WORD OF THE MONTH

A weekly feature of Torah Tidbits to help clarify practical and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, thereby better fulfilling the mitzva of HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem... 

The 20th of Sivan is a day of multiple tragedies for the Jewish People. In 1171 CE, 21 Torah scholars were executed as a result of a blood libel, first being given the chance to forsake their religion. This was part of the Crusades which decimated European Jewry. Rabbeinu Tam declared the 20th of Sivan as a fast day and Slichot and Kinot were composed to mark the day. Almost 500 years later, devastation was brought again upon European Jewry in the form of the massacre of tens of thousands of Jews at the hands of Chmelnitsky's hordes. The tragic nature of the date was reconfirmed. 19 years ago, the 20th of Sivan put another notch on its gun. The most costly battle of the Lebanon War, the battle of Sultan Yaqub, left more than 20 of our soldiers dead and several missing, even until today. Although the 20th of Sivan is not one of our official public fasts, it nonetheless demands our serious attention.