The joy of Jewish genealogy

Who am I? This is a question that can have many answers. On a simple level, you are who you see in the mirror. On a deeper level, each person is a lofty neshama that is garbed in a physical body. However, there is another perspective, somewhere in between, in which each person is a complicated combination of the physical and spiritual genes of all their ancestors that preceded him.

From this perspective, studying family genealogy is not just about understanding the past. It is also about getting a better understanding of the present. For many years now I have been pulled in both directions by a very deep internal tension. On one hand, I was raised in the yeshiva world and gained tremendously from this education. However, for almost twenty years now there is a very deep part of my soul that has been drawn very greatly to the Chassidic movement. Yes, some sort of balance is the right approach. However, sometimes there are specific issues where this can be challenging.

About seven or eight years ago, I began to do some investigations into the history of my family. Like many people, I knew that many of my ancestors had come from Europe. There were a few stories that were told about them. But that was it. I did not know where they were from or whether they were Chassidim or Misnagdim. However, as the internal tension of my life became more pronounced, I wondered if there were genetic roots to this. And lo and behold as I began to learn more about my family history, I discovered that my maternal grandfather, Alex Shapiro, came from a very litvish family that came from Volozhin (I discovered records of my family in Volozhin all the way back to the mid 1700’s). However, my grandmother’s family came from a little Chassidic shtetl in the Padolia region of the Ukraine-which was the cradle of the Chassidic movement. Later I learned that there were family roots that go back to the foundations of Chassidis. My mystery had been solved.

Many people, particularly in the great ‘melting pot’ of the United States, have an apathy towards genealogy. They may see it as something irrelevant. However, for a Jew the connection to the past is vital. Through my journeys, I have seen that communities and families that have a stronger connection to their spiritual roots are usually more connected to Torah and Mitzvos.

Some people may say that they prefer to focus on the future more than the past. However, it is important to realize that the past is the foundation for the future. Even for Baalei Teshuva, who may feel that they are a new beginning, it is important to recognize the “ehrliche yidden” that they come from-for no better reason that it is in their zechus that they came back to Yiddishkeit. In the sefer “Avi Hahora” a beautiful biography on the great posek, Harav Shmuel Halevi Wozner Zt’l, (pg. 119-121) there is a story about Mattisyahu Geller. He was born into a completely secular family, and through an awakening of purity, he became a baal teshuva, a Gerrer Chasid and later one of the legends of the Warsaw Ghetto (In which he refused to cut his beard, danced in the streets to bring joy to people, and learned Torah with all of his energy. He got married during the war. However, sadly did not survive.) . Once Rav Wozner quipped to him that he must have some really great ancestors who, in their zechus he became frum. He responded that he is a descendant of the Pnei Yehoshua. (On a similar note, I have a good friend here in Beitar who is also a baal teshuva. I once mentioned to him in a similar vein that he also must have some “zechus avos” that helped him come back. He responded that he is a descendant of the Tosafos Yom Tov.).

On a similar note, I once heard from Rav Shmuel Hardt, the Rav of Emunas Yisroel in Beitar, that usually the Baalei Teshuvos who became frum on a Chassidic path had Chassidic ancestors. And the ones who became frum through the Litvish had Litvish ancestors.

We also have a close family friend, who for some time was very taken by the approach of the Vilna Gaon. He took on his customs and studied his works. Later he found out that he was a descendant of the Gra!

Studying family history also shows how we are all connected. There is an overlap principle in the study of Jewish genealogy. In short, a thousand years ago there were about two million Jews in the world. Now, every person today has four grandparents. And each one of those grandparents also had 4 grandparents. Now, if we continue with our calculator it should be that there were an astronomical amount of Jews a thousand years ago. However, we know that there were not. The explanation is that all of us (particularly Ashkenazic Jews) share many Grandparents (My father in law, Tzemach Samuels discovered that his parents are 11th cousins). In this vein, genealogists say that it is almost 100% that every Ashkenazi Jew is a descendant of Rashi.

Another positive benefit to studying family genealogy is that it can reconnect (or connect for the first time) us with distant relatives. Also, one may learn about some family artifacts that exist. Also, by learning which region one’s family comes from, one will develop a stronger connection to the Jewish history of that area. Recently, I learned that my family were from Spain and exiled in the expulsion. Now, when we read stories about the Jews in Spain at home, I mention to my kids the family connection. This helps them feel more connected to Jewish history.

So from time lets us study our roots and we will learn that we come from many great people (and maybe some who were not all so great, but we have to correct them as the Gra writes in his commentary to the Zohar on Sefer Shemos that ancestors often come back in their progeny for the purpose of soul correction). We will also connect to Jewish history in a more personal and dynamic way. We may also learn more about ourselves and help build for a better future.

-Ariel