Gibeah, c. 2780 AM: The first Jewish civil war broke out in Eretz Yisrael.
This war was a result of the infamous story of Pilegesh BeGiv’ah, where a Jewish maiden was abused by the tribe of Binyamin.
The eleven other tribes demanded that the tribe of Binyamin release the perpetrators for punishment, but they refused. This resulted in a war between the eleven tribes against the tribe of Binyamin, in which the tribe of Binyamin lost, and were excommunicated.
According to some commentators, a thousand members of this tribe abandoned their homeland and settled in Europe. Radak & Abarbanel claim that they settled in Romania, and Galya Razia claims that they settled in Ashkenaz, Alemania.
Source: Esther Rabba 7:11, Radak on Shoftim 20:15; Abarbanel & Rashi [in a note, in some editions] ibid., 20:48.
𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐨𝐫 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐝𝐚𝐲?
Present them with the gift of their heritage — their very own family tree!
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