All Articles ByYosef Yabece

Four mighty kings, with their prestige on the line, embarked on a brutal campaign, overpowering the tribes beyond the Jordan River.

During a time of regional shifts in the Middle East, a coalition of kings emerged to unite divided lands without a dominant ruler.

Abraham's nephew, Lot, was influenced by him but ultimately chose a different path. This decision led to their separation, as Abraham's ideals couldn't align with Lot's actions.

For years, scholars underestimated the civilization from 4,000 years ago as primitive. Recent discoveries reveal a sophisticated society contrary to the old assumptions.

Nimrod smirked at the young Hebrew boy who thought he was wise. "Perhaps he is wise," Nimrod conceded, "but I am the king." With that, he ordered that Abraham be thrown into the fiery furnace. That was when Abraham discovered not only that the Creator of the world truly exists, but that he, Abraham, was chosen by Him to lead him out of Ur of the Chaldees.

Abraham rejected the idea of division, a concept that seemed undeniable to all of the world at his time, to which kings, priests, elders, and scholars were beholden.

Beyond numerous nations, a singular nation continues Abraham's legacy through the revelation of the Exodus. His descendants, marking their covenant at eight days old, stand testament to an enduring promise.

Imagine a solitary, anonymous figure in the wilderness with a flock of sheep, a centenarian with no children, promised that he and his yet-to-exist descendants would inherit a land claimed by many nations. It's unbelievable.

Almost 4,000 years ago, Abraham stood alone on the hills of Canaan after parting ways with his nephew. Despite loneliness and advanced age, he held a divine promise from Hashem for the land's future.

The issue isn't the absence of discoveries—there are certainly findings. The problem arises when these findings are met with silence and ignored. This is the story of the altar on Mount Ebal.

Tzipora secretly adhered to Jewish practices, resisted the imposed religion, and most critically, acted as a covert agent for the Gedaion Kingdom while secretly sharing the emperor's military plans.

While the cities of the Gerghashites are mentioned in the partition of the land, there is a conspicuous absence of their conquest. Why is this?

The Jewish intellect never rests, devising inventive ways to circumvent censorship. A wise Jewish scholar from Italy went further by writing a "Manual for Censors."

Onias IV, once slated to be the High Priest in Jerusalem, was disqualified due to a deformity caused by his envious brother. In anger, Onias left for Egypt and established an alternative temple dedicated to Hashem.

Rarely does a city disappear from the map entirely. We've read about it in history books, yet no one has a clue where it is. This happened to the city of Dura Europos.

Two Italian Jews, Jacob and Emmanuel Francis, created a Tisha B'Av Haggadah to combat the false prophet Shabtai Tzvi. While outwardly praising him, the Haggadah subtly mocks and unveils the truth.

The most horrific event took place in the city of Hebron, where 67 Jews, including men, women, and children, were murdered. Many of the victims were students from the Hebron yeshiva. The perpetrators executed their plan with such brutality and monstrosity, recalling only the Simchat Torah massacre of the previous year.

A brutal civil war raged within Jerusalem and the Temple. The Second Temple fell due to baseless hatred. It seemed everyone believed they were fulfilling a great mitzvah by fighting each other. In hindsight, it is clear it was sheer madness.

In the spring, Vespasian stormed through Galilee and the Golan, city by city. The people of Sepphoris surrendered to the Romans, but those in Yodfat held their ground. For 47 days, they bravely defended their city, pouring hot oil on the Roman soldiers approaching the walls.

King Agrippa arrived on Tisha B'Av, leading 3,000 troops to suppress the rebellion but was defeated. Roman soldiers in the fortresses around Jerusalem were slaughtered. The king's palace and archives were burned. By Tu B'Av, the zealots had triumphed.