The twentieth of Sivan has been designated by sages in two different eras to be a day of fasting and commemoration.
There are certainly other days devoted to Jewish remembrance. The ninth of Av commemorates many tragedies that befell the Jews - the destruction of the two Temples of Jerusalem and the fall of the Judean commonwealth to Rome. The twenty-seventh day of Nissan has been designated as the commemoration for the victims of the Holocaust.
The twentieth day of Sivan commemorates tragedies that befell the Jews of Europe in the Middle Ages up to the Holocaust. It was once communally observed as a fast day among European Jewry, until the Second World War.
The twentieth of Sivan as a day of fasting and commemoration was originally declared in 1171. Tragedy struck the Jewish community of Blois, France. The horrific blood libel accusation, which had been leveled on several occasions in England, had made its way to France. A local Christian claimed that he saw a Jew throw the corpse of a child into the river Loire. The corpse was never found, but the testimony was accepted. The town's approximately forty Jews were arrested, and offered the choice of accepting baptism or death. Despite the threats and torture, they did not yield. On the twentieth day of the month of Sivan, thirty-two Jews, seventeen of them women, were burnt at the stake.
In a letter written about this enormous tragedy by Ephraim ben Yaakov of Bonn, a rabbinic scholar from Germany, the twentieth of Sivan was decreed by the greatest Torah sage of that era, Rabbeinu ("our rabbi") Meir Tam as a fast day for Jews living in France, the Rhineland and England. The letter states that Rabbeinu Tam wrote letters to Jewish communities declaring this day to be one of "atonement".
The decree of Rabbeinu Tam was foreboding. The tragic events of Blois were the beginning of many more such events to follow. Blood libels would result in immense suffering and torment for Jewish communities throughout Europe. Many Jews migrated to Eastern Europe, where they continued to observe the twentieth of Sivan. Eventually, the Jews of Eastern Europe would also be compelled to observe this date of remembrance.
In 1648, the Ukrainian nationalist and Cossack leader Bogdan Chmielniski incited a rebellion against Poland and Polish landlords who ruled over the Ukraine. Chmielniski's forces, combined with Tatar allies of Mongolia, routed the Polish army at Yellow River on May 19, 1648, and Hard Plank on May 26. The Polish defeat was a disaster for the Jews of the Ukraine. They now faced a major catastrophe. Chmielniski's Cossacks attacked Polish forces and unleashed their fury against the Jews of the Ukraine and some surrounding areas, as well. Many Jewish communities were wiped out. Hundreds of thousands were murdered. The brutality of their attacks defies any description.
Rabbi Nathan Neta Hanover, a contemporary chronicler of the events of this era known as Tach VeTat, an acronym for the Hebrew equivalent of the years 1648-1649, wrote about the Chmielniski pogroms in a book entitled Yeven Metzulah (Abyss of Despair).
The first reported attack against a large Jewish community was in the city of Nemirov. Jews from surrounding villages had gathered there from smaller villages for refuge. Just days earlier, on the Sabbath, the head of the city's yeshiva, Rabbi Yechiel Michael, son of Rabbi Eliezer, addressed the community and told them that if the enemy should arrive, the people must defy them if they demand baptism; even at the cost of their lives.
As Cossack troops were nearing Nemirov, its Jews trembled in fear as they locked themselves within the city walls. As the soldiers drew nearer, they unfurled Polish flags to give the impression that they were Polish troops coming to their rescue. The Poles within the city were notified of this ruse and collaborated with the Cossacks in order to save their own lives. They falsely informed the Jews guarding the gates that the approaching soldiers were indeed Polish and that they should open the gates. As the Cossacks entered the city with drawn swords, slaughter ensued. Over six-thousand Jews were martyred on that day.
From Nemirov, the Cossacks attacked the city of Tulshin, Polannoe, and then Ostrog and Zaslow. At each city, horrors followed. After less than two years fighting, the Tatar allies withdrew from the conflict, forcing Chmielniski into a truce that lasted for eighteen months, followed by more violence that continued intermittently until Chmielniski's death in 1657.
In the winter of 1650, rabbinic and lay leaders known as the Council of the Four Lands gathered in Lublin and declared the twentieth of Sivan, the day the city of Nemirov was attacked, as a day of fasting and commemoration for the many martyrs of the Chmielniski pogroms.
After Chmielniski's death, massacres by Ukrainian nationalists continued - a series of attacks in the eighteenth century, including the massacre of 1767-1768, in which the Jewish community lost tens of thousands. In 1919, a civil war positioned Ukrainians in pursuit of independence against both the Red Army and the anti-Soviet Russians. The one million Jews of the Ukraine were devastated by attacks, starvation, disease and homelessness. Again, in 1942, Ukranian nationalists were there to assist the Nazis in conducting "actions" against the Jews. Most Ukrainians did not take part in these many attacks; there were also Ukrainians who saved Jewish lives, but those who did participate caused untold suffering.
The tragic events in France and the Ukraine are five hundred years apart, but famed rabbinic scholar Rabbi Yom Tov Lippmann Heller ordained that those selichot prayers composed in commemoration of the victims in France in the twelfth century be recited also for the victims of Chmielniski. He stated, "What has occurred now is similar to days of old. All that happened to the forefathers happened to their descendants."
Although the twentieth of Sivan is not currently observed communally in most communities, it is still a most appropriate time to remember those victims of persecution from France to Eastern Europe. The memory of their martyrdom may have diminished, overshadowed by the enormity of the Holocaust and the passage of time, but they perished because they were Jews. The twentieth of Sivan still gives an opportunity to pay homage to their memory.
There are certainly other days devoted to Jewish remembrance. The ninth of Av commemorates many tragedies that befell the Jews - the destruction of the two Temples of Jerusalem and the fall of the Judean commonwealth to Rome. The twenty-seventh day of Nissan has been designated as the commemoration for the victims of the Holocaust.
The twentieth day of Sivan commemorates tragedies that befell the Jews of Europe in the Middle Ages up to the Holocaust. It was once communally observed as a fast day among European Jewry, until the Second World War.
The twentieth of Sivan as a day of fasting and commemoration was originally declared in 1171. Tragedy struck the Jewish community of Blois, France. The horrific blood libel accusation, which had been leveled on several occasions in England, had made its way to France. A local Christian claimed that he saw a Jew throw the corpse of a child into the river Loire. The corpse was never found, but the testimony was accepted. The town's approximately forty Jews were arrested, and offered the choice of accepting baptism or death. Despite the threats and torture, they did not yield. On the twentieth day of the month of Sivan, thirty-two Jews, seventeen of them women, were burnt at the stake.
In a letter written about this enormous tragedy by Ephraim ben Yaakov of Bonn, a rabbinic scholar from Germany, the twentieth of Sivan was decreed by the greatest Torah sage of that era, Rabbeinu ("our rabbi") Meir Tam as a fast day for Jews living in France, the Rhineland and England. The letter states that Rabbeinu Tam wrote letters to Jewish communities declaring this day to be one of "atonement".
The decree of Rabbeinu Tam was foreboding. The tragic events of Blois were the beginning of many more such events to follow. Blood libels would result in immense suffering and torment for Jewish communities throughout Europe. Many Jews migrated to Eastern Europe, where they continued to observe the twentieth of Sivan. Eventually, the Jews of Eastern Europe would also be compelled to observe this date of remembrance.
In 1648, the Ukrainian nationalist and Cossack leader Bogdan Chmielniski incited a rebellion against Poland and Polish landlords who ruled over the Ukraine. Chmielniski's forces, combined with Tatar allies of Mongolia, routed the Polish army at Yellow River on May 19, 1648, and Hard Plank on May 26. The Polish defeat was a disaster for the Jews of the Ukraine. They now faced a major catastrophe. Chmielniski's Cossacks attacked Polish forces and unleashed their fury against the Jews of the Ukraine and some surrounding areas, as well. Many Jewish communities were wiped out. Hundreds of thousands were murdered. The brutality of their attacks defies any description.
Rabbi Nathan Neta Hanover, a contemporary chronicler of the events of this era known as Tach VeTat, an acronym for the Hebrew equivalent of the years 1648-1649, wrote about the Chmielniski pogroms in a book entitled Yeven Metzulah (Abyss of Despair).
The first reported attack against a large Jewish community was in the city of Nemirov. Jews from surrounding villages had gathered there from smaller villages for refuge. Just days earlier, on the Sabbath, the head of the city's yeshiva, Rabbi Yechiel Michael, son of Rabbi Eliezer, addressed the community and told them that if the enemy should arrive, the people must defy them if they demand baptism; even at the cost of their lives.
As Cossack troops were nearing Nemirov, its Jews trembled in fear as they locked themselves within the city walls. As the soldiers drew nearer, they unfurled Polish flags to give the impression that they were Polish troops coming to their rescue. The Poles within the city were notified of this ruse and collaborated with the Cossacks in order to save their own lives. They falsely informed the Jews guarding the gates that the approaching soldiers were indeed Polish and that they should open the gates. As the Cossacks entered the city with drawn swords, slaughter ensued. Over six-thousand Jews were martyred on that day.
From Nemirov, the Cossacks attacked the city of Tulshin, Polannoe, and then Ostrog and Zaslow. At each city, horrors followed. After less than two years fighting, the Tatar allies withdrew from the conflict, forcing Chmielniski into a truce that lasted for eighteen months, followed by more violence that continued intermittently until Chmielniski's death in 1657.
In the winter of 1650, rabbinic and lay leaders known as the Council of the Four Lands gathered in Lublin and declared the twentieth of Sivan, the day the city of Nemirov was attacked, as a day of fasting and commemoration for the many martyrs of the Chmielniski pogroms.
After Chmielniski's death, massacres by Ukrainian nationalists continued - a series of attacks in the eighteenth century, including the massacre of 1767-1768, in which the Jewish community lost tens of thousands. In 1919, a civil war positioned Ukrainians in pursuit of independence against both the Red Army and the anti-Soviet Russians. The one million Jews of the Ukraine were devastated by attacks, starvation, disease and homelessness. Again, in 1942, Ukranian nationalists were there to assist the Nazis in conducting "actions" against the Jews. Most Ukrainians did not take part in these many attacks; there were also Ukrainians who saved Jewish lives, but those who did participate caused untold suffering.
The tragic events in France and the Ukraine are five hundred years apart, but famed rabbinic scholar Rabbi Yom Tov Lippmann Heller ordained that those selichot prayers composed in commemoration of the victims in France in the twelfth century be recited also for the victims of Chmielniski. He stated, "What has occurred now is similar to days of old. All that happened to the forefathers happened to their descendants."
Although the twentieth of Sivan is not currently observed communally in most communities, it is still a most appropriate time to remember those victims of persecution from France to Eastern Europe. The memory of their martyrdom may have diminished, overshadowed by the enormity of the Holocaust and the passage of time, but they perished because they were Jews. The twentieth of Sivan still gives an opportunity to pay homage to their memory.