An altar dedicated to Zeus was set up in the Temple of Jerusalem by Athenaeus, the Syrian in charge of public worship.

3981 (220 CE):

Yahrzeit of Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi (the "Prince"), leader of the Jewish people during the period following the destruction of the Second Temple, known for his wealth and humility. With persecutions and exile threatening to break down the chain of transmission, Rabbi Yehuda decided to gather, record, edit and organize the statements of the earlier sages, setting the Oral Law down in writing for the first time, in the form of the Mishnah.

"I learned much from my teachers, more from my colleagues, but most of all I learned from my students."

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1968:

The order of expulsion of the Jews issued by King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in 1492 was officially rescinded by the government of Spain. In addition, the first newly constructed synagogue in Spain in 600 years, was dedicated in Madrid.

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1969:

Birthday of Adam Riess, American astrophysicist best known for his research using supernovae as cosmological probes. Riess received the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics for providing evidence that the expansion of the universe is accelerating--contrary to the then-current theory. This discovery was named 'Breakthrough of the Year' by Science magazine in 1998 and led to new research to understand the nature of the universe.

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1991:

The United Nations revoked the Zionism is Racism resolution by a vote of 111 to 25 (with 13 abstentions). Israel had made revocation a condition of its participation in the Madrid Peace Conference.

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According to tradition, the birthday of Reuven, first son of Yaakov and Leah, and the first of the Twelve Tribes of Israel (Genesis 29:32). He died on the same date in 2318 (1443 BCE) (Midrash Tadshei).

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1859:

Birthday of Ludwig Zamenhof, Polish doctor, philologist and creator of Esperanto, the international language meant to facilitate communication and harmony between all peoples. Unfortunately it didn’t.

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Yahrzeit of Ravina II, the co-editor (with his teacher, Rav Ashi) of the Babylonian Talmud, the prime repository of Jewish law and lore. His death marked the end of the Amoraic era and the beginning of the Saboraic era.

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1981:

The Knesset voted to annex the Golan Heights, extending Israeli law to the area.

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After Simon HaMaccabee's assassination in 135 BCE, his third son John Hyrcanus I (Yohanan Cohen Gadol), assumed the leadership as both the High Priest and ruler of the Jewish nation until his death in 104 BC. Within a year the Seleucid King, Antiochus VII attacked Jerusalem. After a year-long siege, John was forced to negotiate a truce and pay three thousand talents of silver that he removed from King David's sepulcher as tribute to spare the city.

After Antiochus was killed in battle, with the help of a mercenary army, Hyrcanus was able to assert Judean independence and conquer new territories in Transjordan, Samaria, Medeba, Shechem and Idumea (where he forced the inhabitants to convert to Judaism-- the first instance of such in recorded history).

In addition to expanded power that included Roman confirmation of Hasmonean independence, the economic situation also improved enough for Hyrcanus to issue his own coinage and initiate vital building projects in Judea including rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem destroyed by Antiochus.

In his will, Hyrcanus provisioned for his widow to succeed him as head of the government while his eldest son Aristobulus was to take over the role of High Priest. However, as we shall see Aristobulus was not satisfied with this arrangement.

2448 (1312 BCE):

According to tradition, the beginning of the 6^th Biblical plague in Egypt, of boils.

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1763:

The "Touro Synagogue" was dedicated in Newport, Rhode Island. The synagogue, named after Isaac Touro, its first officiating rabbi, is the oldest American synagogue still standing in its original structure.

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