If it accurately translates to a fortune teller or soothsayer as an ancestor's profession it could be that the family wasn't very knowledgeable or observant of Jewish law. An opposing possibility coul

#names

Is it possible that the last name was changed in Israel to נושא חן? It seems less common to have last names in Hebrew that originated in Europe. If this is the case the original name could have sounde

#belarus

Just wanted to point out the symbol on Phillip's stone as you may know shows he was a member of the Free Masons, I don't know much about them or the significance of the letter G but you may be able to

#names #translation

Over the years I have gotten tested by both the GiftOfLife and BeTheMatch registries. At a local drive for a Jewish patient run by DKSM I was told that there was no need to be added to their system si

#announcements

The legend in my family is that when a relative named Baum was asked their last name their accented reply sounded like Bum. The immigration officer (I don't remember if this was in England or the US)

#names

Debbie, I agree with you that it could say besaivah tovah (in old age) but given her age of 62 (even if it was 1912) it doesn't seem like something truly out of the ordinary to make a point of in the

#photographs #translation

Here is buried (abbreviation) Our dear mother A modest and upstanding woman Honored and distinguished Beloved to all who knew her Mrs Chana Freida daughter of our leader the Rabbi (abbreviation) Yaako

#photographs #translation

It seems strange that they would keep both symbols and not try to erase the past. I am guessing this is a relatively recent tombstone, I don't think that changes of religion were such an accepted thin

#general

Actually my boss (a biology PhD) made a good point that if it were true that the gene was linked to the cohnanic y chromosome then no female should be able to split their fingers which doesn't seem to

#dna

Fred, Do you know of any documentation of a genetic link for kohanim and the ability split their fingers? I'm a kind of skeptical about it. While genetics might be involved in the ability to split you

#dna

The Yiddish nickname is sometimes Itche.

#names

An idea I had to possibly suggest which chassidus your family followed would be to look for names given in honor of deceased Rebbes. Although it's not a very reliable method, if you find relatives' na

#poland #warsaw #rabbinic

It's very possible that the "high Rabbi" was the rebbe of Ger but it could have been the leader of many other Chassidik dynasties. Why do you believe it is him? From what I can find quickly online the

#poland #warsaw #rabbinic

I'm not at all an expert but just from looking at images on Google and looking up who controlled Stanislaw during WWI I think it's actually an Austrian uniform. Binyamin Kerman Baltimore MD

#photographs

It is mostly in Yiddish.

#translation #yiddish

Hi Steve, The custom of not naming children after living relatives is only in Ashkenazi circles. Many Sephardic Jews commonly give names of living parents to their children. I am not familiar with sur

#belarus #poland #general

My gg grandfather registered the births of multiple children (including some who were already deceased) at one time a few years after some of their births. There is a note in the records that the reas

#warsaw

It may be supposed to say "shalom" peace. The spelling is a bit confused though,it seems to read שולם instead of שלום.

#germany #translation #yiddish

I can't directly help with your request, but I was suspicious that Lechas Yosher was misspelled from Lekach Yosher or something else. I did a simple Google search and found some information about a co

#usa

Number 20: ז''ל meaning "of blessed memory" can be abbreviated OBM. הי''ד Stands for Hashem yinkom damo/damah meaning "may God avenge his/her blood" and is used following the name of a martyr. Hy"d ca

#yiddish #translation