In the time of the Holy Temple, on this day barley would be planted (70 days before Pesach), so it would be ready for the Omer offering.

 

c 1245 BCE- According to one opinion, the last of the Elders who were contemporaries of Joshua and outlived him, died on this date.  They were part of the unbroken chain of Torah transmission (the mesorah) as listed at the beginning of Pirkei Avot / Ethics of the Fathers: "Moshe received the Torah from Sinai and gave it over to Joshua.  Joshua gave it over to the Elders, the Elders to the Prophets..." who continued the chain of the mesorah.

 

Feb. 3, 1740- The Jews of Sicily and Naples were invited to return (having been expelled previously) by Charles de Bourbon.

 

Jan. 11, 1799- A state of siege was declared in Jerusalem, as Napoleon approached Gaza and Yaffo.

 

Feb. 3, 1892-  The Russian government closed the yeshiva of Volozhin.

 

Jan. 19, 1945- The Red Army captured Lodz and Tarnow.

 

Jan. 19, 1945- The Russians liberate 2,819 survivors of Auschwitz.

 

Jan. 16, 1948- 35 Haganah fighters on the way to protect the besieged Gush Etzion (Hebron hills area) were ambushed and massacred.

 

Feb, 4, 1968- The Dakar submarine disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea.  Built in 1943, the submarine was purchased by Israel in 1965. On January 9th 1968, following a refitting and further testing in Portsmouth, INS Dakar left Portsmouth and started her ill-fated journey. Six days later, on the morning of January 15th Dakar entered Gibraltar. Ya'acov Ra'anan, skipper of the Dakar, received approval to enter Haifa on January 29th. Later Ra'anan requested to enter yet another day earlier, on January 28th. This request was denied by the HQ, as the welcoming ceremony had already been planned.

At 0610 hours, on the 24th of January 1968, Dakar just passed Crete and transmitted her last known position. Two minutes after midnight on the 25th of January 1968, Navy HQ received the last coded telegram from the Dakar. No further signals came from Dakar. On the morning of the 26th of January an international Search And Rescue operation was launched. All available Israeli ships and airplanes joined the SAR efforts. Navy and air units from Great Britain, the USA, Greece, Turkey and even Lebanon took part in the SAR efforts.

On March 6th, Israel's defense minister, Moshe Dayan gave an official statement at the Kneset about the loss of INS Dakar and her crew. A day of national mourning was proclaimed. The IDF Chief Rabbi declared that all of the sixty-nine missing sailors would be considered dead according to the halacha.

The empty hull was discovered on 13 Sivan 5759 (May 28, 1999) in the depths.

 

Torah Portion

unknown

 

 

or view this week's triennial cycle reading.

Today is

Yom Shishi, 19 Adar II, 5784

Friday, March 29, 2024

 

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