Israel History

From the time of the Babylonian Talmud period, till today, there exists a group of people in Judaism called the “Graceful people of Truth” -אנשי חסד של אמת . Another name for this group comes from Aramaic, which is "Chevra Kadisha"-חברת קדישא- the sacred community.

One of the most memorable rabbis in the 20th century in Israel was Rabbi Yitschak Kadury who was living in three centuries. He was born in October 1898 in Iraq and died in Israel in 2006. The importance of Kadury that you are about to read gave him the nickname "zeqan hameuqbalim", the oldest kabbilist (Hebrew: זקן המקובלים).

Purim (Hebrew: פורים) celebrated on the 14th of Adar, is the most joyous holiday on the Jewish calendar. Due to Jerusalem's importance, it celebrates Purim on the 15th despite it not having been surrounded by a wall since the time of Joshua.

It all began 2400 years ago in the ancient Persian Empire.

Haman, the Persian prime minister, persuaded King Ahasuerus to issue a decree ordering the extermination of all the Jews. Haman was a virulent Jew hater.
 

On the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat we celebrate the Holiday of Tu Bishvat.
Tu Bishvat is "The New Year of the Trees" - Rosh HaShanah La'Ilanot‎.
The name Tu Bishvat is derived from the Hebrew date of the Holiday.

Tu Bishvat is mentioned in the Mishna as one of the four new years in the Jewish calendar.
In anciet times, Tu Bishvat was celebrated with a feast of fruits in keeping with the Mishnaic description of the holiday as a "New Year".
 

When the royal Hasmonean family overpowered and was victorious over the Greeks, they searched and found only a single cruse of pure oil… Enough to light the Menorah for a single day. A miracle occurred, and they lit the menorah with this oil for 8 days.

In the following year, they established these eight days as days of festivity and praise to

G-d.
 

Hanukkah (Hebrew: חנוכה) is an eight-day Jewish Holiday commemorating the rededication of the the Second Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE. Hanukkah is also known as the Festival of Lights.

Yom Kippur (Hebrew:יום כיפור ), Also known as Day of Atonement, is the most important Holiday of the Jewish year.
Yom Kippur falls ten days after Rosh Hashanah on the 10th of Tishreir. The purpose of Yom Kippur is to bring about reconciliation between people and between individuals and G-d.

Tisha Be'Av (Hebrew: תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב) is an annual fast day in Judaism, named for the ninth day of the month of Av in the Hebrew calendar. The fast commemorates the destruction of both the First Temple and the Second Temple in Jerusalem. The day has been called the "saddest day in Jewish History".

When Hadrian left in 132, the Jews began their rebellion on a large scale. They seized towns and fortified them with walls and subterranean passages. Under the strong leadership of Shimon Bar-Kokhba, the Jews captured approximately 50 strongholds in Judea and 985 undefended towns and villages, including Jerusalem. Jews from other countries, and even some gentiles, volunteered to join their crusade. The Jews minted coins with slogans such as “The freedom of Israel” written in Hebrew.

After the revolt of 115-117 CE, the Roman government took several anti-Jewish measures, and it looked as if the old nation had been destroyed. In 130, when the emperor Hadrian visited Judaea, he ordered the construction of a new city to replace the town that Titus had razed to the ground, Jerusalem. Hadrian wasn't always against the Jews.