2488 (1273 BCE):
According to tradition, the generation of Jews born in the desert were circumcised after entering the Land of Israel (Joshua 5:3; Seder Olam 11).
5030 (1270):
Yahrzeit of Rabbi Moshe b. Nachman (RaMBaN), the greatest Talmudic scholar of his generation, author, philosopher, mystic and physician. He is famed for his Disputation against Pablo Christiani, an apostate Jew, in Aragon in 1263. Nachmanides won the debate, which earned the king's respect and a prize of 300 gold coins, but he was banished from Spain after papal pressure was brought against him. So at age 72, Nachmanides moved to Jerusalem, where he established a synagogue which still stands today, and a school for Talmudic studies.
1497:
An order was issued by King Manoel allowing the seizure of all Portuguese Jewish children, between the ages 4 -14, for forcible conversion.
1566:
Pope "Pius" V, three months into his reign, rejected the leniencies of his predecessor and reinstated all the restrictions placed on Jews by Paul IV. These included being forced to wear a special cap, prohibitions against owning real estate and practicing medicine on Christians. Communities were not allowed to have more than one synagogue and Jews were confined to a cramped ghetto.
5391 (1630):
Yahrzeit of Rabbi Isaiah Horowitz (Shelah), kabbalist and author of Shnei Luchot HaBrit (Two Tablets of the Covenant) which combines Halachah and Kabbalah as a way of life. He moved to Israel in 1621 and served as the Ashkenazi Rabbi of Jerusalem. He is buried next to Maimonides in Tiberias.
1903:
Jews were accused of ritual murder after a Christian child was found murdered in Kishinev. During the subsequent three days of rioting, 47 Jews were killed, 592 wounded and over 700 houses destroyed. Despite a world outcry, only 24 men were sentenced to minimum jail terms. This pogrom was instrumental in convincing tens of thousands of Russian Jews to leave for the West and for Israel. The child was later discovered to have been killed by a relative.
1936:
Arab riots began in Jaffa in pre-State Israel. During these riots, over 100 Jews were murdered and 308 were wounded by the fall of 1939.
1943:
After 265,000 Jews were deported to the Treblinka death camp, and another 100,000 Jews died of disease and starvation, the remaining 35,000 Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto (from an original 400,000--30% of the entire population of Warsaw!) staged an organized uprising against the final liquidation of the ghetto by the Nazis. In the fighting that ensued, approximately 300 Germans and 7,000 Jews were killed. They held out until May 16, longer than some European countries with armies. Besides a few dozen fighters who escaped through the sewers, the remaining Jews were sent to their deaths in Treblinka.
1943:
The Belgium Jewish underground aided by Christian railroad men derailed a train with Jewish deportees bound for the extermination camps, saving several hundred Jews.
1948:
The Haganah captured Tiberias.
Huge THANKS to you, Steven. DUST AND STARS inspired my article today in JEWDICIOUS. We are thrilled to be partnered with your fantastic historical Substack -- and GRATEFUL for all you do. Happy Passover, MG https://jewdicious.substack.com/p/passover-poland-april-19-1943