In I got It!
The Jewish Ghetto
The first ghetto that was actually termed so was established in Italy. The word 'ghetto' derives from the Italian word 'gettare', which means to pour or to cast, and was originally used for describing foundries.
In 1516\5276 the Venetian government established a new foundry and surrounded it with channels, thus creating an 'island' of a sort. The authorities allocated this island to the Jews and called it "ghetto nouvo", which means 'new foundry'. The term was later shortened to 'ghetto' and referred to a Jewish quarter where the Jews were separated from the rest of the population.
This eventually became a wide-spread practice and the ghettos would serve the Jews as their residential area in the Diaspora throughout history. It initially began in the Middle Ages, when the Jews, out of their own free will, decided to reside in separate quarters so as to protect themselves from their hostile surroundings and avoid assimilation, and continued through the 12th century when, in 1179\4939, the Third Lutheran Council decided on establishing separate Jewish neighborhoods as a degrading act of anti-Semitism. The decree originally included a restriction on professions which the Jews were allowed to pursue, but it was not yet implemented at the time.
During WWII (1939-1945\5699-5705), the Jews were concentrated in ghettos by the Nazis. In December of 1939\5699, the Chief Commander of the S.S. – Heinrich Himmler – gave orders to erect ghettos in various districts and to concentrate all the Jews there, as part of the implementation of the Final Solution.
The first ghetto established by the Nazis was the Piotrkow-Trybulanski ghetto, south of Lodz, which existed for three years.
Hundreds of thousands of Jews died in the ghettos since they were so densely populated and devoid of minimal hygiene, and food was scarce.
Destroyed Building in the Levov Ghetto
ארכיון יד ושם
The largest ghetto in the Holocaust was the Warsaw ghetto, where close to half a million Jews were crammed.
Ghettos exist in our times as well: the area in Sana'a, Yemen, where the authorities have concentrated all the remaining Jews in the country - is considered a ghetto. The Sana'a ghetto was established in order to protect the Jewish citizens from the hostile Muslim population, and the Yemeni government provides it with steady security.
A Stop in Babylonia According to our Sages, when the People of Israel were expelled from the Holy Land and scattered in Babylonia, hundreds of animal species followed them there, all animals returned as well, except for one kind of fish which will return after the arrival of the Messiah.
Publicizing the miracle of Hanukah, Big Times Part of the Mitzvah of lighting the Chanukah lights is to publicize the miracle.
