Chapter 25 – The People of the Book
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, there were only about 6,000 Jews in America. The idea that there was freedom in America as long as you were not “too Jewish,” discouraged many Jews from immigrating. Since that time, the Jewish population of America has...
Chapter 26 – Everything Must Change
Everything must change Nothing stays the same Everyone must change No one stays the same The young become the old And mysteries do unfold Cause that’s the way of time Nothing and no one goes unchanged So go the lyrics to the opening chorus of a...
Connecting to the Great Rabbinic Families through Y-DNA: The Savran-Bendery Chassidic Dynasty
Abstract According to Arthur Kurzweil, one of the pioneers of Jewish genealogy: For the Jewish people ... our royal families have been those of the illustrious rabbis.0F1 Through the practice of shidduch (arranged marriage), these illustrious rabbis and their...
When Y-DNA and Yichus Tell Different Stories
Introduction Y-DNA analysis has proven to be a valuable tool in the genealogical research of Jewish paternal lineages. In our research, we have used it to validate the paper trail of pedigreed rabbinical descendants and identify the Y-DNA genetic signature of many...
The Y-DNA Genetic Signature and Ethnic Origin of the Twersky Chassidic Dynasty
Introduction Throughout the centuries, the Jewish people have always prided themselves on their yichus (lineage, distinguished birth, or pedigree). Yichus was especially important for rabbinical families, and many of them have created genealogy charts or family trees...
The Y-DNA Genetic Signature and Ethnic Origin of Rabbi Raphael of Bershad
Introduction During the period when Chassidic Judaism1 was still in its infancy, Rabbi2 Raphael of Bershad3 (c. 1751–1827)4 was a charismatic figure who was revered by his followers in the region that is now southwestern and central Ukraine. Rabbi Raphael was a...
Identifying the Genetic Fingerprint of a Tzaddik that Touched the World: The Shpoler Zeida
Introduction Yehuda Leib of Shpola (1725 – 1811), better known as the Shpoler Zeida (Yiddish for “Grandfather of Shpola”) or Saba Kadisha (Hebrew for “Holy Grandfather’), was a beloved Chassidic folk rebbe, great kabbalist, and a revered tzaddik (saintly or holy man)...
Connecting to the Great Rabbinic Families Through Y-DNA: A Case Study of the Polonsky Rabbinical Lineage
For a number of reasons, including high rates of intermarriage with other rabbinic families, adoption of fixed surnames well before governmental authorities required the majority of European Jewry to do so, and frequently welldocumented lineages, rabbinic lineages...
The Y-DNA Genetic Signature and Ethnic Origin of the Katzenellenbogen Rabbinical Lineage
Introduction According to Arthur Kurzweil: “For the Jewish people, our royal families have been those of the illustrious rabbis.” If that is true, then the Katzenellenbogen rabbinical lineage is foremost among these noble families. For centuries, Jewish men and women...
The Y-DNA Fingerprint of the Shpoler Zeida, a Tzaddik Who Touched the World
Yehuda Leib of Shpola (c.1725 – 1811) – better known as the Shpoler Zeide (Yiddish for “Grandfather of Shpola”) or Saba Kadisha (Hebrew for “Holy Grandfather’) – was a beloved Chassidic folk rebbe, great kabbalist, and a revered tzaddik (saintly or holy man) about...