November 15, 1348- As the "Black Death" plague decimated Europe, (25 million dead) Christians accused the Jews of causing the plague by poisoning the wells in an effort to wipe out the Gentile population. On the 23rd of Kislev 5109 (Nov. 15, 1348), Rudolph of Oron, bailiff of Lausanne, Switzerland, sent a letter to the mayor of Strasburg informing him that certain Jews of Lausanne had "confessed" under torture that they together with their coreligionists had poisoned all the wells in the Rhine valley, as part of an international Jewish conspiracy. (He was later proven to have lied). The report was readily accepted by nobles who resented the Jews as economic competitors and to whom they were indebted for loans.  This resulted in the masses persecuting and killing tens of thousands of Jews throughout Europe over the following years.

 

December 5, 1349- Five hundred Jews were killed in Nuremberg, Germany during the Black Death Persecutions.  Some Jews were tortured before being killed while others were burned at the stake.

 

Torah Portion

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Today is

Yom Shishi, 11 Nisan, 5784

Friday, April 19, 2024

 

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