| Today is: Wednesday, Av 20, 5772 · August 8, 2012
• Zohar Published (1558)
First printing of the Zohar, the fundamental work of the Kabbalah (Jewish esoteric and mystical teachings), authored by the Talmudic sage, Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai. Links: The Kabbalah
• Passing of R. Levi Yitzchak Schneerson (1944)
Av 20 is the yahtzeit (anniversary of the passing) of the Lubavitcher Rebbe's father, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak Schneerson (1878-1944), in Alma Ata, Kazakhstan. Rabbi Levi Yitzchak was Chief Rabbi of Yekaterinoslav (currently Dnepropetrovsk), and was arrested and exiled to Kazakhstan by the Stalinist regime as a result of his work to preserve Jewish life in the Soviet Union. Links:
A Brief Biography
Rebbetzin Chana Scneerson's biography, which includes her account of her husband's heroism, arrest and passing.
As the sun made to set, a deep sleep fell upon Abra[ha]m; and, lo, a horror of great darkness fell upon him. And [G‑d] said to Abram: "Know surely that your descendents shall be strangers in a land that is not theirs, and they will be enslaved to them, and they will afflict them . . . [but] afterwards they will come out with great wealth . . ."
- From the Torah's description of the "Covenant Between the Pieces," Genesis 15:12–14
Chitas and Rambam for today: | 
Audio: 
