Tammuz 15, 5503 (1743):
Yahrzeit of Rabbi Chaim ibn Attar of Jerusalem, Torah scholar and mystic, known as Ohr HaChaim, the title of his biblical commentary. He was born in Morocco and earned his livelihood as a silversmith. Many stories are told of his holiness and miracles. Later he moved to Italy, and he spent the final few years of his life in Israel. His grave, located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, is a popular place of pilgrimage and prayer.
July 12, 1884:
Birthday of Louis B. Mayer (Lazar Meir), co-founder of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer movie studio. He believed in wholesome entertainment and went to great lengths so that MGM had “more stars than there are in the heavens.” From the 1920s through World War II, MGM was the largest movie studio in Hollywood.
Tammuz 17, 2448 (1313 BCE):
Moshe broke the Tablets of the Law in response to the construction of the golden calf (Exodus 32:19; Ta’anit 28b). In commemoration of this and four other tragic events that occurred on this date, a fast day is observed. It also marks the beginning of the three-week period of semi-mourning for the destruction of the Temples, leading up to Tisha B’Av.
July 14, 1904:
Birthday of Isaac Bashevis Singer, Yiddish writer who won the 1978 Nobel Prize in Literature. In his acceptance speech, Singer said, “Yiddish has not yet said its last word. It contains treasures that have not been revealed to the eyes of the world. It was the tongue of martyrs and saints, of dreamers and Kabbalists – rich in humor and in memories that mankind may never forget... Yiddish is the wise and humble language of us all, the idiom of the frightened and hopeful humanity.”
July 15, 1205:
Pope Innocent III promulgated a church doctrine that doomed Jews to perpetual servitude and subjugation because of the belief that Jews had crucified Jesus. This fueled the fires of antisemitism throughout the Middle Ages. It wasn’t until 1963, with the Second Vatican Council, that the church doctrine was revised.
July 16, 1942:
The French police rounded up 13,152 Jews in Paris, including 4,115 children, imprisoned them under inhuman conditions in the Velodrome d’Hiver stadium, and deported them to Auschwitz. Only 30 adults survived.
July 17, 1888:
Birthday of Shmuel Yosef (Shay) Agnon, winner of the 1966 Nobel Prize in Literature “for his profoundly characteristic narrative art with motifs from the life of the Jewish people.” He was the first Israeli citizen and the first Hebrew writer to win a Nobel Prize.
The above is a highly abridged weekly version of Dust & Stars – Today in Jewish History. To receive the complete newsletter: dustandstars.substack.com/subscribe. Special arrangements available for organizations.