The Twentieth of Sivan (Hebrew: תענית כ׳ בסיוון) is a historic Jewish fast day, first instituted by Rabbeinu Tam in 1171. It originally commemorated that year's massacre at Blois in France, the first blood libel in continental Europe.[1]
The day was later also marked to commemorate the Cossack riots of 1648–49 in Poland-Lithuania, instituted by the Council of Four Lands in 1650. After World War II, suggestions were made to observe it as a Holocaust memorial day, but this was not widely adopted.[2][1][3][4] In 1948, Tzvi Pesach Frank proposed to use the day to commemorate the fall of the Jewish Quarter in the Battle for Jerusalem.[5]
Some communities still recite the Selichot service for the occasion.[6] They are recited today by Belz Hasidim, Skver Hasidim and Papa Hasidim.
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