Over the years I have been asked by relatives on more than one occasion what
exactly it is that I find so interesting in researching family genealogy.
This question is asked often because probably 95% to 99% percent of
relatives are not interested in researching family background or even
finding previously unknown second, third or fourth cousins.

I have told them that I am personally interested in obscure areas of Jewish
history and especially in trying toreconstruct the history of our families
and answer the question "What are we doing here and how did we get here
anyway?"

Sometimes I get a questioning look and other times people are honest enough
to respond with "Who cares?" I wish I had been able to discuss it in greater
detail with my grandfather 20 years ago because every time I asked him a
question about his family history he would answer in his very matter-of-fact
old country way, "David, why are you so interested?! They're all dead
anyway!" Then my grandmother would remark that I knew more about her family
than she did. I was repeatedly told (as is all too common) that their
parents and older relatives wanted to leave the memories of the old country
behind, which I think often meant that they sometimes wished they had stayed
behind in the old country.

I am sure this all sounds very familiar and it's just something that comes
with the territory.

David Goldman
NYC

With me, it was sort of the opposite. My grandmother used to tell
stories all the time about the old country. She was about 8 when they
left and she missed it, sometimes. Her sisters also sometimes told
stories about the old country. At the time, *my* attitude was, "Who
cares?" I had no interest in my grandmother's stories. I was raised
culturally Jewish but not religiously. As I got interested in faith as
I got older, I got more and more curious about my family (particularly
my dad's side, as my parents divorced when I was little and I rarely
saw him, and chances are he didn't know anything). Unfortunately, my
grandmother was long gone by this time, so now I hear the stories
second-hand >from my mother, who's also doing genealogy, and from
finding information on the internet. I regret not being interested in
my grandmother's stories, but I was a little kid and how many little
kids do you know want to listen to their grandparents old stories?

Alyssa Freeman
Henrico, VA

I am doing this just because this is how I contribute to the memory of my
family prev. generations. We always say "what will be left after we died
- these are our children". But to make this statement complete - do our
children must know who were their ancestors. I think so.

Vladimir Oksman