עַל חוֹמתַיִךְ יְרוּשָׁלַם הִפְקַדְתִּי שׁמְרִים

From the time of Bar Kochba (135CE) until the current era there was no major effort to regain the Land of Israel as a Jewish homeland. Jews and even sometimes substantial groups of Jews found their way back. But were always living under foreign masters - Byzantines, Crusaders, Arabs, Mamelukes, Ottomans and British etc. In the sixteenth century many refugees from the expulsions from Spain and Portugal came. In that century, Don Joseph Naxos, a wealthy converso Jew and the nephew of the great Jewish woman, Dona Gracia Beatrice Mendez, even gained legal control over the city of Tiberias.
In the 19th century the disciples of the Gaon and of the Chasidic Rebbas , began to immigrate to Israel. Towards the end of that century organizations such as Chovevei Tzion were created.Great personalities - Rabbi Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (Netziv) of Volozyhin , Rabbi Shmuel Mohilever of Byalistok, Baron Edmond De Rothschild of France, Dr. Leo Pinsker of Russia (secularist) joined forces. This sunday look forward, while recalling our past and strengthen ourselves in our just and holy cause.


-amshinover lives in amshinov plus or minus a week