According to one account in the Midrash, on the 13th of Nissan of the year 2048 from creation (1714 BCE), G-d appeared to Abram, changed his name to Abraham ("father of a multitude of nations") and commanded him to circumcise himself and all members of his household--and all future descendents at the age of eight days--so that "My covenant (brit) shall be in your flesh, as an eternal covenant." Abraham was 99 years old at the time, and his son Ishmael, 13. (Isaac, who was born a year later, was the first Jew to be circumcised at eight days).
Link: More on the Covenant of Circumcision
In the 12th year of his reign (357 BCE), King Achashverosh of Persia endorsed Haman's plan "to destroy, kill and annihilate all Jews, from young to old, infants and women, on a single day, on the 13th day of the 12th month, the month of Adar." On Nissan 13 (11 months before the date chosen for the massacre) proclamations of the decree were drafted and dispatched to all 127 countries of the Persian Empire. Mordechai told Esther to go before the king and plead for her people. Esther asked that a three-day fast be proclaimed (Nissan 14, 15 and 16--including the first two days of Passover) in which all Jews would repent and pray for the success of her mission.
Links:
The Story of Purim
Timeline of the events connected with the Purim miracle
Nissan 13 is the anniversary of the passing of Rabbi Joseph Caro (1488-1575), author of the Shulchan Aruch ("Code of Jewish Law").
Link: Original Ideas
The rabbi of the mystical city of Tzefat, Rabbi Moshe Alshich left an indelible mark on the world of Torah scholarship, both as a master of halachah (Jewish law) and derush (Biblical homily). He passed away in the year 5360 (1600) at a ripe old age and is buried in the ancient cemetery of Tzefat.
Links:
A Brief Biography of the Alshich
A Responsa of the Alshich
Homiletic Teachings of the Alshich
The third Rebbe of Chabad, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneersohn of Lubavitch (1789-1866; known as the "Tzemach Tzeddek" after his Halachic work by that name), passed away on Nissan 13.
Links:
A short biography
More on the Tzemach Tzeddek
After reading the "Nasi" describing the gifts brought by the princes of the 12 Tribes of Israel for the dedication of the Tabernacle during the first 12 days of Nissan (see "Nasi of the Day" in Nissan 1), today we read the passage (the opening verses of the Torah portion of Bahaalotecha) describing G-d's instructions to Aaron regarding the lighting of the Menorah, which represents the contribution of the "13th tribe" of Levi.
In preparation for the festival of Passover, in which even the possession of any form of leavened food ("chametz") is strictly forbidden, a final search is conducted after nightfall to remove every last crumb of chametz from our homes and property.
Click here for a step-by-step "Getting-Rid-of-Chametz" wizard. Click here for instructions on how to conduct the search, and here for the time for searching chametz in your location.
Links:
Sell your chametz online
About Leaven
In Torah, we mirror on earth that which G‑d performs on every plane of reality.
If so, since the Torah prohibits dislocating even a single stone of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, how could it be that G‑d brought the entire structure to ruins?
For it would certainly be absurd to imagine that the Assyrians or the Romans had the power to set fire to G-d’s house.
It must be that this was not an act of destruction. Rather, it was the initial phase of a much greater construction, one that would be eternally indestructible.
And for that to occur, the Temple had to be temporarily leveled to its foundations and G-d’s people had to be scattered to the furthest reaches of human habitation.
Why? Because as long as there is any place in this world that considers itself outside the realm of holiness, there remains a place for the destruction of G‑d’s Temple.
But in our exile, we meet face to face all that considers itself foreign to the divine. We grasp its reins, extract its poison, and channel its power.
This third and ultimate Temple, then, will be built of the outside turned inward, of darkness taught to shine, of the other converted to the One, of the most sinister enemy transformed to a faithful ally.
No opposition will remain in the universe. And so it will last forever.
Then we will see that in truth, there was never any destruction. There was only rebuilding, growth, and eternal, deep love.