SEPTEMBER 27/ELUL 24
Year Unknown: (980 BCE?)
According to tradition, King David married Batsheva (Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah).
3240 (520 B.C.E.):
According to tradition, Zerubavel and the people of Judea began clearing the site in preparation for the rebuilding of the Second Temple (Chagai 1:15).
1791:
In France, Jews were granted full rights and declared citizens, the first European country to enact complete emancipation. The 40,000 Jews living in France at the time were thus the first to confront the opportunities and challenges offered by emancipation.
1917:
Birthday of Benjamin Rubin, American microbiologist who invented the bifurcated vaccination needle which played an important role in the eradication of smallpox.
5693 (1933):
Yahrzeit of Rabbi Yisrael Meir Kagen, revered author of over 30 works on Jewish ethics and laws including Chafetz Chaim and Mishna Berurah, founder of the Yeshiva of Radin, Talmudist and moralist. Earning his living as a teacher and shopkeeper, he consistently refused a rabbinical post.
1942:
Birthday of Arthur Blank, American businessman and co-founder of The Home Depot, the store which revolutionized the home improvement business with its warehouse concept.