Iyar, Iyar

The name is Babylonian in origin. In the Bible it is called Ziv (). It is a spring month of 29 days. Iyar usually falls in AprilMay on the Gregorian calendar. Ziv is a Hebrew name.

Upon the latter's death in 1772, Rabbi Menachem Mendel was regarded by his colleagues as the leader of the Chassidic community in Russia, and Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi considered him his rebbe and mentor. In 1777, Rabbi Menachem Mendel led a group of 300 Chassidim to the Holy Land and established Chassidic communities in Safed and Tiberias. Rabbi Menachem Mendel died on the 2nd of Iyar of 1788, and is buried in Tiberias.

With the encouragement of local Russian officials, a wave of anti-Jewish riots (pogroms) swept the city on the 15th of Iyar of 1883.

In 1939, on the 16th of Iyar, the laws went into effect in Nazi-allied Hungary.

Seventh Army on the 16th of Iyar, 1945. It was the second concentration camp to be liberated following the end of World War II. The United States troops forced the citizens of the local community to come to the camp, observe the conditions, and help clean the facilities.

While still in his twenties, he authored numerous works of Torah scholarship, including Derech Hashem ("The way of God"), a systematic exposition of the fundamentals of Judaism. In 1740, (at the turn of the Jewish century 5500), he published his most famous work, Mesilat Yesharim ("Path of the Just"). Like many other great men of his age, Luzzatto longed for the Holy Land, and in 1743 he settled in Acco. He was not to enjoy a long stay there, however, and on Iyar 26, 5507 (1747), at the age of 39, he and his entire family died in a plague. According to most traditions, he was buried in Tiberias, next to the tomb of Rabbi Akiva.

Source: Wikipedia > Iyar