Chaim Freedman

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 12:32:00 +0000

The Hon. William Kaye AO QC - obituary

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Mon, 20 Aug 2012 10:25:00 +0000

The Hon. William Kaye AO QC
Lawyer, judge and advocate for tolerance

(Obituary written by Bill’s daughter, Dina, with the help of her brothers.)

William (Bill) Kaye died on 12 May 2012, aged 93 years, after a life of service to the legal system, the Jewish community and to our country.

Born in Melbourne and the youngest child of Chana Reizel and Shlomo-Zalman Komesaroff, who arrived in Australia from Berdyansk in the Ukraine in 1913, Bill was always conscious of his family’s origins and his parents’ early struggle in Australia. He was a proud Australian, with a deep appreciation of our tolerant, democratic society.

Bill was educated at Kew Primary School, Scotch College, and Melbourne University. In 1941, he interrupted his studies to enlist in the Royal Australian Navy. He was assigned to the sloop HMAS Warrego, which was engaged in mine sweeping and escorting convoys around New Guinea and along the east coast of Australia. Later he joined the corvette HMAS Cowra, serving as an anti-submarine officer in the same areas.

Bill married Henrietta Ellinson while on leave in May 1943. He died just one week before their 69th wedding anniversary. Their marriage was marked by an abiding devotion to each other and to their family.

Somehow, Bill managed to complete his law studies on board ship and sat the final law exams just before his demobilisation in early 1946. After completing articles, he was admitted to practice as a barrister later that year. Thus began a career in the law of almost 45 years. As a barrister, he specialised in personal injury cases and in criminal and commercial law. In 1962, he was appointed Queen’s Counsel and led a number of significant cases, including the inquiry into allegations of police corruption and the 1971 royal commission into the West Gate Bridge disaster.

He served his profession as chairman of the Victorian Bar Council’s Ethics Committee and subsequently as vice chairman and chairman of the Council. He was also president of the Australian Bar Association, an executive member of the Law Council of Australia, a member of the founding committee of the Faculty of Law at Monash University, and a member of its Faculty Board. In addition, he chaired the Proctorial Board of La Trobe University for 2 years.

In 1972, Bill was appointed a Justice of the Supreme Court of Victoria, becoming the 51st Supreme Court Judge in Victoria and the first Jewish judge appointed to that Court in its then 121 year history. Throughout his term of office, Bill was deeply committed to upholding the role of the Supreme Court in our system of justice.

Bill was proud of his Jewish faith and its history and tradition. He was a deeply humane man who practised his values in everyday life. He chaired Temple Beth Israel’s Fund for the Future, and was a long standing member of the Victorian Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen and Women. He was a member of the International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists, and founder and first president of the Victorian Branch of that association.

Shortly after their arrival in Australia, his parents joined the Zionist movement, and Bill grew up with an ethic of concern for the welfare of the Jewish people. As a 19 year-old, with his friend Ron Taft, he visited Rabbi Sanger (who had just arrived in Melbourne from Berlin) to talk about the situation in Nazi Germany. Bill gave his full support to the State of Israel as it rose from the ashes of the Holocaust, and always admired Israel, its democratic system and its respect for the individual. Together with Henrietta, he made many trips to Israel and formed close friendships there, including with members of Israel’s Supreme Court.

In 1990, Bill’s contributions to the law, the community and the country were recognised with the award of an Order of Australia. After 19 years distinguished service as a judge, he retired from the Supreme Court in 1991.

In retirement, he was soon working for the broader community, serving on the RSPCA advisory board for 8 years. The main focus of his work, however, was in interfaith relations. He was the founding chairman of the Australian Council of Christians and Jews, and chaired the Victorian Council of Christians and Jews from 1991 to 1999. During this time, the Victorian Council published two important works addressing anti-Jewish texts in Christian scripture. He was greatly assisted on the Council by members of the Sisters of Sion with whom he formed lasting friendships. In 1996, he was presented with Philia award by the Australian branch of the World Conference on Religion and Peace.

Bill remained active until the last two years of his life, when he endured declining health with grace, courage and good humour. He is survived by his wife, daughter, three sons, seven grandchildren and four great grandchildren. He was and will remain a blessing in their lives.

Memoirs of Rokhel Luban - festivals

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 05:24:00 +0000

Memoirs of Rokhel Luban, nee Namakshtansky.

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/memoirs_of_rokhel_luban.htm

Born 1898 Trudoliubovka, Ekaterinoslav Province, Ukraine.
Died 1979 Petah Tikvah, Israel.

Now I will write about the Yom Tovim by my parents.

Mama made beets for Purim and I grated them. First Mama made wine and then beets. New clothes for Pesach were already made by Purim and were washed and pressed. Then Mama cleaned the whole house. She Kashered (# prepared utensils for the festival of Passover) everything on the last day before Pesach. Matzah was baked in a special house with an oven, tables for rolling the dough, rolling pins, a tin plate and a pusher, a mill for making the meal and a pitcher for bringing water.

It was someone's job to sit and watch the Matzah. The meal we always made from winter wheat. My father always bought a five pud sack of Pesach meal and Mama made Matzah meal for Kneidlach and Lekach (# sponge cake). She used a Shteisel (# mortar and pestle); Gribena (# chicken fat rendered crisp and cooked with onions) for Kneidlach and Farfel.

Mama scrubbed and Kashered all the utensils and sharpened the knives. The Kashering was done with a hot stone in boiling water. She kashered the tables with hot water and a burning stone. For "Bedikas Khometz" father went with a candle in hand, a wooden spoon and a feather to find and take out any leftover Khometz. In the morning he sold it to a Goy.

Fish was brought from Mariupol on ice, a wagon full. Khrein (# horseraddish) was made with salt, sugar and beet root. Kharoses was made by the rabbi who gave some to each householder.

Father and my older brothers used to go to the bath while Mama washed us at home in a big bowl or a bath.

When the men came home from Shule, mother had dressed up the children and prepared for the Seder. Wine was on the table, Hagodos, candles, the ceremonial plate with the hard-boiled egg and onion in salt water. They came home from Shule; Mama had already `Benched Licht' (# lit and blessed the candles). I always sat at father's left hand so as to take the Afikoman. Leibl said the `Ma Nishtanah'. By us we said the Hagodoh by interpreting every word in Yiddish. For example: (Hebrew Characters appeared here) "We were slaves". The best thing was the wine, then the food. The neighbors came to sing `Khad Gadyah' with us. On `Khol Hamoed' (# the intermediate days of the festival) we went visiting and Mama spent her time entertaining guests who came to us.

Shavues was a joyful festival. The fields were green and everything was growing. The houses were decorated with blossoming flowers from the fields. On the first day we ate milk dishes; Mama made Blintzes. Fish was brought again from Mariupol. Father spent the whole night in Shule learning.

Survivors of the 1919 Trudoliubovka pogrom.

Left to Right: Rokhel Berchansky (nee Namakshtansky, later Luban)

Her daughter Khaya (Clara)

sister Yokhved (Eva) Girzhel,

Brothers Leibl and Zalman Namak.

Standing Benyomin Komisaruk, Killed 1920.

Rokhel Berchansky (Namakshtansky/Luban)

Namakshtansky family: Velvel, killed 1919

seated Shmilik killed 1919

Chaim died 1917

Rabbi Pinkhas Komisaruk on his 114th Yahrtzeit

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Mon, 07 Mar 2011 09:44:00 +0000

Rabbi Pinkhas Halevi Komisaruk

Born 1830, Rassein (now Raseiniai), Lithuania.

Died 26th Adar Rishon, 5697/1897 Grafskoy, (now Prolotarsky), Ukraine

Son of Rabbi Shlomo-Zalman Halevi (1798-1853) and Yokhved Komisaruk.

Great-Great-grandson of the Vilna Gaon.

Husband of Khaya-Sarah Levin (1834-1873)

The fact that Pinkhas was born in Rassein was established by the discovery of a history of where Pinkhas appears in the category of notables who were born in Rassein but lived elsewhere. This source also identifies his maternal grandfather and his father Shlomo Zalman. Indeed had it not been for the discovery of this book [1] , the family's connection with Rassein might never have been known and the family's earlier history never uncovered, as oral tradition told of the family's origin as Kovno (Kaunas). This referred to the province of Kovno in which the city Rassein was located.

A brief biography appears in the history of Rassein [2] :

"The rabbi, the great luminary, our teacher the Rabbi PINKHAS KOMISAR from the city of Rassein, who was Av Din and Shokhet in Grafskoy, a Jewish colony in the Government of Yekaterinoslav, died in the year 5657, (1897) 27th Adar, aged 67. Son of our outstanding teacher Rabbi Shlomo Zalman from the city of Rassein who died in the year 1848. Reb Shlomo Zalman was the son-in-law of the great Rabbi, the Kabbalist, our teacher Rabbi Menakhem Mendel from Rassein who was Shokhet in the Holy Community Girtegola and afterwards left the labour of Shekhita and sat learning in our city in the Great Beit Midrash 20 years until his last day and died in 5596 (1836). His honourable resting place is in the old cemetery."

There are several errors in this information. Rabbi Shlomo Zalman did not die in 1848 but in 1853 in Grafskoy. The error may have been made by the author of "Ir Rassein" who found no further reference to Shlomo Zalman in Rassein after 1848, by which time he had emigrated from the city.

Rabbi Pinkhas obtained his rabbinic learning initially in Lithuania and from his father. He was also trained as a Shokhet. Following the death of his father in 1853, the religious leadership of the colonies was thrust upon him at a young age. Despite the promised exemption from military services, when the Crimean War broke out in 1854 Rabbi Pinkhas was conscripted [3] . He served in the supply corps and thereby was able to care for the dietary needs of the Jewish troops by obtaining live cattle for Shekhita. Even in the confusion of battle Rabbi Pinkhas sought out Jewish troops for prayer and dedicated himself to comfort the wounded and bury the dead.

Upon his release from the army Rabbi Pinkhas took up farming his share of the family allotment together with his brothers. He toiled in the fields by day and studied and taught by night. Only when his sons were old enough to take over was he free to act as full time Rabbi.

Grafskoy 1890 census Komisaruk family [4]
1. Family #15

2. Head of Household
Komisaruk Pinkhas Zelmanowich.
The elder has additionally two sons, who are not living in the colony;
one daughter is married;
one of sons has three boys.

3. Housing
Goverment provided house covered with thatch (bad state). Near it built a new house with two rooms also covered with thatch (Good state).
Stable also covered with thatch

4. Equipment
two ploughs, one and two furrow.
One mangle.
One harrow.
Two Britchka (carts).

5. Animals
five horses
Three cows.
One calf.

6..
Land holding:
Except 1/3* of land [10 desyatins of father's 30], also rents 17 desyatins. 2/3 of land owned by older brothers.

7. Farmed by Himself

8.. Quality of farming. Good

Whilst following the Lithuanian system of interpretation of religious law, Rabbi Pinkhas always took into account the needs of his people, seeking to ease any economic burden on poor families. If a poor woman brought a chicken to him to check whether it was Kosher, if there was only a small doubt, he would allow it. If the person was wealthy, he would decide on the strict side of the law and ban the chicken [5] .

Aside from rabbinic duties Rabbi Pinkhas was also a Mohel. The Mariupol synagogue records list three circumcisions performed by Pinkhas in 1885 and one in 1894.

During the pogroms of the 1880's Rabbi Pinkhas was renowned for his selfless dedication to helping the suffering. Whenever news arrived of a pogrom he rode off to tend the wounded and conduct funerals for the victims. During his army service he had learnt the rudiments of medical care and acted as a "Feldsher" (medical orderly) since qualified doctors rarely were available to tend the Jews. Rabbi Pinkhas was a Feldsher so during one Yom Kippur he interrupted services in the synagogue in order to give medical aid to a sick woman [6] .

Grafskoy Synagogue in ruins 2010 [7]

Having lost his wife in childbirth he remarried twice since tradition required the Rabbi of a community to be married. Rabbi Pinkhas met an untimely death contracting pneumonia after falling into his well whilst trying to draw water to
feed the animals.

Well in Grafskoy 1999 [8]

This was indicative of his concern for others since, although no longer involved in farming, he decided to save the family the trouble of rising early in the cold winter and took upon himself the task.

His funeral was long remembered by people who came from the colony regions. Thousands attended, including sixteen Rabbis from the district who had come to pay homage to this renowned scholar and devoted leader. Stories of Rabbi Pinkhas' activities were related by the following generations and this author remembers listening to his grandparents relate the tales of their beloved grandfather.

Rabbi Pinkhas' obituary appeared in the Hebrew newspaper Hamelitz:

"GRAFSKOY: (a Jewish colony in the Government of Yekaterinoslav). - the 27th day of Adar Rishon was for us a day of mourning and grief because on it departed to his eternal life in the sixty seventh year of his life, the great Rabbi, Av Din of this place, our Rabbi Pinkhas Komisarov who officiated to the glory of our colony in the position of rabbi and Shokhet and examiner more than thirty years. Great honour was shown him upon his death, all the Rabbis of the surrounding colonies gathered and came to pay him their respects and to eulogize him according to the law. He was great in Torah and Fear of Heaven, and in peace and honesty led his brethren the farmers. Peace be to his dust and may his soul be bound up in the bond of everlasting life. Kalman Bruser."

(The author of this obituary, Kalman Bruser, was a son of David Moshe Bruser whose family also originated in Rassein and settled in Grafskoy.)

Whilst Rabbi Pinkhas left no written record of his scholarship, several books which belonged to him were saved from destruction during the revolution, and these bear his signature. A treasured memento of him is in daily use by this author: his Tefilin which were inherited by his grandson Shlomo Zalman Komesaroff (Kaye) of Melbourne and in turn by this author.

Pinkhas's grandson Mordekhai (Mottel/Mark), a son of Rabbi Zalman Komisaruk of Vasilkovka, mentions his grandfather in his memoirs [9] :

"The first of our ancestors who I remember was my father's father, the grandfather Pinkhas, by him there were three other brothers, of whom I only knew the great-uncle Velvel. Other brother, that means my great-uncles with the names Yaakov and Zalman, I did not see. One of them was in Kovno, and the grandfather Pinkhas and the great-uncle Velvel lived in a Jewish colony in Yekaterinoslav Government, Mariupol district. The colony was called Grafskoye, or No. 7 (all 17 colonies which were situated in Yekaterinoslav Government had a number). The grandfather Pinkhas was a Shokhet and a Rabbi, and his sons, that means my uncles, father's brothers, worked the earth like peasants and the great-uncle Velvel with his sons Berel and Meir also initially worked the land, only later did Berel opened a small store, and Meir was living by the work of the land.

When I was 6 years old I remember that they brought to grandfather Pinkhas a painted tree with branches, the tree began with the great-grandfather who was called Mendel. From there it went to his sons Pinkhas, Velvel, Yaakov and Zalman. Only in my memory remains only the grandfather Pinkhas with his four sons Shlomo Zalman (this was my father) with his brothers Mendel, Simkha and Meir. What I am writing about is only the roots which came out from the grandfather Pinkhas with his brother Velvel. (On the tree were only male people)."

There are several errors, namely that Pinkhas's father was not Mendel, but Zalman and Pinkhas had another brother who lived in Grafskoy, Leibl.

"We came to colony Grafskoy, there did the grandfather Pinkhas live, the grandfather Pinkhas I remember that he always used to go around with a black scarf tied to his cheek, I don't know the reason. He was an angry Jew. The parents went away to the village Vasilkovka, Pavlograd district, and I remained living in the colony learning from the Gemorah Melamed. I used to “eat kest” by uncle Simkha, and the brother by the uncle Mendel. The grandfather Pinkhas used every Shabbat to hear us, and never was he satisfied. He used to say it was a waste of the fees paid for our lessons. Later I wanted to travel home and I remember that Uncle Mendel harnessed his horse and a droshky and on Sukkot we came home"

Mottel's impressions of his grandfather Pinkhas are in sharp contrast to others of his cousins, particularly Mendel's son Zalman and Meir's daughter Khana-Reizel (later married and lived in Melbourne, Australia. They spoke of their grandfather Pinkhas with great affection. Mottel's attitude was perhaps a forerunner of his later revolt against traditional Shtetl education to the exclusion of any secular study. Indeed he was representative of many of his generation who yearned to be part of the open secular Russian society, restricted as it was in many ways to Jews.

Rokhel Luban (daughter of Avrom Hillel and Dina Namakshtansky) wrote about her maternal grandfather in her memoirs:

"Grandfather Rabbi Pinkhas didn't live very long. It was a cold winter. Grandfather did not want to wake the children so they could give food and water to the horses and cows. He got up and dressed warmly. In the barn he gave them all food. But they wanted to drink. He took the bucket with a rope out to the well to draw water. It was very slippery; it was a heavy frost and in the evening when they had drawn water from the well, some spilt out. As it was a very cold night, it froze and became very slippery. It was impossible to stand properly as Grandfather lowered the bucket and filled it with water. When he pulled up the bucket, it pulled him over into the well.

He began shouting for help. They couldn't find a rope. Everyone was so confused that they couldn't think clearly. In the same house with Grandfather lived Grandfather's brother (# Velvel) and he had a shop for farmers' supplies. But there was no rope. Grandfather called from the well:" You stand in the middle of the ocean and you ask for a drop of water.

When they pulled him out of the well they quickly brought a doctor. But he was too chilled and they could not save him. Seventeen rabbis from the surroundings came to the funeral. All the children from the places where they lived, together with many householders, came to pay their respects for the father.

For my mother it was the worst. When she was born and lost her mother, Grandfather used to sit all night with the Gemorrah in his hand (# studying), swinging the cradle. My mother knew how to `Pasken' all the `Sheylahs' (# make decisions of religious law)."

Rabbi Pinkhas' signature in a book 1884

Rabbi Pinkhas' signature Grafskoy mayor election 1861

-----------------------
1."Lekorot Ir Rassein Urabbaneiha" M.arkowitz, Warsaw 1913
2. ibid
3. Peter Kaye (Komesaroff), Melbourne, Australia.
4. "Jewish Agricultural Colonies in Ekaterinoslav Province in 1890", L. Uleinikov [Binshtok], St Petersburg, 1891. http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/Surveys_of_colonies_uleynikov.html
5. Clara Berchansky as related by her mother Rokhel Luban (nee Namakshtansky). Petah Tikvah, Israel
6. William Kaye (Komesaroff, son of Zalman), Melbourne, Australia.
7. Orlinsky, Ukraine album http://www.panoramio.com/user/3366156
8. Mel Comisarow, Vancouver, Canade, while visting the colonies.
9. Literal translation from Russian and Yiddish. Memoirs provided by Joseph Komissarouk, USA.

Jewish Agricultural Colonies In the Ukraine

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 19:02:00 +0000

Update Jan-July 2010

Researcher: Chaim Freedman chaimjan@zahav.net.il
Website manager: Max Heffler

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/

Berel Komisaruk House and farmyard, Grafskoy c.1908

Considerable material has been added to the site over the last year. With the growing accessibility of Russian, Belorussian and Ukrainian archives previously undiscovered material comes to light. Descendants of colonists, living in the former Soviet Union, are extracting material and developing their own sites.

Two Russian books which contain extremely valuable information about the Ekaterinoslav colonies:
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/Elena_Gavor.doc

L. Uleinikov [Binshtok], Jewish Agricultural Colonies in Ekaterinoslav Province in 1890, St Petersburg, 1891,

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/Surveys_of_colonies_uleynikov.html
I. Kankrin, Jewish Agricultural Colonies of Aleksandrov Uyezd Ekaterinoslav Province, Ekaterinoslav, 1893.
http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/Surveys_of_colonies_kankrin.html

The books are the result of a very detailed census of the colonies made by Uleinikov in 1890 and Kankrin in 1893. Each book has an introduction with a general overview and statistics. The authors are quite biased - Uleinikov is a supporter of Jewish agricultural colonies and Kankrin is a severe critic. The most valuable feature of these books is the detailed census of the colonists' households. The books have also a brief overview of each colony with summary of history and facilities. Kankrin's book has detailed house/street handwritten plans of the ten colonies he studied, including sketches of the types of buildings.

Menakhem Mendel Komisaruk house in Grafkoy after the Revolution

Uleinikov has complete lists of heads of all families (surname, name and patronymic) in 17 colonies of Ekaterinoslav Province, Aleksandovsk and Mariupol Uyezds, with detailed record of family composition, military service, type of house, agricultural implements, livestock, land and its subdivision within family and notes about profession etc.

Kankrin studied in a similar fashion 10 colonies in Aleksandrovsk Uyezd and has even more information about colonists' families. He was obsessed with the idea that colonists in reality remained artisans and not worked much as agriculturalists.

The Russian Foreword to Uleynikov's book has been translated

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/Foreword_0625.doc

An analysis of the validity of the conclusions of Ulaynikov and Kanrin was added entitled "Life on the Jewish Agricultural colonies – success or failure"

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/Life_on_the_Jewish_Agricultural_colonies,_success_or_failure.doc

An example is provided of one entry for the Komisaruk family of Grafskoy.

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/Colony_Surveys_Komisaruk_Family,_Grafskoy.doc

Holocaust material has been added with an interview of Ukrainian residents of former Jewish colony Novozaltopol by Father Patrick Desbois, which providesa horrifying account which demonstrates who actually carried out the massacre of nearly 800 Jews

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/Yahad.doc

Novozlatopol Mass Grave exhibit Gulyai Polye museum

Novozlatopol Holocaust memorial

Photographs have been added from the St. Petersburg Film archive and World ORT Photographic archive. These rare photos were taken of many colonies in 1904 and 1922 showing public buildings such as schools, synagogues, municipal offices, and farmhouses.

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/photoplaceindex.htm

Grafskoy school

colony reservoir and horses

Bogodarovka synagogue

A Yiddish book"Nayzlatopler Rayon" [Novozlatopol Region] is an account of the Sovietized colonies after the Revolution and Civil War.http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/NayzlatopolerRayon1935a.pdf

Comments on this book appear in an article "Destruction of Jewish Tradition under the Soviet Administration" assessing the affect of Sovietization on the destruction of Jewish cultural and religious life with particular reference to the role of the Yevsekzia.

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/Sovietization_of_Jewish_colonization.doc

Grafskoy synagogue converted to club.

Zelenopole synagogue prior to the Revolution

Zelenopole synagogue converted to theatre

Memoirs of Grafskoy 1907-1921 by the son of a rabbi of the colony include a description of life on the colony and the reaction to the pogroms during the Russian Civil War which took place after the Revolution.

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/Kol_Yaakov.doc

Mass grave Trudoliubovka after Makhno pogrom 1919

Nechayevka after Makhno pogrom 1919

Prenumeranten Lists [The list of subscribers] from three books which include many residents of the colonies.

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/Imrei_Shmuel_names.html

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/Kehilat_Yitskhakl_names.html

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/Hebrewbooks_org_31410.pdf

Links – a new page with links to useful sites.

http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Colonies_of_Ukraine/links.html

Yakov Pasik's Russian site is updated from time to time. The site includes material in both English and Russian together with photographs and maps.

http://www.evkol.nm.ru/js_ukraine_en.htm

Thanks go to those who extracted, translated, processed and contributed to the acquisition of this material:

Bernshtam, Pavel

Comisarow, Mel
Farber-Sherman, Mitja
Freedman, Chaim
Giller, Lisa.
Govor, Elena
Heffler, Max
Komissarouk, Joseph
Pasik, Yakov
Ronn, Michoel

Volunteers are sought for further translations.

Vilna Gaon Family Tree update

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:47:00 +0000

Elul 5769
August 2009

I am in the process of updating my database of descendants of the Vilna Gaon and his siblings, published in my book

"Eliyahu's Branches - the Descendants of the Vilna Gaon and His Family"
(Avotaynu 1997)

In the light of additional material received from many families and with resource to new archival records which were not available when my book was published, I am re-assessing the data

I Invite those, whose families appear in my book, to send updates of children born since the book’s publication twelve years ago, and any corrections. I would also like to hear from all families who hold a tradition of a relationship with the Gaon

Please send family trees in a gedcom file if possible

See updates on my blog http://eliyahusbranches.blogspot.com/
Chaim Freedman
Petah Tikvah
Israel
chaimjan@zahav.net.il

בס"ד
אלול תשס"ט

עץ המשפחה לצאצאי הגאון מוילנא ומשפחתו

הגנאלוג חיים פרידמן (פתח תקוה), כתב לפני 12 שנה ספר בשם

“ענפי אליהו צאצאי הגאון החסיד ר' אליהו מוילנא זצוק"ל ובני משפחתו”

הספר נדפס באנגלית ושמו הוא

“Eliyahu’s Branches, The Descendants of the Vilna Gaon and His Family” ספר נדפס על ידי הוצאת 'אבותינו' בניו ג'רזי, 1997

הספר כולל את כל הענפים הידועים מהמשפחות הנ"ל, שהתפשטו על פני ארצות תבל. והוא אחד הספרים המקיפים ביותר שנעשו בגנאלוגיה היהודית

בימים אלו, עובד חיים פרידמן, על עריכת מאגר נתונים מעודכן

אי לכך, הוא מזמין את כל אלו שהינם מצאצאי הגאון מוילנא ומשפחתו, שאינם מופיעים בספר, או שמופיעים בספר, אך בצורה לא מעודכנת, שחסרים פרטים וכדומה, או כל מי שיודע על אישים מצאצאי הגאון מוילנא, ליצור קשר אתו במייל

chaimjan@zahav.net.il

Hosias (Yehoshua Heshel) Lemky

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 09:43:00 +0000

Hosias Lemky was born in 1853 in Windau (Ventspils) Courland (Latvia).
He died in 1942 in Berlin, Germany.

He was a son of Leib (Lewin) and Rasche Lemky of Windau (Ventspils).
See separate article on the Lemky family.

Lemky family census, Windau, 1850.

Windau (Ventspils), Latvia.

According to his grandson, Hosias Lemky was a Cantor at the Adass Jisroel Synagogue in Berlin. He was not a rabbi, but was very religious and scholarly. He also functioned as gabbai taking care of many of the administrative functions of the community and caring for the synagogue appertances such as the silver Torah crowns.

The Hildesheimer Rabbinical Seminary was attached to the Adass Jisroel Synagogue, Artillerie Strasse, Berlin and Hosias also carried out administrative tasks at the seminary.

Hosias disapproved of his son Simon's plans to emigrate to Eretz Yisrael. Hosias was a member of the ultra-orthodox organisation Agudat Yisrael, one faction of which believed that Jews should stay in Germany to ensure the continuation of the community.

Simon was imprisoned in Oranienberg Concentration Camp on Krystalnacht in 1938. Friends managed to have him released and he got to Eretz Yisrael.

Hosias was very wealthy and had 230,000 Reichsmarks in the bank. Even though conditions for the Jews were very bad after the Nazis came to power in 1933, Hosias refused to save himself by leaving the country.

Officials of the synagogue including Lemky.

Before the Second World War Hosias and his wife lived at Berlin-Charlottenburg, Marburger Str.5. During the Nazi period they had to move to Berlin-Wilmersdorf, Joachimsthaler Str. 13.They lived in one room and as most of the Jews of Berlin were deported to the extermination camps in the East, the Lemkys had to fend for themselves. Soon no one came to help the elderly couple and they had very little food.

In March 1942 Hosias died in the Jewish Hospital from illness and malnutrition.

Testimony Page at Yad Vashem.

Six months later the Nazis came for his wife and deported her to Theresienstadt Concentration Camp in Czechosovakia where she refused to eat non-Kosher food and died a month later.

Information from "Stiftung Neue Synagoge Berlin, Centrum Judaicum" August 28, 2003:

"We found a Hosias Lemky, born Nov. 3rd 1853 in Windau (Latvia) who worked at the Israelitsche Synagogengemeinde Adass Jisroel as "Vorbeiter und Kantor". He died March 24 1942 in Berlin. His wife Helene (Lenne) Lemky nee Graumann, born July 22nd 1855 Kamin (West Prussia) was deported to Theresienstdt on Sept 14th 1942 where she died a month later. Their address was Berlin-Charlottenburg, Marburger Str. 5. She had to move later, so her last address before deportation was Berlin-Wilmersdof, Joachimsthalter Str. 13. Probably their son Simon Lemky, last address in Berlin: Marburger Str. 5 went to Palestine."

"Adass Jisroel Die Judische Geneinde in Berlin (1869-1942)" by Mario Offenberg:

“Helene Lemky, nee Graumann, born 22-7-1855 in Kamen
Lastly living in Berlin-Charlottenburg, Joachimtaler Strasse 13,
with the Family Friedmann. On 8 September 1942 she had received
in the Artillerie Strasse 31 from the Court official in Berlin-Schoenberg the
orders from the Gestapo and she was six days later on 14 September 1942
deported to Theresienstadt as an 87 year old, with the so called "Second
Large Old People Transport" (1000 persons).
Her son Simon was then in Palestine.

Her husband Hosias Lemky, born 3 Nov 1853 in Windau, was second Cantor in
Adass Jisroel (responsible for the Weekday services in the Synagogue in
the Artillerie Strasse 31), he died on 24 march 1942 in the Jewish
Hospital in Wedding, Iranische Strasse. The address of the couple until the
death of Hosias was Marburger Strasse 5.
According to the burial card Hosias Lemky did not die the 24th, but already
the 23rd of March 1942 and was buried on 26-3-42 at the Cemetery of Adass
Jisroel in Berlin-Weissensee, Part D, Row 1a, grave number 14."

Memoirs of Siegried Wollheim (in the above book):

"First Chazan Keiles was besides his official work also a sought after "Mohel"
and on many weekdays he saved us from the Tahanun prayer (which
is not said at a "Brit Milah"). Very loved was also Mr. Lemke, especially
when here cited with a resounding voice from the Torah before "Minchah" .
The Esra had brought the Adass much closer to me, especially in the
Artilleriestrasse. Every second day Yom Tov I went in the afternoon to
the Esra-events from Charlottenburg to the Artileristrasse, first to
minchah, and I often remember the last Kaddish, the prayer of sorrow,
of the second Chazan, Mr.Lemky, on the last holiday in the melody of
the High Holidays, when he thundered out the prayer with his bass-voice."

Hosias Lemky lived in an apartment within the synagogue. A neighbouring apartment was occupied by Rabbi Dr. Moshe Auerbach who taught at the Rabbinical Seminary. He settled in Petah Tikvah, Israel. His son, Shmuel Auerbach recalled Hosias Lemky with affection. In particular he recalled that Hosias took groups of youth from the community for hikes in the forest and used to lead them singing his favourite tunes.

Hosias had the following children:

Simon (died 1948 in Petah Tikvah, Israel).
Julius (1874-1934), lived in the USA.
David Paul Gunther (1977-1942) lived in Hamburg, Germany.
Leopold (1880-1935), ,lived in Berlin, Germany.

Hosias Lemky was a brother of Frederika (Freda), wife of Tzvi-Benyamin Kvint of Letskava, Lithuania, parents of Yoel-Yehudah (Julius) Quint (1863-1938) father of Khaya-Reeva (Annie) Freedman (1885-1967), father of Yaakov-Reuven (John Ronald) Freedman (1910-1999), father of Chaim Freedman, author this blog.

Dimantshtein Family

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:54:00 +0000

The Dimantshtein family originated in Polotsk, Belarus and moved to various towns in Latvia: Rekekne (Rezhitza), Daugavpils (Dinaburg/Dvinsk), Riga, Karsava (Korsovka), Ludza (Lutzin). The family were Leviim.

The family were Chabad Chassidim in Latvia. They were quite prosperous trading in flax, timber and fish. One branch of the family set up a fishery in Aberdeen, Scotland. Some changed the name to Diamond.The earliest generation which has been traced in archival records was Zev Wulf Halevy Dimantshtein, born about 1770 In Polotsk and died before 1839. His children were Greinen, Eliyahu and Moshe.

Eliyahu was born about 1800 and died before 1885. His children were David, Avraham, Shmuel and Zev-Wulf.

Documents in Latvian archives including the 1889 list of Jews who lived in the rural areas of Lutzin district: David Dimantshtein, born in 1823 in Polotsk, moved to Korsovka in 1872 from Rezhitza. He must have moved at an earlier date from Polotsk to Rezhitza. He is described in this list as a merchant. According to family tradition he and his wife operated an inn on the outskirts of Korsovka. The circumstances which led to his burial in Lutzin rather than Korsovka are not known. The birthdates and birthplaces of his children are estimated. Information about some of his family taken from a family drawn up in England in 1948 by Norman Nygate.

Tombstone of David, son of Eliyahu Halevy Dimantshtein, Ludza 1901.
(Photographed by Aleksanders Feigmanis, Riga).

Vulf, (son of Elyash) was born in 1839 Polotsk, and moved to Korsovka in 1878.Vulf 's children: Abram, Elye, Treina, Dveira, Liba, Itka, Musya. All born between 1869-1885.

David’s wife was Keila-Tsirel. Her parentage is not known but Genetic testing revealed matches with several families such that she may have been related to families in the Vitebsk region such as Popkovitch, Leviyan (Gamerov), and others. Keila Tsirel was a short woman who had very definite views about bringing up her family. She wanted her daughter Rivka to know how to milk a cow so she had the maid Marfa teach Rivka. David and Keila-Tsirel were wealthy farmers and publicans, operating an inn on the outskirts of Korsovka. Once an inspector paid a visit to the inn and while sampling the food found an insect in a bun. Anxious to save her parents from prosecution, Rivka ate the bun quickly claiming that the insect was only a raisin.

The family developed widespread trading enterprises supplying the markets in the capital Riga with timber and flax for which trade they held a license. They also marketed herring on a large scale caught in the lakes near Lutzin. These business enterprises took several sons to live in Riga, in particular Tsvi-Hersh and from there expanded the trade to England in the late 1870’s which led to several members of the family settling there from 1880.

David and Keila-Tsirel's children were:

1) Zissa (c.1844-1932) married Pesakh Gordin and lived in Berzpils.

2) Yehudah Leib c.1848 - 1917 Korsovka.

3) Tsvi Hersh 1850 -1930 Riga.

4) Rivka (Rashka/Rebecca) 1851 or 1856-1834 married Mordekhai Zev Vulf (Max) Bull 1853-1931 London (see separate article).

5) Reuven c.1852, died 1934 London.

6) Zev Vulf 1856-1920 Korsovka.

7) Getzel c.1857-1890 Korsovka.

8) Moshe (Marks) 1860 - 1942 London.

9) Yeshaya c.1860 - 1933 London.

10) Zalman (Solomon) 1865 -1937 New York.

11) Meir, b.1865 never married, Riga.

12) Barukh . Identity unclear. According to Patricia Levitsky's history of the family, Barukh was a brother of her grandmother Rivka Bull. But Llyoyd Nygate's family tree does not include Barukh. He may have been a brother-in-law to Rivka's husband Max Bull, the husband of his sister.

1) Zissa and Pesakh Gordin lived in Berzpils and lost many of their family in the Holocaust. Their son Yaakov-Zev-Wulf settled in Korsovka where he was killed by the Nazis together with his children Raisa, Zalman and Mikhail. The surviving children Liuba Kalinkov, Gitta Tsiplevitch and Pesakh-Eliyahu settled in Israel. Zissa’s sons Mendel and Dan also perished in Berzpils. Mendel’s son Aba Gordin survived and lived in Korsovka. He possessed a Sefer Torah and took upon himself to organize religious servives for the small community that survived the Holocaust

2) Yehudah-Leib’s son Moshe-Eliyahu operated the family trade from Riga, settling in Lodon in the 1920’s where he opened a wooden barrel factory importing timber from Riga. He married his cousin Sonya, daughter of his uncle Getzel Dimantshtein.

3) Tzvi- Hersh left his hometown Korsovka and moved to Riga to engage in business. He became wealthy and started the Dimantshtein export business to England of herring, timber and flax. With the expansion of this business a number of his relatives immigrated to England. Tzvi’ son Bernard travelled to Aberdeen, Scotland to conduct his father's business and opened a fish processing plant and a factory to produce barrels from the timber his father exported from Riga. The barrels were sent back to Riga, filled with herring, and exported back to Scotland. Bernard changed his surname to Diamond.

4) Rivka – see separate article “Mordekhai-Zev (Max) Bull”.

Mordekhai-Zev and Rivka Bull, 50th Wedding Anniversary, London 1922.

5) Reuven
According to Maurice Bull's memoirs Reuven was very tall, over six feet, and had a large spade beard. He was a very excitable man who once reacted violently to an anti-Semitic remark made in the street. He was a furrier and settled in England in 1897.

Reuven’s son Yehudah-Leib was killed in the Arab riots of 1929 while working in the Diskin orphanage in Jerusalem.

Details of his death appear in “Yizkor Am Yisrael et Kedushei Tarpat” (Berzin and Weiss, Jerusalem 1930).
Literal translation from Hebrew:

“Yehudah-Leib Dimantshtein of blessed memory was born in 1880 in Russia to his father Reb Reuven Halevy. Yehudah-Leib was educated on the knees of Torah and Chabad Chassidism. However, when he was still young, at the age of seventeen, and desirous of expanding and completing his knowledge of religious learning, his studies were stopped. Because of his bad material situation his father was obliged to emigrate with his family to London. Here Yehudah-Leib bore the yoke together with his father of supporting the family. He worked initially at simple physical labour, afterwards learnt a trade and lived by it for many years. At the same time he `strove in the dust at the feet of the wise’, learnt with the Gaon Moshe-Avigdor Chaikin. In his spare time he also laboured for the community, involved in the needs of various societies and institutions. All those years since arriving in London his mind was occupied with his aspiration to settle in Eretz Yisrael. But the obstacles he encountered were too great for him.

At last Yehudah-Leib overcame all the obstacles and emigrated to Eretz Yisrael in 1922. Upon arriving in the country Yehudah-Leib managed to find work in Jerusalem. He was one of the happy of the world, the sparks of his soul reached a single perfection. He lived by the labour of his hands in Jerusalem, approaching starvation from his meager bread, praying daily with the community of Chabad, set aside hours for Torah.

But his work did not leave him much time. Long periods of want arrived. In the years of depression in the country, 1926-1927, economic deprivation reached the house of Yehudah-Leib, reached its limits. Lacking everything, his father in his letters demanded that he return to London and they would make a living together. “Your son should not go down together with you [to the grave] “ was Yehudah-Leib’s answer. In the end he went to work at the Diskin Orphanage. He carried out his work faithfully and diligently. While he was attending the orphans of the institution he was obliged to add to them his son, aged four, who was orphaned from his mother who died at the beginning of 5689 [1929] in a car accident.

On Friday 17th of Av, during an attack by Arabs on the Rabbi Diskin Orphanage in the suburb Givat Shaul, Yehudah-Leib was severely wounded. Four days he lay struggling with the suffering of death. He passed away on Monday 20th Av.”

Yehudah-Leib’s first wife died in London and he remarried in Jerusalem Minna Moseieff of an old Hebron family related to the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Their only son Avraham was born in 1925. In 1977 attempts were made to trace this son and an elderly official of the Diskin Orphanage related that there was tension between Yehudah-Leib and Minna. She demanded a divorce which Yehudah-Leib refused. During a visit to Jerusalem by the Lubavitcher Rebbe Yosef-Yitskhak Shneerson, attempts were made to persuade Yehudah-Leib to give the divorce. The Rebbe summoned him to the Amdursky Hotel and commanded him to grant the divorce. But Yehudah-Leib refused. The situation reached a tragic end with the death of Minna in a car accident on the 17th of Shevat 5689 [1929]. Both Minna and Yehudah-Leib are buried in the Chabad section of the cemetery on the Mount of Olives. The orphan son, Avraham grew up and lived with his family in Beersheva under the Hebrew form of his surname “Yahalomi”.

6) Zev Wulf (also known as Velvel), born 1856, died 1920 in Korsovka.
Operated a farm on the outskirts of Korsovka, perhaps the property which belonged to his father David. This was located near the Jewish cemetery near “Naudas Kalns” the infamous site of the massacre of the Jews in 1941.

Children:
Eda - U.S.A.
Shmuel (1882-1943 Siberia),

Getzel (died in Russian exile)

Avraham (killed in Korsovka in 1941)

Eliyahu (died in Kokand in 1942),
Pessia,
David , Haifa
Yekhezkel or Khatzkel, Kfar Blum.
Gershon (killed in the Holocaust)
Seeka (killed while serving in the Latvian army).

Zev Wulf’s son Shmuel
Escaped with his wife across the Latvian/Russian border when the Germans invaded Latvia. Perished from the rigours of life in exile in Siberia.

Family of Shmuel Dimantshetin, Korsovka c. 1934

Shmuel’s son Eizik survived the Riga Ghetto and was deported to Stuthoff concentration camp.

Eizik Dimantshtein, Israel 1987.

The few survivors were evacuated to Sweden and liberated en route when the war ended May 8, 1945. Eizik lived for several years in Sweden and then immigrated to Israel where he worked as an engineer. He provided considerable material about his family. The following are excerpts (translated from Hebrew and Yiddish) of an interview in 1987 by Chaim Freedman, published in "The Pen and The Blade".

“My grandfather Velvel was married first to Gitta and then to Minna by whom he had four sons. We are Leviim and Chassidim. In our township there were two or three synagogues for the Chassidim and two or three for the Misnagdim. My grandfather and grandmother lived not far from the cemetery and all the time one had to pass their house.
In our township on Simkhat Torah the Chassidim would open the large oven and take out the Tsimmes and walk from house to house. It was a jolly time. That was the way with the Chassidim. The Misnagdim did not act that way. In our town was a secondary school where you could matriculate. Then I served for two and a half years in the Latvian army. Due to the anti-bourgeois feeling in Korsovka after the Soviet takeover in 1940 I went to Riga to work. There my sisters and brother were studying at the university. On the first day of the occupation Zhenia and Gitta were rounded up with large numbers of women, herded to the central prison and killed. Volinka was taken with men to the forest and killed. I was saved since the place where I was living was not included in the roundup.

I was actually in Riga when the war started as were two uncles Getzel and Eliyahu, sisters Zhenia, Gitta and brother Volinka (Zev-Wulf). In Korsovka remained my father Shmuel and Avraham. My father was engaged in the forest trade, timber, produce and flax. He would buy from the peasants and ship to Riga. They called it a “Handler In Vald’. Flax was a rich and honorable trade in Latvia. One needed a government license.

My parents lived in Korsovka with my sister Rivka and they fled as soon as the war started. Those who remained in Korsovka were rounded up and killed. I think Avraham was one of those killed. My father died in Kokand in 1943 of typhus. My mother with Rivka returned to Riga after the war.

I worked in the Riga Ghetto in a factory. When I asked a gentile Latvian from Korsovka about the fate of the Jews there he told me “All the Jews in Korsovka were shot like dogs.” I heard afterwards that they rounded them up in a side street, took all of them, once they had prepared pits in the forest, it was not far from where grandfather had lived, called Naudas Kalns, the “Hill of Silver” and killed them all.

In Riga there were 40,000 Jews, In the Ghetto there were 30,000 until they killed 25,000. 5,000 remained in the “Small Ghetto” and I was amongst them. We worked in the railway freight station. Wagons would arrive. I was supposed to be specialist as I was one of the 600 Jews who were called craftsmen and so they looked after us. We worked there until the Russians approached Riga and then the Germans evacuated us. They came at night and put us in a store and told everyone to undress. In the middle sat one at a table and they called us by the numbers which everyone bore and he had to present himself, that is to run naked with hands in the air and to turn around. Then he would say right or left. They wanted to take the healthiest men who had no blemish on their bodies. That was why we had to turn around. To the right was life; to the left was the world to come.

So they evacuated us to Stutthof near Danzig. They acted relatively better to us because we were specialists and went to work where the railway passed by. Then I saw the crematorium. A German walked with a piece of white chalk in his pocket. In the summer there was no work. They walked around the yards, the German looking around. Whoever didn’t walk well he drew an “X” with chalk on their back. These were sent to the crematorium. We worked for about a half or three quarters of a year. Then the Russians once again approached and they evacuated us. Then I saw the destruction that they had wrought. Mountains and mountains of bodies. That was then the evacuation. Again the Russians approached Danzig and bombed Stutthof and the Germans didn’t want to leave us. I was sick with typhus. That was on the 25th of April. We felt that at any moment the whole business would be over. As is known the war ended May 8th. I had a temperature of 41°. I was in the clinic. There was an epidemic. To my good fortune and that of another Jew (his name was Shmuel and he settled in Australia) we were the first to catch typhus. To my good fortune, what do I mean? They took us to the clinic. Later the Goyim also got sick and then they didn’t take Jews any more to the clinic. All the Jews who had typhus were put in a barrack and it was burned down. I remember that I was on the third floor. Some officers wanted to run away. One said “We are leaving them here.”
We thought “Thank G-d”. I had no more strength. But in the morning came an announcement: they are taking us with them.

We were a few kilometers from the Baltic Sea. There was no port and ships could not approach. People who were sick and could not manage the four kilometers were told: “Don’t worry – stay here and we will take you.” I, after four years in concentration camps, knew about their favours. I went down with difficulty and walked. Those who remained were all shot. Between 27-29th April we embarked on a motor less ship which was towed. What is meant by “embarked” ?. The ship was 100-150 metres from the shore. They placed a narrow bridge of boards. Sick people had to make it. They fell and they killed them. I succeeded; I had been as strong as an ox. I got inside. There we sailed until May 8th. They wanted to take us because if we weren’t with them they would be sent to the front. They wanted to take us to a Baltic port, but everywhere were either the English or the Americans. Until May 8th we sailed on the sea and then the war ended. It is possible to write thousands of pages on the Hell which was there. If there is a Hell then it is a Paradise compared to the Hell which was there. They put in four times the number of people for whom there was space. One on top of the other. Whoever had strength lay on those who hadn’t. At night shouts of Hell were heard from the people who were dying. In the morning the SS came and lowered a rope from above for those who had died to be tied and hauled up top. They slit their stomachs with a knife so that the bodies wouldn’t be washed up, and threw them overboard. On May 8th the German team shouted: “the war is over and you can come out” and they fled.

On the 12th of May we reached port in Sweden. There were journalists who photographed us. The wounds will never heal. Twenty to twenty five years came the dreams at night. One cannot forget.”

Zev’s son Eliyahu’s daughter Luba Teitelbaum (Netanya, Israel) described the Nazi invasion of Riga in July 1941. When the Germans invaded the Russians left quickly. Her husband had worked for them and so was given a pass for his family. The Germans occupied half of Riga while the other side of the river Dvina was still held by the Russians so that those who had influence could escape. Liuba and her family travelled by Gorky and then to Kokand in Uzkekistan. Her parents also got passes and joined them. Her younger brother Shmuel was in hospital in the German part of the city and he was killed. Her sister Zelda’s little boy was in kindergarten in the occupied zone. He was trapped and killed there. In Korsovka relations with the Latvians had been reasonable. But as soon as the Germans invaded the Latvians started a pogrom. The daughter of the rabbi had escaped on foot, but having forgotten something returned and was killed in the street. One German resident Pankiewitz had married a Jewish girl. He saved his wife and her family in a secret chamber he had built in his house. He hid other Jews there including, it is thought, Marita the daughter of Getzel Dimantshtein. But she left and was presumed to be killed. Liuba’s father Eliyahu died of illness and deprivation in Kokand in 1942. Her mother and sisters returned to Riga after the war where her mother died in 1947. Liuba and Zelda settled in Israel. Her uncle Getzel died of disease in the Russian exile together with his son Pavel. Her uncle Avraham before the war travelled to London but returned to Korsovka where he was killed. Likewise her half-uncle Gershon was killed. Her half-uncle Seeka was killed serving in the Latvian army.

Liuba also recalled stories of the period before the Revolution. There were three incidents in Korsovka. On one occasion Russian soldiers from one of the warring sides burst into her uncle Shmuel Dimantshtein’s house. Liuba nd Eizik were terrified and sneaked through the crowd in the living room to the kitchen where they escaped to Christian neighbours. Shmuel’s house was looted and many valuables stolen. On another occasion her father Eliyahu and family took shelter with Christian neighbours who disguised them in peasant clothes. Russian marauders came and demanded to be told which shops in town had liquor and tobacco. They didn’t recognize Eliyahu as a Jew and asked him “Are there any Zhids ?” He replied that there weren’t. Liuba recalls seeing a Jew shot in the street. In 1920 Eliyahu and Getzel and their families moved to Riga. After the Second World War Liuba returned to Korsovka for a visit. She found most Jewish houses destroyed except for those of her father and her uncle Shmuel. Also the Jewish cemetery was intact.

The Jewish cemetery of Korsovka was photographed for Chaim Freedman by researcher Aleksandrs Feigmanis of Riga. About 300 photographs are held by Chaim Freedman.

Likewise the Lutzin cemetery was photographed and the data can be seen on the Ludza/Karsava Internet site http://www.shtetlinks.jewishgen.org/Ludza/

Ludza cemetery photograph by Zeeva Levy (Israel)

7) Getzel ‘s son Shmuel (Sam Diamond) settled in London were he was in business. He married his cousin Devorah (Dora) daughter of his uncle Reuven Dimantshtein.

8) Moshe (Marks)
Held a government contract to supply black bearskin hats to the British army during the Boel War. He was a wealthy furrier who lived in large house in Hackney Downs. According to the 1891 London Census, he immigrated to London about 1880, thereby being the first of the Dimantshtein family to leave Latvia.

9) Shaya
Arrived in England about 1900. made a living as a tallyman (draper). He was a member of the Jewish Socialist Bund in Russia and an ardent Zionist in England. He wrote a ballad in memory of the victims of the Kishinev pogrom in 1903. Shaya was an active Shadkhan (matchmaker) in London. On one occasion he believed that his grandniece Betty Sagon was possessed of a Dybuk (evil spirit) so he carried out a Kabbalistic ceremony of excorsism. Shaya had a tenor voice and acted as a Khazan on the festivals. He played the violin at family celebrations. At one family wedding (possibly Dora Bull's) he danced the Russian Kazatchka and died of a heart attack at the age of seventy three. After his death his widow went to South Africa to join their only daughter.

Other Dimantshteins included the Shokhet Khaim Dimantshtein and his son Nakhum who perished in the Holocaust in Rezekne. Shneur-Zalman Dimantshtein was a butcher in Korsovka, Several of his children survived the Holocaust by fleeing to Rostov. A grandson David settled in Israel in 1972. The Soviet Komissar Shimon Dimantshtein was born in Sebezh but it is not know if he was related.

Dimantshteins in London 1905; possibly Reuven and Shaya.

Mordekhai Zev (Max) Bull

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 07:46:00 +0000

The origins of the Bull family are unclear. The earliest records in Latvia show them in the town Lewenhoff (now Livani) in the Dvinsk/Denaburg (now Daugavpils) district. There was a Bull family living in Nikolsburg, Moravia in the 17th century with later generations living in Amsterdam, Holland. It is known that a ship bearing Jews from Holland, who were on their way to settle in Lithuania, sunk off the Baltic coast in 1692. This may account for the movement of Dutch Jews to Lithuania and Latvia, including perhaps ancestors of the Bull family.

The earliest Bull recorded in Lewenhoff was Ruven Bull, born about 1760. His son Zev-Wulf Bull was the father of Nakhum-Dov

The 1858 Revision List in Dvinsk records him as Nokhem Wulfovitch Bull aged 36. In his household appear his brothers Efraim (drafted 1849), Wulf aged 30 (name must be an error as he could not have borne the same name as his father), and Aba aged 20 (with his wife Lea aged 22), his wife Rokhlya aged 37, his daughter Hanna.

The 1875 Family List of Dvinsk records him as Nakhman Wulfovitch Bull. He also appears in 1872 in the Hebrew newspaper Hamagid as a donor in a list of Jews living in the `Alt Plan' part of Dvinsk as `Ber Bull'. In the same list appears `Yehuda Leib Bull' who may have been his brother.

Nakhum-Dov was the father of of Mordekhai-Zev-Wulf Bull.

According to the 1889 list of Jews who settled in rural areas of Ludza district, Mordekhai was born in Levenhoff, moved to Dinaburg (Dvinsk, Daugavpils), then moved to Korsovka (Karsava) in 1881.

Mordekhai Zev's age as recorded in Latvian records conflicts with the 1901 London census and the age on his tombstone which states that he was aged eighty three at his death in 1931. That would mean he was born in 1848 whereas the Latvian records indicate he was born in 1854.

Mordekhai-Zev Bull, London 1922.

Mordekhai-Zev was a Chabad Chassid who combined the spiritualism of the Lubavich tradition with a strong Litvak leaning to study. His grandson Rabbi Arthur-Saul Super described him as “a Chassid with the heart of a Litvak”. He was one of the first Chabad Chassidim to settle in London at the beginning of the twentieth century. There he was associated with another Chabadnik, Rabbi Moshe-Avigdor Chaiken in many communal endeavors.

The Bulls were soundly established in London, both communally and economically. Their home in 73 Evering Road, Stoke Newington was renowned as a centre of scholarship and the leaders of the ultra-orthodox community frequently visited to study with Mordekhai-Zev. Grandpa Bull as he was known to the family played the role of the strict patriarch. He was an imposing figure, immaculately dressed in a frock coat and high black Yarmulka (skullcap). He and his wife Rivka brought up their family in the joyous tradition of Lubavich, while insisting on devotion to study by his sons. His tombstone refers to him as “Mimetzuyanei Chasidei Chabad” (one of the excellent Chabad Chassidim).

But he lived very much in the modern world and engaged in the fur trade with his sons as "M. Bull and Sons, furriers” in Kingsford Road, London.

Mordekhai’s wife was Rivka (Rebecca), was born in 1852 to David Halevy and Keila-Tsirel Dimantshtein from Korsovka. See separate article about the Dimantshtein family.

Rivka Bull (nee Dimantshtein), London 1922.

Rivka Bull was a matriarchal figure, She was very active in communal affairs, as recorded on her tombstone. She was a founder of the Stepney Jewish Hospital and supported many charities in England and in Eretz Yisrael. Whilst being very religious she had many modern practices: she often rebelled against wearing a Sheitel, wore lipstick and smoked a pipe! Rumour had it that she wanted to be an opera singer since she had a beautiful voice. Her parents were horrified at the suggestion and quickly arranged the match with the Talmudic student Mordekhai-Zev Bull. Relations between them were strained throughout their marriage. But they hosted their many children and grandchildren on many joyous occasions such as their Golden Wedding in 1922 and often sixty relatives sat down to Seder on Pesach.

Rebecca and Max Bull, Golden Wedding 1922, London, with Golden Chanukiah presented by their family.

The Bulls had ten children:

Yehudah-Leib (Leon) (1873-1955) who was the first of the family to settle in London about 1894.

Haska (Sarah) (1876-1975) who married Elias Germain and lived in New York.

Avraham (Ephraim) (1877-1974).

Mendel (Emanuel) (c.1881-1871).

Leah (Lena) (1881-1945) who married Rabbi Yitskhak-Yaakov Super and lived in Melbourne, Australia (see separate article).

Chaya (Annie) (1883-1972) who married David Gold.

Elka ( Alice) (1884-1969 who married David Felkov .

Eliezer (Laurie) (1889-1974).

Devorah (Dora) ( 1892-1985) who married Maurice Sagon.

Moshe (Maurice) (1895-1980).

Leon and Emanuel Bull, London

Sarah And Elias Germain, New York.

Leon and Betsy Bull, London.

Lena (nee Bull) and Rabbi Yitskhak Yaakov Super, Evercreech, England c. 1914.

Immigrated to Melbourne, Australia in 1914.

Mordekhai-Zev Bull, died on the 10th Kislev 5692 (19th November 1931).

He was buried in the Montague Road Federation Cemetery, Edmonton, London

"Here is interred

The venerable, honourable,outstanding

in Torah and wonderful in Chassidut,

Naked in the Fear of Heaven one of the excellent of Chabad Chassidim

The R(abbi) Mordekhai-Zev

son of Nakhum Dov of blessed memory Bull.

Passed away at a good old age

in the 83rd year of his life,

Thursday 10th of the month of Kislev

5692

May his soul be bound up in the bond of everlasting life"

His grandson Arthur Saul Super (later Rabbi) wrote to his parents in Melbourne:

“He died like a grand old Jewish gentleman, full of years and honour. An hour before he died he discussed where certain words we were using appeared in the Bible. The funeral was a wonderful tribute to the man and his influence. He was taken to the Montague Road Shool where the Talmud Torah pupils were all drawn up as a guard of honour. Rabbi Abraham Witkind from a town in Latvia delivered a Hesped. During the week of Shiva the Gedolei Dor paid him honour, including Dayan Milman, the Trische Rebbe, Rabbi Kirsner, Rabbi Witkind, Rabbi Jacob Rabinovich”.

An obituary published in the Jewish Chronicle stated:

“North London Jewry has sustained a severe loss by the death of Mr. Marks Bull on Friday last. The deceased was a man of great learning and charm, and his life was one of unflinching loyalty to Orthodox Judaism. A number of institutions, particularly the Dalston Talmud Torah, owe much to his active support. He was one of the founders of the Old Castle Street Synagogue and retained his membership to the end. He enjoyed the intimate friedship of the late Dayan A. Chaikin with whom he was associated in many a worthy endeavour.”

A classroom was donated by the family to the Talmud Torah in Amhurst Road and Dayan Dr. A. Feldman spoke at the dedication.

Rivka Bull died on the 11th of Cheshvan, 5695, 20th of October 1934.

Her tombstone at the Federation Cemetery, Montague Road, next to her husband reads:

“Many wrought valiantly and you rose higher than them all. In many institutions of Torah and Prayer, charity and care, you acquired for yourself a name and a memorial in the country and outside it. This is the pious, intellectual, and generous of spirit and heart, doer of good deeds for the maintenance of Yeshivot, Talmud Torahs, synagogues and Study Houses, institutions of charity and care overseas and in the Holy land”.

Bull Family Reunion, England, 1985

ישוב ארץ הקודש - פעילות הגאן מוילנה

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:34:00 +0000

ישוב ארץ הקודש – פעילות הגאון מוילנה

The settlement of the Land of Israel - activity of the Vilna Gaon

(חיים פרידמן – ניסן תשס"ט, פרשת שמיני, בית כנסת מקור חיים, מנין נחלת זאב, פתח תקוה)

"באתי לבקש מאתכם שלא תצטערו כלל וכלל, כמה שהבטיחה לי אמי תחיה, וגם מה תדאגו. הנה אנשים נוסעים על כמה שנים בשביל ממון, מניחים נשותיהן וגם נע ונד בחוסר כל. ואני ת"ל נוסע לארץ הקדושה שהכל מצפים לראותה, חמדת כל ישראל וחמדת השם יתברך ברוך הוא"

כך פותח הגר"א זצ"ל באגרת ששלח לאשתו ואמו כאשר היה בדרך לארץ ישראל.
איננו יודעים את תאריך הנסיעה המדויק אך משארים שהיתה בין השנים 1770-1782.

הגר"א ממשיך את האגרת בפניה מרגשת ומלאת תקווה לעתיד איחוד המשפחה בארץ:

"אהובתי אמי, ידעתי שאינך צריכה למוסר שלי, כי ידעתי כי צנועה את. אף על פי כן יקראו לפניך האגרת הזאת, כי הם דברי אלוקים חיים. ומבקש אני מאד ממך בבקשה שטוחה שלא תצטער בשבילי כאשר הבטחת לי. ואם ירצה ה', אם אזכה להיות בירושלים ק"ק אצל שער השמים, אבקש בעדך כאשר הבטחתי לך. ואם נזכה, נראה יחדיו כולנו, אם ירצה בעל הרחמים"

איגרת זו , שנודע גם בשם "עלים לתרופה", הודפסה לראשונה בשנת תקצ"ו, ואולי גם קודם לכך.

בחוברת שכתב הרב קלמן רעדיש מלייקווד בשנת תשס"ג יש ביאור מפורט על אגרת זו. החוברת כוללת גם פרוש על האגרת מאת הרב יחזקאל סרנא זצ"ל.

מדבריו של הגר"א ניתן ללמוד על השקפתו לגבי ארץ ישראל כבסיס מרכזי ביהדות:

"גילוי של תורה הוא בארץ, כמו שאמר,ו אוירא דארץ ישראל מחכים, וגם הנבואה אינה שורה אלא בארץ ישראל"
("אדרת אליהו" על ספר דברים )

"עיקר התורה הוא בארץ ישראל"
(ביאור לשיר השירים)

"אור התורה הוא בארץ ישראל"
(ביאור לתיקוני זוהר)

"עיקר קיום המצוות תלוי בארץ"
(אדרת אליהו" על פרשת עקב)

הגר"א מסביר ששאיפותו של משה רבינו לראות את הארץ נבעה משום שהשתוקק לדעת את כל עייניה:

"שהוא עניין גדול כמו ידיעת התורה, שגבולה וכל ענייניה הן ענייני תורה"
(ביאור על הזוהר)

כך גם שאיפתו של הגר"א לראות את הארץ.

תלמידי הגר"א שהגיעו ארצה תיקנו חלק ממנהגיו כגון:

* לברך את ברכת הכהנים מידי יום, ולא רק בחגים בכפי שנהוג בחו"ל.
* לחדש לימוד סדר "זרעים" משום חשיבותו לקיום מצוות התלויות בארץ.

נושא רחב מדי לא ניתן לרדת לעומקו ולהקיפו במעמד זה. כדי להרחיב הלימוד בנושא ניתן לעיין בספרו של הרב דוב אליאך "הגאון" (תשס"ב) על בשלושת כרכיו גדושי מידע על הגר"א.

אגרת הגר"א הוא מסמך חשוב מכמה היבטים.

א. האגרת הוא ייחודי בין כתבי הגר"א שכן הוא כותב בה על נושאים אישיים ורגשיים, עובדה חריגה שאינה תואמת את אופי המוכר של הגר"א.

ב. יש באגרת הנחיות לחינוך ילדים ולהתנהגות מוסרית של בני המשפחה. הגר"א פונה לאשתו, אמו, ילדיו וחתנו ומבקש שישמרו על יחסים תקינים ביניהם.

ג. כסופיו האישיים של הגר"א לארץ הקודש גברו על דאגתו לבני משפחתו, אותם השאיר בחו"ל, הגר"א היה איתן בדעתו להגשים את געגועיו לראות את ארץ הקודש ולהתפלל בה.

ד. ניתן להשתמש בפרטים משפחתיים הכלולים באגרת, כדי לקבוע נתונים היסטוריים שאינם ברורים במקורות אחרים. מכיוון שהגר"א פונה לאמו ולאשתו, ניתן לקבוע את תחום התאריכים בהם נערך נסיון הנסיעה ביחס לשנות פטירה של אמו ואשתו.

מונחים בהם מתייחס הגר"א לתוכן וסדר הלימוד של בניו מעיד על כך שהם היו קטנים ורק הגיעו לגיל בו לומדים רק חומש. התייחסות זו לסדרי הלימוד של ילדיו היתה אחד הכלים לקביעת תאריכי הלידה של בני הגר"א, דבר שאושר לאחר מכן במפקדים של המאה ה-18 של הקהילה היהודית בווילנה.

למרות נחישותו של הגר"א, הוא לא הצליח להגשים את חלומו. הוא לא הגיע ארצה ונאלץ לחזור לווילנה. הסיבות לכך אינן ידועות עד היום, למרות עיון היסטורי בכל כתבי הגר"א, אלה שיצאו לאור בדפוס ואלה שנשארו בכתבי יד.

בנו השלישי של הגר"א, הרב אברהם מווילנה התייחס לתעלומה זו בהקדמה לביאור הגר"א על" שולחן ערוך אורך חיים" (שקלוב תקס"ג). הוא שאל את אביו פעמים רבות איך קרה שלא הגיע לארץ ישראל, אך לא קיבל תשובת פרט לנאמר ע"י הגר"א:

"אין לי רשות מן השמים".

מחקר רחב ומקיף על השפעתו של הגר"א על ישוב הארץ נערך ע"י דר' אריה מורגנשטרן, לשעבר ממכון דינור באוניברסיטה העברית בירושלים, ופורסם בכמה מספריו. דר' מורגנשטרן גם נתן הרצאה בנושא בקהילתנו.

בספרו "גאולה דרך הטבע" מורגנשטרן מתאר היבטים שטרם נגלו על עליות תלמידי הגר"א, אותם הוא מצא במסמכים בארץ ובאוספים יהודיים בחוץ לארץ.

על מנת להתגבר על מכשולים הלכתיים לעליה ארצה מסביר מורגנשטרן:

"בכח סמכותו הכריזמטית ביטל הגר"א את תקיפותן של "שלוש השבעות" האוסרות על פעילות אנושית בתהליך הגאולה:

א.שלא לעלות בחומה.

ב.שלא לדחוק את הקץ.

ג.שלא למרוד באומות העולם.
(בבלי כתובות קי"א ע"א)"

מאידך, ניתן לראות קשר עם פרשתנו ביחס לניסיון של נדב ואביהו להתערב בסדר הקבוע של עבודת המשכן.

עליית תלמידי הגר"א תוכננה על מנת להתכונן לקראת שנת ת"ר (1840), אחד המועדים שנחשבו כמתאים לביאת המשיח.

אך, משלא הגיע המשיח, חל מפנה משמעותי מעוד בחומר הלימוד בישיבות הליטאיות, בעיקר הפסיקו לימוד הקבלה בסדר הלימוד הקבוע.

בארץ נוסדה תנועת נטוראי קרתא, כחוג מופנם ומבודד שראה בכל לקיחת חלק מעשי בחידוש הישוב, כסטייה הלכתית.

גישה זאת נולדה, לפי דעתו של מורגנשטרן, מאכזבה ודיכאון של כישלון מבצע העליות של תלמידי הגר"א, מבצע שלפי השקפת חוגים אלה נועד להיות מאיץ לביאת המשיח.

בהיסטוריה של הציונות המודרנית יש התעלמות במידה רבה מחשיבותה של עליית תלמידי הגר"א.

על כך מתייחס דר' מורגנשטרן בהקדמתו לספרי "ענפי אליהו":

"חשוב לציין כי ערכה וחשיבותה של פעילות האקטיבית של תלמידי הגר"א אינה מצטמצמת בכך שהיא ערערה בשעתה את דפוסי התפיסה המסורתית את נושא גאולת עם-ישראל.

לטווח הרחוק השפיעה פעילותם בכך שחוללה שינוי מעשי ביחס כלפי ארץ ישראל הן מצד החברה היהודית המסורתית והן מצד אומות העולם.

האמת ניתנת להיאמר – לולי התשתית הטריאטורית בארץ ישראל, שהתבססה בזכות תלמידי הגר"א בראשית המאה הי"ט, ולולי התשתית היישובית שהתפתחה בארץ ישראל, בעיקר בירושלים, לא היה לפליטי הפרעות ברוסיה של שנת 1882 מקום מפלט אחר. הוא הדין גם לגבי התנועה הציונית, שנוסדה מאוחר יותר".

אני, תושבי פתח תקוה, חייבים לזכור את עלית תלמיד הגר"א מכוון שהמושבה פתח תקוה הוקמה על יד צאצאי תלמידי תלמידי הגר"א, "יוצאי החומות" מירושלים, בשנת 1878, לפני הקמת המושבות האחרות ע"י החלוצים של העליה הראשונה. עדות לכך ניתן לראות עד היום כאשר אנחנו מקבלים את השבת לפי שעות ירושלים.

צאצאי תלמידי הגר"א, וביניהם בעיקר משפחת ריבלין, מציינים בשנה הנוכחית מאתיים שנה לעלית הקבוצה הראשונה בשיירה שנחתה בארץ ב-ח' אלול בשנת תקס"ט (1809).

בשיירה היו 70 נפש ואת תאור הנסיעה הדרמתית ניתן לקרוא בספרו של ריבלין "חזון ציון – משקלוב לירושלים" (ירושלים תש"ו).

בהפטרה של פרשתנו אנו רואים את האכזבה של דוד המלך שלו זכה להגשים את חלומו לבנות את בית המקדש:

"כי ימלאו ימיך ושכבת את אבותך, והקימותי את זרעך אחריך אשר יצא ממעיך, והכינותו את ממלכתך, הוא יבנה בית לשמי...." (שמואל ב' פרק י': יב' יג')

אנו עברנו את החג הפסח, החג בו נולד הגר"א בשנת ת"פ (1720) וראיתי מן הראוי להביא מעט מהשפעתו עלינו כאשר זכינו אנו להגשים את חלומו של הגר"א בישוב הארץ.

Pruning the Super Family Tree

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 13:26:00 +0000

Pruning the Super Family Tree.
September, 2008
Chaim Freedman

(Click on documents and photos to enlarge)

When I began to research the history of the Super family in the mid-1970’s to trace the family tree, the contemporary generations of the family living in Australia and England were the only members of the family known to me. Whilst I knew that there were many relatives in South Africa and some in Canada, there had been no contact with them for many years. Indeed, even when contact was re-established, the diverse branches of the family were not aware of the exact relationships between them.

In the mid 1980’s Norman Super, living in Melbourne and originally from South Africa, sent me a family tree compiled by elderly relatives in South Africa whilst attending a family celebration, probably in the early 1970's. This clarified many connections and as each new source came to light, the family tree began to take shape. The various branches were assumed to belong to a common trunk, with a common ancestor named Shmuel. At the time archival records in the Former Soviet Union were not available to confirm this theoretical tree, based on oral history. With the fall of that State valuable and relevant material pertaining to the family was discovered in Latvia.

Shmuel

The above is a condensed version of the tree.
This tree shows five siblings as the children of Shmuel Super. One of the siblings is indicated by a blank space above the name of “Samuel m Daphnie”. These were supposed to be the parents of Rabbi Yitskhak Yaakov Super of Melbourne. “Daphnie” was not his mother’s name; it was Khaya Minna. Apparently the elders of the family in South Africa who put together this tree did not know the name of this presumed sibling of the ancestors of their respective branches of the family.

Rabbi Yitskhak Yaakov Super, Evercreech, England c.1912

The earliest name known to the Australian Supers was Shmuel, the father of Rabbi Yitskhak-Yaakov. He and his wife Khaya-Minna lived in the small town of Korsovka now called Karsava, in Latvia. The region was until the Russian Revolution of 1917 part of the Russian Empire in the eastern part of Vitebsk Gubernia (government) known as Latgale (or Lettland). Since Yitskhak Yaakov had left his parents' home in Korsovka at the age of twenty-one and settled in England, he had little opportunity to hear from his father information about his family's origins, nor did he get to know his many relatives who lived in the neighbouring town Lutzin, where in fact he had been born. Such was also the case for his brother Yosef who also settled in England at an early age.

Khaya-Minna, Fruma and Shmuel Super c.1905, Korsovka, Latvia.

In a letter (in Hebrew) written in 1960 Yitskhak-Yaakov Super answers his son Rabbi Dr. Arthur Saul Super, then living in South Africa, who asks him about the relationships among the family Arthur met in South Africa. Yitskhak Yaakov explains that he left his home town as a young teenager in order to study and then worked as a Shokhet in a number of towns until he left Latvia aged twenty-one:

“It is nearly fifty-nine years since I left Korsovka and how can I remember the Supers, but you can tell them that all the family who you met or who you will meet are not only relatives, but are flesh and blood to us. About Mr. Benjamin who is close to seventy three years old, if his name in Hebrew is Benyamin son of Reb Shmuel Sholem, he would be our second cousin.”
At the time of my original research I did not know who this person was and so made no use of this information until 2003 when I received photographs of many of the tombstones in the Jewish cemetery in Korsovka, including that of Shmuel-Sholem.

One earlier generation of the Australian and English branch was available, derived from the Korsovka tombstone inscription of Shmuel Super, Yitskhak-Yaakov’s father. A photograph of the grave was sent to Australia by Shmuel's son Khatzkel (his full name was Yekhezkel and he also appears in the picture) taken after the death of Shmuel in Korsovka in 1928. Since Hebrew names appearing on a tombstone also include the father's name, it was established that Shmuel's father was called Yosef-Yehoash. The name Yehoash is very rarely used, although its Biblical origin stems from the righteous King of Judah, Yehoash who repaired and rededicated the Temple in Jerusalem.

Rabbi Arthur-Saul Super (Avraham-Shaul) told me of an oral tradition that there was an earlier ancestor, Rabbi Tuviah (Teviah) Super who he had heard had lived in Lutzin in the early nineteenth century. He had also been told that his ancestors had been Soferim (scribes) for many generations. This was in fact the origin of their surname, Super being a Russian corruption of the term Sofer, or it's Aramaic version Safra, being the usual designation of the official town scribe: `Safra Demata'.

Yet another item of oral history told to Arthur by relatives in South Africa was that an ancestor had written a Sefer Torah, which he had presented to the Baron Ginzburg who was in fact his cousin!

These sparse oral traditions formed the basis for extrapolating theoretical lines of descent. Firstly a record was found of one Teviah Super who held the position of Gabbai of the Great Synagogue in Lutzin. He was listed as one of the notables of Lutzin in “Yahadut Latvia” (Israel 1953), “Tevi Super, Gabbai of the Great Synagogue”.

This reference did not indicate when “Tevi” lived. However Magistrate records from 1897 found by Latvian researcher Aleksanders Feigmanis refer to a dispute involving Teviah Super Gabbai of the Alt Shule Mankov”. So the above reference to “Tevi Super” did not refer to an early ancestor of the entire Super family, mentioned by Rabbi Arthur Super according to family oral history in South Africa.

A connection with Tuviah/Tevi was thought to have been discovered in a book that had belonged to Yitskhak-Yaakov Super, thought to have been passed from earlier generations. This book was presented to me by my mother-in-law Edna Berliner (daughter of Yitskhak-Yaakov), but the significance of the inscriptions inside the front and rear covers eluded me for many years.

On the inside front cover is a faded inscription in Hebrew that is barely decipherable as a person's name written in Hebrew. Also in Latin characters appears the surname `Lichtenstein'. I thought that it was possible that there was a relationship with the rabbinic Lichtenstein family that flourished for several generations in Latvia.

On the inside back cover is an inscription in Yiddish and Hebrew:
"I was born on the 29th of Sivan in the year 5561”, the Hebrew year corresponding to 1801.

Above this inscription appear two words in very faded Russian script. The pages were photocopied and thereby it was possible to adjust the intensity of light and magnification so as to highlight the inscriptions. Whilst not all the letters were discernable, the missing one could be interpolated. The Russian script was a name: “Toviah Davidovich”

I thought that this was the Tuviah Super referred to by Arthur Super. Not only had his birth date been established, 1801, but his Russian patronymic provided the name of his father: David.

Based on this information, which in hindsight was tenuous, given that the book may not have belonged to the Super family at all, but had simply passed into their hands, I theorized that the sequence of the generations could be put together. Since Shmuel was born about 1850, his father Yosef-Yehoash would have been born about 1825. Since “Toviah Davidovich” was born in 1801, I thought he must have been the father of Yosef-Yehoash. This should then make David the common ancestor of the various siblings shown on Norman Super’s tree.

I then sought earlier ancestors. Once again family tradition gave clues in this direction: Firstly the origin of the surname having been derived from the function of a number of ancestors as Soferim (scribes); secondly the supposed relationship with the family of the Baron Ginzburg.

A history of the Ginzburg family (Toldot Mishpakhat Ginzburg, David Maggid, St.Petersburg 1899) traces many families either descended from or related to the Ginzburgs. Study of the relatives of the first Baron Ginzburg, namely Baron Yosef Ginzburg (1812-1878) reveals the family of his paternal grandmother Tybel She was a daughter of Rabbi Uri Sofer of Vilna (according to the 1784 Vilna census Tybel /Touba was Uri’s wife), who held the position of official scribe to that community, bearing the title ‘Safra Demata'. Such a functionary was skilled in handwriting Torah scrolls, Mezuzot, wedding and divorce certificates, and any other official documents required by the Jewish civil governing body, the Kahal. Rabbi Uri Sofer's father Rabbi Yaakov-Gavriel also held this position, as had his father Rabbi Tuviah Sofer and several earlier generations.

There is a recurrence in the above family of the names Uri, Tuviah and David.

Tuviah and David struck a bell in relation to the inscription “Toviah Davidovich”. Tuviah was also prevalent amongst the Super family of Lutzin. Bearing in mind that Baron Yosef Ginzburg and Yosef-Yehoash Super were, according to their birth dates, of the contemporary generation, and since they were reputed to be cousins (according to that oral tradition telling of the presentation of a Sefer Torah to the Baron), I thought that the familial link was through Rabbi Uri Sofer of Vilna. The common occupation as scribes in both families also correlates between them. Whilst specific records establishing this link were not found, an extensive study of the Ginzburg family tends to preclude any other explanation for the cousin relationship, if it was true. Bearing in mind the dates of each successive generation, appeared that the Super-Sofer-Ginzburg connection was that David Super (whose name was derived from the patronymic “Davidovich”) was a son of Uri Sofer of Vilna. This would have made the Baron Yosef Ginzburg and Yosef-Yehoash Super second cousins. Other sources that include information about the family of Soferim in Vilna are “Kiriah Neemanah” (Finn, Vilna 1860); “Ir Vilna” (Steinshneider, Vilna 1900) and Toldot Hakehilah Haivrit Bevilna (Klausner, Vilna 1935). The information in each of this is more or less consistent. However, in 2003 I acquired copies of the census taken in Vilna in 1765 and in 1784 and discovered that each of these books includes errors in the identities of some of the “Sofer” family.

When the political changes in the former Soviet Union led to the dissolution of that Union, archives were opened to the public and much material about Jewish families was found. A Jewish researcher living in Riga, Aleksanders Feigmanis, was commissioned by a descendant of the Super family, Robert Heyman, to trace records of the family. Feigmanis found a treasure of documents, in particular the “Revizsky Skaza” (Revision Lists, meaning census) for the years 1874 and 1897 for the town of Lutzin and the list from 1897 for Korsovka. The 1874 list from Korsovka appears to have been lost. Many family groups including several hundred members of the Super family appeared, allowing the compilation of the family tree.

The following is the census entry for “Super Yankel Shmuilov” and his family, including his Falkov grandchildren. This person was the “Yanchiel Havies” who appeared on Norman Super’s chart.

His tombstone in Korsovka confirms his full name and father’s name:

Here is interred
Our father the ………….
An honourable man
The dear, our teacher and Rabbi
Reb Yaakov Yehoash
Son of Reb Shmuel
Super
The nickname “Havis” or “Heibish” was a derivative of the Hebrew name “Yehoash”. Since the grandfather of Rabbi Yitskhak Yaakov Super was found from his tombstone to be Yosef-Yehoash, it became apparent that Yaakov-Yehoash and Yosef-Yehoash could not have been brothers as they bore the same name. Jerusalem genealogist the late Rabbi Shmuel Gorr shared his expertise in Jewish name derivatives thereby making a valuable contribute to the unraveling of the mysteries of the Super family tree. (See a joint article we wrote in “Search” Volume 8, #4, 1988). Likewise “Guta” and “Tevia” who appeared as brothers in the above tree also bore variations of the same Hebrew name “Tuviah” and therefore could not have been brothers. “Tuviah” is derived from the Hebrew for “good” so a Yiddish derivation was “Guta” or “Guttman” and Teviah is another derivative. As there were a number of Supers in Lutzin who bore the Hebrew name Tuviah, they were each known by variations or nicknames.

The 1874 and 1897 census from Lutzin showed that Guta or Guttman Super was a brother of Yankel-Heibish, sons of Shmuel, while Tevia was a son of Leib Super, another of Shmuel’s sons.

These family groups stemmed from four Supers who lived in Lutzin in the early nineteenth century: Shmuel, Yitskhak, Kivka and Leib Super. Three of these were found by Feigmanis in Magistrate records of Lutzin in the year 1837:

“February 3, 1837 citizens of Lutzin who trade in alcoholic drinks deposed the plaint to the city council of Lyutzin, where they complained of the abuses in taxation of the tax official Glinka. Among the names of the alcohol tradesmen mentioned were Shmuila Super, Leiba Super and Itzik Super”[1]

A list from 1863 of merchants in the towns of Vitebsk Province includes in Lutzin “Leibe Super”, without a patronymic.

Unfortunately this record does not include the patronymic of these three Supers. On the tree compiled in South Africa and sent to me by Norman Super, it was shown that Shmuel was the primogenitor of all the branches. No record has been found of a “Toviah Davidovich” Super in any documents. Not has his supposed son Yosef-Yehoash been located in the records of Lutzin or Korsovka, although his son “Shmuel Yoselov” (son of Yosef) appears in the 1897 Korsovka census:

click to enlarge

Feigmanis’ translation of the original Russian census in Korsovka in 1897.

Yitskhak-Yaakov Super does not appear among the children of Shmuel, either because he was away from home studying, or because he was liable for military service as the second born son.

My original assumption was that Tuviah (supposed father of Yosef-Yehoash) was another brother to Shmuel, Yitskhak (Itzik) and Leib, and that since Tuviah’s patronymic was “David” then David was the primogenitor of the family. Furthermore I proposed that the theoretic connection between the Supers of Lutzin and the Sofers of Vilna was that “David” was a son of Uri. This theoretical relationship seemed further strengthened since both Shmuel and Leib had sons called Tuviah, a named repeated in the Vilna family of Soferim.

It must be stated that at the time of the extraction of the Latvian archival material, no evidence was found for the existence of either Tuviah or David. Nor was there documentation that David was a son of Uri Sofer of Vilna. Yet it seemed to me reasonable that the relationships were as above.

In 2003 I acquired the census of the Jewish community in Vilna for the years 1765 and 1784 from David and Sonia Hoffman, founders of the Jewish Family History Foundation. In the 1784 census I identified Uri Sofer as “Uryasz Gabrylowicz” living with his wife Touba (not Leah as claimed by Ginzburg family sources) and a servant Chasia. At that time they had no children.

A mathematical calculation shows clearly that if Uri did subsequently have a son David, even if it was in the period immediately following the census in 1784, such a theoretical David could not have fathered sons Shmuel, Yitskhak and Leib, born in the 1790’s or the ubiquitous Tuviah born in 1801. Whilst the dates of birth of all of the four Supers “branch heads” has not been found, they were all dead by the time of the 1874 Lutzin census, Shmuel’s wife Elka was still alive in 1874 aged eighty. Assuming that Shmuel was at least as old as his wife, he was probably born not later than 1794, when his supposed father David could have been no more than ten years old!

Had the Vilna and Lutzin census been available at the time of writing in 1992 of my book “The Pen and the Blade, Super family”, David as a son of Uri, could not have been proposed as the family patriarch.

The problem of locating Yosef-Yehoash Super, so as to establish the identity of his father, is complicated by the fact that he apparently did not lived in Lutzin at the time of the 1874 census, although his son Shmuel was born there in 1855. Family tradition conveyed by Rabbi Arthur Saul Super and by his cousin Arthur Super (London) relates that their great-grandfather managed an estate for a local Latvian nobleman. If the location of that estate could be established, records of Yosef-Yehoash might be found. It is possible that he lived in Korsovka until his death that had to be before 1884 when his grandson and namesake Yosef, the son of Shmuel was born. Since the 1874 census of Korsovka is missing, this cannot be verified.

Not only has Yosef-Yehoash not appeared in documentation, aside from his name on his son Shmuel’s tombstone, no theoretical siblings bearing the relevant patronymic indicating their father was called Tuviah, have been found. At this stage it appears that the book containing the signature “Toviah Davidovich” was a red herring and that the these names may have nothing to do with the Super family, although there may have been such a relative.

From the available evidence is seems that Yosef-Yehoash was a son of Yitskhak Super, one of the three alcohol traders mentioned in the 1837 litigation in Lutzin. My reason is based on the naming patterns. My wife’s grandfather Rabbi Yitskhak-Yaakov Super was given the name Yaakov after his maternal great-grandfather Yaakov Dobrin. It seems likely that the name Yitskhak was given to him after his paternal great-grandfather Yitskhak Super.

In 2003 I ordered further research from Aleksanders Feigmanis in Latvia. He traveled to Karsava (Korsovka) and took about three hundred photographs of the now accessible tombstones in the Jewish cemetery. There are large areas covered in weeds that may hide other family tombstones.

One of the tombstones, that of Yankel Heibish Super, is shown above. The Ohel (mausoleum) of Shmuel, the son of Yosef-Yehoash Super still stands but the tablet inscribed with the name has been removed, perhaps by the locals in this village where there are no longer any Jews or perhaps during the Nazi invasion in 1941 when nearly all the Jews were killed. Fortunately most of the cemetery survived.

Korsovka, 2003 Korsovka, 1929 with Khatzkel Super
Photographed by Feigmanis

One of the tombstones correlates with Rabbi Yitskhak Yaakov Super’s reference to relatives in the letter above:

The man Shmuel Sholem
Son of Reb Moshe Simkha Super
Died 10th Tevet, 5688 [1927]

These names appear in various Latvian census records: “Shmuel son of Moshe” Super, born 1846 (lived in Korsovka) appears in a list of people living in 1889 in the rural areas of Lutzin district. This lists states that Shmuel Moshev (son of Moshe) came from Lutzin to Korsovka in 1877. His father Moshe son of Yitskhak born 1829 in Lutzin, moved to Korsovka in 1876. Shmuel’s son Benyamin Yitskhak, born 1873, appears in the 1897 census in Korsovka. It appears that “Mr. Benjamin Super” referred to in Rabbi Super’s letter to his son Arthur, as “Benyamin son of Shmuel-Sholem” was the son of Shmuel-Sholem whose tombstone appears above. Since Rabbi Super states that the relationship was of second cousins, it can be established that Benyamin Super’s grandfather Moshe-Simkha was a brother of Rabbi Yitskhak-Yaakov’s grandfather Yosef-Yehoash Super. This supports my theory that Rabbi Yitskhak-Yaakov’s great-grandfather was Yitskhak Super, one of the four family heads mentioned above.

A key source for the early nineteenth century relationships of the Supers is the census recorded in 1816. This is held by the Belarus State Historical Archive in Minsk. This anomaly is due to the political border changes whereby Lutzin was located in Vitebsk Province under Tsarist government, which province is now part of Belarus. Therefore some records for Lutzin (now Ludza) are held in Riga and some in Minsk.

The following are the key entries. See also attached chart and full family tree.

1816 census:
Fond 2640-1-617-55-55
Family number 28.

Shmuel Gevushevich* Super aged 31 in 1811; 35 in 1816.
Shmuel Gevushevich’s sons:
Itsik aged 9 in 1811; 13 in 1816.
Mark aged 2 in 1811; died in 1813.
Leib newborn in 1811; aged 3 in 1816.
Shmuel’s son-in-law Yankel Kufman Sholomovich, absent in 1811, 18 in 1816.
Shmuel Gevushevich’s wife Brokha aged 35 in 1816.
Itsik Shmuelovich’s wife Fruma aged 17 in 1816.
Yankel Kufman’s wife Paika aged 18 in 1816.

*Shmuel’s patronymic Gevushevich is the Russification of the Yiddish name Heibish, equivalent to the Hebrew name Yehoash.

1834 census
Fond 2640-1-617-155-156
Family number 58

Shmuel Gevushevich Super aged 35 in 1816, 53 in 1834.
From Shmuel Gevushevich’s first wife, sons:
1. Itsik aged 13 in 1816; separated to family number 59 in 1834 list.
2. Mordkha not written in 1816, moved to family number 259 in 1826.
3. Leib aged 4 in 1816; 20 in 1834.

From Shmuel’s second wife [Elka] from latter sources sons:
Yankel newborn in 1834; 3 in 1834.
Shmuel’s son-in-law Kifka Sholomovich 18 in 1816, moved to family number 259 in 1824.

Family number 59:
Itsik Shmuelovich Super previously family number 58.
Aged 31 in 1834.
Itsik’s son Mordukh newborn in 1816; 14 in 1834.
Itsik’s second son Livsha [should be Moshe] Simkha aged 5 in 1834.
Itsik’s wife Fruma aged 32 in 1834.
Mordukh’s wife Touba aged 16 in 1834.

Since Shmuel’s son Tuviah (Gutta) and Itsik’s son Yosef-Yehoash do not appear in the 1834 census, they must have been born after this date.

From the above it can be seen that the head of the family in 1816 was Shmuel Super, born 1781. His father’s name was “Gevush” or Heibish/Yehoash, born probably about 1760.
Shmuel was married twice and the configuration of his sons therefore differs from the original family tree compiled by Norman Super.

click to enlarge

Given that two of Shmuel Super’s grandsons were named Tuviah, it would seem that they were named after an earlier ancestor who bore that name. The Riga archive holds lists of Jews living in Lutzin in the 1780’s and 1790’s. Feigmanis has provided his transcription of these lists, containing about 500 people, the entire Jewish population of Lutzin at the time. Since these lists precede the adoption of surnames that took place in the early nineteenth century, they can only be interpreted by the presence of personal names in an otherwise known family configuration.

The eighteenth century Lutzin list does include two families descended from someone name Toviah:

Movsha Tobiashevich aged 49 in 1786. (Amongst his sons were Itzik and Leib).
Khaim Tobiashevich aged 49 in 1794.
Since Movsha was born in 1739, his father “Tobiash” (Tuviah) may have been born about 1710 and could have been an ancestor of the Lutzin Super family.

As a result of the above re-examination of the Super family tree, the first chapter of my book “The Pen and the Blade - Super family” (Petah Tikvah, Israel 1992), entitled “Tracing the Family Tree” pages 2-31 should be deleted. The detailed family tree pages 116-184 has been considerably updated and is available in a separate file.

[1] Latvian State Historical Archive, Riga. Reference 755-1-370-142. Extracted by Aleksanders Feigmanis, Riga, Latvia, 1997

Family Heirloom - Tefilin

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 08:08:00 +0000

My Tefilin

Chaim Freedman, Petah Tikvah, September 2008.

They aren’t particularly beautiful, now that they have had to be retired. Simple black cases, like tired old wood. Actually they’re parchment, petrified like wood after 165 years of constant, loving dedication. What simple beauty is encased in these old relics.

Heirlooms?

I would call them heirlooms, though they lack the monetary value usually thought to go with that term. But their value to me is greater than diamonds. Their value lies in not what they are, but whose they were.

I received the Tefilin in 1960 when I reached Barmitzvah age. My mother gave them to me telling me that I should treasure them as they belonged to her father, my grandfather Shlomo Zalman Komesaroff (Komisaruk, 1886-1958). Not only that, but they belonged to his grandfather before him, Rabbi Pinkhas Komisaruk (1830-1897), a revered figure in family lore.

Perhaps they were even older.

My grandfather died when I was eleven and his grandfather died when grandfather was eleven. In fact Rabbi Pinkhas’s grandfather, Rabbi Dov Ber Komisaruk (1776-1843) died when Pinkhas was thirteen and maybe the Tefilin originated that far back. What is certain is that they came from Lithuania when the Komisaruk family migrated from the town of Raseiniai to settle on the Jewish agricultural colony Grafskoy (now Proletarsky), Yekaterinoslav Guberniya, Ukraine in 1847.

As I think back over the history of my ancestors, the events they were involved in, the trials and tribulations and the joyous occasions, I imagine that the Tefilin were silent witnesses to those events. I imagine how they were lovingly packed with Pinkhas’s belonging when the family set off in 1847 in a small group of eleven families, some in wagons and some walking for the arduous journey that took months until they reached the Ukraine.

I imagine how Pinkhas took the Tefilin with him when he was conscripted into the Russian army during the Crimean War and took care of the needs of Jewish troops by slaughtering animals to provide for kosher food, he was a Shokhet, and by performing funerals for the Jewish casualties.

I imagine how Pinkhas took his Tefilin with him when he jumped onto his horse whenever he heard of a pogrom in 1880’s and rode off to help and comfort the victims.

I imagine how Pinkhas wore the Tefilin when he attended Morning Prayer with the families of babies for who he performed circumcision, he was a Mohel.

I imagine Pinkhas teaching his grandson Shlomo Zalman how to put on Tefilin in preparation for his Barmitzvah, an occasion Pinkhas was not to live long enough to attend.

Some of my fondest memories of my grandfather are intimately bound up with religious occasions: sitting in the synagogue next to him or on his knee as he showed me the place in the Siddur. Listening as he made Kiddush on Shabbat or conducted the Seder on Pesach. After his death and my attainment of Barmitzvah, I was proud to wear the Tefilin which carried with them so many memories, both personal and historical.

Just as my grandfather brought them from Russian to Australia in 1913, so I brought them from Australia to Israel when we made Aliyah in 1977. I wore them daily for about forty years. From time to time they were inspected by a Sofer to make sure that the inscription on the parchment had not been damaged. Winding the straps around the boxes after use gradually took its toll on the shape of the Tefilin as they became warped.

Finally about the year 2000, they became unusable. I was inconsolable; I had to buy new tefilin. They would never be the same.

My Heirloom is now a museum piece. The Tefilin sit in a show case in our living room on a small bag embroidered specially for them by my grandmother, along with my grandfather’s white Kippah that he wore on festivals, They look lonely and tired, but still proud after so much that they have witnessed.

Genetic testing as an aid for genealogical research – personal experience of Chaim Freedman

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Mon, 01 Sep 2008 07:58:00 +0000

Lecture given by Chaim Freedman to the Jewish Family Research Association, Petah Tikvah, Israel, May 2008.
The opinions expressed are those of the author and are based on a genealogical approach. The author claims no scientific expertise in Genetics.

In October 2006 I received the results of my genetic testing from Family Tree DNA. I had ordered a test of twelve markers on the Y chromosome, my paternal ancestry. (For technical explanations see Family Tree DNA site http://www.familytreedna.com/ ).

Initially I matched exactly with seven families who had tested with FTDNA. Over the course of the following year four more families tested and matched at the 12 marker level.

The families corresponded and exchanged information about their known ancestry in the male line with respect to the dates of their earliest known ancestors and their place of origin.

Subsequently most of the families updated their test to 25 markers and then 37 markers in order to establish more accurately possible common ancestry.

While 11 families matched my markers exactly on 12 markers, only 4 matched exactly on 25 markers while the other families differed on one or more markers. None of the families matched me exactly on 37 markers, but showed a variation of non-matching markers such that the probability of a common ancestor within a reasonable genealogical time frame lessened as a greater numbers of markers were tested.

The following is a list of the families, the date of birth of their earliest known ancestor and their place of origin.

(In the interests of privacy only the initial of the family surname is shown).

C; 1830; Dombroveni, Ukraine (Romania).
F; 1840; Rumania
H; 1850; Slavuta and Starakonstntinovka, Ukraine.
K; 1858; Starakonstantinovka, Ukraine.
L; 1875; Odessa, Ukraine.
Le; no response
Lo; Jugoslavia.
S; 1735; Orinin, Ukraine.
Sa; 1825; Alsace.
Si; 1825, Zinkov, Ukraine.
Z; 1860; Miastovka and Dombroveny, Ukraine.

Freedman; 1780, Zakroczym, Poland.

The Jewish Pale of Settlement in Russia, 1835-1917

from "The Jews of Russia, Their History in maps and photographs"

Martin Gilbert, 1976

Click to enlarge

Podolia, Volynia, Bessarabia, Ukraine - origins of the getetically matching families

Click to enlarge

It is possible for each of the matching families to calculate the number of generations, and thereby years, to the Most Recent Common Ancestor by using that facility on each family’s home pages. Next to each name (in the 37 marker section) is an icon which leads to this facility. It gives a chart showing the percentage probability to our MRCA. BUT we should carry out the second stage of this calculation, which is also provided, by entering the number of generations we know that we are not related. For example, my earliest known ancestor Yaakov Frydman was born about 1780. He was not the ancestor of any of this group. I am fifth generation after him. So I add a factor of five to the calculation. This pushes any MRCA further back. It is up to each of us to then decide what % probability we choose to consider significant for a relationship between us. I adjusted the calculation of the distance to our Most Recent Common Ancestor to 75% probability taking into account that we have no known common ancestor within 5 generations.

Family Tree DNA provides a statistical guide for Most Recent Common Ancestor for 12 identical markers:
7 generations, 50% probability
23 generations, 90% probability
29 generations, 95% probability.

For instance, my closest match is with Z and Si with a genetic difference of 2. That alone does not tell me how far back we may relate. Going to the FTDNA site and entering the above factors for each of Z and Si, I find that at a level of 75% probability our MRCA was 11 generations ago, or about 275 years. If I had not factored in the known non-relationship of 5 generations, I would have reached an incorrect level of relationship of about 9 generations or 225 years.We should also consider geographic proximity (which cannot be factored in mathematically) . For instance H and K both originate in the Slavuta area, Z and C have relatives in the same town Dombroven. This despite the level of DNA match.

In my opinion, based on our experience whereby the more markers we test, the further away from each other we move, for those who have not tested 37 markers the calculations are not worth doing.

Although my family lived in Zakroczym near Warsaw my DNA matches come from Volynia and Podolia.

My great-grandfather Jacob- Bendyt Frydman was born in 1852 in Zakroczym just northwest of Warsaw. His father Zyndel Frydman died there in 1855 and on his death record is written "parentage and birthplace not recorded" although he is called "Zyndel Jakubowicz".

One explanation for the missing information on Zyndel Frydman's death record, may be that he was abducted to serve in the army at an early age,from somewhere in the region of my DNA matches came from (Volynia/Podolia) . I am only surmising his military service, but since he was born in 1808 and had his apparently only son (plus two daughters) not until 1852, the military service may account for his absence. Of course we all know how Jewish young boys were kidnapped at a young age and served for 25 years in the army.

A Russian army fortress, Modlin, was constructed in 1823 near Zakroczym. The scenario I see is that Zyndel Frydman may have been released there about 1852 (when he was nearly aged 25), married a girl from a Zakroczym family (Chanah Gro) and settled there. Since he was kidnapped young, he may not have known anything about his origins, hence the lack of such information on his death.

It is interesting that over the last year since the original matching families have been in contact only three additional people has been discovered, even with a minimal twelve marker match. We await the details of these additional families.

The progress of our updating from 12 markers to 37 markers has demonstrated that it is not worth making assumptions about any possible relationships until at least 37 markers are tested. As we tested more markers, our original supposed exact match on 12 markers moved further and further away, such that none of us now match within a reasonable genealogical time period. But we can be encouraged that our data is within the FTDNA system and can only hope that their testing sample grows significantly.

Significance of ethnicity.

The above group of matching Jewish families are classified by their markers in one or other of the subgroups of I Haplogroup. According to the scientific research papers this haplogroup is not typically Jewish.

I sought a theoretical explanation for this phenomenon.

The statistical distribution of this haplogroup is predominantly Scandinavia, North Germany, France, Britain. A very small number of the recorded/tested families were Jewish.

Yet the common geographic origin of the matching Jewish families may be explained by the introduction of a non-Jewish primogenitor-father in the Ukraine. Given the marital ban on marriages between Jews and Christians, and the Church ban on Christians converting to Judaism, and given that the matching families above are all Jewish in the male line, it could be assumed that the non-Jewish Ukrainian primogenitor raped the female primogenitor during a pogrom in the Ukraine.

Events which may have provided the circumstances for rape:

Crusades in Germany and France 11th century – about 900 years/ 36 generations, which is much earlier than the probability for 12 exactly matching markers.

Pogrom in Kiev 1113 – unlikely source as above.

Black death massacres in Germany late 14th century. May have introduced haplogroup I close to its geographic origin.

Cossack massacres (Khemelnitsky) in the Ukraine 1648-1655. If the son of a Jewish woman raped by a Cossack was born about 1650, given an average family size of 12 children, of whom about 30% died in childhood, and if the survivors were 50% males, then the natural increase per generation was a factor of 4. The child of the rape union may have had 4 sons, 16 grandsons, 64 great-grandsons, 256 great-great-grandsons, and 1024 great-great-great-grandsons.

Ukraine - region of Cossack massacres 1648-1655

Click to enlarge

Given the large number of these hypothetical descendants of the Cossack/Jewish union, one should expect to find many more matches than the eleven families. The reason for such a small number of matches may be due to the small number of families who underwent DNA testing. A search for matches on the Ysearch site http://www.ysearch.org/ yields only a small number of families with the haplogroup I, few of which are Jewish. No Ukrainians appear in this list.
Conversly, no non-Jewish matches were found for the Jewish group. This may indicate that for some reason the group is unique.

It may be concluded that the sample size is too small or that Ukrainians were not tested, such that the above conclusion as to how the matching families are of I haplogroup may lack sufficient evidence.

Until a large sample of Ukrainians have been tested and only if they exhibit significantly I haplogroup, the Cossack rape cause cannot be judged.

Swedish War with Russia and Poland 1655-1658 although evidence (Dubnov) shows that the Swedes were not antagonistic towards the Jews, isolated incidents of rape may have occurred. This could explain the introduction of haplogroup I to a small group of families, perhaps a generation later than that proposed for a Cossack source. Furthermore, being of Scandinavian origin, such a source is in keeping with one of the most prevalent regions of haplogroup I origin.

Source: Simon Dubnov, “The Jews In Russia and Poland”, Philadelphia 1916
Dubnov describes the cruel treatment of the Jews in 1648 by the Cossacks in Podolia and Volynia in such places as Nemirov, Tulchin, Ostropol, Zaslav, Ostrog, Constantinov, Narol, Kreenetz, Bar and many others. The second wave of pogroms in 1655 moved further north into Belarus and Lithuania and Poland.

“The most terrible cruelty, however, was shown towards the Jews. They were destined to utter annihilation. The Cossacks, in conjunction with the local Russian inhabitants, fell upon the Jews and massacred them; the women and girls were violated. The young Jewish women were frequently allowed to live, the Cossacks and the peasants forcing them into baptism and taking them as wives.

After the cessation of the pogroms “Those of them who, at the point of death, had embraced the Greek Orthodox faith, were permitted by King John Casimir to return to their old creed. The Jewish women who had been forcibly baptized fled in large numbers from their Cossack husbands and returned to their families. The losses during the decade 1648-1658 varies between 100,000 and 500,000.”

Further records of the social effect of the pogroms is found in writings of Rabbi Avraham Horowitz, Natan Hannover and the will of Rabbi Sheftel Horowitz “Yesh Nokhlin, 5461/1701: “In all the places where killings were carried out hundreds of small youths, were annihilated, and small babies who were converted were taken by force by the Jews from the Gentiles, and for each was written an amulet from which family he was, by investigation. These amulets were hung on their necks. There was a great mixture and what the wise men of that generation could correct they did, and that which was not possible, remained in the mixture, and it is feared that in the course of years people will cast doubts on their holiness. Therefore it is worthwhile that everyone who was at that time should make a “Seder Yukhsin” (family tree) for his seed and his seed’s seed as a sign and safekeeping”

Reservations about the significance of testing to date:

Of a database of about 134,000 tests done by FTDNA, only 54,000 have been transfered to YSearch . Of these about 4,200 are I haplogroup. Of these only about 170 were tested in Eastern Europe, where most of our families originate. (Figures for YSearch taken in early 2008).Theories as to the significance of ethnic origins of I haplogroup, are, in my opinion, premature.
The significance of Haplogroup to ethnic origins is very controversial.I personally am not impressed with much of what has been published regarding the meaning of Haplogroups to Jewish origins since I do not believe that the samples of Jews are large enough. For instance a sample of about 1400 Jews was taken for a particular experiment. The scope and makeup of the sample was restricted to people from synagogues in the USA.

I feel that there are 5.5 million Jews living in Israel from whom a sample of several hundred thousand could be taken. The problem is the cost. I invested about $500 for my and my wife's tests. I don't think many people are prepared to do that.

There are many opinions there which you can all study and come to your own conclusions. Some have vested interests, religious, political, etc.

Female ancestry

My wife and I tested for our maternal genetic matches. The results, based on Mitochondrial DNA are far less accurate than paternal Y chromosome testing and do not give a clear statistical estimate of the number of generations to a common ancestor. Neverthless, geographic proximaty of matching families does indicate some relationship.

My tests resulted in 132 matches at Low Resolution and only five at High Resolution. Of these five one refused to share their results but two share with me geographic origins in Lithuania.

My wife received 53 Low Resolution matches and 5 High Resolution. Some of her matches originated, like her female ancestry in the Vitebsk area of Belarus.

Scientific papers and Internet sites:
See “Frequently Asked Questions” provided by Family Tree DNA http://www.familytreedna.com/faq.html

Behar, Doron. Skorecki, Karl and others, Contrasting patterns of Y chromosome variation in Ashkenazi Jewish and host non-Jewish European population Human Genetics (2004) 114: 354-365.
http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/Behar_contrasting.pdf

In the later paper haplogroup diversity of Ashkenazi Jews from various regions was compared with non-Jews. 55 Ukrainian Jews appear in the sample, yet no Ukrainian non-Jews were included.

Behar, Doron. Skorecki, Karl and others “Multiple Origins of Ashkenazi Levites: Y Chromosome Evidence for Both Near Eastern and European Ancestries. American Journal of Human Genetics 73:768-779, 2003.
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/tcga/tcgapdf/Behar-AJHG-03.pdf

Nordtvelt, Ken Population Varities within Y-Haplogroup I and their extended Modal Haplogroups.
http://www.northwestanalysis.net/

Coffman-Levy, Ellen “A Mosaic of People: the Jewish Story and a Reassessment of the DNA Evidence” Journal of Genetic Genealogy 1:12-13, 2005.
http://www.jogg.info/11/coffman.htm
http://majorityrights.com/index.php/weblog/comments/the_mystery_of_ashkenazic_origins/

http://www.familytreedna.com/pdf/43026_doron.pdf

http://forums.familytreedna.com/showthread.php?t=2864

http://www.khazaria.com/genetics/abstracts.html

http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/links3.shtml

http://www.isogg.org/tree/index.html

http://majorityrights.com/index.php/weblog/comments/the_mystery_of_ashkenazic_origins/

A useful layman’s source for the understanding of Jewish genetic testing is “Jacob’s Legacy, A Genetic View of Jewish History”, David B. Goldstein, Yale University Press, 2008.

A Google search for Jewish Genetics will yield a vast number of sources.

Shmuel Gorr

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 07:50:00 +0000

Elul 21, 5768; September 21, 2008 marks the twentieth anniversary of the death of pioneer genealogist the late Rabbi Shmuel Gorr of blessed memory. Two obituaries were published in "Search" Volume 8, Number 3, 1988, one by Chaim Freedman and the other by Charles Bernstein.

Please click on each image below for ease of reading.

Edna Berliner

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 08:27:00 +0000

Obituary by her son-in-law Chaim Freedman

On the 6th of Av 5768, August 6th 2008, Edna Berliner passed away in Melbourne one week short of her 92nd birthday.

Edna Berliner was born August 15th, 1916 in Carlton, the daughter of Rabbi Isaac Jacob and Lena Super. She had six brothers. In 1941 she married the late Reverend Phillip (Pinchas) Berliner, London born graduate of English and Eastern European Yeshivot who narrowly escaped the Holocaust and arrived in Australia in 1940. Edna was educated at St.Kilda Park State School and Melbourne Girls High School. Her Jewish education she received at Sunday school and basked in the rich tradition and love of Yiddishkeit of her parents.

Widowed at the age of 43 Edna was faced with the awesome task of bringing up three daughters, Muriel Kleerekoper (Sydney, deceased), Lena Pose (Melbourne) and Jane Freedman (Israel). Edna contributed ably to her father and husband’s communal activities. In her youth she acted as secretary to the late Rabbi Dr. Joseph Abrahams who spent his last years living with the Supers and treated Edna lovingly as if she was his daughter. She was active in the National Council of Jewish Women and the women’s auxiliary of South Caulfield Shule where she attended after nearly a half century living in Crimea Street, St.Kilda and attending St.Kilda Shule with which her father and husband were associated.

Edna was a wealth of information about communal history, particularly Carlton, and loved to talk about old times, people, Shule and Beth Din intrigues. She was interviewed by historians for material for their books.

Edna had a wide circle of friends who appreciated her keen sense of humour, warm hospitality, home wisdom and common sense.

In particular she staunchly maintained her love and allegiance to her father’s and husband’s Yiddishkeit. She read voraciously and diligently reviewed Parshat Hashavuah each week in preparation for Shabbat. She attended Shule every Shabbat until her health no longer permitted. Such was her inspiration in this respect that kind members of the congregation came to her home to blow Shofar, to bring her Lulav and Etrog and invited her to eat in their Sukkah. Deprived of the male role in the home after the death of her husband and father, she took on the task of making Kiddush, Zemirot, Benching and Havdalah, ever a staunch advocate for women’s equality in Judaism. Her habit of being ready for Shabbat and Chagim several days in advance was a source of good humour for her family.

Edna’s life was fraught by many illnesses that she coped with in courage and determination. She was like a cat with nine lives twice over and considered every day that she was spared as a blessing. In her latter years she was handicapped in her mobility but was determined to retain her independence and continue to live in her own home in dignity. Her last years were spent at Montefiore Homes.

She was scrupulous in account keeping and one of her typical sayings was “I hate owing money”. She loved shopping and would tell the shopkeepers “I’m looking for my daughter”. Despite her incapacity she diligently carried out her exercises and persisted to walk up her drive to collect the mail until she was no longer able and accepted the help of her neighbors with whom she maintained warm relationships.

She was a determined lady and typical was the occasion when visiting Israel and unable to find other transport to the Kibbutz where her daughter and son-in-law were staying, joined them hitchhiking, even when it involved clambering into the back of a van. On the Kibbutz she insisted in pulling her weight and spent the time of her visit there working in the communal kitchen and exchanging opinions with the ladies in a variety of languages. She traveled to Israel five times by herself and was daring enough one trip to book a tour and get her hair cut in Athens.

The highlight of one of those trips was her reunion in Israel with her brother the late Rabbi Dr. Arthur Saul Super, whom she had not seen for 51 years.

Edna always maintained contact with her many longstanding friends and made phone calls to enquire about their health and the wellbeing of their families.

She was very much part of Australian culture being the first of her parents’ children to be born in Melbourne. So she liked her little flutter on the Melbourne Cup. She was a fun loving parent who read and composed stories to her children when they were young and was not above playing “skippy” with them on a Shabbat afternoon. She liked a dip in the sea and took the children to St.Kilda beach on a Friday morning. In summer she would arise at 5 AM, get Shabbat prepared and thus have the whole day to take her daughters out. She was modest and would say, “I can always learn from my daughters”. She liked a good joke even if it was a bit risqué and had an infectious rollicking laugh.

Edna loved the movies and music. She had a number of favourite songs such as “Danny Boy”, “Roses Whisper” and “Esah Einei”, although her singing voice was ever a source of amusement for her family.

She used to jokingly say that she would come to Israel to help her daughter do the mending. She hated wastefulness and would save pencil ends, envelopes, jars and plastic bags. She loved her garden and had “Green fingers”. Her garden was a riot of colour and fragrance, winter and summer. Even when she had to walk with a frame she was determined to potter amongst her plants.

Always interested in current affairs at one time she worked voluntarily for a radio station collecting news items. Similarly she combed the newspapers and sent clippings to her family in Israel.

Edna was a proud grandmother and great-grandmother and called her extended family her “treasure”. She loved to entertain and cook them their favourite dishes. Her greatest pleasure she derived from being surrounded by her loving family. In particular her grandchildren and great-grandchildren after whose welfare she constantly enquired, despite them being spread over four continents.

She was loved and respected by her sons in law whom she treated as if they were her own sons.

Edna is survived by two daughters, six grandchildren and nineteen great-grandchildren.

Long will she be remembered – a true Eshet Chayil.

Eulogy at the funeral of Edna Berliner

Written and delivered by her granddaughter Deborah (Pose) Lazerow.

Edna Berliner was born August 15th, 1916 in Faraday St Carlton, the daughter of Rabbi Isaac Jacob and Lena Super. She had six brothers and was proud of saying that she was the first of the Aussie batch. Edna was educated at St.Kilda Park State School and Melbourne Girls High School and had classes at Government house. Her Jewish education she received at Sunday school and she basked in the rich tradition and love of Yiddishkeit of her parents.

In her youth she acted as secretary to the late Rabbi Dr. Joseph Abrahams who spent his last years living with the Supers and treated Edna as if she was his daughter. She was active in the National Council of Jewish Women and the women’s auxiliary of South Caulfield Shule.

In 1941 she married the late Reverend Phillip (Pinchas) Berliner, who arrived in Australia from London in 1940 and later became chazzan at St Kilda Shule, community shochet and bar mitzvah teacher.

Widowed at the age of 43 Edna was faced with the awesome task of bringing up three daughters, the late Muriel Kleerekoper, Lena Pose and Jane Freedman.

Throughout her life she staunchly maintained her love and allegiance to her Judaism. She read voraciously and diligently reviewed Parshat Hashavuah each week in preparation for Shabbat. She attended Shule every Shabbat until her health no longer permitted and continued to pray at home throughout her days. Such was her inspiration in this respect that members of the Shule congregation came to her home to blow Shofar, to bring her Lulav and Etrog and invited her to eat in their Sukkah.

Deprived of the male role in the home after the death of her husband and father, she took on the task of making Kiddush, Zemirot, Benching and Havdalah, ever a staunch advocate for women’s equality in Judaism. Her habit of being ready for Shabbat and Chagim several days in advance was a source of good humour for her family and continued to be the top of her mind even in her last days.

Edna’s life was fraught by many illnesses that she coped with in courage and determination. She was like a cat with nine lives and considered every day that she was spared as a blessing. In her latter years she was limited in her mobility but was determined to retain her independence and continue to live in her own home in dignity until her late 80’s. Edna had a green thumb and one of the saddest things for her to give up besides her independence and loving neighbors when she moved to the Montifiore was her beloved pot plants.

Despite her growing frailty she diligently carried out her exercises and persisted to walk up her drive to collect the mail until she was no longer able and accepted the help of her neighbors with whom she maintained warm relationships

She was a determined lady and typical was the occasion when visiting Israel and unable to find other transport to the Kibbutz where her daughter and son-in-law were staying, joined them hitchhiking, even when it involved clambering into the back of a van. She traveled to Israel five times by herself and was daring enough one trip to book a tour and get her hair cut in Athens. The highlight of one of those trips was her reunion in Israel with her brother the late Rabbi Dr. Arthur Saul Super, whom she had not seen for 51 years.

Edna always maintained contact with her many longstanding friends and made phone calls to enquire about their health and the wellbeing of their families, children and grandchildren.

Edna loved the movies and music. She had a number of favourite songs such as “Danny Boy” and “Roses Whisper” although her singing voice was ever a source of amusement for her family.

She used to jokingly say that she would come to Israel to help her daughter do the mending. An early environmentalist, she hated wastefulness and would save pencil ends, envelopes, jars and plastic bags. Always interested in current affairs at one time she worked voluntarily for a radio station collecting news items. Similarly she combed the newspapers and sent clippings to her family in Israel and her granddaughters when they traveled.

Edna was a proud grandmother and great-grandmother and was fondly known as Super Nanny.

Roses whisper good night neath the silvery light asleep in the dew while the dawn peepeth through. These words, sung out of tune and full of love, were the words that Nana used to sing us to sleep as kids. It was also the words that we whispered to her last night as she slipped into her final sleep.

It’s poignant that nana sang about roses because she herself was like a rose.
Like a rose, Nana was held aloft by a strong stem. Her will and her faith gave her a strength that was hard to equate with such a frail elderly woman.

Nana’s personal motto was PMA – positive mental attitude. She strongly believed in the power of the mind to influence everything and kept her mind active by clipping newspaper stories for her loved ones overseas. To keep her mind positive, she always chose to surround herself with positive imagery. No matter the occasion, she always chose to wear happy colours, pretty beads and bright red lipstick and she always asked the same of the women that she loved. She was fond of saying that a woman is never dressed without her lipstick so for you nana, we are properly dressed today.

Her positivity was infectious. It was impossible to visit her without cheering up and the nurses and staff that cared for her , particularly those at Montifiore who showed such affection and professionalism always loved to pay her a visit. She never complained about physical discomfort, after all there was nothing that a bit of dencorub and a panamax couldn’t fix and nothing that avocado cream couldn’t make beautiful.

Nana was testament to the power of faith. A deeply religious woman, her life was steered and steeled by Judaism. This was epitomized by the fact that she held on to say shema and sing tehillim on her last night with, Rabbi Sufrin, who she called “her boyfriend” and who proved to be an amazing support to her and all our family over that past few years.

While she was still living at home, to visit Nana on a Friday afternoon was inspirational. Her table would be set immaculately with white table cloth and polished silverware. The kitchen would contain one setting of entree, soup decorated with parsley, main course, her famous coleslaw (when she remembered to put it on the table) and of course desert followed by biscuits to go with her tea. Her bedroom would be set up with her shabbes outfit, including her brightest jewellery, lipstick and shabbes shoes. She even kept a special pair of shabbes slippers to wear after dinner, which she often chose to eat alone to avoid breaking Shabbat by travelling to her family.

Nana had the self-respect to spoil herself for Shabbat and Yom Tov but her greatest love was spoiling others. Even at Montifiore she kept her not so secret stash of chocolates, wafers and suck lollies to share with all her visitors.

Like any flourishing rose bush, Nana had strong roots that she was proud of. While she was modest in her own right, she was always delighted to tell us about the achievements of her scholarly brothers, her elegant mother and her father who was a member of the Beth Din in Australia. Nana’s stories were filled with words about the rabbonim that the family would entertain in Crimea Street and the grand social gatherings that she attended with her accomplished brothers.

Like a the leaves on a rose, Nana has sprouted bountiful offspring and I know she was fulfilled to attend marriages of 3 daughters, dance at the weddings of three granddaughters, send messages to the weddings of two grandsons and to receive an invitation to the wedding next week of her great granddaughter, Mirel. Nana waited almost 90 years to give her debut speech in public and I’m sure many of you will remember the touch words that she delivered at both Karyn and my weddings. Into her later years, Nana could still remember all the important family dates and would be the first to call for birthdays, Hebrew birthdays, half birthdays and anniversaries.

Like the thorns of a rose bush, Nana had the surprisingly sharp barrier of self protection. A feminist before her time, her feistiness when her rights and comforts were at stake was renowned, even at Montifiore. But even with this assertiveness, her guiding principle was respect for everyone so she would demand a cup of HOT tea with a smile. She fought death on a number of occasions and only went when she was ready to go.

Although a rose is held aloft by strong stem, roots and leaves it is the perfumed flower that everyone admires and so it is with Nana. Nana’s Hebrew name was Yenta, and rather than the gossiping yenta of folk law, Nana adhered to her namesake in being a gentle woman with the softness of rose petals. Nana kissed and hugged with the softest of arms and cheeks. Last week mum celebrated her birthday and Nana still found the energy to give her 61 gentle birthday smacks, with one to grow on.

Our rose wilted 10 days short of her 92nd birthday but her perfume remains in all of us and we are truly blessed to have known this Eshet Chail.

Death In Venice - seeking the Katzenellenbogen tombstones

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 10:11:00 +0000

Death In Venice - seeking the Katzenellenbogen tombstones

(Chaim Freedman, July 2008.)

Having recently discovered my descent from the Katzenellenbogen family, I decided to trace the graves of members of the early generations while I was in Italy (May 2008).

http://chfreedman.blogspot.com/search/label/Ancestry%20of%20the%20Vilna%20Gaon%20-%20Descent%20from%20King%20David

My wife and I were staying in Venice for a week in a conveniently located Pension in the Ghetto Nuovo, the oldest part of the Ghetto which was founded in 1516. We visited the adjacent Jewish museum and I asked one of the curators, Daniela, whether she knew of Katzenellenbogens who might be buried in the ancient Jewish cemetery of Venice located on the Lido Island. Daniela looked up several books which were in the museum library and which included lists of the burials in the Lido cemetery. There were no Katzenellenbogens, neither listed under that surname, nor were any of the deceased who were listed without surname, of suitable personal names.

I was aware that the two Katzenellenbogens who had held the official position of Rabbi of Venice were buried in Padua, but it was not clear where the wife of one of them was buried and so I suspected that she might be buried in Venice. It turned out that I was wrong.

The earliest member of the family to be known by the surname Katzenellenbogen was Rabbi Meir the son of Yitskhak. His family apparently came from the small village overlooking the Rhine called Katzenellenbogen. Meir’s father Yitskhak moved to Padua in Italy, a rich centre of Jewish and secular scholarship. Yitskhak wife was believed by many rabbinic genealogists to have been a daughter of Yekhiel Luria (died 1470), whose family held a tradition of descent from Rashi (1040-1105), himself a reputed descendant of King David.

Meir Katzenellenbogen was born in Germany in 1482 and was known by an acrostic of his name as the “Maharam Padua”. His wife Khanah was a daughter of Rabbi Avraham Mintz, a son of Rabbi Yehudah ben Eliezer Halevy Mintz (c.1405-1508). The Mintz family came from Maintz, Germany and Rabbi Yehudah established the Yeshiva in Padua which was attended by prominent scholars. On his death his son Rabbi Avraham succeeded as Head of the Yeshivah and Rabbi of Padua. On Avraham’s death in about 1535[1] his son-in-law Rabbi Meir Katzenellenbogen became rabbi both of Padua and Venice. He lived in Padua and only visited Venice periodically.

On the death of the Maharam Padua in 1565, his son Rabbi Shmuel-Yehudah became Rabbi of Venice where he resided. His wife’s name was Avigayil (her father’s name is not known) and she died in 1594 in Venice, followed by Rabbi Shmuel-Yehudah in 1597, also in Venice. However Rabbi Shmuel-Yehudah was taken to Padua for burial next to his father and mother.

According to Rosenstein[2] “Over the centuries, the tombstone of the Maharam began to crumble being made of soft stone, and its inscription was becoming illegible, so that in 1966, four hundred years after his death, the community of Padua replaced the tombstone with a new one in the original site. The old stone now stands in the new cemetery of Padua. This was witnessed by the present writer on a visit to Padua in 1968.” *

During my vacation in Italy I was anxious to visit the Katzenellenbogen graves, both out of sentiment for my ancient ancestors (I am an 18th generation descendant of the Maharam Padua through the Vilna Gaon) but also to ascertain the burial place of Avigayil and perhaps her father’s name which I expected to appear on the inscription on her tombstone.

Padua has several old cemeteries and I consulted the Jewishgen’s International Cemetery project http://www.jewishgen.org/cemetery/ to determine which housed the Katzenellenbogen tombstones. This indicated that there were two ancient cemeteries. So I consulted a site for Jewish Padua

http://www.kosherdelight.com/ItalyVenetoPaduaSynagogue.htm

which stated that “The Jewish cemeteries in the city make a separate itinerary: there are seven in all, and some can be visited by arrangement with the community offices.The first cemetery is at San Leonardo and dates from before 1348. Among the tombs is that of the famous Rabbi Meir Katzenellenbogen (1482-1565) with its carving of a cat (Katze in German).”

I posted on the Jewishgen forum a request for information about the accessibility of the cemetery. I received several replies including one from Israeli genealogist Schelly Talalay-Dardashti http://tracingthetribe.blogspot.com/ who referred me to an expert on Italian Jewry, Nardo Bonomi who lives in Florence and is the coordinator of the site
http://www.italian-family-history.com/jewish/genealogy.html . He very kindly phoned the Jewish Community Centre in Padua and made enquiries for me. Likewise I was informed by Elieser Rosenfield of Jerusalem that he had visited the cemetery and he gave me the contact details of the person who guided him, an official of the Padua Jewish Community Raffaele D'Angeli.

I emailed the latter and we set a date for my visit as the cemetery is not readily open to the public other than by prior arrangement.

Meanwhile in Venice we arranged to visit the cemetery on the Lido in the hope of perhaps finding the grave of Avigayil Katzenellenbogen. There was only one weekly tour available, led by Daniela of the Jewish museum. However this was cancelled due to heavy rain.

So on the day before we were due to leave Italy we set off by train on a short thirty minute journey to Padua. We met Rafi as arranged outside the Plaza Hotel. A twenty minute walk through the old cobbled streets of Padua led us to the locked gate set in the high brick wall surrounding the cemetery. Rafi unlocked the gate to let us in and took us the back row of the cemetery. The grounds are well looked after and there is an ongoing project to restore and identify the tombstones.

The Katzenellenbogen tombstones stand in a row against the rear wall of the cemetery. According to Rafi this was their original site. It was a very moving moment to be confronted by the tombstones of my ancestors of 450 years ago.

There are five stones from left to right:

Rabbi Shmuel Yehudah, 1521-1597 son of Rabbi Meir Katzenellenbogen.

Rabbi Meir the “Maharam Padua”, 1482-1565.

Khanah, died 1564, the daughter of Rabbi Avraham Halevy Mintz
and wife of Meir Katzenellenbogen.

The bottom fragment of a tombstone, most of the inscription being illegible.

Avigayil, the wife of Shmuel Yehudah, died 1594.

This last stone cleared up the mystery as to where Avigayil was buried. Like her husband who also died in Venice, her body must have been taken to Padua for burial. Her father’s name does not appear on her tombstone, so that remains a mystery. Had I read Edelman’s book “Gedulat Shaul”[3] thoroughly I would have noted that his copies of the inscriptions of the Katzenellenbogen tombstones in Padua included Avigyail. Apparently Pinkhas Katzenellenbogen, the author of “Yesh Mankhilin” (1758) had no access to the Padua cemetery as not only does he omit the tombstone incriptions, but he confuses the names of the wives[4] . The manuscript of Yesh Mankhilin was published in 1986 and the editor likewise appears to have been unaware of the inscriptions published by Edelman in “Gedulat Shaul” (1854).

Set on the wall over the fragmented stone is an architrave bearing the figure of a cat. This also appears at the top of the other stones and indicates the source of the surname from the town Katzenellenbogen “cat’s elbow”.

As to the fragmented stone between Khanah and Avigayil, I believe it can be identified from the wording on Khanah’s tombstone which states that she was buried to the right of her father, Avraham Mintz. That indeed is the location in relation to the fragmented stone.

A personal note: our daughter’s name is Avigayil Khanah, like the two female Katzenellenbogens, a coincidence I only realized when standing by the tombstones.

I was interested in seeing the tombstone of Rabbi Yehudah Mintz, the grandfather of the Maharam’s wife, but Rafi informed me that he had been buried in another cemetery next to Rabbi Yitskhak Abarbanel and the stone had been destroyed. This is confirmed in “Elef Margaliot”[5] which states that the stone was destroyed during a war a year after the burial, in 1509.

The Hebrew inscriptions on the tombstones match those cited by Endelman[6] (see copies above) and the English translation can be found in Rosenstein[7], with the exception of that of Avigayil.

* It appears to me that the stone which was restored was that of Shmuel Yehudah and not of his father the Maharam. Shmuel-Yehudah’s stone is white with a clearly etched inscription. The adjacent stones of his relatives are of uniform condition and apparent age. I have asked Rafi for clarification.

I am also awaiting the arrival of Rosenstein’s new book on Shaul Wahl, a son of Shmuel Yehudah Katzenelenbogen to ascertain whether he has included an updated reference to the tombstones.

Sources:
“Yesh Mankhilin”, Pinkhas Katzenellenbogen, manuscript from 1758 , published Jerusalem 1986.
“Gedulat Shaul”, Tzvi Hersh Edelman, London 1854.
“The Unbroken Chain”, Neil Rosenstein, CIS Publishers, New Jersey, U.S.A. 1990.
“Elef Margaliot”, Meir Wunder, Jerusalem, 1993.
“Saul Wahl : Polish King for a Night, Or, Lithuanian Knight for a Lifetime”, Neil Rosenstein, 2006.
“The Venetian Ghetto”, Sullam and Calimani, Milan 2005
“The Ghetto On the Lagoon:, Unberto Fortis, Venice 1995.
“Ancestry of the Gaon of Vilna – Descent from King David”, Chaim Freedman, Petah Tikvah, Israel, September 2005, published in "Avotaynu" Volume XXI, Number 3, Fall 2005.

Links:
Chaim Freedman’s blog http://chfreedman.blogspot.com/

Photos of trip to Italy:
http://picasaweb.google.com/chaimjan/Italy2008

Information about the Katzenellenbogen family.
Wikepedia links have been used for convenience of access, but the information is not necessarily accurate.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meir_Padua
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Judah_Katzenellenbogen
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judah_Minz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Minz
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katzenellenbogen,_Germany

http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/vjw/Venice.html
http://www.archipelago.org/vol2-3/lido.htm
http://www.museoebraico.it/english/home.asp
http://www.museoebraico.it/english/ghetto.html
http://www.italian-family-history.com/jewish/genealogy.html
http://www.kosherdelight.com/ItalyVenetoPaduaSynagogue.htm
http://www.jewishgen.org/cemetery/

[1] “ Elef Margaliot”, Meir Wunder, Jerusalem 1993, p.186
[2] “The Unbroken Chain”, Neil Rosenstein, 1990, Volume I page 3.
[3] “Gedulat Shaul”, Tzvi Hirsh Edelman, London 1854, introduction pp.xii,-xiv
[4] “ Yesh Mankhilin”, Pinkhas Katzenellenbogen, manuscript from 1758 , published Jerusalem 1986, page 59.
[5] “ Elef Margaliot”, Meir Wunder, Jerusalem 1993, p.190.
[6] “ Gedulat Shaul”, Tzvi Hirsh Edelman, London 1854, introduction pp.xii,-xiv
[7] “The Unbroken Chain”, Neil Rosenstein, 1990, Volume I, pp2-4.

Leopold Quint: The mystery of his fate.

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 10:01:00 +0000

My late grandmother Annie Freedman (born 1885 Pikeliai, Lithunia; died 1967 Melbourne, Australia) told me that her younger brother Leib/Leopold Kvint returned to Lithuania from England in order to marry. I have a photo of him and his wife taken in Kursenai in 1928.

My grandmother told me that her brother moved to Riga and was killed on the first day of the German occupation of the city. She believed that Leopold's wife and children were killed subsequently. She did not recall the name of her brother's wife or children.

For over 40 years I have been seeking evidence as to my great-uncle's fate.

Recently I received a prompt reply from The International Tracing Service at Bad Arolsen, Germanyinforming me that they had no record of him.

An on-line database "Victims of Political Terror in the USSR" http://www.lists.memo.ru/index11.htm includes

"Leopold Yudelevich Kvint, born 1888 in Lithuania, Jewish, without specialoccupation, lived in Orlov, convicted 15.01.1944 by a special committee ofthe NKVD under law 58.10 and sentenced to 5 years deprivation of freedom. Rehabilitated 07.04.1961. Source: Kniga Pamyati (Memorial Book) of Kirov Oblast."

As my great-grandfather's name was Yoel-Yehudah (Yudel), and my greatuncle was aged 16 according to a Hamburg Passenger list from 1903 en-route to London(therefore born about 1887), and was born in Lithuania, then I believe that the above was indeed my long-looked-for great-uncle Leib or Leopold Kvint.

My grandmother told me that he reurned to Lithuania to marry and Latvian records include his marriage in 1923 in Kursenai to Sare Luriye.

What I do not understand is why my grandmother thought he had perished in1941, how he survived, what he was doing between 1941 and his arrest in1944, why he was arrested in Orlov, was he alive when he was "rehabilitated", and what then became of him (if he survived his imprisonment) !

I have studied various sources for the period, but fail to understand why he and many other Jews were arrested in 1944 by the NKVD, that is after theGermans had been defeated in the USSR.

Details of the period are to be found on "Gulag during World War II" at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulag and details of the Penal Code of theRSFSR at http://www.cyberussr.com/rus/uk58-e.html#58-1a give the following information:

"Article 58 of the Russian SFSR Penal Code was put in force on February 25,1927 to arrest those suspected of counter-revolutionary activities.Sentences were long, up to 25 years, and frequently extended indefinitely without trial or consultation. Inmates under Article 58 were known as"politichesky" as opposed to common criminals, "ugolovnik". Upon release, the prisoner would typically be sent into an exile within Russia without the right to settle closer than 100 km from large cities.Section 10 of Article 58 made "propaganda and agitation against the Soviet Union" a triable offence, whilst section 12 allowed for onlookers to be prosecuted for not reporting instances of section 10. In effect, Article 58was carte blanche for the secret police to arrest and imprison anyone deemed suspicious, making for its use as a political weapon. A person could be framed: The latter would arrange an "anti-Soviet" incident in the person's presence and then try the person for it. If the person pleaded innocence, not having reported the incident would also make them liable to imprisonment. During and after World War II, Article 58 was used to imprison many returned Soviet prisoners of war on the grounds that their capture and detainment by the Axis Powers during the war was proof that they did not fight to thedeath and were therefore anti-Soviet."

The fate of Leopold Quint remains a mystery.

Yoel of Brisk

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Tue, 19 Feb 2008 10:17:00 +0000

Research to establish identity of Yoel of Brisk (Brest)

Chaim Freedman, February, 2008

Enquiry from Nancy Holden (December 2007):

Can you recommend a way to find out more about Joel of Brest who married oneof Yom Tov Lipman Heller's daughters?

“Yahrzeit letter which surfaced in South Africa, Israel and Canada...the originator gives the first mention of the manuscript "Chemdat Yamim" by Eliezer son of Jacov of Slonim, published 1807. And the Dedication page of the manuscript itself. Three editions of this manuscript have been located, one at the British Museum Library, another at the Widener Library at Harvard University and all five of his works at Yeshiva University in New York (four unpublished).

My ancestor, Eliezer Kaler of Amstibava (Mscibow), Belarus, (born 1749) wasmarried to Friedel (born 1759) the daughter of a Moses (lineage unknown) andMiriam (name according to 1784 GDL for Mscibow). Miriam was the daughter of Moses of Copenhagen and the daughter of SolomonZalman (her name unknown). The other daughter of Solomon Zalman was Estherwho was to married Ezekiel Katzenellenpogen (author of "Kenesset Yezekiel".Chief Rabbi of Hamburg, ABD of Altona,Hamburg and Wandsbeck) as listed inRosenstein's "These are the Generations") and Solomon Zalman was the son ofJoel of Brest-Litovsk.The father of Moses of Copenhagen was "Rosh Josef" who was married toDevora, daughter of Moses of Vilna. And he "Rosh Josef" (Josef ben JacobJoshua of Pinchow) was a grandson (most likely great grandson) document says"necad" of Jacob Polak of Krakow (died 1552).These documents say Joel of Brest was descended from Yom Tov. One translatorsays Solomon Zalman was known as "the great traveler" but I have not seenthat anywhere else.Another translator translates from the Dedication paragraph of "ChemdatYamin" "an uncle of Friedel, Jacob son of Benjamin of Grodno, supportedEliezer and Friedel while Eliezer wrote his manuscript "Sha'ar HaDerushimChemdat Yamim."

Sources extracted by Chaim Freedman:

Note contradictions between the sources.

“The Feast and the Fast”
Chaim Uri Lipshitz and Neil Rosenstein (1984)

Chart 1.
Yom Tov Lipman Heller 1579-1654,
Daughter who was the wife of Joel of Brest.

Chart 2.
Joel of Brest d.1709, son of “son/dau Joel Sirkes Bach”

father of:

1) Solomon Zalman of Brest
Father of Esther married Ezekiel Katzenellenpogen b. 1668A.B.D. Altona-Hamburg-Wandsbeck.

2) Jehiel Michal
Father of Zvi Hirsch A.B.D. Charkov
Father of Jehiel Michal Michelson, A.B.D. Minsk and first Rabbi of Kaluszyn
Father of Solomon
Father of Mordecai Mottel Michelson 1800-1872
Father of Abraham Haim d.1857
Father of Zvi Ezekiel Michelson 1853-1942
[I have omitted others who are not relevant]

Rosenstein erred in the sequence of the generations: Abraham Haim’s father was Yaakov Yekhiel Mikhel son of Mordecai Mottel as stated in Zvi Ezekiel Michelson’s books.
Rosenstein also erred in stating that Zvi Hersh was ABD Charkov, it was Tsherkov, Nor was his father Jehiel Michal ABD of Minsk, but of Novominsk.

“The Unbroken Chain”
N. Rosenstein page 841

G.12.1 Chava married R. Michael Klausner (note 60 E.J.Michelson etc) …. His ancestry appeared in Ma’amar Mordechai” …… [see below]

Rosenstein erred in ascribing a surname Klausner – he was referred to as “Kolshiner” since that was the town where he lived. His descendants took the surname Michelson.

“Shem Hagedolim Hekhadash”
Azulai 1874
#38 Yoel son of Moshe Gad, author of “Khidushei Halakhot” Altona 1836.
Grandson of the Taz and the Bakh.

“Toldot Anshei Shem”
Efrati 1875
Page 21 family of the Tosfot Yomtov does not include any daughter married to Yoel of Brisk.

“Ir Tehilah”
Arye Leib Feinstein, Warsaw 1885
p.33: Zalmen son of Yoel, father-in-law of the author of Knesset Yekhezkel.
p.103: The Aluf Yoel Segal of Brisk. [none of the sources refer to Yoel of Brisk as a Levi, indicated here by “Segal”, so this Yoel Segal of Brisk must be another person.

“Dagan Shamayim”
Tzvi Yekhezkel Michelson, Piotrykov 1901

Son of Avraham Khaim
Son of Yaakov Yekhiel
Son of Motel of Kolshin
Son of Shlomo
Son of Mikhel
Of the stock of the Bakh and the Tosfot Yomtov.

“Beit Meshulum”
Tzvi Yekhezkel Michelson, Piotrykov 1905
Page 73, Will of Mordekhai Mottel Michelson.

Mordekhai Mottel “Kolushiner”
Tombstone includes “ of the family of the Tosfot Yomtov”.
Son of Shlomo “Yospes” after his mother Yospe.
Son of Yekhiel Mikhel, brother-in-law of Mottel of Praga)
Son of Tzvi Hirsh of Tshorkov
Grandson of Yekhiel Mikhel (his sister was the wife of Yekhezkel Katzenellenbogen …)
Son of Shlomo Zalmen
Son of Yoel of Brisk
son of a son of Yoel Sirkes
[continues with the ancestry of Sirkes via Jaffe]

The wife of Yoel of Brisk was the modest Mrs Khana, daughter of Yomtov Lipman Halevy Helir etc.

“Ma’amar Mordekhai”
Mordekhai Mottel Michelson, edited by Tzvi Yekhezkel Michelson, Piotrykov 1907.

Mordekhai Mottel of Kolshin
Son of Shlomo
Son of Yekhiel Mikhel ABD Novominsk, Shenitza, Kolshin.
Son of Tzvi Hirsh ABD Tsherkov
Grandson of Yekhiel Mikhel (his sister was the wife of the author of “Knesset Yekhezkel, ABD A.H.V.)
Son of Shlomo Zalmen
Son of Yoel of Brisk
Son of a son of Yoel Sirkes ABD Krakow, author of the “Bakh”

The wife of Yoel of Brisk was a daughter of Yomtov Lipman Halevu Helir ABD Krakow, author of “Tosfot Yomtov”.

There is much information in the introduction of this book about this family but nothing further about Yoel of Brisk.

Note that he is designated “son of a son of Yoel Sirkes” while Rosenstein has son of a “son/dau”. It seems this point is not clear, particularly as references to the family of Sirkes do not show such a son of a son.

“Beit Yekhezkel”
Tzvi Yekhezkel Michelson, Piotrykov 1924

Son of Avraham Khaim
Son of Yaakov Yekhiel
Son of Mottel
Son of Shlomo
Son of Yekhiel
Son of Tzvi Hirsh
Grandson of Yekhiel Mikhel (his sister was the wife of the “Knesset Yekhezkel”
Son of Shlomo Zalmen
Son of Yoel of Bikhov
Son-in-law of Shmuel of Brisk who lived in Nemirov
Son of the “Tosfot Yomtov”.

Yoel of Bikhov was a son of Arye Yehudah Leib ABD Krakow, author of Shaagat Arye and Kol Shakhal.
Son of Naftali Hertz ABD Pinczow
Son of Yoel Sirkes the “Bakh”.

Note that the above differs considerable from the above genealogies by the same author, Michelson

“R. Joel Sirkes”
E.J. Schochet, 1971
No mention of Yoel of Brisk among the family of Sirkes.

“Megilat Yukhsin Mishpakhat Heller”
Yekhiel Horowitz-Heller, Tel Aviv 1978
Does not mention Joel of Brisk.

“Sefer Meginei Zahav”
Prague 1720.
Comments on the Taz.
Yoel ABD Szebrezin, edited by his grandson Yoel son of Moshe Gad son of the author Yoel.

The author Yoel of Szebrezin was a grandson of the Taz.

The Taz, David Halevy, was a son-in-law of the Bakh, Yoel Sirkes.

Conclusion:

It would appear that Yoel of Brisk, Yoel of Bykhov and Yoel of Szebrezin were three separate individuals, although related via the Bakh and the Taz.

Further research is required to clarify these identities.

Reverend Phillip Berliner

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 11:07:00 +0000

Pinkhas (Phillip Berliner)

(Written by his son-in-law Chaim Freedman in “The Pen and the Blade, Super Family” 1992).

Pinkhas (Phillip) Berliner was born in London, England in 1916, the youngest son of immigrants from Lodz, Poland. He attended Yeshivah Etz Chaim in London where he learned under the prominent Lithuanian leaders of English ultra-orthodoxy at the time, Rabbis Eliya Lopian and Eliyahu-Eliezer Dessler. He was such an excellent student that his teachers selected him to join a group which went to study at the recently established Gateshead Yeshiva in 1931 under Rabbi N.D.Landinsky.

In the mid 1930’s a proposal was made by the rabbis of Etz Chaim and Gateshead to further the higher religious education of English Yeshiva students at prominent eastern European Yeshivot. Pinkhas Berliner was selected to join a group of about ten students who went to Mir Yeshiva in Poland (now Belarus) and to Telz (Telsiai) Yeshivah in Poland. The group included Rabbi Nakhum-Zev (Velvel) Dessler, Josh Chinn, Rabbi Shlomo Davis, Rabbi Koppul Rosen, Rabbi Chaim Gutnik, Montie Moore, Rabbi Shmuel Bloch, Rabbi Dovber Silver and others who became leading orthodox rabbis and scholars, mainly in the United states. Details are to be found at http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~rkimble/Mirweb/YeshivaStudents.html .

Pinkhas Berliner studied in Mir under the renowned Rosh Yeshivah Rabbi Eliezer-Yehudah Finkel and the Mashgiakh Rabbi Yekhezkel Levinstein. On the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the foreign students fled Poland, by order of the Rosh Yeshivah, the day before the Germans invaded Poland. For several months the group wandered backwards and forwards through Latvia and Estonia since they had inadequate papers. During this period of extreme physical deprivation and exposure. Pinkhas’s health suffered irreparably. Eventually visas were obtained through a Jewish member of the Latvian parliament, Rabbi Mordekhai Dubin, and the group settled in Lithuania at Telz Yeshivah under the soon to be martyred Rabbi Avraham-Yitskhak Bloch.

After nine months in Telz, in February 1940 Pinkhas rejoined Mir Yeshiva which had been relocated in Keidan, Lithuania. There he was finalizing his studies to qualify for Semikhah (rabbinical ordination) when the Soviet Army invaded the Baltic States. The Yeshivot were constantly harassed by the Communist regime and as the Germany army hovered in nearby Poland, the future looked ominous.

The British Government finally arranged a means of evacuating British and other foreign nationals. Travelling on visas issued by the famous Japanese consul in Kovno (Kaunas) Sugiharo, the group was sent eastwards via the Trans Siberian Railway to Vladivostok. From there they went to Hong Kong but were unable to continue to America due to hostilities at sea. Instead the group travelled to Brisbane, Australia. After several months of futile attempts to establish a Yeshivah in Melbourne, most of the group made their way to America and were amongst the founders of Mir, Telz and Lakewood Yeshivot. Some returned to England after the war.

Those remaining in Australia were Rabbi Dovber Silver, Rabbi Chaim Gutnik and Pinkhas (now Phillip) Berliner. Although he had a visa for America and had been accepted to Yeshiva Mesifta Torah Vadaat in New York, Phillip remained in Australia. He taught briefly in Sydney until he went to Melbourne in 1941 to marry Edna, daughter of Rabbi Yitskhak Yaakov and Lena Super. They had three daughters Mirel-Shulamit (Muriel) Kleerekoper, Leah-Nekhama (Lena) Pose and Sheindel (Jane) Freedman.

In order to support his family Phillip learnt Shekhitah and joined his father-in-law at this arduous vocation. He also taught religious classes for the United Jewish Education Board and was assistant Chazan at the St.Kilda Hebrew Congregation. In 1946 he was granted the title “Reverend” by Rabbi Jacob Danglow in recognition of his services to the congregation.

Phillip Berliner was widely respected throughout the community. He approached his vocation with a deep sense of dedication and his sincere enthusiasm for Judaism inspired his students, in particular a small group that studied with him. One of these, Professor Louis Waller wrote to Phillip’s daughter Jane Freedman:

“Your father was a generous teacher in terms of time and energy. He drilled us rigorously in formal Hebrew grammar, introducing me to the patterns and paradigms which became ingrained. Though he was not a scientific linguist, he was very knowledgeable and very determined that our foundations in structure would be well laid. He invited Max Jotkovitz, Sonja Black and me to your home in Crimea Street on Saturday afternoons in the latter part of 1948 and 1949 for revision of the set books and lightening like parsing, declension and conjunction. Your mother would give us tea and cake to sustain us, and your grandfather viewed us with a bemused but benevolent eye. In addition to the biblical set books, grammar and history, we also studied a tractate of Mishnah, Baba Batra.”

Berliner’s work as a Shokhet was very taxing, both from the long work hours and the nature of the work. As recalled by Waller: “I asked your father about his work as a Shochet. He showed me his Khalef (blade) which he carried in a case in his breast pocket. I have an impression, but not a strong one, that he found his work in the slaughter house not only physically but also mentally very demanding.”

Reverend Berliner had regular duties to perform for the St.Kilda synagogue. Aside from services, in particular reading the Torah and teaching, he had to attend weddings, funerals and other occasions in the life of the congregants. In this way he built up a wide circle of people who held him in respect for his mild manner and friendly disposition. Professor Waller, in a memorial to Rabbi Danglow (St.Kilda Hebrew Congregation Chronicle, March 1981), mentions Berliner both as his teacher and paints a picture of the Bimah at the St.Kilda synagogue whilst Rabbi Danglow conducted the Neilah service:

“It is Neilah. On the Almemar stand Reverend Kowadlo and Mr. Berliner – as always. Each is enveloped in white Kittel and woolen Tallit. But both are at the back of the Almemor, in their respective corners. At the desk stands the Rabbi. He is davening Neilah.”

Berliner’s communal duties were not without considerable aggravation, as was common among the Melbourne synagogues, internal politics often claimed innocent victims, in this case Phillip Berliner. His health was never the best, he suffered severely from asthma, and the machinations of several members of the Board of his synagogue wounded him deeply.

On Shabbat, 20th Kheshavn 5720, November 21, 1959 Phillip Berliner died suddenly following a severe asthma attack. The entire community was shocked that this man, beloved by so many, had been struck down in his prime at the age at the age of forty-three.

Phillip’s widow Edna was faced with the awesome task of bringing up their three daughters.

Phillip Berliner C.V. (click to enlarge)

Novoyelna summer camp about 1938

Reference from Rabbi Eliezer Yehudah Finkel, Rosh Yeshiva of Mir

Reference from Rabbi Avraham Yitskhak Bloch, Rosh Yeshiva Telz.

Visa from Japanese Consul Sugihara, Kovno 1940

Phillip Berliner married in 1941 Edna, the daughter of Rabbi Yitskhak Yaakov Super of Melbourne. Berliner served the Melbourne community as Shokhel, Chazan and teacher until his premature death in 1959.

An archive of his papers is to be donated to the Jewish Museum in Melbourne.

Rabbi Yitskhak Yaakov Super

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 10:08:00 +0000

Rabbi Yitskhak Yaakov (Isaac Jacob) Super

(Written by his granddaughter Jane Berliner’s husband Chaim Freedman on the occasion of the hundredth anniversary of his birth in 1981. Published in the Australian Jewish News, August 7, 1981)

Rabbi Yitskhak Yaakov Super served the Melbourne Jewish community for half a century of its religious life. Many passed through his hands from Brit Milah through Cheder to Barmitzvah and benefitted from his meticulous and relenting supervision of Kashrut.

Son of Shmuel (son of Yosef-Yehoash) Super and Khaya-Minna (daughter of Avraham) Dobrin, Yitskhak-Yaakov was born in 1881 in Lutzin (Ludza) Latvia, a community known as “Jerusalem of Latvia”. The Super family were merchants, scribes, and butchers. He grew up in Karsava (Korsovka). Rabbi Super was educated at local Yeshivot in Rezekne (Rezhitza), Daugavpils (Dvinsk) and Vilnius (Vilna) and then received certification as a Shokhet at the young age of seventeen. He served in that capacity in several small towns in Latvia including Rofe, Sloboad and Lipne.

In 1901 he was obliged to flee from the threat of military conscription which, in Tsarist Russia, was the scene of violent anti-Semitic persecution of Jewish recruits. He arrived in London in 1899 where his services were eagerly sought by the United Synagogue which appointed him as minister to several congregations including Yarmouth and Croydon.

In 1906 Rabbi Super married Lena (Leah) a daughter of Reb Mordekhai Zev (Marks) Bull, one of the first Chabad Chassidim in England. The Bull family was from Karsava (Korsovka), Daugavpils (Dvinsk) and originally from Livani (Lewwnhoff). See separate article.

In 1911 he gave up ministerial duty to serve the London United Shechitah Board in the village of Evercreech, Somerset.

In 1914 Super was sought out by Rabbi Jacob Danglow who had been sent on a mission by the Melbourne community to find a Chief Shokhet for the Melbourne United Shechitah Board. The candidate recommended by Chief Rabbi Joseph Hertz was Yitskhak Yaakov Super.

Arriving in Melbourne on August 17th, 1914, Super immediately acquainted himself with the then inadequate Kashrut facilities. The early years were not without conflict and turmoil as he strove to provide strict control over the standard of meat. Many anecdotes are related of his zeal in raiding butcher shops which he suspected of evading the regulations.

Yitskhak Yaakov Super is remembered by numerous families for his services as Mohel which often took him to provincial communities. Likewise he served as a Hebrew teacher and his soundly based European learning enabled him to raise the standard of Jewish knowledge which he imparted to a generation of Australian children. He was also responsible for the training of Shochtim interstate and in New Zealand. At the Chief Rabbi’s request he wrote a report on the state of Kashrut in New Zealand.

In 1929 he was appointed a member of the Melbourne Beth Din under Rabbi Israel Brodie (later Chief Rabbi of the British Empire). Super continued to serve as one of the Dayanim (judges) of the Beth Din for the duration of his life under Rabbis H. Freedman, H. Stransky, and I. Rapaport. He participated in the conferences of the Australian Rabbinical Council and submitted a paper on Kashrut.

He was often vocal through the Jewish press when he felt the need to raise his voice to condemn lapses in religious observance. He was an active and enthusiastic supporter of the Zionist cause and visited the State of Israel in 1956.

In 1944 Super completed thirty years of service to the community and British Chief Rabbi J. Hertz conferred upon him Semikhah (rabbinical ordination) in recognition of his learning and contribution to the community.

In 1949 Rabbi Super retired from active service and was presented with a testimonial by the community. But his drive to serve Kashrut would not let him rest and he soon came out of retirement to accept the appointment in 1950 of Mashgiakh Rashi (Chief Supervisor) for the Kashrus Commission of Victoria, a body he fought for many years to have established, even to the extent of personal financial support.

This position gave him ultimate authority over the State’s kosher meat supply, Matzah production and all catering establishments carrying the Kashrut Commission license. In this capacity he often resorted to seeking the support of Chief Rabbi Brodie in England on contentious issues.

In his later years Rabbi Super was associated closely with the St.Kilda Hebrew Congregation. At his nearby home in Crimea Street he and his wife Lena Super (until her untimely death in 1945) held open house to the congregation. Hardly a Shabbat passed when he did not bring home a guest for Kiddush. There he held a regular Shiur on a Shabbat afternoon.

Super continued to function as a Shokhet until his last days, despite failing health, assisted by his son-in-law Rev. Phillip Berliner, husband of his daughter Edna.

He passed away on June 28, 1961 (Tamuz 14th 5721).

Rabbi Isaac Jacob and Lena Super were the parents of seven children:

Susaman-David (Cecil), Nakhum (Newton) Melbourne solicitor, Rabbi Dr. Arthur Saul Super of South Africa and Israel, Adolf (died a small child), Shlomo-Meir (Montie), Edna-Yenta (Edna) married to the Reverend Pinkhas (Phillip) Berliner, and Zalman-Ber (Albert).

Below are some documements reflecting his life including an article published in the Ausralian Jewish News marking the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Click to enlarge

An archive of Super's personal and communal papers is to be donated to the Jewish Museum in Melbourne.

Rabbi Super and family, Evercreech, England 1914

Rabbi Super's parents Shmuel and Khaya Minna Super with his sister Fruma, Korsovka (now Karsava) Latvia, about 1905

Mohel certificate Chief rabbi Adler 1910

Semikha (rabbinical) ordination by Chief Rabbi Hertz 1944.

Congratulations to Rabbi Super's son Newton on his father's ordination, from Sir Isaac Isaacs, later Governor General of Austalia.

Appointment to Melbourne Beit Din 1931

L-R: Rabbis J.L. Gurewicz, J. Danglow, I.J. Super, I. Brodie
Inspection of Melbourne abbatoirs 1930's

Super Family tree showing selected relationships

Kremer - the Vilna Gaon had no surname

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:34:00 +0000

Kremer – the Vilna Gaon had no Surname

October 2007.

(Portrait courtesy of Yeshayahu Winograd, Jerusalem)

Despite a common misconception, the Gaon had no surname and "Kremer" or “Kramer” was a nickname applied to his ancestor Rabbi Moshe "Kremer" of Vilna because he had a stall in the market.

The term "Kremer" means a shopkeeper.
None of the primary sources or documents contemporaneous with the Gaon and the generation after him include a surname, although several biographies in modern times have erroneously used it.

There are many, many Kremers/Kramers who have nothing to do with the Gaon.
However the name was adopted by the descendants of one of the Gaon’s brothers Rabbi Moshe of Podzelva. They lived mainly in Dokshitz, Belarus, and in Israel.

Another family descended is from a female connection to the Gaon, a daughter of his grandson Rabbi Tuviah Yurbarsky and wife of Rabbi Yitskhak Kremer of Volkovisk (there are descendants in the USA).

Unless a family has a specific tradition of descent from the Gaon, the surname Kremer alone is probably not sufficient evidence of a relationship with the Gaon.

Tribal Affiliation

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:08:00 +0000

“Tribal” affiliation – Kohanim, Levi’im and Yisraelim

Chaim Freedman, March 27, 2006.

Postings to Jewishgen over the years show that there is misunderstanding about the divison of Jews according to tribal affiliation as Kohanim, Levi’im or Yisraelim.

Jews were once divided into twelve tribes according to the sons of the Biblical patriarch Jacob. Due to the visicitudes of Jewish history, knowledge of tribal affiliation for most Jews has been forgotten over time. Over the last 2,000 or so years, most Jews are considered to belong to one amorphous tribe called Yisrael (Israel), plural Yisraelim. The only Jews who retained knowledge of their tribal descent were the Kohanim (priests) and Levi’im (Levites). While both descend from the patriarch Jacob’s son Levi, the Kohanim descend specifically from Levi’s great-grandson Aharon (Aaron), the founder of the Priesthood. The Levi’im descend from Levi’s other descendants. Some think that Leviim descend from Aharon’s brother Moshe (Moses), but although he was a Levi, there are no known descendants beyond his two sons.

For genealogists, knowledge of tribal affiliation is useful as it may help distinguish theoretical relatives from each other. Practically speaking, if two supposed relatives believe they share male descent from a common ancestor, should one of the relatives be a Kohen or Levi and the other not, then it can be said with reasonable certainty that they do not descend from a common male ancestor.

In the technical Halakhic sense no person can be a Kohen unless his father was a Kohen. No person can be a Levi unless his father was a Levi. Some postings to Jewishgen have suggested that a woman who is the daughter of a Kohen may pass that status to her sons. That is not the case. The son inherits his status from his father. Only one aspect of the mother’s tribal affiliation effects the son. The firstborn son of the daughter of a Kohen or Levi is exemp from the ceremony of Pidyon Haben (redemption of the firstborn).

Members of the ancient family of Rapaport were Kohanim. Similarly old rabbinical families such as Horowitz, Landau and Epstein were Leviim. Yet there are families which bear these names and are not Kohanim or Leviim.

It should be noted that the surnames Cohen or Levi do not necessarily indicate tribal affiliation.

There are several explanations for the situation where a supposedly Kohanic family name is carried by non-Kohanim.

i) Certain families, unrelated to the above "old" lines of these families, adopted the same surnames randomly when legislation required Jews to adopt surnames.

ii) There was an actual relationship between the Kohanic and non-Kohanic families which arose when a son-in-law adopted the surname of his wife's family. Even if these sons-in-law were not Kohanim or Leviim, in this particular situation, their subsequent descendants are in fact descended from the old families, although through a female line.

Care should also be taken when a woman marries twice, once to a Kohen or Levi and has children by him who are therefore Kohanim or Levi’im respectively, then secondly to a Yisrael. Children of the second marriage are Yisraelim. Descendants of half brothers may become confused as to their tribal affiliation, particularly if it is not known from which husband they descend.

It should be noted that Israeli civil registration does not include Kohen, Levi or Yisrael status. That appears on religious documents such as Ketubah (marriage certificate), synagogue membership lists, and tombstones.

A word of caution: families which became assimilated may have forgotten their tribal status, such that the absence of such, even on religious certification or tombstones, in modern times, does not necessarily negate the possibility of Kohen or Levi ancestry in the male line.Once one could depend on such information being recorded on tombstones. Indeed the absence or presence of Kohen or Levi designation on a tombstone often helped genealogists to clarify relationships. Now, unfortunately, some families have forgotten this aspect of their ancient descent and have failed to record it on their tombstones.

This situation highlights the need for Jews to preserve knowledge of their families' Kohanic or Levitical descent, so that it not be forgotten with the passage of time.

Rabbi Dr. Joseph Abrahams, Melbourne. Article

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Wed, 17 Oct 2007 10:22:00 +0000

Biography of Rabbi Dr. Joseph Abrahams (1855-1938)

Av Beit Din and Chief Minister of the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation from 1883-1919.

Lecture by Chaim (Keith) Freedman to the Australian Jewish Historical Society, Melbourne 1977 and published in the society's journal in 1979, Volume VIII Part 7.

Rabbi Abrahams, in his retirement, lived with the family of Rabbi Isaac Jacob Super, the grandfather of Freedman's wife. An archive of Abraham's personal and communal papers is to be donated to the Jewish Museum in Melbourne.

Semikha (rabbinic ordination) from Rabbi Azriel Hildesheimer, Rabbinical Seminary Berlin 1882

Abrahams' father Rabbi Barnett Abrahams was the first Principal of Jews College London.

The following is his Semikha (rabbinical ordination) granted by Rabbi Jacob Oettingen, Berlin 1858.

My Grandparents, Zalman and Chana Reizel Kaye (Komesaroff)

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 09:14:00 +0000

My Grandparents:

Zalman (1886-1958) and Chanah Raizel (1887-1955)
Kaye (Komesaroff)

Born Ukraine, immigrated to Melbourne, Australia 1913.

Written by Chaim (Keith) Freedman in 1960, aged 13.
Edited 2003
Most of the photos were taken between 1950 and 1955.

“Rozalia” 72 Princess street, Kew, Melbourne, Australia

Although I didn’t know my grandparents for very long before they died, my memories of them are still very vivid. The main picture of my grandmother (whom I called Nanna) that seems to remain fixed in my mind, is that of her in the place she loved best: in the kitchen at 72 Princess Street Kew. She always seemed to be cooking the favourite dishes of one or other of her children or grandchildren. My favourite dish was `Piroshkes’, a Russian potato pastry. I can see Nanna standing at the head of the kitchen table, sleeves rolled up , flour in her hair, pounding and twisting a large lump of dough with her muscular arms. I can almost taste the mixture of potatoes and onions from which I used to sneak a nibble, although I didn’t really have to do this secretly as Nanna never really minded. Anyone who came through that famous kitchen, with its inviting smells, was tempted to open the refrigerator or peek into saucepans to see what was cooking.

Keith and Neville in garden in front entrance to house.

Nanna was never lonely in her kitchen as it was always a hive of activity. People continually walked in and out, and although Nanna sometimes grumbled about the interruptions, I don’t think she was ever happier than when someone was there to watch eagerly as she worked.

I remember my grandfather (whom I called Pappa) coming home from work. He would come through the back door, almost hidden behind a pile of parcels. He rarely came home empty handed, but would bring home all sorts of things including cakes, fish, drinks or anything that he had seen during the day which he thought his family might like.

Pappa always appeared very tall to me and I would eagerly await the time when his large figure came through the door. He used to call me `Keithi’ or more often Chaim Kopel, my Hebrew name. I remember how he used to ruffle my curly hair and I would follow him outside to help him unload the car. I think I was more of a hindrance than a help , but Pappa never let me know this. He would load me up with parcels and I would stagger across the back lawn into the back porch and finally deposit my load in the little storeroom at the back of the house.

Keith and Pappa in front of rose bed in back garden.

This room was a source of mystery to me. It contained all sorts of suitcases, boxes and parcels of varying shape and size and always seemed to be dark and dusty. I used to often wonder what treasures these cases contained.

This storeroom also contained pickling and fruit preserving apparatus. Each year, at the appropriate seasons, Nanna and Pappa would each set to work, Pappa to pickle cucumbers and Nanna to preserve fruit which came from the numerous trees in the back yard. I can see Pappa on the back porch, sleeves rolled up. Wearing one of Nanna’s aprons, surrounded by basins containing cucumbers and a number of earthenware crocks. No one ever really knew his recipe for pickling cucumbers and many, including my father, have tried in vain to copy it.

I used to love watching both Nanna and Pappa at work and I would run in and out from the back porch and the kitchen where Nanna was up to her neck in fruit and large bottles. Eventually I think I tried even their great patience and would be sent outside to play.

Nanna making preserves in the kitchen.

The backyard was huge. On the left side was the gravel drive which led up to the big double wooden garage. This garage was full of `junk’: boxes, tools and goodness knows what else were piled around the walls and rested on top of a sort of loft formed by the rafters in the roof.

Neville and Keith playing cricket in from of garage.

At the side of the garage was a narrow woodshed. This was a source of terror for me, and I rarely entered is as it seemed to be teeming with thousands of insects. It was always full of various types of wood from thick logs to broken up fruit boxes. I can remember standing and watching, awe-inspired, as the gardener Mr. Wheatley swung the huge axe to split heavy logs. I remember how occasionally, when he wasn’t looking, I would pick up the axe and try my hand at chopping wood. However, after nearly losing my legs a few times, I gave this practice up.

Back garden – Tessie, John, Keith, Nanna and Pappa

The wood was used to feed the `Wonderheat’ fire in the breakfast room. I used to enjoy sitting on the floor watching, enraptured as the flames danced before me and I used to see all sorts of pictures, and imagine myself involved in many adventures, in the bright yellow flames of that fire.

Departure for Queensland – Nanna, Tessie, Keith, Pappa, Neville.

I can remember my grandparents’ house far more clearly than our own for we seemed to spend most of out time there. It was an enormous house, over thirty five squares[1] in area.

Plan of Rozalia drawn by Neville Freedman

The house was almost hidden from Princess Street by a thick hedge. On the left was the long gravel drive which led to the garage at the back. The garden was full of bushes, trees and colourful flowers. A short path led to the wide veranda which stretched right across the front of the house and a third of the way up each side. To the right the veranda led to a part of the house which had been divided off and let to an old lady, Mrs. Oakey.

Keith, Nanna, John, Pappa, Tessie – around the swing in the back garden

To the left the veranda ran alongside the drive to a French window which lifted upwards to open into the drawing room. In about the middle of the front of the house was the large, wooden paneled front door, surrounded on each side by a fine opaque glass panel. This door opened onto a short passage from which Nanna’s and Pappa’s bedroom led off. This was a large room containing a big double bed; a wardrobe facing it; a low ottoman under the bay window; and a dressing table with a marble top on the wall opposite the window.

Diana (Dina Burgess), Nanna and Pappa

On the opposite side of the passage was the spare room[2]. There against the passage wall was the cot which I spent countless nights in. I remember lying in that cot staring up at the high ceiling, from the middle of which hung a light supported by a white chain. Around the start of the chain was a circular pattern in relief on the roof, as there was in each room around the light sockets. I used to spend long periods after waking in the morning staring up at this ornamentation on the ceiling which never failed to hold my interest.

The end of the passage was marked by two curtains which were gathered at the wall. Here the passage widened out and became the lounge. This was a long gallery with various chairs and couches lining the walls. At the far end was the radiogram. This was a very old fashioned type which just looked like any cupboard from the outside. The gramophone was towards the top and under it were about a half a dozen drawers containing countless records ranging from Enrico Caruso and cantor Joseph Rosenblatt to `The House That Jack Built’ and other children’s records.

Lounge without gramophone – note rocking horse

On entering the lounge from the passage there was an opening on the right wall. Here, in an alcove, was a linen cupboard and other storage cupboards. I remember standing there while Nanna got out the fresh bed linen and towels and helping her carry them to the bedrooms.

Leading off this alcove were two doors: one which connected with the tenant’s flat and was always bolted; and the other which opened into the bathroom. The bathroom contained a bath; separate shower recess which has Nanna’s initials `A.R.’ in the terrazzo[3]; and basin. The toilet led off from the bathroom and was enclosed on two sides by walls which were frosted glass from halfway up.

Opposite the alcove, on the other side of the lounge, a door opened into the drawing room. This was the most beautiful room imaginable. The walls were painted blue; around the room were numerous richly upholstered chairs and on one wall an immense black floral couch. It was so big that when I sat on it I almost disappeared as I sank into the soft upholstery.

Drawing room (before mirror installed)

In the middle of the wall against the drive was a bay window which had a high semicircular couch around it. On the wall opposite this was the crystal cabinet which contained all sorts of fascinating articles. Under this was a green inkpot in the shape of a beetle and a bronze alligator nutcracker, both of which I used to enjoy lying on the carpet and playing with.

Against the front wall of the drawing room was an upright piano. Although I had no idea how to play it properly, I loved to spend hours sitting at it, banging away pretending I was a famous concert pianist, and composing all sorts of marvelous musical pieces; at least I thought they were marvelous. I can remember one particular day, not long before Nanna died, I was sitting at that piano playing, when my mother came in and told me to stop as I was disturbing Nanna who was sick in bed. I hadn’t been stopped for more than a few minutes when Nanna called out. She wanted to know why I had stopped. Before Mummy could finish explaining the reason to her, Nanna insisted that I resume playing. She said: “It doesn’t disturb me; as long as he is happy.”

At the other end of the room, on the wall opposite the piano, was a marble fireplace and a mirror over the mantelpiece. The mirror had two blue side panels to match the blue walls[4]. In the center of the room was a high round table. In the center of this was an article which aroused my curiosity. It was a spherical green glass ball. I often wondered how the myriads of tiny bubbles happened to get into the middle of it[5].

At the far end of the drawing room a door led into a small hall which connected with the lounge, dining room, and breakfast room. There was also a door which led to the pantry; another of my favourite nooks. In this room shelves lined the three walls right up to the high ceiling and were always filled to the point of overflowing with all sorts of food. I used to love coming into the pantry with Nanna to fetch some particular food; sometimes climbing up on a chair or ladder to bring something down from a high shelf which Nanna could not reach.

Grandkids: Moura with Melanie (?), Pappa with Wendy (?), Nanna, Neville, Tessie with Keith. On Pappa’s right – Jennifer.

The door next to the pantry led into the dining room, a very long room with a big extending table down the centre and a large black leather couch at one end. There was also a sideboard, and several desks and armchairs. I can remember often sitting at the table while Pappa and Daddy were engaged in business bookwork. I used to collect the many different rubber stamps and would imagine myself a big business executive as I stamped away on the business letter-heads. Around the dining room walls and on various cupboards were many photographs of relatives who I never knew: my great-grandparents, aunts, uncles, old photos taken many years ago in Russia.

The happiest time of the year was always Yomtov, when all the family gathered at Princess Street. We would get up early in the morning and go to Shule (the Melbourne Hebrew Congregation in Toorak Road). There Pappa sat in the middle of the male members of his family: my uncles Myer and Bill on his right and myself, Daddy and Neville on his left, Neville and I often exchanging seats to sit next to Pappa[6]. But on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, when the Shule was crowded, I had to sit on Pappa’s and Daddy’s knee, being swapped from one to the other. When we stood up at different times during the service, I would stand up on the seat behind Daddy and Pappa, holding on to their shoulders and often looking up to the balcony on the right to where Nanna and Mummy sat. I was never bored in Shule, even though I could not follow the service properly. But I tried to, often asking Neville, Daddy or Pappa to show me the place. Sometimes Pappa brought one of his old books that he had brought from Russia (one had belonged to his grandfather). This was a big book which had a Yiddish commentary, and at times during the service he would turn around to discuss various explanations of prayers with two old men[7] who sat behind us, and they would hold lengthy discussions, reminiscing about the old days in Europe.

Even during the sermon I was rarely bored, especially when Rabbi Goldman gave the sermon, because he never failed to include quaint stories and parables.

Keith, Nanna and Pappa – front of house in the drive

After the service we would all go back to Princess Street where Nanna prepared lunch for us. I can remember many of these occasions, sitting at the table in the breakfast room. Pappa would make Kiddush and then Nanna would bring on the meal, after which Pappa `benched’[8], all of us joining in at the parts that were sung. Pappa’s favourite part was the last sentence נער הייתי .. “once I was young, now I am old” and he seemed to have a faraway nostalgic look in his eye as he sang this. After a while I was able to sing עשה שלום..” off by heart and gave an impromptu concert at lunch one day.

Neville’s Barmitzvah

Of all the Yom Tovim my favourite was Pesach. In fact Pesach was the highlight of the year for me. Preparations commenced a week before Pesach when Mummy spring cleaned Tanner Avenue[9] and made all her preparations and then went to help Nanna at Princess street. The cleaning of Princess street was an enormous task, but Nanna was not satisfied till every corner had been cleaned. Then came Erev Pesach. I would wake up early in the morning eager to get to work to help Nanna and Mummy in the task of bringing the Pesach dishes out from the cupboards where they had been stored since the previous Pesach and then putting the Khometzdiker dishes back into those cupboards. When all this had taken place the entire house had an atmosphere of cleanliness about, and all was ready for Nanna and Mummy to commence cooking for the Seders which were to take place that night and the following night.

I spent the day running from room to room watching the various activities and helping whenever I could. In the afternoon the preparations reached fever pitch: Nanna and Mummy rushed around anxious to have everything ready in time. Soon Daddy and Pappa would arrive home from work and Neville from school. The time had come for the preparation of the ritual items necessary for the Seder. The horseradish had to be grated; this was usually done by Daddy or Neville. The egg, the salt water, the onion, the chicken’s neck and other items for the Seder plate had to be prepared. But most important of all was the making of the Kharoset. This task belonged solely to Pappa. He alone knew the recipe which imparted the flavour which never varied from year to year[10]. He would sit down at the table with all the ingredients: apples, almonds, walnuts, cinnamon, wine, and would spend hours chopping all them up into as fine pieces as he possibly could. Finally when he had finished and the Kharoset appeared to be the right colour and texture, one of us would be given the honour of sampling it.

By late afternoon all the preparations were nearing completion and Mummy, Daddy, Neville and I would return home to wash and dress ready for the Seder. Then we would return to Princess Street and pick up Pappa to go to Shule. Mummy remained to help Nanna add the finishing touches.

When the male members of the family returned home there was an air of serenity and holiness about the house. The hustle and bustle that had existed all day had subsided. Nanna had miraculously found time to prepare herself and was dressed ready for the Seder. In the dining room the table was set up, the old brass candlesticks which were over 100 years old and had been in the family for five generations before Nanna, were lit in the middle of the table. In everyone’s place was a Haggadah. The table had extra leaves added to it to make room for all the family. Soon my uncles, aunts and cousins arrived and all was ready for the commencement of the Seder. The climax of the day had arrived. Everyone seated themselves at the table, Nanna and Pappa at one end on the big sofa which had been draped in sheets and numerous cushions. Pappa was wearing a big white Yarmulka[11] and slippers. Then when everyone’s cup was filled with wine, Pappa commenced the Kiddush.

Pappa making Kiddush in the dining room, with Nanna, Tessie and Moura, c.1950.

Throughout the Seder I followed in my own Haggadah. No one could possibly lose interest in a Seder conducted by Pappa. Everything he did he explained, telling us the reasons behind the ritual, often accompanied by amusing anecdotes. Every now and then Pappa would say a short prayer, `Hineni’ which did not appear in anyone’s Haggadah but which Pappa believed was essential. This was always a mystery to us but we never questioned Pappa as his word on such matters was sacred.

Neville, Tessie and Keith - next to the garage

**********************************************************************************

I retain additional memories of my grandparents which I did not include in my original memoir.

When we attended Shule together, it was understood that I would go up to the balcony where the women sat to visit my mother and Nanna. This was quite acceptable as I was only a little boy. It was a very special experience for me and I looked forward to it. I climbed the many wide marble stairs for three flights and quietly pushed aside the curtains which hung on the inside of the double doors to the gallery. The gallery was tiered and I found descending the steps of the rows quite precarious. Nanna and my mother sat in the second row on the right about three or four seats in. I sat either next to them or between them, I don’t recall exactly.

I was “shown off’ to their nearest neighbours, such as Mrs.Goldman, the wife of the much beloved Rabbi Goldman, who with her daughter Nina, sat in front of Nanna. The children’s services were held in the Minor Synagogue and Rabbis Goldman and Rapoport alternated in taken these services. I only went when Rabbi Goldman led the service as he had such an understanding rapport with the children. It was only years later that I developed a respect and friendship for Rabbi Rapoport and was invited to his home on several occasions for lunch after Shule. On one of these occasions another visitor was the British Chief rabbi Sir Israel Brodie, who had been rabbi of Toorak Shule until he returned to England in 1937. My grandparents were particularly close to Rabbi Brodie and I recall attending a function at the Melbourne Town Hall to welcome Rabbi Brodie on one of his return visits to Melbourne as Chief Rabbi.

My grandfather was a staunch supporter of Rabbi Goldman when controversy broke out between him and the Board of management. Pappa was a member of an ad hoc committee which included Nanna’s brothers Uncle Pinnie and Uncle Louis who sought to protect Rabbi Goldman’s interests. But the rabbi was obliged to leave the Shule and died not long after on Kol Nidrei night in Adelaide. When Jane and I were traveling in England in 1973 we visited Mrs. Goldman and Nina who had returned to live there.

I sat for a while upstairs until the appropriate point in the service when I was told to return to the men. Also attending that Shule was my grandmother’s sister who we called by various names which I always found hard to pronounce and only as an adult realized what the differences were. Her Hebrew name was Tsipora, pronounced in the Litvak fashion as “Tsipeyre”. Her Russian name was Cecilia, pronounced “Tsetsilya”. Her nieces and nephews used the shorter form Tsilya confined with the Russian for aunt “Tyotya” so she was “Tyotya Tsilya” – a real mouthful ! She sat towards the back of the womens’ section with her daughter Tybel Nathan, who always wore severe masculine clothes. She was unmarried.

Occasionally we would visit with Tsetsilya at her flat. I think it was somewhere like Armadale. It was rather old fashioned even in those days in the early 1950’s. We were entertained in the dark dining room, overshadowed by two portraits hanging on the wall over the sideboard: Lenin and Trotsky. Tybel was a staunch Communist, a Trotskyite; I don’t know whether Aunt Tsetsilya was also. Despite this they always came to Shule on Yom Tovim. I have vague memories of being very bored during these visits and would sit on the floor tracing the carved pattern in the dining chairs. After the great Breigus which broke out after Nanna died, we had no further contact with Tsetsilya, although we still used to see her at Shule with Tybel.

Although I described the drawing room at Rozalia I did not mention the many family gatherings that took place there. These usually included quite a crowd of people, in particular Nanna’s brothers Uncle Pinnie and Aunty Sarah with Uncle Louis and Aunty Fanny. I was quite fond of them all and they gave a lot of attention to the children present. Both Uncle Pinnie and Uncle Louis were great story tellers and I remember sitting on the floor at their knees listing to their yarns. Some of Uncle Pinnie’s stories were about his service in the Australian army during the First World War. Funny, but I don’t recall visiting them at their homes. Like Aunty Tsetsilya, after the Breigus we had no further contact with the great-uncles, although we used to meet Uncle Louis of all places in the men’s toilet at Toorak Shule and we exchanged polite greetings. But publicly, in the Shule foyer, we all ignored each other, and even if we came face to face with Tsetsilya, an occurrence we tried to avoid, no signs of recognition were made. It was all very sad and uncomfortable for a youngster like me to understand.

I don’t recall Pappa’s side of the family during Nanna and Pappa’s lifetime. Our close friendship with Pappa’s youngest brother Uncle Willie and Aunty Margaret and their children seemed to start after Pappa died. I do recall that Uncle Willie and his brother Uncle Pinkhas came to our house in South Caulfield to visit Pappa several times when he was ill, and they came there to sit Shiva for him. I think it was only for one day as he died during Khol Hamoed Pesakh which cancelled most of the Shiva. I recall that the rabbis told my mother she did not have to sit Shivah because of this but she insisted on having a Sheloshim Service at the Minor Synagogue.

When Nanna became seriously ill my mother insisted that she be cared for at home and would not hear of hospitalizing her. As her condition deteriorated, private nurses were required day and night. I was spoiled by the nurses and thought it all a game. I used to help by taking things to Nanna who was bedridden. I still bear the trauma of the only time Pappa lost his temper with me. I had gone to collect an empty bed tray after Nanna had finished eating in her room. I held the tray by both hands and skipped up the long lounge in the direction of the kitchen. As I skipped I bounced the tray on alternate knees. Then suddenly I noticed a strange jigsaw like pattern on the surface of the tray. It had a glass inlay which had shattered. I shamefacedly took it to the kitchen but met Pappa enroute in the breakfast room. He saw what had happened and began screaming at me – the Komesaroff temper was notorious. He certainly did not hit me, but I crouched on the floor and hid behind an armchair. It was ages until I came out and I spent the time tracing the pattern in the carpet. I don’t recall how it ended, but Pappa and I soon patched things up.

I related above how Pappa used to love shopping for all sorts of goodies, particular food. I recall certain items such as the soft drink “Creamy Soda” which was no longer available when I was older. There was also a selection of small goods “pressed meat” we called them, and I slyly used to tear off small pieces, particularly of tongue, when no one was looking. Strange that in later years and until this day I cannot stand tongue in any form.

Sometimes I went with Pappa to the Village Bell in Elwood where most of the Jewish shops provided our Kosher food needs. The women clamoured around the counter of the Greek fishmonger “George”. When Pappa visited the Kosher butcher he was apparently not satisfied to buy the merchandise on display in the shop and I would accompany him behind scenes, I suppose to select his particular prime cuts. I was terrified by the group of apron and headscarf clad women sitting on the floor out the back of the shop plucking the feathers out of the chicken carcasses.

We often went for Sunday drives with Nanna and Pappa. The favourite places of interest were up “in the hills”, that is the Dandenong ranges outside of Melbourne. There were holiday resorts surrounded by beautiful “Gum tree” (Eucalyptus) forests. It was a special treat to but “fresh laid” eggs and honey from the farmers in the mountains. In later years I recall going with Uncle Willie to visit his farm in the country (I don’t recall where) and seeing the egg packing and stamping process.

To be continued. September 2007

[1] A `square’ was a measurement of house size equal to 10 x 10 feet.
[2] The spare room had been my mother’s room before she was married.
[3] The initials `A.R.’ stood for Anna Roza, her Russian name, rather than her Yiddish name Chanah Raizel.
[4] This mirror was reinstalled at my parents’ new home in South Caulfield, but the blue panels were changed to orange.
[5] The glass ball is preserved by my cousin Diana Burgess.
[6] After Pappa died my father retained his seat.
[7] Mr. Seegan and Mr. Bennet.
[8] Grace After Meals.
[9] Where we lived.
[10] After Pappa died, the task became Neville’s and later mine.
[11] After Pappa died, my father used that Yarmulka and now I have it.

"Eliyahu's Branches" - Review by Arthur Kurzweil

noreply@blogger.com (Chaim Freedman) — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 05:38:00 +0000

“Eliyahu's Branches: The Descendants of the Vilna Gaon and His Family”

Review by Arthur Kurzweil
Published in Avotaynu.

Eliyahu's Branches: The Descendants of the Vilna Gaon and
His Family by Chaim Freedman. Avotaynu, 1997. 704 pp.

It is not since Neil Rosenstein's extraordinary ground-breaking work, The Unbroken Chain, that I have had such enjoyment reading a book in our field of Jewish genealogy. “Eliyahu's Branches: The Descendants of the Vilna Gaon and His Family” by Chaim Freedman, which traces the family tree of Rabbi Elijah, the Gaon of Vilna, is as fascinating as a detective novel, intricate as a scientific thesis, and uplifting as the most beautiful poetry.

A great sage once said that the Jewish People, as a single entity, is not an animal but a plant. The implications of this metaphor are frightening, or at best paradoxical, for as every botanist knows, it is when a plant is cut back that it is stimulated to grow. I have heard a stirring presentation on this notion from a revered rabbi who aptly points out that when we look at Jewish history, the pattern becomes clear. A few examples will suffice: right after the incredibly traumatic expulsion from Spain, we see the most creative period in Jewish theological history, that of the mystics of Safed; after the massacres in the Ukraine, we see the great revival movement known as Hasidism; after the Holocaust, we see the birth and growth of the State of Israel.

This troubling metaphor passes through my mind as I reflect on Eliyahu's Branches. It does not take much imagination to actually feel that it is not a book, but a living, growing part of that glorious tree called the Jewish People. As I leaf through this inspiring book, I feel like I am looking at one of those scientific documentary films that use special photography to show us how flowers grow and bloom. The petals appear and unfold right before our eyes.

We, in Jewish genealogy, often quote a well-known passage found in the Talmud: If you save one life, you save a whole world; if you kill one life, you kill a whole world. Of course, every family tree, from the most modest to the most elaborate, illustrates this notion: How many of us have been struck by the realization that if a certain two people never met, married and had children, we-and dozens, if not hundreds of others would not be here? This is the striking message of this outstanding, deeply moving new book; every life is sacred; every life has the potential to create an entire world.

Chaim Freedman has been researching the descendants of the illustrious Gaon of Vilna for more than 30 years. And, while the careful critic will observe that Freedman makes some leaps of faith in this methodology, resulting in some doubtful branches and descendants, one must surely be in awe of his monumental efforts. The introductory material in this book, where the author explains some of his methods and some of the many difficulties involved in such a mammoth search, will delight any family historian. Freedman invites us to think about his search strategies and some of the stumbling blocks that he had to encounter. Of great importance is Freedman's discussion about the pitfalls and problems facing the genealogist who must depend upon sometimes dubious oral testimony. (In all of my travels, including public speaking about Jewish genealogy before more than 800 Jewish groups nationwide, the one individual who is claimed as an ancestor more than any other is the Vilna Gaon.)

The vast majority of this book is the genealogy itself. Freedman has painstakingly tracked down about 20,000 descendants of the Vilna Gaon, providing the reader with capsule biographies of many of them. These brief biographies alone communicate the exceptional creativity bursting forth from the lives of the descendants of this illustrious sage. But, this massive volume offers more: There is a wonderful essay on the importance of genealogy as reflected in Jewish thought through the ages; biographical material on the Vilna Gaon himself; a listing of every town mentioned in the book (along with the current name of the location); a useful glossary; a rich bibliography of sources; and, of course, a name index.

Every Jewish genealogist should have this book on his or her shelf. Even if the contents do not help you specifically with your research, the volume will serve as an inspiration, not only to show what can be done in our field if one has the will, but, also, as a monument to an eternal people, who despite the trials and tragedies of history, persevere.