APRIL 22/NISSAN 14
FAST OF THE FIRSTBORN
A fast in recognition of the fact that during the "Plague of the Firstborn" (which occurred at midnight of Nissan 15), G-d "passed over" the Jewish firstborn when He killed only the firstborn Egyptians. The prevailing custom, however, is to participate in a festive meal celebrating the conclusion of studying a section of Torah, thereby exempting themselves from the obligation to fast.
REMOVAL OF CHAMETZ
Chametz is not eaten from two hours before midday, and is disposed of an hour before midday for the entire subsequent 7 days of Pesach. The latter is done by: a) selling it to a non-Jew; b) burning the chametz found in our search on the previous evening; c) nullifying the chametz that has not been found by declaring it ownerless.
PASSOVER SEDER
The 7-day festival of Pesach (Passover)--also called "The Festival of Matzahs" and "The Time of Our Freedom"--begins at nightfall (technically Nissan 15). From the time of the Exodus through the present, Jews all over the world conduct a Seder ("order") -- a 15-part ritualistic feast that encompasses the observances of the Passover festival: telling our children the story of the Exodus as described and expounded in the Haggadah; eating matzah (unleavened bread), bitter herbs and the afikoman; drinking the four cups of wine; together with song, exposition and questions, all commemorating both our slavery in Egypt and our liberation on this night.
2448 (1312 BCE):
The first Paschal lambs were sacrificed by the Jews in Egypt to be eaten later that night at the first Passover Seder (Exodus 12:28), and their blood was sprinkled on their doorposts as a sign that G-d will "pass over" their homes when inflicting the final plague upon the Egyptians. This was an act of great courage, as sheep were regarded as gods in Egyptian society, and the Jews were technically still subject to Egyptian slavery. When the Holy Temple stood in Jerusalem, the Passover lamb would be offered and eaten by every Jewish family that made the pilgrimage. Today it is commemorated symbolically by the shank bone on the seder plate and the afikoman -- a portion of matzah eaten in its stead at the end of the seder meal.
5th century BCE (year unknown):
According to tradition, Ruth, a Moabite convert and the great-grandmother of King Davis, arrived in Bethlehem with her mother-in-law Naomi. (Ruth 1:22). The biblical book of Ruth read on Shavuot in synagogues, teaches "how great the reward is for loving-kindness."
1876:
Birthday of Robert Bárány (Jewish father), Austro-Hungarian otologist who received the 1914 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his work on the physiology and pathology of the vestibular apparatus.
1897:
The first issue of the Jewish Daily Forward, a daily Yiddish newspaper, was published in New York City.
1904:
Birthday of Robert Oppenheimer, American theoretical physicist and professor who along with Enricio Fermi has been referred to as the "father of the atomic bomb" for his role in the Manhattan Project. After the war ended, Oppenheimer lobbied to avert a nuclear arms race with the Soviet Union.
1909:
Birthday of Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italian neurobiologist who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1986 for her groundbreaking discovery of the Nerve Growth Factor, which has had implications for research into cures for Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s diseases.
1916:
Birthday of Yehudi Menuhin, world famous violinist and child prodigy who was born in pre-State Israel.
1923:
Birthday of Aaron Spelling, the most prolific producer in television history, with 216 credits including the wildly popular shows Charlies' Angels, The Love Boat, Dynasty and Beverly Hills 90210, amongst many others.
1943:
Birthday of Louise Glück, American poet and essayist who won the 2020 Nobel Prize in Literature for "her unmistakable poetic voice that with austere beauty makes individual existence universal". In addition, she has also been awarded the Pulitzer Prize, National Humanities Medal and National Book Award and was the Poet Laureate of the United States from 2003 to 2004.
1948:
The Haganah took control of Haifa.
1949:
The Hebrew University, temporarily closed during the War of Independence, reopened in provisional quarters in Jerusalem.
1969:
President Nasser of Egypt announced the abrogation of the U.N. cease-fire with Israel and the beginning of a war of attrition.