Tevet 24, 5573 (1812):
Yahrzeit of Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi (the “Alter Rebbe”), a student of the Maggid of Mezritch, founder of the Chabad Hassidic movement and author of the Tanya, the basic work of Lubavitch Hassidism, which provided intellectual accessibility to the mystical teachings of the Kabbalah. The Chabad movement today has branches all over the world.
Jan. 25, 1882:
Russian students from the University of Khrakov formed the Zionist group called BILU, the acronym of a quote from the Book of Isaiah 2:5, “Beit Yaakov lechu venelcha” (“House of Jacob go and rise up”), which called for the agricultural settlement of pre-state Israel.
Jan. 26, 1482:
Jewish printer Avraham ben Hayyim dei Tintori published the first printed edition of the Pentateuch in Hebrew, in Bologna, Italy.
Jan. 27, 1945:
The Russian Army arrived at Auschwitz and liberated some 7,000 survivors – those whom the Nazis had considered unfit to join the evacuation Death March. At least 1,100,000 men, women, and children were murdered in Auschwitz, more than 90% of whom were Jewish. Among the items found by the Russians were 370,000 men’s suits, 837,000 women’s garments, and 7.7 tons of human hair.
Jan. 28, 1790:
The French National Assembly granted full equality and citizenship to Portuguese and Avignonese Jews (both Sephardi), thus becoming the first European country to pass such liberal legislation. Exactly a year later, equality was also extended to the Alsatian Jews (Ashkenazi).
Tevet 29, 5766 (2006):
Yahrzeit of Rabbi Yitzchak Kaduri, known as “the eldest of the Kabbalists.” Born in Baghdad, he studied under Rabbi Yosef Hayyim, the “Ben Ish Chai,” and was regarded as a prodigy. Kaduri immigrated to the Land of Israel in 1922, earning his living for many years as a bookbinder, even while countless Jews flocked to him to receive his counsel and blessings. When he passed away at the age of 108, hundreds of thousands attended his funeral in Jerusalem
Jan. 30, 1933:
The Society for Youth Aliyah was established in Berlin. It rescued thousands of Jewish children between the ages of 12 and 16 from the Nazis and resettled them in kibbutzim and youth villages in Israel.
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