A Time Line of Eretz Israel

From 3761 B.C.E. To 1948
By Rabbi Shlomo Nachman © August 29,2012 (last update 02.23.2016)
B"H

** The Land of Israel Historically, Culturally, Religiously and Rightly Belongs to Jews **

Since earliest times people have debated the rightful ownership of the Holy Land. I am under no illusion that I will solve this question here! My intention is merely to demonstrate that the Jews have always lived in and considered Israel to be our Home. No other people can match the Jewish claim to the Land.

Note: Dates of antiquity are always debatable so these should not be accepted as definitive. This list is a work in progress. Corrections/additions/updates are regular made and input is sincerely invited (please indicate your sources when possible).

Genesis 12:1 Now HaShem had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee:
12:2 And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing:
12:3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

Note:

1 HH -- 3761 BCE: Creation of the Earth by HaShem (Genesis 1:1-2:3).

929 HH -- 2831 BCE: Adam died

1056 HH -- 2704 BCE: Noach (Noah) born (Genesis 5:29).

Circa 1261 HH -- 2500 BCE: First houses built in Y'rushalayim -- known as Rushalim in the Egyptian Execration texts of the Middle Kingdom (i.e. 11th dynasty: 2000 to 1700 BCE) according to the majority view of archeology; this area was located in what is now the known as the City of David: which is adjacent to the Dung Gate of the Old City.

1558 HH -- 2203 BCE: Shem ben Noach ('Shem, the [eldest] son of Noah' and progenitor of the Semitic people) born.

1611 HH -- 2150 BCE: The Global Flood (Genesis 7,8).

1861 - 2061 HH -- 2000-1700 BCE: Egypt's Middle Kingdom period.

1879 HH -- 1882 BCE: Terach (Avram/Abraham's father) born. According to Talmud he was an idol maker.

1948 HH -- 1813 BCE: Avram the Semite (who was renamed Avraham/Abraham; the descendant of Shem through Terach) was born (Genesis 11:26).

2018 HH -- 1743 BCE Initial covenant with Avraham implemented (Genesis 12:1-3, 15:4).

2018 -- 2238 HH -- 1742 -- 1522 BCE: Avraham and his Hebrew descendants through his wife Sarah (possibly the same people group referred to as the Habiru by independent Egyptian, Sumerian, Akkadian, Hittite, Mitanni, and Ugaritic sources) settle in the Land of Canaan (Eretz Israel) after leaving Ur of the Chaldees (located in modern Iraq: the same general region where the Garden of Eden is believed to have been: a few miles south of Baghdad). Therefore, Eretz Israel has been home to the People of the Hebrew Covenant (Jewish) people since at least 1742 BCE. Others were there before but none of them still exist as a people nor maintained a presence in the Land. The Jews did both.

2049 HH -- 1712 BCE: Yitz'chak (Isaac) born (Genesis 17:19) to Avraham and Sarah as promised by HaShem.

HaShem declares the promises given to Avraham will pass only through Yitz'chak (Isaac), his son Ya'akov (Jacob), and the subsequent Hebrews/Israelites/Jews.
HaShem specifically declares that this blessing will not pass through Ishmael's line (i.e. the Northern Arabs and seed of their lack of faith). Ishmael is described as a "wild and violent man"-- Genesis 16:12. The Torah is clear that the Arab Muslims are not the spiritual descendants of Avraham but would be usurpers of the Promise (Genesis 21:10-12).
Note: Despite the extensiveness of the Semitic linguistic and racial group the term anti-Semitic was coined in the late 19th century in Germany as a more scientific-sounding term for Judenhass ("Jew-hatred"). It only applies to Judenhass. See my study HERE for more on this.

Interim: Land of Canaan settled by tribes including the various Semitic peoples (i.e. descendants through Noah's son Shem): Semites include the Hebrews (including the Semitic Jews through Avraham and Sarah), the Ishmaelites (the Northern Arabs), the people living to the east of Babylon and the Persian Gulf, the Assyrians, the Northern Arabs and others.

Note that Ishmael was born as a result of a lapse of faith on the part of Avraham and Sarai according to the Torah (because they doubted that HaShem would give them a child in their old age). With the birth of Yitz'chak (Isaac) HaShem specifically blessed and renamed Sarai Sarah, signifying the specially chosen status of her son Yitz'chak -- Genesis 16:4.
Ishmael's Semitic descendants multiplied throughout the land as HaShem forewarned in opposition to the chosen line of Yitz'chak (Isaac). The Ishmaelite jealousy of the chosen lineage continues to the present time. The modern Muslim adoption of the Roman coined name 'Palestinian' is an example of this Ishmaelite duplicity upon which Islam was founded.

2238 - 2448 HH 1522 - 1313 BCE: Due to a horrible drought Ya'akov (Jacob) -- who was renamed Israel by HaShem -- and his family traveled to and dwelt in Egypt (as described at Genesis 39:1 - Exodus 12:51).

2227 HH --1533 BCE: Isaac died.

2308 HH -- 1452 BCE Joseph died.

2331 HH -- 1429 BCE: Egyptian enslavement of the Hebrews began.

2367 HH -- 1393 BCE: Moshe born.

2405 HH -- 1355 BCE: Joshua born.

2480 HH 1280 BCE: The Exodus and the Giving of the Written Torah.

2521 HH -- 1240 BCE: Forty years after the Exodus from Egypt the Hebrews/Israelites arrive back in Eretz Israel and begin to settle it.

Circa 2540 HH -- 1220 BCE: The Philistines (like Goliath whom David slew). These were Greek seafarers descended from Noah's son Japheth. There is no connection at all between the historic Philistines and the Muslim Arabs who co-opted the name 'Palestinians' in the 1940's seeking to justify theft of Israeli lands. The only historic people called 'Palestinians' are the Jews.
The Philistines and other peoples of the sea arrived in the Middle East mainly from Mycenae and the Greek Isles. They were not Arabs (like those who claim the name today). The Philistines lived and faded away long before the ba'al cult of Hubal-Sin became Islam.

2560 - 2710 HH -- 1200-1050 BCE: The Israelites lived in Eretz Israel and "they had no king over them" (I Samuel 8:19). This was the period of the Judges described mainly in the books of Judges and Ruth and dealing with people like Shimshon (Samson), Devorah, Rut (Ruth), and Gideon, down to the reign of Israel's first king, Sha'ul ben Kish (King Saul, father of Jonathan, 'whom David loved').

2730 - 2750 -- 1030 - 1010 BCE: Reign of Sha'ul ben Kish, the first King of Israel.

2750 - 2790 -- 1010-970 BCE: Reign of Melekh David begins:

2790 - 2829 HH -- 970-931 BCE: David's son (with Bathsheba) Shlomo the Wise (Solomon) born and rules:

2804 HH -- 957 BCE: First Beit HaMikdash (the Y'rushalayim Temple of HaShem: 'House of the Holy') is built by Shlomo on the Har haBayit (the Temple Mount: see 1 HH above for more on this). The Beit HaMikdash becomes the only acceptable place for Jewish sacrifices to be performed, replacing the portable sanctuary and localized alters used in the Sinai Desert during the Exodus. Now the City of David truly becomes the City of our God, the prime location of His worship.

2830 HH -- 931 BCE: King Shlomo died in Y'rushalayim and was buried there after 40 years as ruler of Israel.

2830 - 2848 HH -- 931 - 913 BCE: Rehoboam rules Judah (the southern Houses of Judah and Benjamin based in Jerusalem).

2830 - 2851 HH -- 931 - 910 BCE: Jeroboam I rules Israel (or 'Ephraim,' the northern ten houses of Israel). Jeroboam I established Shechem as his first capital. He later moved it to Tirzah.

2847 - 2849 HH -- 913 - 911 BCE: Abijah ruled Judah.

2849 - 2890 HH -- 911 - 870 BCE: Asa ruled Judah.

2880 - 2851 HH -- 910 - 909 BCE: Nadab (son of Jeroboam) ruled Israel.

2851 - 2874 HH -- 909 - 886 BCE: Baasha assassinated Nadab and ruled Israel.

2874 - 2875 HH -- 886 - 885 BCE: Elah, son of Baasha, ruled Israel.

2875 HH -- 885 BCE: Zimri assassinated Elah and reigned for only seven days before committing suicide. Omri was selected to replace him as King of Israel.

2875 - 2960 HH --885-880 BCE: War between Omri and Tibni for the throne.

2875 - 2886 HH --885-874 BCE: Omri killed Tibni and rules as Israel's king.

2881 HH --879 BCE: Omri moved the capital of Israel from Tirzah to Samaria.

2886 - 2907 HH --874-853 BCE: King Ahab (Omri's son) is killed in battle and his wife Jezebel reigns as Queen.

2890 - 2912 HH --870-848 BCE: Jehoshaphat ruled over Judah.

2907 - 2909 HH --853-851 BCE: Ahaziah (son of Ahab) ruled Israel until he died in an accident.

3010 - 3035 HH --750-725 BCE: The famed Israelite Prophets Amos, Hosea, Isaiah conduct their ministries.

3038 - 3039 HH --722/721 BCE: Northern Kingdom of Israel is destroyed by the Assyrians.

3040 HH --720 BCE: Negotiating with the Pagan Tiglath-Pileser (the king of Assyria), Ahaz (the King of Judah), ordered Urijah (the priest of HaShem) to use Shlomo's consecrated vessels to perform the morning and evening offerings at the Beit HaMikdash (the Y'rushalayim Temple) on a new altar modeled after one Tiglath-Pileser used for his gods. Urijah the priest obeyed Ahaz and consequently the fury of HaShem at this blasphemy mounted against Ahaz and all of Judah.

3044 HH --716 BCE: Hezekiah, the King of Y'rushalayim -- with the help of HaShem and His prophet Isaiah -- successfully resisted an Assyrian attempt to capture the Holy City of David (II Chronicles 32).

3060 HH --701 BCE: Assyrian ruler Sennacherib besieges Y'rushalayim (Jerusalem).

3149 - 3223 HH -- 612 - 538 BCE: Neo-Babylonian - Chaldean period.

3156 HH -- 605 BCE: According to Josephus (Antiquities 10.11.1) Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon defeated Egypt at Carchemish (in the end of the third year of Jehoiakim -- Daniel 1:1) in Syria and then "immediately settled the affairs of Egypt, and the other countries." He sent Jewish and other captives to Babylon before returning to the palace (in August) to be crowned king after his father's death. This being accepted, some scholars believe the seventy years of exile for the Jews in Babylon should be calculated from the Autumn of this year. For more on this see notes at 3317 HH -- 444 BCE.

3155 - 3199 HH -- 606 - 562 BCE: Nebuchadnezzar begins his rule in Babylon.

3174/3175 HH 587/586 BCE: The First Beit HaMikdash (the Temple built by Shlomo) destroyed.

Interim: The Four Sects of Judaism:

The Exilarch (leaders of the Jewish people in exile) were generally accepted by the exiled Judeans as the upholders of the House of David's (royal) lineage during this period. They ruled over the Babylonian Jewish slaves in all areas. Their rule was firm and demanding. Their goal was to preserve Jewish identity and tradition through these dark days so that Judah would not disappear as Israel (the Northern Jewish alliance) had.
Although the name Parush (Pharisee) does not appear in writing until later, the foundations of their authority was established during this period and their power as the leaders of the Jewish people solidified in Babylon. The first surviving non-biblical historical mention of the P'rushim (Pharisees) is by Josephus in 3797 - 3860 HH, 37 - 100 CE, in a description of the 'four schools of thought': the Parush (Pharisee), Essene, Tz'dukim (Sadducee) and 'the fourth sect' of Jews (probably made up of groups like the Sicarii and the Zealots. This group was noteworthy but of limited authority among the Israelites).
The Rabbinim of today emerged from the Parush and Rabbinic Judaism remains the authorized version of Jewish religion. This is reflected in the establishment of the beit knesset (translated as synagogue in the Greek). These were houses of worship and prayer (also known as beit tefilah or proseuchai in Greek) as well as the houses of Torah study or beit midrash. The Orthodox and Chasidim typically use the Yiddish word "shul." The word is derived from a German word meaning "school" and emphasizes the synagogue's role as a place of study.

3202 HH -- 559 BCE: Cyrus II ("Cyrus the Great" or "Cyrus of Persia" -- the first Zoroastrian Persian emperor) became king of Persia and enlarged his kingdom to include Media.

3220 HH -- 541 BCE: Small groups of Jews continue returning home to Y'rushalayim from Babylon to rebuild the city and its walls. Many Jews chose to remain in Babylon fearing the hardships of desert life.

3222 HH -- October 29, 539 BCE: Cyrus the Great entered Babylon itself and detained Nabonidus.

3223 HH -- 538 BCE: The "Decree of Cyrus" (see Ezra 1:1-4) allows House of Judah to return to Y'rushalayim. For more on this see notes at 3317 HH -- 444 BCE.

3223 HH -- 538 BCE: Construction on the Second Beit HaMikdash (Y'rushalayim Temple of HaShem) begins. This figure appears to be fairly firm and calls the 606 - 536 BCE time frame into slight question.

3224 HH -- 537 BCE: General Gobryas ("the Beef Eater") and five others assist Darius the Mede (third "king of kings" of the Achaemenid Empire) in pacifying Babylon.

3225 HH --536 BCE: First formal detachment of Jews return to Y'rushalayim (in the first few weeks of 536 BCE in time to celebrate Sukkot, the Feast of Tabernacles. For more on this see notes at 3317 HH -- 444 BCE.

3226 HH -- 535 BCE: End of Babylonian exile according to the calculations of Josephus (see 3156 HH -- 605 BCE). This figure appears to support the 606 - 536 BCE time frame.

3225 HH -- December 530 BCE: Death of Cyrus the Great.

3241 - 3246 HH -- 520 - 515 BCE: Large numbers of Jews return to Eretz Israel under Zerubbabel and Joshua the High Priest; rebuilding of the second Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple) beings.

3242 HH -- 519 BCE: The decree from Darius (see Ezra 5:3-7).

3246 HH -- 515 BCE: The Second Beit HaMikdash completed during the sixth year of the reign of King Darius. The Temple was dedicated the following year.

3251 HH -- 509 BCE: Birth of the Roman Republic.

3304 HH-- 457 BCE: The decree from Artaxerxes to Ezra to rebuild Y'rushalayim and its walls (see Ezra 7:11-16).

3317 HH -- 444 BCE: The decree from Artaxerxes to Nehemiah to rebuild Y'rushalayim and its walls (see Nehemiah 2:1-8)

3310 - 3360 HH -- 450-400 BCE: Reformation led by Ezra and Nehemiah.

3334 HH -- 426 BCE First decrees by Haman (may his name be blotted out), a fast ordered by Queen Esther, Haman's downfall and execution.

3335 HH -- 425 BCE: Haman's ten sons executed; Purim celebration inaugurated.

3427 - 3429 HH -- 333 - 331 BCE: Alexander the Great conquers Persia and Eretz Israel.

3437 HH -- 323 BCE: Alexander the Great dies.

Interim: Prelude to Antiochus IV Epiphanes

Eretz Israel becomes subject to Seleucid rule under Alexander’s General Seleucus IV Philopator (a son of King Antiochus III the Great, brother of Antiochus IV Epiphanes).
Israel remains an occupied people living in their own land. Jews are allowed to worship HaShem until the abuses of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (Epiphanes: Manifest God and the Illustrious). Antiochus IV Epiphanes outlawed Judaism and severely persecuted the Jews (see 3590 HH -- 170 BCE below).

3510 HH -- 250 BCE: Translation of the Septuagint Bible: Tanakh translated into Greek.

3530 - 3614 HH -- 230-146 BCE: The Roman Republic extends its reach into the eastern Mediterranean.

3560 HH -- 200 BCE: Establishment of the Jewish Qumran community (creators of the Dead Sea Scrolls).

3585 HH -- 175 BCE Selicid, king of Syria, plunders Y'rushalayim and murders many Jews.
Jason Maccabee becomes cohen gadol (high priest).
Antiochus IV Epiphanes, at the requests of the Hellenist sons of Tobias, invades Judea.

3590 HH -- 170 BCE: Antiochus IV Epiphanes

3588 HH -- 172 BCE: Jason Maccabee (who became cohen gadol (high priest) in 3585 HH (175 BCE) had an ongoing competition with the pro-Egyptian Onias III and Simon the Benjaminite for the position of cohen gadol. Jason sent Menelaus (brother of Simon the Benjaminite) to deliver bribe money to Antiochus in order to secure his position as high priest. Menelaus betrayed Jason and offered a larger bribe, thereby securing the post for himself.

3593 HH -- 167 BCE: According to inaccurate gossip at the time, Antiochus IV Epiphanes had been killed while fighting in Egypt.

Of these events we read:
II Maccabees 5:11-14 When these happenings were reported to the king [Antiochus IV] , he thought that Judea was in revolt. Raging like a wild animal, he set out from Egypt and took Y'rushalayim by storm. He ordered his soldiers to cut down without mercy those whom they met and to slay those who took refuge in their houses. There was a massacre of young and old, a killing of women and children, a slaughter of virgins and infants. In the space of three days, eighty thousand were lost, forty thousand meeting a violent death, and the same number being sold into slavery.
3594 HH -- 166 BCE: Around this point the true worship of HaShem come to be known as Judaism (the religion of the House of Judah): II Maccabees 2:21.

Interim: Judaism:

Torah is a living document and its proper observance is for a living people. It must be carefully interpreted and applied in harmony with current times and circumstances.
Seeking to concretize Torah observance to any set point in history is to lose its living presence and relevance
HOWEVER
Merging the truths of Torah with other religions or existing cultures and beliefs (as in Hellenization and Nicolaitanism (Christianity, Islam, the New Age philosophies etc.) is strictly forbidden by God. Torah and history warn against this danger.
Jews must be ever vigilant to guard Torah while maintaining its relevance and intention.

This challenge is a major cause of the current rift (in our generation) between the Haredim (Ultra-Orthodox), Tziyonut Datit (Religious Zionists), Modern Orthodox (this term is used differently in the US and Israel) and non-Orthodox movements. May unity be restored soon.

At this point (circa 166 BCE) the Pharisees were beginning to introduce the reforms that would become the foundation of post 70 CE normative (rabbinic) Judaism.

The Maccabean Revolt and Chanukah

3595 HH 165 BCE: Amidst this social chaos Judas Maccabee led his famous revolt against Antiochus IV Epiphanes and his Seleucid army in the famed Maccabean Revolt.

3597 HH 164 BCE: Judas Maccabee and his associates rededicate the Beit HaMikdash to HaShem's service.

Chanukah

There are various questions about the historicity and specifics of the the 'Festival of Lights' (aka Feast of Dedication) that we wont go into here. By tradition Chanukah is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple (the Second Temple) in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt against the Greeks. Chanukah (referenced at I Maccabees 4:56–59, Bikkurim 1:6, Rosh HaShanah 1:3, Taanit 2:10, Megillah 3:4 and 3:6, Moed Katan 3:9, and Bava Kama 6:6, John 10:22,23) is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of Kislev according to the Hebrew calendar, which may occur at any time from late November to late December in the Gregorian calendar.

3599 HH -- 161 BCE: Judas Maccabee seeks an alliance with the Roman Republic to remove the Greeks and sends Eupolemus, the son of Johanan and Jason the son of Eleazar, 'to make a league of amity and confederacy with the Romans.'

3618 - 3631 HH 142 - 37 BCE: The Hasmonean Kingdom of Israel:

Interim: The Essene Brotherhood and Qumran

3658 - 3685 HH -- 103–76 BCE: John Hyrcanus was succeeded as King and cohen gadol by his son Alexander Jannaeus.

3696 HH -- 64 BCE: Having established its presence in the Eretz Israel the Roman Republic (specifically Pompeii -- Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus) forced the Jewish Hasmonean Kingdom to submit to the overlordship of the Roman governor of Syria, effectively ending the semi-independence of the Jewish state.

Interim: The P'rushim (Pharisees)

3697 HH -- 63 BCE: Upon the death of King Alexander Jannaeus' widow Salome Alexandra, her elder son, Yohanan Girhan (John Hyrcanus) sided with the P'rushim while her younger son, Aristobulus II, sought the support of the Tz'dukim. This sparked renewed and increased unrest and violent clashes between the Jewish people. This infighting led to the loss of Jewish autonomy.

3699 HH -- 61 BCE: The Roman general Pompeii used the Jewish conflict between Hyrcanus and Aristobulus (which had led to a civil war) as justification to capture Y'rushalayim and inaugurate the Roman occupation period of Jewish history.

3712 HH -- September 29, 48 BCE Death of Pompeii (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus).

3716 HH -- 44 BCE: The Roman Republic became the Roman Empire as Julius Caesar was appointed 'perpetual dictator' by the Roman Senate.

3716 HH -- March 15, 44 BCE: Death of Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar/Caesar).

3716 HH -- 44 BCE: The chaotic aftermath of the deaths of Pompeii and Caesar and the burdensome requirements of the Roman civil wars allowed the Hasmonean Kingdom of Israel to temporarily reassert limited self rule with support from the Parthian Empire, but this was short lived.

3718 -3723 HH -- 42 - 37 BCE: Caesar Augustus and Mark Antony crush the Hasmonean Kingdom of Israel.

3729 HH -- September 2, 31 BCE: The Battle of Actium.

Interim: Herod the Great (3686 - 3756 HH/74 - 4 BCE) 3733 HH -- January 4, 27 BCE: The Roman Senate granted Octavian the honorific title of Augustus.

3740 HH -- 20 BCE: Renovation the Second Beit HaMikdash

Would be Messiahs

3757 HH -- circa 4 BCE: Simon of Peraea claimed to be HaMoshiach (Messiah). He was a former slave of Herod the Great who rebelled and was killed by the Romans. For information on identifying the real Messiah see my study What the Messiah Must Accomplish.

3758 HH -- 3 BCE: Athronges: He claimed to be HaMoshiach. He was a shepherd turned rebel leader. For information on identifying the real Messiah see my study What the Messiah Must Accomplish.

3758 HH -- 3 BCE: Menahem ben Judah: He claimed to be HaMoshiach. Allegedly a son of Judas of Galilee, this claimant partook in a revolt against Agrippa II before being slain by a rival Zealot leader. His dates uncertain. For information on identifying the real Messiah see my study What the Messiah Must Accomplish.

3753 - 3756 HH -- 7 - 4 BCE: Birth of John the Baptist (Yoḥanan ha-mmatbil) lived in occupied Judea. He was beheaded at around 30 years of age. He was an Essene ascetic. According to some he was the leader of a significant Essene community at Bethany by the Sea. According to the Mandaean sect John was HaMoshiach. Some charge that the followers of Jesus denigrated the true Messiah (John) to foster their Parush (Pharisee) imposture. According to Christianity he was the forerunner to Jesus, who identified John as the reincarnation of Prophet Elijah (Matthew 11:14, Luke 9:8). His ministry is affirmed by the Baha'i as well.

3753 - 3756 HH -- 7 - 3 BCE: Birth of Y'shua ben Yosef ('Jesus son of Joseph') in Roman occupied Judea.

3755 - 3756 HH -- Despite the sizable number of Babylonian Jews, Eretz Israel remained the home of the majority of the world's Jews and Y'rushalayim (Jerusalem) remained its religious, social and political heart until 70 CE (see below).

3772 HH -- 12 CE: Caesar Augustus appointed Tiberius co-regent of Imperial Rome.

3774 HH -- August 19th 14 CE: Tiberius became second Roman Emperor.

3785 HH -- 25 CE: Pilate and Caiaphas were appointed to office.

3786 HH -- 26 CE: John the Baptist was immersing people in the Jordan.

3786 HH -- 26 CE: Y'shua (Jesus) baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River and begins his ministry.

3786 HH -- 26 CE: John the Baptist beheaded by King Herod after the daughter of Herodias danced for him at his birthday party.

HH -- 29 CE: Y'shua is executed on the stake (the New Testament Greek term stauros means stake not cross. The cross symbolism was added later by the Pagan Bishops of Rome).

3791 HH -- October 18, 31 CE: Tiberius executes Sejanus (prefect of the Roman Praetorian Guard) for treason against him.

3796 HH -- 36 CE: Pontius Pilate dethroned. Caiaphas deposed.

3797 HH -- March 16, 37 CE: Death of Emperor Tiberius.

50-135 CE: Rabbi Akiva: The greatest sage of his generation. He was the established master of the revealed as well as the concieled (i.e. the Merkava or Chariot tradition) Torah. Many believe he authored the foundational mystical text known as the Sefer Yetzira (Book of Formation). His importanceto Jewish history can not be over emphasied.

3728 HH -- 68 CE: Khirbet Qumran destroyed by the Romans.

3826 - 3831 HH -- 66 - 70 CE: The First Jewish - Roman War (ha-Mered HaGadol: The Great Revolt).

About 1,100,000 people were killed during the Roman siege of Y'rushalayim. Many of these people died, not from the military assaults, but due to war-related illnesses brought about by starvation, water contamination, and diverse pestilences. 97,000 Jewish survivors were captured and enslaved by the Romans. Uncertain numbers of others fled the region and settled elsewhere around the known world.
Whereas the Romans had ostensibly entered the region as our allies (circa 161 BCE) they soon produced the greatest disaster in Israeli history, arguably prior the modern era under Stalin and then Hitler (may their names be erased from human consciousness). It seems we had forgotten Tehillim/Psalms 146:3 (“Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save”).

Tisha B'Av 3830 HH -- July 29, 70 CE: Destruction of the Second Beit HaMikdash (or Holy Temple) of Y'rushalayim.

3831 - 3833 HH -- 71-73 CE: Fall of Masada.

Between 71 and 73 CE bands of courageous Jews, known as the siqariqim סיקריקים or “dagger men,” rebels of the Zealot sect, held out against the Roman occupiers. For a time, they held various locations including Herodium and the fortress (מצדה metzadá i.e. Masada) of Machaerus on the shore of the Dead Sea. These attempts all fell before the might of Rome when Lucius Flavius Silva became leader of Rome's forces. Rome moved against the Masada Jewish patriots in the autumn of 72 CE. Once Masada was finally taken in 73 CE (3833 HH) they discovered 967 Jewish defenders who had all committed suicide, preferring death to defeat (may their courage and loyalty never be forgotten).

3892 - 3896 HH -- 132-136 CE: The Bar Kokhba Revolt: The last Jewish - Roman War.

3896 - 4061 HH -- 136 - 312 CE: The largely devastated and deserted Eretz Israel remained under Roman occupation. Throughout these years a few Jews remained in the Land among scattered Romans, Persians, Nicolaitans, Mandaeans, Gnostics, and others.

4073 --312 C.E. Birth of the Nicene Christian religion:

Constantine -- the Roman warlord who became Caesar Flavius Valerius Aurelius Constantinus Augustus (lived circa February 27, 272 - May 22, 337) -- gained control of the Roman Empire following his famous battle against Maxentius. Constantine was a worshiper of Mithras Sol Invictus (the Roman sun god) until the day he died. He established the Universal ('Catholic') Religion for political advantage by claiming to have had a vision of Y'shua (whom he renamed Jesus). Constantine claimed that Y'shua had appeared to him in the heavens, enshrouded by the Sun (the sacred emblem of Sol Invictus) and ordered him to "fight and conquer" under the sign of the Chi-Rho (a form of the ancient Pagan cross). To the right you see a Roman coin embossed with this Pagan symbol on one side and the emperor on the other. Y'shua of course died on a stake (a stauros) according to the New Testament, not on a cross.

Under the authority of this new all inclusive Roman political and ecclesiastical hierarchy the surviving embattled Jewish remnant of Y'shua's followers were finally silenced and his reform movement ceased to exist.

The Vatican Bishops unified and formalized the religious beliefs and hierarchies of the empire into the new Universal Doctrine and mandated these Nicolaitan dogmas through their councils, such as those held at Nicaea in May of 325.

Judaism was now facing its most dangerous enemy thus far.

These Roman Pagan counsels canonized the new hybrid teachings as official Church and political doctrine. It must have seemed to the Jewish and Noahide followers of Y'shua's reform movement that a wild beast had been set free in the synagogues of the faithful. And because of Constantine this beast had the claws to enforce its edicts! From this point on dissent was not only "heretical," it was suicidal! The Church turned against the Jews offering to convert or destroy them. Yet as always the Elect of HaShem survived these dark days.

The Nicene Creed appears in slightly different forms (and of courses languages). The Creed is usually just called the "Nicene Creed" but it is also known as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed, after its origin in the first two Church ecumenical Councils in 325 and 381. You can read the Creed here

458 CE: Merovech: Founder of the Merovingian and Frankish Dynasty. This dynasty is first documented in the 2nd century by the Romans. They lived among the Salian Franks of das Rhein-Maas-Delta.

4201 - 4231 HH -- 440 - 470 CE: The god-man 'Messiah' of the Universal Church was intent on destroying the Elect of HaShem! Jews earnestly prayed to HaShem to send the real HaMoshiach to rescue them and yet still he didn't come.

Moses of Crete claimed to be HaMoshiach. He convinced the desperate Jews of Crete to walk into the sea in order to return to Israel! He disappeared after that disaster. And the Suffering Servant continued to wait.

4061 - 4331 HH -- 300 - 570 CE: Eretz Israel was ruled by the Christian Byzantine Empire for a time. As Nicene Christians gradually solidified their control of the area they recorded that the population consisted mainly of Jews, Jewish converts to Christianity and various people they deemed "Pagan" (i.e. diverse peoples brought in as slaves and others who had probably inhabited Eretz Israel continuously for centuries (Samaritans, Ba'al worshippers and the like). This would include Greek Philistine descendants, Semitic Northern Arabs and others. They did not record the existence of any sort of specifically Palestinian society or people other than the Jews. Such never existed until modern times when it was created in opposition to the returning Jews.

500-750: Dawn of the Middle Ages (Late Antiquity).

The Rise of Islam

4331 HH -- 570 CE Muhammad al-Mustafa ibn Abdullah: Claimed to be the Final and Greatest Prophet (Nabi). He was born into the ruling Pagan Arab tribe of Quraysh (worshippers of the Ba'al Hubal-Sin) in Mecca. Check out the Islamic section of AllFaith.com for more information.

4375 HH -- 614 CE: The Islamic Persian Empire (ruled by the Sasanian Dynasty from 224 to 651) conquers Judea and Y'rushalayim.

4389 HH -- 628 CE: The Nicene Christian Byzantine Eastern Roman Emperor Flavius Heraclius Augustus (c. 575 - February 11, 641) defeated the Sassanid Persians and captured Y'rushalayim.

4399 HH -- 638 CE: Caliph Omar signed a covenant with the Nicene Christians of Y'rushalayim guaranteeing their protection. Eretz Israel was then divided into the Jund of Filastin (the name taken from the Roman coined Philistia after the Greek Philistines who occupied the land for a time), in the south (capital in Al-Lod and later in Ramlah), and the Jund of Urdunn in the north, with its capital at Tiberias (Tabariyeh).

4445 - 4466 HH -- 684 - 705 CE: Abu Isa (AKA Ishak ben Ya'kub Obadiah Abu 'Isa al-Isfahani), led a revolt in Persia against the Umayyad Caliph 'Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan. He organized the first Jewish sect since the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. His disciple Yudghan continued the faith after Isa was slain. Both men claimed to be HaMoshiach. Neither were. We continue to wait.

688-741 Charles "the Hammer" Martel. Son of Pepin of Herstal (635-714) of the Carolingian Dynasty. Martel gave the Papal States to the Vatican. He fathered Pepin the Short (714-768). Under Pope Zacharias, in 751, the Papacy turned against the Merovingians and deposed Childeric III. After this the covert operations of the Merovingians began and continues. Charles Martel and Pepin rise to power. He was the grandfather of Charlemagne.

4399 HH -- 691 CE: Construction of the Muslim Al-Aqsa Mosque, which includes the Dome of the Rock, on Har haBa'yit (the Temple Mount).

4481 HH -- 720 CE: Serene: Claimed to be HaMoshiach. Advocated expelling Muslims and relaxing various rabbinic laws. He recanted after being arrested and charged with heresy.

October 732: The Battle of Tours against the Muslim Umayyad Dynasty, also known as the Saracenes.

4507 HH -- 746 CE: 746, Al-Aqsa Mosque was completely destroyed and rebuilt by the Abbasid caliph al-Mansur in 754, and again rebuilt by his successor al-Mahdi in 780.

4794 HH -- 1033 CE: Another earthquake destroyed Al-Aqsa Mosque and two years later the Fatimid caliph Ali az-Zahir rebuilt it. His Al-Aqsa Mosque has stood to the present-day. May it soon be dismantled and replaced by the third and final Beit HaMikdash!

4832 HH -- 1071 CE The Seljuk Turks conquered Y'rushalayim and fought the Nicene Christians for control.

4859 HH -- 1098 CE: The Egyptian Muslim Fatimid rulers captured Y'rushalayim, Jaffa and other parts of Eretz Israel largely displacing the Seljuk Turks.

4860 HH -- 1099 CE: Nicene Christian Crusaders captured Y'rushalayim and slaughtered most of the Jews and Muslim inhabitants of the region. They renovated Al-Aqsa Mosque into a Christian church. Most surviving Jews were expelled or fled the area. Still, some Jews always remained in our eternal homeland, some using mock conversion tactics, others by keeping low and wary profiles. There has NEVER been a time when Jews have lived in Eretz Israel.

4921 HH -- 1160 CE: David Alroy: Claimed to be HaMoshiach. Born in Kurdistan agitated against the caliph before being assassinated.

4948 HH -- 1187 CE: The Muslim ruler Salah-ed-din (Saladin) recaptured Y'rushalayim for the Ummah of Islam.

4948 - 5052 HH -- 1187 - 1291 CE: Nicene Christian Crusaders struggled to regain the area from the Ummah but were finally defeated at Acre and evicted from Eretz Israel all together. In order to stop the Nicene Christian raids on the Middle East the Ummah pulled their people back from the coastal regions and utterly destroyed many towns and farms leaving the area a vast wasteland. This depopulated and impoverished the coastal areas of Eretz Israel for hundreds of years.

5011 -- 5021 HH -- 1250 - 1260 CE: Under Egyptian Muslim General Aybakhe the Mamelukes (originally created by the Baghdad Abbasid caliphs in the 9th century but by this point an Egyptian-based Arab soldier-slave based militia), established an empire that in time included much of Eretz Israel. Arab-speaking Muslims made up most of the population of Eretz Israel during this period but again there were always Jews living in our eternal homeland even when we were in the minority.

5020 HH -- 1259 CE: Warlord Hulagu Khan, the grandson of Genghiz Khan and brother of brother of Arik Boke, Mongke Khan and Kublai Khan, and his Mongols took Aleppo and Damascus.

5021 - 5278 HH -- 1260 - 1517 CE: The Mongol armies of Hulagu Khan confronted the army of the Muslim Mameluke General Baybars, the sultan of Egypt at Ayn Jalut, near Nazareth. In one of the decisive battles of history Baybars defeated the Mongols in one of the first setbacks suffered by the family of Genghis Khan. This Mameluke Muslim dynastic victory established Eretz Israel and Syria as Egyptian Muslim strongholds. Mesopotamia and Persia remained for the time being under control of the Mongol empire.

5056 HH -- 1295 CE: Nissim ben Abraham: Claimed to be HaMoshiach. He was not him.

Circa 5060 HH 1300 CE: By this point Jews from Spain and other Mediterranean lands were again resettling in their ancient homeland around Y'rushalayim in part to escape the bitter and mounting Nicene Christian persecution in Europa.

22nd of Tamuz, 5118 -- July 7, 1358 --Hundreds of Jews in Catalonia were murdered.

Circa 5173 HH 1412 CE: Moses Botarel of Cisneros claimed to be Moshiach. He was also considered to be a potent sorcerer by manipulation of the Holy Names of God.

5251 - 5293 HH -- 1490 – 1532 CE: David Reubeni (AKA Solomon Molcho?): Claimed to be Moshiach. Some sources say these were two different people. some think one and the same. He was an adventurer who traveled in Portugal, Italy, and Turkey seeking to create a Christian-Jewish alliance against Islam. Reubeni was a "swarthy dwarf" of a man who was eventually burned at the stake by the Christian Inquisition for his Judaism.

5253 HH -- 1492 CE: Bayezid II, the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, invited Jews fleeing the Catholic Spanish Inquisition to settle in the Turkish empire. Among other areas, these persecuted Jews settled in several cities of Eretz Israel joining those who had already returned. The Jewish population of Israel was increasing in part to escape Christian persecution.

5254 HH -- 1493 CE: The Nicene Christian authorities expelled as many as 137,000 Jews from Sicily.

5257 HH -- 1496 CE: The Nicene Christian authorities expelled all Jews from Portugal and many German cities.

5262 HH -- 1501 CE: King Alexander of Poland readmitted the Jews to Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

5277 HH -- 1516 CE: The first Jewish ghetto in Europe is established in Venice. Anti-Semitism continues to increase and Jewish ghettos begin to appear throughout Europa over the next several years.

5278 HH -- 1517 CE: The Ottoman Turks conquered the Mamelukes and absorbed vast areas into their expanding Ottoman Empire.

5286 - 5333 HH -- 1525–1572 CE: Rabbi Moshe Isserles (The Rema) of Krakow renown for his great scholarship and wisdom. He wrote an extensive gloss to the Shulchan Aruch called ha-Mapah, extending its application among Ashkenazi Jews.

5295 HH -- 1534 CE: King Sigismund I of Poland abolishes the law requiring Jews to wear special clothing.

5295 HH -- 1534 CE: First Yiddish book is published in Poland.

5295 - 5333 HH -- 1534–1572 CE: Isaac Luria ("the Arizal") teaches Kabbalah in Y'rushalayim.

5308 HH -- 1547 CE: First Hebrew Jewish printing house in Lublin founded.

5311 HH -- 1550 CE: Moses ben Jacob Cordovero founds Kabbalah academy in Safed.

5324 HH -- 1563 CE: The Shulchan Aruch: Code of Jewish Law is authored by Rabbi Yosef Karo and published in Venice two years later. Along with its extensive commentaries, Shulchan Aruch is the most widely accepted compilation of Jewish law ever written.

5328 HH -- 1567 CE: First Jewish university Yeshiva founded in Poland.

5338 HH -- 1577 CE: A Hebrew printing press is established in Safed, the first Hebrew language press in Eretz Israel and Asia.

5341 - 5525 HH -- 1580–1764: First session of the Council of Four Lands (Va'ad Arba' Aratzot) in Lublin, Poland. 70 delegates from local Jewish kehillot meet to discuss taxation and other issues important to the Jewish community.

5382 - 5390 HH -- 1621–1630 CE: Shelah HaKadosh writes his most famous work after emigrating to Eretz Israel.

5384 HH -- 1623 CE: First time separate (Va'ad) Jewish Sejm for Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Sabbatai Zevi

5387 - 5437 HH --1626 – 1676 CE: Sabbatai Zevi: Claimed to be Moshiach. An Ottoman Jew. Founder of the Jewish Sabbatean movement, he attracts a significant following and later converts to Islam rather than die as a martyr.

5394 HH -- 1633 CE: Jews of Poznan were allowed to forbid Christians from enter their city.

5409 HH -- 1648 CE: Jewish population of Poland reaches 450,000 (making 4% of the population of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Jewish), Bohemia 40,000 and Moravia 25,000. Worldwide population of Jewry is estimated at 750,000.

5409 - 5416 HH -- 1648–1655 CE: Ukrainian Cossack Bohdan Chmielnicki leads a massacre of Polish Jews. An estimated 65,000 Jews die, leaving the number of Jews at an estimated 100,000 world wide.

5416 HH -- 1655 CE: Jews readmitted to England by Oliver Cromwell.

The Ba'al Shem Tov

5461 - 5521 HH -- 1700–1760 CE: The Ba'al Shem Tov (Rabbi Israel ben Eliezer) founds Chassidic Judaism:

5481 HH -- 1720 CE: Arabs burn the synagogue being built by Rabbi Yehuda and Aliya immigrants and seek to expel all Ashkenazi Jews from Y'rushalayim.

5481 - 5558 HH -- 1720–1797 CE: Rabbi Elijah ben Shlomo Zalman (the Vilna Gaon). He was a famed Talmudist, Halachist, Kabbalist and foremost leader of non-Chassidic Jewry.

5487 HH -- 1726 CE: Jacob Joseph Frank (aka Ya'akov Frank): Claimed to be Moshiach. Claimed to be the reincarnation of Sabbatai Zevi and King David. Preached a synthesis of Christianity and Judaism with himself as Moshiach and cohen gadol (high priest).

5490 - 5547 HH -- 1729–1786 CE: Moses Mendelssohn and the Haskalah (or Enlightenment) movement:

5501 HH -- 1740 CE: The Parliament of Great Britain passes a general act permitting Jews to be naturalized in the American colonies. Previously, several colonies had also permitted Jews to be naturalized without taking the standard oath "upon the true faith of a Christian."

5501 HH -- 1740 CE: Ottoman authorities invite Rabbi Chaim Abulafia (1660–1744), renowned Kabbalist and Rabbi of Izmir, to come to Eretz Israel and rebuild the city of Tiberias, which had lain desolate for some 70 years. The city’s revival was seen by many as a sign of the soon coming of the Moshiach. Messianic hopes begin to rekindle among both Jews and Christians as thousands of Jews immigrate to Eretz Israel in a wave of Messianic fervor, including Rabbi Moses Chaim Luzzatto (1707-1746) author of The Way of God.

5506 HH -- 1745 CE: Rebbe Shneur Zalman of Liady (September 4, 1745 – December 15, 1812): The First Lubavitcher Rebbe and author of the The Tanya.

5501- 5511 HH -- 1740–1750 CE: Thousands immigrate to Eretz Israel under the influence of the mounting Messianic expectations. This large aliya greatly increases the size and strength of the Jewish Settlements in Eretz Israel and kindled greater Messianic fervor.

5508 HH -- 1747 CE: Rabbi Abraham Gershon of Kitov (d. 1761) is the first immigrant of the Chassidic Aliyah. He is a respected Talmudic scholar, mystic, and brother-in-law of Rabbi Israel Baal Shem Tov (founder of the Chassidic movement). Rabbi Abraham first settles in Hebron. Later, he relocates to Jerusalem at the behest of its residents.

5520 HH -- 1759 CE: Followers of Jacob Frank join the ranks of Polish szlachta (gentry) of Jewish origins.

Rebbe Nachman of Breslov

5533 - 5570 HH -- April 4, 1772 – October 16, 1810 Rebbe Nachman established the Breslov Chassidim.
In his masterpiece Likutey Moharan Rebbe Nachman says, "My fire will burn until the coming of Messiah" (Chayey Moharan, Likutei Moharan Lesson #60). This is generally understood to mean that his teachings will be a major force within Judaism until the Olam Haba is established. One Breslov sect sees a deeper meaning. According to Nanach Breslov, in 1922 Rebbe Nachman returned and revealed "the Song of Salvation": Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman to Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser, a pious Breslov Chassid, via a "note from heaven" (the Petek or Note). Many Nanachs (not all) believe Rabbi Yisroel Ber Odesser or 'Saba' is the reincarnation of Rebbe Nachman and that will return again as Messiah as soon as this "Song of Redemption" accomplishes it work. Those wishing to hasten the coming of HaMoshiach are advised by this sect to earnestly recite and broadcast: Na Nach Nachma Nachman Meuman

To date Messiah has not come. We continue to wait. When he does come, whoever he is or however he does it, his presence will be obvious to all.

"If you are planting a tree and hear that Messiah has arrived in your town, finish planting your tree, then go and greet him."

5533 - 5556 HH -- 1772 – 1795 CE: Partitions of Poland between Russia, Kingdom of Prussia and Austria. Vast majority of World Jewry now lived in those 3 countries. Anti-Semitism (Judenhass) was exploding across the Continent and beyond.

5533 HH -- 1773 CE: Dovber Schneuri (11.13.1773 – 11.16.1827). The Second Rebbe of the Chabad Lubavitch Chassidic movement.

5536 - 5542 HH -- 1775–1781 CE: The American Revolution: The guarantee of freedom of religion for all in North America inspires many Jews to immigrate.

5550 HH -- 1789 CE: The French Revolution.

5551 HH -- 1790 CE: In the new USA, President George Washington sends a letter to the Jewish community in Rhode Island. He writes that he envisions a country "which gives bigotry no sanction... persecution no assistance." Despite the fact that the US was a predominantly Protestant country, theoretically Jews are given full rights. American Jews begin taking part in what was called the "American dream" but their numbers are still small although their positive contributions are large.

5552 HH -- 1791 CE: France grants specific rights to Jews, allowing them to become citizens (under certain conditions).

5552 HH -- 1791 CE: Imperial Russia creates 'the Pale of Settlement' (cherta osedlosti) or Permanent Residency Order that includes land acquired from Poland with a huge Jewish population. The Jewish population of the Pale was estimated at 750,000. Another 450,000 Jews lived in the Prussian and Austrian parts of Poland.

5559 HH -- 1798 CE: Rebbe Nachman of Breslov travels to Eretz Israel.

5560 HH -- 1799 CE: French troops take Jaffa but fail to conquer Acre. Napoleon prepared a Proclamation making Palestine an independent Jewish state, but his unsuccessful attempt to capture Acre prevented it from being issued.

5567 HH -- 1806 CE Napoleon’s declaration of equal rights for Jews was formally repealed.

Hastening Redemption

5569 - 5601 HH -- 1808 – 1840 CE: "Hastening Redemption: This was a large-scale Zionist fervor movement that successfully promoted aliyah in hope of Hastening Jewish Redemption in anticipation of the arrival of the Messiah in 1840. For more on this Movement see: Hastening Redemption: Messianism and the Resettlement of the Land of Israel, Arie Morgenstern, Oxford University Press, 2007, p. 52.

Birth of Orthodox Judaism

5581 - 5621 HH -- 1820 – 1860 CE: In part as a response to the growing liberalism fostered by Moses Mendelssohn's Haskalah (Enlightenment) movement (see 5490 - 5547 HH -- 1729–1786 CE above) and European emancipation, traditional minded Rabbis began to define the nature and beliefs of what we now call Orthodox Judaism. While Orthodox rabbis say they are the orthodox or traditional form of Rabbinic Judaism and that their movement is not a new phenomenon but merely the declaration or canonization of what Judaism has traditionally been, this is position is not without debate. It is not traditional for rabbinic authorities to dictate the beliefs and practices of Jews as is now done throughout the Orthodox world. Judaism has, in some ways, suffered from the top-down system of beliefs currently enforced by the offices of the Jerusalem Chief Rabbis. The established Orthodox sects are resisting the influences of modernization and demanding faithful Jews to continue in strict adherence to Halacha (Jewish Law) as practice in pre-modern times. The Non-Orthodox sects, especially the Conservative Movement are in this area more traditional than the Orthodox in my opinion.

5591 HH -- 1830 CE: Greece grants citizenship to Jews.

5592 HH -- 1831 CE: Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha (AKA Mehmed Ali of Egypt) recaptured much of Eretz Israel but was forced to withdraw in 1840 under pressure from European rulers. He was Wali of Egypt, Sudan, Palestine, Syria, Hejaz, Morea, Thasos, Crete. The dynasty he established ruled Egypt and Sudan until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. He is considered the modern founder of Egypt.

5598 HH -- 1837 CE: Moses Chaim Montefiore is knighted by Queen Victoria, the first Jew to receive an English Knighthood.

5598 HH -- 1837 Galilee earthquake devastates Jewish communities of Safed and Tiberias.

5599 - 5694 HH -- 1838 – 1933 CE: Rabbi Yisroel Meir ha-Kohen (Chofetz Chaim) opens an important yeshiva. He writes an authoritative Halachic work, Mishnah Berurah.

Birth of Reform and Conservative Judaism

Circa 5611 HH -- 1850 CE: Rabbi Israel Salanter develops the Mussar Movement. While Jewish law is still considered binding, this view dismisses the then current philosophical debates, advocating the ethical teachings as the essence of Judaism. This belief set the stage for both the Reform and Conservative Movements.
"Positive-Historical Judaism" (later known as Conservative Judaism) developed and emerged shortly after the birth of the Reform Movement.

5602 HH -- 1841 CE: David Levy Yulee of Florida is elected to the United States Senate, becoming the first Jew elected to Congress. His election brings a sense of security to American Jews that aids in their assimilation into American life. This sense of safety through assimilation leads to the wide acceptance of non-Orthodoxy among American Jews. For the Orthodox this is considered a serious weakening of Torah observance and leads them to unprecedented rulings defining what is and is not authentic Judaism. This reaction by the Orthodox essentially created two Judaisms. Among the disadvantages this has caused is that today the vast majority of converts to Judaism are not accepted as Jews by the Orthodox despite their level of observance etc.

5604 HH -- 1843 CE: The modern Zionist movement is growing in popularity with the writings of people like Rabbi Alcalay and Rabbi Kalischer. As Jews had since 70 CE, many longed to return home to Eretz Israel but now more Jews were seeking ways to accomplish it.

5605 HH -- 1844 CE: The first modern census of Y'rushalayim shows 7120 Jews, 5760 Muslims, 3390 Christians.

May I repeat: 7120 Jews, 5760 Muslims, 3390 Christians. Despite it all, more Jews were living in Y'rushalayim than any other group in 1844 and aliya was only just beginning. The Jews stole no one lands!

5621 HH -- 1860 CE First Jewish settlement (Mishkenot Sha'ananim) built outside the walls of Y'rushalayim since 70 CE. This was long before the World Wars! HaShem was bringing His people Home!

September 7,1865-1935 Birth of Rav Abraham Isaac Kook. Son of Perel Zlota and Shlomo Zalman Ha-Cohen Kook in Grieva (Griva), Courland, (midway between Warsaw and Saint Petersburg). First (Ashkenazi) chief rabbi of modern Israel and spiritual grandfather of Religious Zionism.

5639 HH -- 1878 CE First Zionist Settlement - Petah Tikwa established.

5631 HH -- 1870 CE: Formation of Hovevei T'zion in Russia. This was an extra-Zionist movement that looked at the feasibility of a large-scale return to the Jewish Homeland.

5643 HH -- 1882 CE: Hibat Zion/Hovevei Tziyon members founded Rishon LeZion

5643 HH -- 1882 CE: Leon Pinsker writes Auto-Emancipation; the formation of BILU (an acronym based on Isaiah 2:5: Beit Ya'akov Lekhu Venelkha (""House of Jacob, let us go [up]." BILU promoted the agricultural development of Eretz Israel.

5657 HH -- 1896 CE: Publication of Der Judenstaat -- The Jewish State -- by Theodor Herzl.

5658 HH -- 1897 CE: First Zionist Congress in Basle, Switzerland

2nd of Tamuz, 5662 -- July 7,1902: Zionist leader Theordore Herzl appears before the Royal Commission.

The Third Lubavitcher Rebbe

5663 - 5755 HH -- 1902 – 1994 CE: Menachem Mendel Schneerson (aka the Lubavitcher Rebbe): Believed by many to be HaMoshiach. Those who believe he is Moshiach practice "Chabad Messianism" (aka Lubavitch Messianism). While he apparently did not oppose this view of himself, there is this: In 1991, he declared to his followers: "I have done everything I can [to bring Moshiach], now I am handing over to you [the mission]; do everything you can to bring Moshiach!" In other statements he appears to accept the role.

24th of Tamuz, 5664 -- July 7,1904: Theodor Herzl is laid to rest at the Doblinger Friedhof. Thousands of Jews took part in the funeral procession. In his will Herzl asked that his body be buried next to his father, "to remain there until the Jewish people will carry my remains to Palestine."

5665 HH -- 1904 CE: Beginning of Second Aliyah.

5665 HH -- 1904 CE: Death of Theodor Herzl (Binyamin Ze'ev Herzl) -- (May 2, 1860 — July 3, 1904).

5670 HH -- 1909 CE: Founding of Tel Aviv - the first modern all-Jewish city.

5671 HH -- 1910 CE: Founding of Degania - the first Kibbutz.

5674 (4th of Tamuz) HH -- June 28 1914 CE: Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary triggers World War One.

5675 - 5679 HH -- 1914 - 1918: World War One: "The War to End All Wars":

World War I began in the Summer of 1914 CE. Anti-Semitism (Judenhass) increases throughout Europa and in many countries, including the USA, attacks on Jews dangerously increase.
The Muslim Ottoman Empire genocides over a million Nicene Christians (especially Armenian Christians).
The Russians deport about 600,000 Jews.
18th of Elul, 5675 HH -- September 9 1914 CE: Septemberprogramm, a plan detailing Germany's specific war plans to defeat the Allied Powers is outlined by German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg.
17th of Cheshvan, 5678 HH -- November 2, 1917 CE: British issue the Balfour Declaration promising a “National Home” for the Jews in Palestine.
Over 1,172,000 Jewish soldiers served in the Allied and Central Power forces in World War I, including 450,000 in Czarist Russia and 275,000 in Austria-Hungary.
Over 2000 anti-Jewish pogroms were carried out. 60,000–200,000 civilian Jews were killed in the atrocities throughout the former Russian Empire (most occurred in the Ukraine).
Following the failure of the Balfour Declaration the Jewish movement to return Home to Eretz Israel continues despite increasingly global Anti-Semitism

5680 HH -- 1919 CE: Beginning of the Third Aliyah.

5683 (28th of Tamuz) HH -- CE July 24, 1922 CE: British Mandate over Palestine issued (activated September 26, 1923).

5685 - 5693 HH: -- 1924 - 1932 CE: Fourth Aliyah.

5690 (month of AV) HH -- August 1929 CE: Arabs riot in Y'rushalayim and massacre Jews in Hebron and Safad.

1928: Al Ikhwan: The Society of the Muslim Brothers: al Ikhwan al Muslimun is founded in Egypt.
Note: With US support the Egyptian government fell to al Ikhwan on February 11, 2011 as part of the so-called Arab Spring. Other countries also fell. As of this writing (8.2.13) the political future of al Ikhwan Egypt is being debated by the Egyptian military. The Islamic Ummah continues to spread globally threatening world security in general and Israel's survival in particular.

5692 HH -- 1931 CE: Irgun Zva'i Leumi ("National Military Organization in the Land of Israel"), the Jewish Underground movement founded.

5696 HH, 17th of Tamuz, July 7,1936: Arab Riots was published. The Commission recommended the partition of Mandatory Palestine into two states. The Zionist Congress would, while rejecting the actual borders, agree to consider the proposal. The Arabs rejected it out of hand.

5694 - 5700 HH -- 1933 - 1939 CE: Fifth Aliyah.

1935: Death of Rav Abraham Isaac Kook (see September 7,1865).

5701 HH, 12th of Tammuz -- July 7,1941 Two thousand Jews are murdered at Khotin, Ukraine

5702 HH -- 1941 Palmach - an early Jewish defense force established.

5703 (month of Nissan-Iyyar) HH -- May 1942 CE: American Zionists call for a "Jewish Commonwealth" in Palestine at Biltmore Conference.

5700 - 5706 HH -- 1939 - 1945 CE: World War Two:

5704 HH, 16th of Tamuz -- As of July 7,1944 approximately 437,000 had been deported from Hungary to Auschwitz since May 18.

Adolph Hitler (April 20, 1889 – possibly April 30, 1945 -- details of his death are contested) and the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP), commonly known as the Nazi Party established the Third Reich (Drittes Reich) seeking to establish global fascism under German Aryan control.
The ensuing Shoah (or Holocaust) devastated the Jews and countless others the world over.
Jews who could, continued to make their way to Eretz Israel or North America. By war’s end Jews from around the world were returning Home to Eretz Israel and establishing the Jewish nation.

For detailed information on the Jews of World War Two I recommend HolocaustChronicle.org For my experiences Go Here

5707 HH --July 22, 1946 CE: Irgun bombs King David Hotel in Y'rushalayim.

5707 HH -- February of 1947 CE: Britain refers Palestine issue to United Nations.

5707 HH November of 1947 CE: United Nations votes to partition Palestine into independent Jewish and Arab states.

Israel Reborn!

5708 (5th of Iyyar, 20th day of the Omer) HH -- May 14, 1948 CE: Israel is reborn!

5710 (month of of Tevet) HH -- January of 1949 CE: Israel War of Independence ends. Israel's first national elections take place.

5724 27th of Tamuz -- July 7,1964: Tens of thousands of Israelis paid honor to Zeev Jabotinsky, whose remains were flown to Tel Aviv from the United States for reburial. Born in Odessa, Russia, Jabotinsky was an early Zionist leader, author, orator, soldier, and founder of the Jewish Self-Defense Organization in Odessa. He also helped form the Jewish Legion of the British army in World War I. He was one of Israel's many great modern heros.

5727 (26th of Iyyar - 2nd of Sivan) HH -- June 5–10, 1967 CE: Six-Day War and the reunification of Y'rushalayim under Israel control.

Always More to Come!-- Your friend,
Shlomo of AllFaith

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