JewishGen.org Discussion Group FAQs
What is the JewishGen.org Discussion Group?
The JewishGen.org Discussion Group unites thousands of Jewish genealogical researchers worldwide as they research their family history, search for relatives, and share information, ideas, methods, tips, techniques, and resources. The JewishGen.org Discussion Group makes it easy, quick, and fun, to connect with others around the world.
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How is the New JewishGen.org Discussion Group better than the old one?
Our old Discussion List platform was woefully antiquated. Among its many challenges: it was not secure, it required messages to be sent in Plain Text, did not support accented characters or languages other than English, could not display links or images, and had archives that were not mobile-friendly.
This new platform that JewishGen is using is a scalable, and sustainable solution, and allows us to engage with JewishGen members throughout the world. It offers a simple and intuitive interface for both members and moderators, more powerful tools, and more secure archives (which are easily accessible on mobile devices, and which also block out personal email addresses to the public).
I am a JewishGen member, why do I have to create a separate account for the Discussion Group?
As we continue to modernize our platform, we are trying to ensure that everything meets contemporary security standards. In the future, we plan hope to have one single sign-in page.
I like how the current lists work. Will I still be able to send/receive emails of posts (and/or digests)?
Yes. In terms of functionality, the group will operate the same for people who like to participate with email. People can still send a message to an email address (in this case, main@groups.JewishGen.org), and receive a daily digest of postings, or individual emails. In addition, Members can also receive a daily summary of topics, and then choose which topics they would like to read about it. However, in addition to email, there is the additional functionality of being able to read/post messages utilizing our online forum (https://groups.jewishgen.org).
Does this new system require plain-text?
No.
Can I post images, accented characters, different colors/font sizes, non-latin characters?
Yes.
Can I categorize a message? For example, if my message is related to Polish, or Ukraine research, can I indicate as such?
Yes! Our new platform allows members to use “Hashtags.” Messages can then be sorted, and searched, based upon how they are categorized. Another advantage is that members can “mute” any conversations they are not interested in, by simply indicating they are not interested in a particular “hashtag.”
Will all posts be archived?
Yes.
Can I still search though old messages?
Yes. All the messages are accessible and searchable going back to 1998.
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Send your questions to: support@JewishGen.org
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Follow this link: https://groups.jewishgen.org/g/main
So just to be sure - this new group will allow us to post from our mobile phones, includes images, accented characters, and non-latin characters, and does not require plain text?
Correct!
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No.
Will the current guidelines change?
Yes. While posts will be moderated to ensure civility, and that there is nothing posted that is inappropriate (or completely unrelated to genealogy), we will be trying to create an online community of people who regulate themselves, much as they do (very successfully) on Jewish Genealogy Portal on Facebook.
What are the new guidelines?
There are just a few simple rules & guidelines to follow, which you can read here:https://groups.jewishgen.org/g/main/guidelines
Thank you in advance for contributing to this amazing online community!
If you have any questions, or suggestions, please email support@JewishGen.org.
Sincerely,
The JewishGen.org Team
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Re: Two different marriage certificates for the same NYC couple
#general
Lew Norman <lewnorman@...>
Here's my guess: these folks were married first by the rabbi, and thenDear Phyllis: I regret to say that you are completely incorrect. Please read my extensive response posted to the discussion group earlier today. Sincerely, Mark Nearenberg, Esq.
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JewishGen Discussion Group #JewishGen Re: Two different marriage certificates for the same NYC couple
#general
Lew Norman <lewnorman@...>
Here's my guess: these folks were married first by the rabbi, and thenDear Phyllis: I regret to say that you are completely incorrect. Please read my extensive response posted to the discussion group earlier today. Sincerely, Mark Nearenberg, Esq.
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Re: keidan digest: November 14, 1998
#lithuania
LLapinhain@...
Dear Andrew Cassel,
Roger-dodger, A-OK. At least my tiny bit of the member list is working. Thank you, >from a Litvak genealogist >from Savlon (Saiulenai), & Kretinga (Crottingen) & Tovrig (Taurage). Louise Lapin-Haines <LLapinhain@...
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Keidan Jews #Keidan #Lithuania Re: keidan digest: November 14, 1998
#lithuania
LLapinhain@...
Dear Andrew Cassel,
Roger-dodger, A-OK. At least my tiny bit of the member list is working. Thank you, >from a Litvak genealogist >from Savlon (Saiulenai), & Kretinga (Crottingen) & Tovrig (Taurage). Louise Lapin-Haines <LLapinhain@...
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Re: Budapest city directories -- please share info w/ me
#hungary
D Larson <d_larson@...>
To Diane Goldman,
If you come across any information about Budapest city directories being available in the United States please share it with me. My ggm is reported to have grown up in Budapest in time period you mention. I wish I had the key information to offer you. Thanks -- Denise Larson -- Reply-to: <A HREF="mailto:h-sig@...">h-sig@...</A> (Hungarian SIG) . . . . I am looking for Budapest City Directories >from the late 1800s Get your FREE E-mail at http://mailcity.lycos.com Get your PERSONALIZED START PAGE at http://personal.lycos.com
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Re: given name Suzie or Sizie or ?
#general
L.M. Berkowitz <lmb@...>
Could the name be Tzirel?
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
On Sun, 15 Nov 1998 12:17:11 -0800, Corin Goodwin <corin@...>
wrote: :I just received a marriage certificate for my ggparents, and the bride's :mother's name is very hard to read. It looks to me like Suzie or Sizie :or Sizil SLAUCKY, but I'm wondering how likely it was that a woman who :was probably born in the 1870s in NYC or Hungary or Germany might be :called any of those things. Leah Berkowitz lmb "at" adni.net lberkow1 "at" ford.com http://www.jewish-history.com/ Jewish-American History
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Hungary SIG #Hungary Re: Budapest city directories -- please share info w/ me
#hungary
D Larson <d_larson@...>
To Diane Goldman,
If you come across any information about Budapest city directories being available in the United States please share it with me. My ggm is reported to have grown up in Budapest in time period you mention. I wish I had the key information to offer you. Thanks -- Denise Larson -- Reply-to: <A HREF="mailto:h-sig@...">h-sig@...</A> (Hungarian SIG) . . . . I am looking for Budapest City Directories >from the late 1800s Get your FREE E-mail at http://mailcity.lycos.com Get your PERSONALIZED START PAGE at http://personal.lycos.com
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JewishGen Discussion Group #JewishGen Re: given name Suzie or Sizie or ?
#general
L.M. Berkowitz <lmb@...>
Could the name be Tzirel?
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
On Sun, 15 Nov 1998 12:17:11 -0800, Corin Goodwin <corin@...>
wrote: :I just received a marriage certificate for my ggparents, and the bride's :mother's name is very hard to read. It looks to me like Suzie or Sizie :or Sizil SLAUCKY, but I'm wondering how likely it was that a woman who :was probably born in the 1870s in NYC or Hungary or Germany might be :called any of those things. Leah Berkowitz lmb "at" adni.net lberkow1 "at" ford.com http://www.jewish-history.com/ Jewish-American History
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JGS Palm Springs Meeting
#general
Glynne
Have you hit a snag with your research or reached a deadend?
Bring your problems and let's put our heads together to help each other. Date: Sunday, November 22, 1998 Time: 2 p.m. Place: Jewish Federation 255 N. El Cielo Rd. Palm Springs, CA For more information call Gay Lynne Kegan 340-6554. Gay Lynne Kegan Searching:HOFFENBERG, Josvainiai, Lithuania OWSIANKA Nasielsk Poland, GOMER/GAMMER Chudnov, Urkaine KAGAN Novozlatopol Ukraine
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JewishGen Discussion Group #JewishGen JGS Palm Springs Meeting
#general
Glynne
Have you hit a snag with your research or reached a deadend?
Bring your problems and let's put our heads together to help each other. Date: Sunday, November 22, 1998 Time: 2 p.m. Place: Jewish Federation 255 N. El Cielo Rd. Palm Springs, CA For more information call Gay Lynne Kegan 340-6554. Gay Lynne Kegan Searching:HOFFENBERG, Josvainiai, Lithuania OWSIANKA Nasielsk Poland, GOMER/GAMMER Chudnov, Urkaine KAGAN Novozlatopol Ukraine
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Shtetl history that's fascinating!
#general
KKirshner@...
I was on my way to see the movie, "Elizabeth" and had to kill time before the
show started, so I stepped into Barnes & Noble bookstore. I did not anticipate the treasure I would find as I entered, a thorough, beautifully written book about a 900-year old shtetl in Lithuania. In fact, it isn't a shtetl from which I know I have any family. (Although that is certainly a possibility somewhere back in time.) I started to read the book and couldn't put it down. I left the store by way of the cashier. Synchronistically, as I approached the counter to purchase the find, all of a sudden, Kletzmer music started playing throughout the store. It seemed like finding this book was destiny. I have been unable to put it down since and want to recommend it to all Jewishgenners & LitvakSIGers. It is There Once Was A World: A 900-Year Chronicle of the Shtetl of Eishyshok, by Yaffa Eliach; published by Little Brown & Co. It's about more than one shtetl. It's about life in a shtetl, it's culture, socio- economic and political structure. So much of what I read was confirmation of what my maternal grandmother had told me about her shtetl life and Gramma Liba KHIDEKEL BERMAN was of equidistance NE of Vilna as Eishyshok is South of the city. Another interesting find was that there were a lot of KIRSCHNER citings in the book and it included a shtetl emigrant named, Walter KIRSCHNER, close friend and financial backer to FDR. When my father was in the US Army in WWII, he was originally a paratrooper with the 89th Airborne and broke his foot and was put into the Infantry (--355th Infantry, part of the 89th Infantry Div. attached to 4th Armored Div.--) as soon as it was healed. My brave grandmother Rachel BARON KIRSHNER went to see FDR to discuss this injustice and to ensure my (Orthodox-raised) father could receive Kosher food she wanted to send him (e.g. salami), while his whereabouts in Europe were top secret even to his family. She slept in a bus station in Washington, DC after arriving >from Altoona, PA, and then went to the White House in the morning. Although she did not get to meet with FDR, amazingly enough, this little immigrant woman >from Vilki had a private meeting with FDR's top aide, Harry Hopkins. Although my grandmother was very brilliant, articulate and dynamic and her persistance and maternal instinct were credited with getting her to have her say with the President's top man, I wonder now if hearing the name "KIRSHNER" helped open the door? I doubt she even knew of Walter KIRSCHNER, but with the information about him in this new book, now I can't help but wonder if it played an unsuspected role. Now there's no way I'll ever know, but I will continue to be intrigued reading this book! -- Karen Kirshner, NYC KKirshner@...
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JewishGen Discussion Group #JewishGen Shtetl history that's fascinating!
#general
KKirshner@...
I was on my way to see the movie, "Elizabeth" and had to kill time before the
show started, so I stepped into Barnes & Noble bookstore. I did not anticipate the treasure I would find as I entered, a thorough, beautifully written book about a 900-year old shtetl in Lithuania. In fact, it isn't a shtetl from which I know I have any family. (Although that is certainly a possibility somewhere back in time.) I started to read the book and couldn't put it down. I left the store by way of the cashier. Synchronistically, as I approached the counter to purchase the find, all of a sudden, Kletzmer music started playing throughout the store. It seemed like finding this book was destiny. I have been unable to put it down since and want to recommend it to all Jewishgenners & LitvakSIGers. It is There Once Was A World: A 900-Year Chronicle of the Shtetl of Eishyshok, by Yaffa Eliach; published by Little Brown & Co. It's about more than one shtetl. It's about life in a shtetl, it's culture, socio- economic and political structure. So much of what I read was confirmation of what my maternal grandmother had told me about her shtetl life and Gramma Liba KHIDEKEL BERMAN was of equidistance NE of Vilna as Eishyshok is South of the city. Another interesting find was that there were a lot of KIRSCHNER citings in the book and it included a shtetl emigrant named, Walter KIRSCHNER, close friend and financial backer to FDR. When my father was in the US Army in WWII, he was originally a paratrooper with the 89th Airborne and broke his foot and was put into the Infantry (--355th Infantry, part of the 89th Infantry Div. attached to 4th Armored Div.--) as soon as it was healed. My brave grandmother Rachel BARON KIRSHNER went to see FDR to discuss this injustice and to ensure my (Orthodox-raised) father could receive Kosher food she wanted to send him (e.g. salami), while his whereabouts in Europe were top secret even to his family. She slept in a bus station in Washington, DC after arriving >from Altoona, PA, and then went to the White House in the morning. Although she did not get to meet with FDR, amazingly enough, this little immigrant woman >from Vilki had a private meeting with FDR's top aide, Harry Hopkins. Although my grandmother was very brilliant, articulate and dynamic and her persistance and maternal instinct were credited with getting her to have her say with the President's top man, I wonder now if hearing the name "KIRSHNER" helped open the door? I doubt she even knew of Walter KIRSCHNER, but with the information about him in this new book, now I can't help but wonder if it played an unsuspected role. Now there's no way I'll ever know, but I will continue to be intrigued reading this book! -- Karen Kirshner, NYC KKirshner@...
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Re: synagogue marriages in England
#general
Nick Landau <nick@...>
Subject: Re: synagogue marriages in EnglandI am sure that you are wrong. A Christian friend of mine was marrying a divorcee. They were first married in a registry office and then the marriage was blessed in Church. I know that is not quite the same thing but it is similar. There are legal reasons why it might be prudent to be made husband and wife and to travel as so although the couple might wish to travel to another country, to celebrate with family etc, to have the religious service. I believe it is not uncommon for Muslims to be married in a civil service in the UK and to have a religious service in the Indian sub-continent. Likewise I would have thought that denominations that are not registered for marriage would use the civil facilities and then carry out their own marriage service. If the rabbi had been carrying out something illegal I think that he had chosen the wrong boys to make up the minyan because I don't think our parents woudl have condoned something that was not above board.
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JewishGen Discussion Group #JewishGen Re: synagogue marriages in England
#general
Nick Landau <nick@...>
Subject: Re: synagogue marriages in EnglandI am sure that you are wrong. A Christian friend of mine was marrying a divorcee. They were first married in a registry office and then the marriage was blessed in Church. I know that is not quite the same thing but it is similar. There are legal reasons why it might be prudent to be made husband and wife and to travel as so although the couple might wish to travel to another country, to celebrate with family etc, to have the religious service. I believe it is not uncommon for Muslims to be married in a civil service in the UK and to have a religious service in the Indian sub-continent. Likewise I would have thought that denominations that are not registered for marriage would use the civil facilities and then carry out their own marriage service. If the rabbi had been carrying out something illegal I think that he had chosen the wrong boys to make up the minyan because I don't think our parents woudl have condoned something that was not above board.
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Re: Searching: GANZ, GANS and BRUMLIK
#general
Susan&David
Claude Ganz <Iclaudius@...> wrote:
The current issue of "American Jewish History, published by AJHS inDoes anybody have information about these three family names from Waltham, MA has a fascinating essay by Gary C. Grassl entitled "Joachim Gans of Prague: The First Jew in English America". Joachim Gans, a German Jewish expert in metals and mining, was employed by Queen Elizabeth's government to improve the operations of the Royal Mines. He reached America in 1585 where he was to "find and test the metals that were to make everyone's fortune". The essay includes some genealogical information. Maybe your ancestor?? David Rosen Boston, MA
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Can't say thank you to all of you personally
#general
A. E. Jordan
In response to my request for help reading the Hebrew inscription on my great
grandfather's tombstone I was flooded with offers of "Jewish Gen Oricity" ie help. I can not write back and say thank youto each of you individually so please accept in this form a thank you for your offer of help. I have been working with Stan Goodman in Isreal on the stones and he is being extremely helpful. Thank you again Stan. Also thanks to Nir Alon who also helped out with information. If I over stay my welcome with Stan I might have to call on a few additional friends >from the list -- but in the meantime a million thank yous to everyone who offered to help out. It is my foundish wish that all of you may have a wonderful new discovery in your search in exchange for your kind offer to take time to help me in my search. Allan Jordan aejordan@...
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JewishGen Discussion Group #JewishGen Re: Searching: GANZ, GANS and BRUMLIK
#general
Susan&David
Claude Ganz <Iclaudius@...> wrote:
The current issue of "American Jewish History, published by AJHS inDoes anybody have information about these three family names from Waltham, MA has a fascinating essay by Gary C. Grassl entitled "Joachim Gans of Prague: The First Jew in English America". Joachim Gans, a German Jewish expert in metals and mining, was employed by Queen Elizabeth's government to improve the operations of the Royal Mines. He reached America in 1585 where he was to "find and test the metals that were to make everyone's fortune". The essay includes some genealogical information. Maybe your ancestor?? David Rosen Boston, MA
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JewishGen Discussion Group #JewishGen Can't say thank you to all of you personally
#general
A. E. Jordan
In response to my request for help reading the Hebrew inscription on my great
grandfather's tombstone I was flooded with offers of "Jewish Gen Oricity" ie help. I can not write back and say thank youto each of you individually so please accept in this form a thank you for your offer of help. I have been working with Stan Goodman in Isreal on the stones and he is being extremely helpful. Thank you again Stan. Also thanks to Nir Alon who also helped out with information. If I over stay my welcome with Stan I might have to call on a few additional friends >from the list -- but in the meantime a million thank yous to everyone who offered to help out. It is my foundish wish that all of you may have a wonderful new discovery in your search in exchange for your kind offer to take time to help me in my search. Allan Jordan aejordan@...
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Researching ths Situation of our Relatives in Eastern Europe in 1940-1941
#general
Joel Alpert <ALPERT@...>
To All whose families came >from Eastern Europe:
Assuming that many of us had some family in Eastern Europe before World War II (and in fact lost them in the Holocaust, though many of us are probably unaware of this, as I had been), I would like to bring to your attention an excellent source of information, the book "The Lesser of Two Evils," by Professor Dov Levin of the Hebrew University (Director of the Oral History Department). It was published by the Jewish Publication Society in 1995, Philadelphia and Jerusalem. Professor Levin describes the dilemma and ultimate fate of these 2,000,000 Jews, our families. They were caught in the most impossible situation between the Nazi death threat and the lesser evil of the Soviet occupation. I would urge anyone interested in understanding this important period of history to read this work. This material serves to help us understand their situation and some of the decisions that they made as to whether to leave or not. Joel Alpert Woburn, MA, USA
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JewishGen Discussion Group #JewishGen Researching ths Situation of our Relatives in Eastern Europe in 1940-1941
#general
Joel Alpert <ALPERT@...>
To All whose families came >from Eastern Europe:
Assuming that many of us had some family in Eastern Europe before World War II (and in fact lost them in the Holocaust, though many of us are probably unaware of this, as I had been), I would like to bring to your attention an excellent source of information, the book "The Lesser of Two Evils," by Professor Dov Levin of the Hebrew University (Director of the Oral History Department). It was published by the Jewish Publication Society in 1995, Philadelphia and Jerusalem. Professor Levin describes the dilemma and ultimate fate of these 2,000,000 Jews, our families. They were caught in the most impossible situation between the Nazi death threat and the lesser evil of the Soviet occupation. I would urge anyone interested in understanding this important period of history to read this work. This material serves to help us understand their situation and some of the decisions that they made as to whether to leave or not. Joel Alpert Woburn, MA, USA
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