezer in London to Jewish parents Saide and Samuel Weizer, opened on Broadway
at the 46th Street Theatre.
1955:
In Los Angeles, premiere of “Oklahoma,” the cinematic version of the Rogers and
Hammerstein musical directed by Fred Zinnemann.
1955:
Funeral are scheduled to be held today in Jerusalem for 81-year-old Dr. Hantke,
an early supporter of and close assistant of Theodore Herzl who was the
long-time director of the JNF (Jewish National Fund).
1956:
The two act version of A View from the Bridge by Arthur Miller, the New York born
son of women’s clothing manufacturer Isidore Miller, “opened at the New
Watergate Theatre Club in London’s West End.”
1956:
On CBS, “Playhouse 90” a live dramatic anthology show, broadcast the Peabody
award winning “Requiem for a Heavyweight” with a cast that included Ed Wynn,
Max Baer, Eddie Cantor, Ned Glass and Max Rosenbloom.
1957(16th
of Tishrei, 5718): Second Day of Sukkoth
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1957/10/12/84773530.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1958: Three
days after its premiere, ”The Old Man and the Sea,” a movie version of the
novel with a screenplay by Peter Viertel and music by Dimitri Tiomkin was
released throughout the United States.
1959(9th
of Tishrei, 5720): Erev Yom Kippur
1959(9th
of Tishrei, 5720): Yitzchok Zev Soloveitchik, the Brisker Rov passed A native
of Belarus, he escaped the Holocaust and settled in Jerusalem. A leader of the
Haredi community, he advocated completed withdrawal from involvement with the
state of Israel. Unlike others, this
meant he opposed accepting any financial aid from the state.
1960:
“The Siege of Sidney” a historic film with music by English composer Stanley
Black (Solomon Schwartz) was released in the United Kingdom today.
1961(1st
of Cheshvan, 5722): Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan
1961(1st of Cheshvan,
5722): Leonard
"Chico" Marx passed away at the age of 74.
http://www.marx-brothers.org/biography/chico.htm
1961: U.S. Premiere of “King of Kings,” the biblical blockbuster produced
by Samuel Bronston
1961: U.S. Premier of the 3rd version of “Back Street” based
on a novel by Fannie Hurst
1962: Pope John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council or Vatican II.
The Council marked a turning point in improving relations between the Catholic
Church and the Jewish People.
1963(23rd of Tishrei, 5724): Simchat Torah
1963: According to an announcement in today’s issue, ”The New Orleans
Jewish Ledger has suspended publication after 68 years of service to the
New Orleans Jewish community.”
1963: Popular French singer Edith
Piaf passed away. The popular Piaf was
accused by some of collaborating with the Nazis while they occupied Paris
during the war. In her defense, Piaf’s
supporters pointed that she helped the Jewish composer Michael Emer escape from
occupied France. More to the point during the war she carried on an affair with
the Jewish pianist Norbert Glanzberg, Okay, so it’s not Schindler’s List or
Raoul Wallenberg; but saving Jews is saving Jews.
1964: “The System,” an
English film directed by Michael Winner and with music by Stanley Black
(Solomon Schwartz) was released today in the UK.
1965(15th of
Tishrei, 5726): Sukkoth
1966: “Mister
Buddwing,” with a screenplay by Dale Wasserman and co-starring Suzanne
Pleshette, the Brooklyn born daughter of Geraldine Kaplan and Eugene Pleshette
was released in the United States today.
1968(19th of
Tishrei, 5729): Fifth day of Sukkot
1968(19th of
Tishrei, 5729) Seventy-eight-year-old George White, the theatrical producer
best known for his work with Ziegfield and the “Scandals” series the
entertained Broadway audiences during the 1920’s and who was born George Weiz
on the Lower East Side in 1890 passed away today. (Wiki incorrectly shows his
death date as November 11)
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1968/10/12/76935592.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1971(22nd
Tishrei, 5732): Shmini Atzeret
1971(22nd of
Tishrei, 5732): Seventy-year-old Anglo-American Art historian Rudolf Wittkower,
the Berlin born son of Gertrude Ansbach and Henry Wittkower and the husband of
interior designer Margot Holzman who fled Germany for England because bother
were Jewish and who eventually became Chairman of Department of Art History and
Archaeology at Columbia passed away today in New York City.
https://www.nyrb.com/collections/rudolf-wittkower
https://arthistorians.info/wittkowerr
1971: In São Paulo into
Mauro Weintraub who Jewish and, Mariliza Bragança de Vasconcelos, who was not
Jewish, but both of whom were doctors who studied at Faculty of Medicine of
Sorocaba gave birth to Brazilian economist Abraham Weintraub, “the Executive Director for Brazil,
Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Haiti, Panama, Philippines, Suriname and
Trinidad & Tobago at the Executive Board of Directors of the World Bank
Group and its Affiliates.”
1973(15th
of Tishrei, 5734): Sukkoth
[Editor’s
note – the next three entries are incomplete.
They are not a catalogue of failure, but a record of very brave men,
fighting against great odds, not unlike those members of the RAF who fought so
courageously during the Battle of Britain – never have so have so many owed so
much to so few)
1973: An F-4E Phantom
carrying Kobi Hayun and Uri Arad was shot down by an Egyptian MiG-21
1973: An F-4E Phantom
carrying Yonatan Ofir and Eran was shot down by an Egyptian MIG=21
1973: An
F-4E Phantom carrying Asher Snir was shot down by a SAM or anti-aircraft
batteries.
1973:
During the Yom Kippur War, after
pushing Syrian troops from the Golan Heights, Israeli troops under General
Raful Eitan counterattacked into Syrian territory. During the battle for the
Golan, the Syrian army lost approximately 1,100 tanks. Some 3,500 Syrians were
been killed, and 370 prisoners taken. At the end of the battle “a special
paratroop unit led by a young officer called Yoni, made its way through
Syrian-occupied territory, and in a dramatic rescue operation,” evacuated
Lieutenant-Colonel Naty Yossi, who had led a gallant tank attack. The Yoni
mentioned here is none other than Yoni Netenyahu, the man who will lose his
life three years later on the rescue mission at Entebbe. His second in command described the scene,
“Yoni attacking, shooting and his leading his men into battle, leading them,
not giving orders from behind.” By
nightfall, the Israelis were ten kilometers inside Syria and literally on the
road to Damascus. Despite this moment of
victory, the fate of the Jewish state still hung in the balance and the
situation was quite precarious to say the least.
1974: A
memorial service is scheduled to held today at Columbia for seventy-seven-year-old
New York City native and Columbia Journalism School graduate Alexander Herman
who worked as a reporter for the New York Tribune and as Sunday editor of The
Newark Ledger before joining the National Container where he became a vice
president while raising two children – Pat and John – with his wife, the former
Florence Rogatz Herman.
1974(25th
of Tishrei, 5735): Eighty-five-year-old Providence native and Brown University
alum Max Grant, the philanthropist who “invented the fare collection meter used
by many transit companies” and the eventually lead of Grant Money Meters passed
away today.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1974/10/12/99189585.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
1974: Sylva
Zalmanson, who had been freed on August 22nd after having served “4
years of a 10-year sentence imposed at the end of the 1970 Leningrad Trial,
arrived in Israel.
1974: Ten
people participated in the first of two demonstrations that took place in
Moscow today during which demands were made for the granting of exit visas.
1974:
“Child Under A Leaf” co-starring Al Waxman was released in Canada today.
1975: Debut
of Saturday Night Live, produced by
Lorne Michaels, or, as he was known when growing up in Canada, Lorne Michael Lipowitz
1976: Funeral services are scheduled to be held today for 64-year-old
Abram Solomon the Polish born refugee from Nazi Europe and executive vice
president of the JNF who is the husband of the former Helena Himmelblau and the
father of three children.
1977(29th of Tishrei, 5738): Five days before his 67th
birthday Sir Misha Black founder of the Artists’ International Association and
winner of the Minerva Medal, the Chartered Society of Designers highest award.
1977: The Jerusalem Post
reported that Foreign Minister Moshe Dayan told the UN General Assembly that
for the past 10 years, 1967-1977, Israel was committed, but to no avail, to
territorial concessions on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip in return for a
genuine peace. There was no sign that Arabs were ready for a settlement. And
the same can still be said today.
1978(10th
of Tishrei, 5739): Yom Kippur
1980(1st
of Cheshvan, 5741): Parashat Noach and Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan
1980(1st
of Cheshvan, 5741): Eighty-four-year-old Maxwell M. Geffen, the Brooklyn born
graduate of the Columbia University School of Journalism who made a career of
developing a series of “specialty magazines” passed away today.
https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1980/10/13/111299656.pdf
1981: “One
Day At A Time” starring Bonnie Franklin opens on CBS for its seventh season.
1981: “My Dinner with Andre” produced by George W.
George the son of cartoonist Rube Goldberg was released today in the United
States.
1983(4th
of Cheshvan, 5744): Seventy-year-old Belorussia born Yiddish and Hebrew
researcher and author Ruvn Goldberg who made Aliyah in 1934 passed away today
in Tel Aviv.
https://congressforjewishculture.org/people/5224/Goldberg-Ruvn-June-6-1913-October-11-1983
1984(15th
of Tishrei, 5745): Sukkoth
1984: After premiering at
the Cannes Film Festival, “Once Upon a Time America” a film that “chronicles
the lives of Jewish ghetto youths who rise to prominence in New York City's
world of organized crime” based on The Hoods by Harry Grey was released today
in the United States was released today into the United Kingdom
1985:
Birthdate of actress Michelle Trachtenberg.
1986(8th
of Tishrei, 5747): Shabbat Shuva
1986: “Jews held a
Sabbath service in Reykjavik, Iceland today and “prayed for their brethren in
the Soviet Union in one of several demonstrations on the first day of the
Reagan-Gorbachev meeting.” During the service,” which was led by Yosef
Mendelevich, who emigrated from the Soviet Union in 1981, the worshipers laid a
scroll on a table while others held up banners and pictures of Soviet Jews who
have been jailed and refused permission to emigrate. Rabbi Benjamin Lehman of
Israel said custom dictated that, in times of crisis, Jews should pray in
public.”
1987:
“House of Games,” which marked the directorial debut of David Mamet who also
wrote the screenplay with Jonathan Katz was released today in the United States
by Orion Pictures
1987: “How
An Orchestra Fell Silent” published today descried the demise of the White
Plains Symphony which Siegfried Landau served as music director for a quarter
of a century.
1988: ACT UP, an
organization co-founded by Larry Krammer “had one of its most successful
demonstrations (both in terms of size and in terms of national media coverage)
when it successfully shut down the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) for a
day” today.
1989(12th
of Tishrei, 5750): Just days before his 83rd birthday Pennsylvania
native Theodore Lorber who “was a member of the United States Fencing Team at
the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics passed away today.
1989(12th
of Tishrei, 5750): Eighty-five-year architect Percival Goodman, known for the
many synagogues he designed and for his willingness to challenge the visions
and power of Robert Moses who was the husband of Naomi Goodman with whom he had
two children – George and Joel – passed away today.
https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/12/obituaries/percival-goodman-85-synagogue-designer-dies.html
1989:
Today, Albert J. Amateau provided a sworn statement “on the allegations that
Armenians suffered ‘genocide’ by the government of the Ottoman Empire.”
http://www.sephardicstudies.org/aa3.html
1990(22nd
of Tishrei, 5751): Shmini Atzeret
1990(22nd
of Tishrei, 5751): Jewish “educator” Bernice F. London passe aay today.
1990:
“Several thousand Orthodox Jews, enveloped in religious fervor, danced and sang
holding Torah scrolls at the base of the Western Wall tonight, celebrating the
end of a religious holiday as hundreds of Israeli soldiers stood guard from all
sides.”
1990: Work is to begin next spring in Manhasset, L.I., on a
Holocaust resource center that will serve as a combination memorial, museum and
education center. The center will go up on a portion of the property owned and
occupied by Temple Judea, a synagogue at 333 Searingtown Road, where that road
meets the westbound service road of the Long Island Expressway. Temple Judea
has donated the land for the center and members of its congregation are raising
funds for its construction.
1991: “Drop
Dead Fred” a “dark comedy” with music by Randy Edelman was released in the
United Kingdom today.
1991: “City
of Hope” featuring Gina Gershon as “Laurie Rinaldi” opened today in Boston and
New York City.
1991: The
first show of season two of The Simpsons, a cartoon sitcom developed by James
L. Brooks and Sam Simon was broadcast today.
1991: Nina
Totenberg’s reporting about the Anita Hill connection to Clarence Thomas
changes the scope of the hearings and opens the door to the whole issue of
inappropriate sexual relationships in the workplace/
http://jwa.org/thisweek/oct/11/1991/nina-totenberg-s-journalism-ignites-anita-hill-hearings
1992(14th
of Tishrei, 5753): Erev Sukkoth
1992: It
was reported today that work is to begin next
spring in Manhasset, L.I., on a Holocaust resource center that will serve as a
combination memorial, museum and education center” and which located on a portion of the property owned and occupied
by Temple Judea, a synagogue at 333 Searingtown Road, where that road meets the
westbound service road of the Long Island Expressway.”
1993: A
month after the signing of the Declaration of Principles had taken place in
Washington, D.C. between Israel and the PLO, the Israeli Foreign Minister “sent
a letter to the Norwegian Foreign Minister in which he confirmed that ‘the
Palestinian institutions of East Jerusalem and well-being of the Palestinians
of East Jerusalem are great importance and will be preserved.’”
1996: “The
Chamber,” a film version of the novel by the same name with a screenplay by
William Goldman was released in the United States today.
1997(10th
of Tishrei, 5758): Yom Kippur
1997(10th
of Tishei, 5758): Sixty-seven-year-old Boston born “Orthodox rabbi and Hasidic
Rebbe Isador Twersky passed away today.
(This blog cannot do justice to this sage so please read the items
below)
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/twersky-isadore
https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/16/arts/isadore-twersky-of-harvard-and-the-hasidim-dies-at-67.html
1998: The New York Times book section featured
a review of Phillip Roth’s novel, I Married A Communist.
2000:
Avraham Shochat began serving as Minister of Energy and Water Resources (AKA –
Ministry of National Infrastructure)
2000: In
addition to his other duties, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer began serving as Minister of
House and Construction
2000:
Portions of the INS Dakar, the Israeli submarine that sank in 1968, were raised
from the floor of the Mediterranean Sea. (They were later placed at the
memorial to the sub and its crew located at the National Military and Police
Cemetery on Mt. Herzl.)
2001:
“Knockaround Guys” a crime-comedy co-written, and co-directed by Brian
Koppelman, co-produced by Lawrence bender featuring Josh Mostel and Dov
Tiefenbach was released in the United States today.
2001: The
Polaroid Corporation filed for bankruptcy marking the end of a company founded
on the dream and the genius of Edwin Land and his instant photography.
2002:
“Below,” a horror film written and produced by Darren Aaronofsky was released in the United States.
2003(15th
of Tishrei, 5764): First Day of Sukkoth
2003: In
“Are Jews Who Fled Arab Lands to Israel Refugees, Too?” published today Samuel
G. Freedman examined the plight of “the nearly 900,000 Jews who left Arab
nations amid an anti-Semitic backlash after the creation of Israel in 1948.”
2004: At
the start of the Knesset winter session, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon “outlined
his plant to start legislation for the disengagement” from Gaza “beginning in
November.”
2005(8th
of Tishrei, 5766): Brent Shapiro’s death today lead to the found of “The Brent
Shapiro Foundation,” “a non-profit organization which aims to raise drug
awareness” chaired attorney Robert Shapiro, Brent’s father.
2005: Israeli mathematician Robert J.
Aumann and Thomas C. Schelling won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science
for their work in game theory, which explains the choices that competitors make
in situations that require strategic thinking.
2005:
The Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage opened in suburban Cleveland. It is named for Milton Maltz and his wife,
Tamar. The museum describes the heritage of the Jewish community through sound,
visuals and interactive displays. The museum shares a campus with The
Temple-Tifereth Israel. Founded in 1850, it's one of the oldest reform
congregations in the United States.
2006(14th
of Tishrei, 5767): A double-barreled celebration as Sukkoth and Shabbat both
begin on Friday night.
2006:
FrontPageMagazine.com reported that Randy Weinstein is regretfully resigning
the from Student Government Association (SGA) at Georgia Tech when that
organization decided to provide funding for the Students for Justice in
Palestine (SJP) so that it could put on a program that provided “a one-sided
attack on Israeli anti-terrorism policy.”
2006:
As of today, General Universal Stores (GUS) which had been under the control of
Leonard Wolfson since 1970, was listed as two separate entities – Home Retail
Group and Experian - on the London Stock Exchange.
2007:
In Washington, D.C. the DCJCC as part of the Hyman S. and Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival a
2007:
The Oxford Union debating society raised ire among student groups and activists
on Thursday after its president announced that he had invited Holocaust denier
David Irving to come speak at the university.
2007:
In “The Horrible History of the Holocaust” published today, Adam Tooze reviewed
The Years of Extermination by Saul Friedlander.
2007:
Today David “Frum announced on his blog that he was joining Rudolph Giuliani's
presidential campaign as a senior foreign policy adviser.”
2008:
At the Jerusalem Cinematheque, a screening of the short film “So We Said
Goodbye” ( “נפרדנו
כך”) in which “65-year-old Yaakov is saying
goodbye to his sons and grandchildren, who are leaving Israel and recalls the
moment when as a child he bid farewell to his family in 1937 Poland. The film
was the winner of the 1990 Aliza Shagrir Award.”
2009 (23
Tishrei, 5770): Simchat Torah
2009: Israeli poet Efrat Mishor reads at Prairie Lights Bookstore in Iowa City,
IA.
2009: American fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv will have the opportunity this fall to
watch their team in action at Madison Square Garden, tonight when the Israeli
team takes to the court against the New York Knick in a rematch of the teams'
meeting in 2007.
2009: “Intersections Intersected: The Photography of
David Goldblatt,” an exhibition on view at New York’s New Museum is scheduled
to come to an end today.
http://designobserver.com/article.php?id=10557
2009: The Sunday edition of the Washington Post
included reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to
Jewish readers including Why the Dreyfus Affair Really Matters by Louis
Begley
2009: The Sunday edition of the Los Angeles Times
included reviews of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to
Jewish readers including The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
2009: The New York Times included reviews of
books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including Anne
Frank: The book, the Life, the Afterlife by Francine Prose and Mike
Bloomberg: Money, Power, Politics by Joyce Purnick.
2010: Israeli author Joshua Sobol is scheduled to
take part in a reading at McNally Jackson bookstore in New York City.
2010: The Knesset is scheduled to convene for its
Winter Session.
2010: Steve Linde reported today that “Irene
Rosenfeld, an American Jewish businesswoman who is chief executive of Kraft
Foods, came in second place on Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s 100 most
powerful women published this month. The list, which is headed by first lady
Michelle Obama, features several other prominent Jewish women:
• Mary Schapiro, the head of the US Securities and
Exchange Commission (17th),
• Elana Kagan, the new Supreme Court justice (25th),
• Sarah Jessica Parker, the attractive actress in Sex in The City (45th),
• Suze Orman, a personal finance expert, author and
TV host (61st),
• Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s chief operating
officer (66th), and
• Donna Karan, the famous fashion designer (96th).
2010: The 2010
Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Science was awarded to three recipients today
including Peter A. Diamond, a professor of MIT.
2010(3rd of Cheshvan, 5771): Seventy-four-year-old
Carla Cohen who Politics and Prose was a bookstore was more a cultural landmark
than a commercial venture, passed away today. (As reported by Ashley Parker)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/12/books/12cohen.html
2010(3rd of Cheshvan, 5771): Seventy-nine-year-old
Claire Rayner passed away in London.
http://www.theguardian.com/media/2010/oct/12/claire-rayner-obituary
2010(3rd of Cheshvan, 5771): Ninety-four-year-old
real estate developer Robert V. Tishman, whose work included the World Trade Center, passed away today.
(As reported by Dennis Hevesi)
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/13/business/13tishman.html
2011: Ethan Halpren is scheduled to host an Israeli
Dance Workshop and Marathon at the Jewish Community Center of Northern Virginia
featuring internationally recognized choreographer and instructor Ira Weisburd.
2011: Israeli pianist Ran Dank is scheduled to
perform the works of Chopin and Beethoven at the Merkin Concert Hall in New
York City.
2011: After more than five years, Arthur Mitchell
completed his service as Leader of the Official Opposition in the Legislative
Assembly of Yukon.
2011: ABC broadcast the first episode of “Last Man
Standing” co-starring Molly Ephriam.
2011: Under the agreement, announced
today, Israel is to free 1,027 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for its
soldier, Gilad Shalit, held captive in Gaza for the past five years..
2011: Unknown vandals scrawled "Death to the Jews" on four synagogues
and a vehicle in the northern city of Safed on tonight
2011: “The bridge and forward sail of
the ‘INS Dakar’” which are now on display in Haifa were raised from the
Mediterranean today.
2012: “The Gatekeepers,” a film created
by Israeli director Dror Moreh is scheduled to be shown at the New York Film
Festival
2012: “Here Comes the Boom” with a
script by Allan Loeb and starring Henry Winkler was released in the United
States today.
2012: In Washington, DC, Robin Jacobson,
the Librarian at Adas Israel is scheduled to lead a discussion about Comedy
in a Minor Key which “tells the story of a Dutch couple who harbor a Jew
during the Holocaust and the consequences of their relationship.”
2012: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced today that the elections for
the 19th Knesset will be held on Tuesday, January 22, 2013.
2012: Gina “Gershon's first book written
for adults, In Search of Cleo: How I Found My Pussy and Lost My Mind,
the true story of the hunt for her runaway cat was released today.
2012: Barbra Streisand performed before
the sold-out crowd at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn tonight.
2012: The leader of Hezbollah claimed responsibility today for launching an
Iranian-made drone aircraft into Israeli airspace earlier this week, adding
more tension to an already explosive Mideast atmosphere.
2012: Over seven years after he vanished without a trace, a Daliat al-Carmel
resident discovered the remains of missing Druse soldier Majdi Halabi two weeks
ago in a forest near Usfiya, the IDF confirmed today. Halabi went missing in
May 2005.
2012: “Fill the Void,” “the
award-winning movie debut from Israel’s Rama Burshtein” is scheduled to have
its Israeli premier. (As reported by JTA and Times of Israel)
2013:
The Eden-Tamir Music Center is scheduled to host “Mozart’s Women – Cose fan
tutte”
2013:
Shrek is scheduled to open at the Lawrence Family JCC in San Diego, CA
2013:
The Ninth Grade is scheduled to lead Shabbat Eve services at Temple Judah in
Cedar Rapids, IA.
2013:
The Hyman S. & Freda Bernstein Jewish Literary Festival is scheduled to
present “The Great Children’s Read: Bringing Books to Life” featuring Pamela
Mayer, author of Don’t Sneeze at the Wedding.
2013:
Construction and Housing Minister Uri Ariel (Bayit Yehudi) today called on
Israel to halt direct talks with the Palestinians following the fatal attack of
an Israeli man overnight in a settlement in the northern Jordan Valley, Army
Radio reported. (As reported by JP Staff)
2014(17th
of Tishrei, 5775): Shabbat Chol Hamoed Sukkoth
2014:
In Washington, Adas Israel is scheduled to hold Shabbat services for the first
time since Gil Steinhauf, the
congregation’s senior rabbi informed the community that he and his wife are
divorcing while declaring “I have come to understand that I am gay.”
2014:
Today “six Israelis claimed the world open water relay record after swimming
380 kilometers (236 miles) home from Cyprus in a challenge also meant to
highlight ocean pollution.”
2014:
“Two Israelis were arrested in the West Bank today after a group attacked a
Palestinian family picking olives at the start of harvest season — a frequent
source of tension.”
2014:
Lewis Black is scheduled to perform this evening at the Pabst Theatre in
Milwaukee, WI.
2015:
The New York Times featured books by
Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers including Pastrami
On Rye: An Overstuffed History of the Jewish Deli by Ted Merwin.
2015:
In Ottumwa, IA, Congregation B’nai Jacob which was founded in 1915 is scheduled
to celebrate its centennial with a Centennial Open House led by President
Harvey Disenhouse.
2015:
‘From Jaffa to Agripas a special project initiated by the c.a.t.m.o.n dance
group and its creative director Elad Schechter is scheduled to take placed for
the second time in Jerusalem,
2015:
Temple Judah is scheduled to host its communal Sukkah Breakdown, a sure sign
that the holiday season is over
2015:
The Jewish Museum of Maryland is scheduled to host Scott R. Benarde speaking on
“Stars of David: Rock ‘n’ Roll Jewish Stories” a “program that provides a look
into how Judaism influence the makers of popular music over the past fifty
years.”
2015:
In New York, filmmaker Paula Fouce, Anne Frank’s stepsister Eva Schloss
Geiringer and Jonathan Brent are scheduled to discuss “No Asylum: The Untold
Chapter of Anne Frank’s Story” after its screening this evening.
2015:
“Light & Noir: Exiles and Émigrés in Hollywood, 1933–1950 and exhibition
that tells the fascinating story of immigration, acculturation, and innovation
that influenced Hollywood film as an American cultural phenomenon” is scheduled
to opened at the Illinois Holocaust Museum & Education Center.
2015:
In New Orleans, the JCRS is scheduled to host its annual Chanukah Gift
Wrapathon.
2015: Near Gan Shmuel, next to Hadera, a twenty-year-old
terrorists “used his car to run over two soldiers waiting at the bus stop” and
got and stabbed three more people ages 15, 19, and 45.
2015:
The Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education is scheduled to
host “Courage, Hope, and Survival of the Holocaust by Eva and Les Aigner.”
2015:
Natalee Birchansky, one of the next generation of leaders of the Cedar Rapids
Jewish community is scheduled to host her first Art Show.
2016(9th of Tishrei, 5777): Erev Yom Kippur
“G'mar Hatima
Tova”
2016:
Atlantic Medi announced today in a memo to its employees” that “Jeffrey
Goldberg, a longtime correspondent for The Atlantic who has written frequently
about Middle East affairs is the 159 year old magazines’ new editor in chief.”
2016: “A 20-
year-old Arab man who threw firebombs at border
police during a riot in southeast Jerusalem’s Silwan neighborhood was shot dead
shortly after Yom Kippur commenced tonight, as police responded to two other
riots in Arab areas in the capital.”
2016: “Security arrested a Hamas operative who planned a number of
terrorist attacks in the Jerusalem area, including a suicide bombing on a bus
in the capital’s Pisgat Ze’ev neighborhood, authorities announced this
morning.”
2017(20th of Tishrei, 5778): Hoshana Raba;
2017: In the evening, the University of Iowa Hillel
chapter is scheduled to host Shmini Atzeret services and a holiday dinner.
2017: In London, JW3 is scheduled to host the last
screening of “In Between” starring Shaden Kanboura winner of the Ophir Award
for Best Actress and Mouna Hasa the winner of the Ophir Award for Best
Supporting Actress.
2017: “The head of a government bureau responsible for
clearing background checks told lawmakers today he has "never seen that
level of mistakes" when asked about numerous omissions in Jared Kushner's
security clearance application.”
2017: Today, “The Simon Wiesenthal Center said it would
remove Harvey Weinstein name from its “roster of honorees,” following a string
of sexual harassment allegations against the film mogul.”
2017: In the evening, the chaplains at Oxford are
scheduled to host a Shemini Atzeret dinner.
2018: The Atlanta Botanical Garden is scheduled to host a
lecture by “Rabbi Ari Kaiman of
Congregation Shearith Israel who will share a taste of the rich and beautiful
history of this special fruit from biblical times until today. Join us for
Pomegranate tasting and deseeding tips.”
2018:
“A judge dismissed one of six criminal charges against the disgraced Hollywood
mogul Harvey Weinstein today after prosecutors acknowledged that the lead
detective in the case had committed a serious error.” (As reported by Jan
Ransom and Alan Feuer)
2018: As part of the “Historic Jewish Atlanta Tour” series, the Breman Museum
is scheduled to host a tour of the Oakland Cemetery.
2018:
The Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center is scheduled to present a
lecture by Christian Picciolini, author of White American Youth: My Descent
into America’s Most Violent Hate Movement – and How I Got Out.
2018:
“Learning Officer Shereen Hunte” is scheduled to lead “a tour revealing objects
relating to Black History and Black Jewish History” in the collections
belonging to the Jewish Museum in London.
2018:
Dr. Steve Feller, B.D. Silliman Professor of Physics is scheduled to “lead the
Coe Thursday Forum on three of Leon Uris’s historical and important novels – Mila
18, Exodus and Armageddon.”
2019:
Netflix is scheduled to air “Home,” the final episode in the min-series “The
Spy” based on the life of Mossad agent Eli Cohen.
2019: Scene 75 opened today at The Mall at Tuttle
Crossing which had been developed by Taubman Centers, a real estate development
firm founded by A. Alfred Taubman
2019:
It was reported today, that “a group of Israel’s most prestigious writers,
entertainers, researches and scientists” including David Gross, Gavri Bania,
Alice Shalvi, Ohad Naharin and Michael Na’aman” “are planning to petition the
Supreme Court against the controversial Nation-State Law which critics say
discriminates against the country’s non-Jewish citizens.
2019:
In what many might say is a case of crocodile tears, it was reported today that
Hamas has condemned this week’s Yom Kippur synagogue attack in Germany.
2019:
This morning, the Tower of David Museum is schedule to host “a guided tour of
both the Citadel moat and the “Kishle”, one of the most fascinating hidden
spaces in the Tower of David Museum compound – an underground space that spans
the history of Jerusalem.”
2020(23rd
of Tishrei, 5781): Simchat Torah
2020:
In Cedar Rapids, IA, Team Temple Judah is scheduled to participate in the
virtual “Especially for You Race Against Breast Cancer.”
2020:
In Bexley, OH, Teferith Israel is scheduled to host a “Stroll through the
Scroll,’’ a one-of-a-kind exploration of five special moments in the Torah,
held, for health reasons, in the TI Parking Lot.
2020:
Urban Adamah is scheduled to present musician-teacher Anat Halevy Hochberg
giving an overview of Yemenite Jews’ history and culture, then leads a
sing-along of Yemenite songs
2020:
The New York Times features reviews
of books by Jewish authors and/or of special interest to Jewish readers
including His Very Best: Jimmy Carter, a Life by Jonathan Alter and Unacceptable:
Privilege, Deceit and the Making of the College Admissions Scandal by
Melissa Korn and Jennifer Levitz,
2021:The JDC Archives and the Jewish Book Council are
scheduled to host a webinar by David Nasaw on “Holocaust Survivors in Exile in
Germany after World War II.”
2021:
The National Library of Israel is scheduled to host a lecture by Professor Sean
Adams on “Negotiating Culture: Ancient Jews Writing in Greek.”
2021:
The London School of Jewish Studies is scheduled to present another session of
“In-depth Parashat Hashavua” with Rebbetzen Lauren Levin
2021:
The Jewish Film Center at the Jacob Burns Film Center is scheduled to host the
final screenings of “The Sign Painter” and “The Red Orchestra.”
2022:
“Those who want to greet Jerusalem Mayor Moshe Lion” are scheduled to have an
opportunity between four and six this afternoon.
2022:
This evening, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is scheduled to host
“A Live Conversation with Holocaust Survivor Susan (Hilsenrath) Warsinger and
Filmmaker Lynn Novick” a virtual special event for educators.
2022:
The Fall 2022 season of JWA’s podcast “Can We Talk?” is scheduled to premiere
today.
2022:
The 43rd Acre Theatre Festival is scheduled to begin today “at the
ancient port city.”
2022(16th of Tishrei, 5783): Second
Day of Sukkoth
2023: The Goldring Family Foundation Center for
Jewish-Multicultural Affairs is scheduled to host its annual Hispanic Heritage
Month celebration.
2023: Temple Judea is scheduled to host a Lunch
and Learn during which Rabbi Feivel will lead a discussion on “The Aleppo
Codex.”
2023: In Cedar Rapids, IA, Temple Judah is
scheduled to hold its monthly board meeting.
2023: Rabbi Soloveichik’s New Podcast and Essay
Series Parashah Politics is scheduled to begin today with a study of Parashat
Bereishit.
2023: The Kosciuszko Foundation Washington D.C. is
scheduled to host a special meeting with the award winning documentary
filmmaker, Aviva Kempner, a daughter of Helen Ciesla Covensky who recently
directed a film “A Pocketful of Miracles: A Tale of Two Siblings”, which
chronicles her mother’s and uncle David Chase’s lives in Poland before and
during World War II and the inspiring lives they made afterwards in America.
2023: The Streicker Center is scheduled to a host
a conversation with John Berman and Anderson Cooper, author of Astor: The
Rise and Fall of an American Fortune.
2023: In New Orleans, the Museum of the Southern
Jewish Experience is scheduled to host a conversation between MSJE Executive
Director Kenneth Hoffman and Professor Steven Bowman about Differences “written
by Dr. Nathan Mayer, a Union soldier who served as a battlefield surgeon and
fought at Antietam…”
2023:
As October 11 begins in Israel, the country is dealing with a cascade of
problems including, removing the bodies of the dead which often times takes
place under rocket attacks, responding to attacks from Syria and Lebanon,
coping with the savagery that included the murder of babies at Kfar Aza and
preparing for a move into Gaza.
(Editor’s note: this situation is too fluid for this blog to cover so we
are just providing a snapshot as of the posting at midnight Israeli time)
2023:
As October 11 begins in Israel, the United States is confronted with the
challenge of putting teeth into President Biden’s announcement of support for
Israel, how to deal with those who murdered American citizens and how to get
back American citizens held by the terrorists.
(Editor’s note: this situation is too fluid
for this blog to cover so we are just providing a snapshot as of the posting at
midnight Israeli time)
2024(9th
of Tishrei, 5785): Kol Nidre; for more see Weekly Torah Reading / Weekly Torah Portion
(downhomedavartorah.blogspot.com)
G'mar Hatima
Tova”
2024:
As October 11th begins in Israel, an unprecedented wave of anti-Semitism that
has included Hamas supporters calling for Zionist passengers on a New York
subway to raise their hands, sweeps the United States and the Hamas held
hostages begin day 371 in captivity while Jerusalem braces for more rocket
attacks by Hezbollah (Editor’s note:
this situation is too fluid for this blog to cover so we are just providing a
snapshot as of the posting at midnight Israeli time)
