Wednesday, April 20, 2022
Tracking Down Kalonymos Descendants
Nadene Goldfoot
Helping a young first cousin once removed to do research on her genealogy via the internet, I told her about our connection to the Kalonymos family that I had been told were on our family tree. My young cousin wanted verification, facts for proof. This family was so important to our Ashkenazi line, which went back, it was said, to Hillel and Rashi who had a pedigree to King David. Rashi's tree can be found in Dan Rottenberg's book, FINDING OUR FATHERS.
He wrote on page 255, "Kalonymus--Prominent family from 8th century, Italy and 10th century Germany. JE has a family tree and 12 biographies. LBI also has a family tree relate to Ullstein. Also see JE articles on David ben Jacob Meir, David ben Kalonymus, David Kalonymus of Naples, and Mayence (Mainz) and see EJ article on Eleazar ben Judah of Worms. Related to Salman, Darshan and Jaffe." (JE=Jewish Encyclopedia,, LBI=Leo Baeck Institute, EJ=Encyclopedia Judaica.)
Kalonymos or Kalonymus (Hebrew: קָלוֹנִימוּס Qālōnīmūs) is a prominent Jewish family who lived in Italy, mostly in Lucca and in Rome, which, after the settlement at Mainz and Speyer of several of its members, took during many generations a leading part in the development of Jewish learning in Germany. The family is according to many considered the foundation of Hachmei Provence and the Ashkenazi Hasidim.
A genealogy tree from 1080 has been developed. Our group of DNA testers on Family Tree DNA have discovered that Kalonymos is one of the founders of the Halpern & Branches group. It's an important surname for many of the Jewish people who are doing genealogy research.
I finally got so curious that I used Kolonymos in Family Tree DNA where I have my test and up came someone with Klonymus Kalman. We connected and messaged.
I just now discovered right on Wikipedia, 2 rabbis, related to each other. Rabbi Klonymus Kalman Epstein born in Nowy Korczyn (Neustadt), Poland, 1753 – Kraków, 1825) son of Aaron Halevi Epstein, descendant from the Prophet Samuel and King David. ; was a rabbi and Kabbalist, one of the great leaders of the Chassidic movement, known as the Maor Vashamesh (מאור ושמש) after his sefer.
Rabbi Shapira's only son, his daughter-in-law, and his sister-in-law were killed during the Nazi aerial bombing of Warsaw in September, 1939. After the invasion of Poland, Rabbi Shapira was interned with a few of his hasidim in the Warsaw Ghetto, where he ran a secret synagogue. He invested enormous efforts in maintaining Jewish life in the ghetto, including arranging for mikveh immersions and kosher marriages. Rabbi Shapira was able to survive in the ghetto until its liquidation, avoiding the tragic deportations to Treblinka in the summer of 1942, because of the support of the Judenrat. Like other notables, he was given work at Schultz's shoe factory—a path to ongoing survival.
After the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was crushed in 1943, Rabbi Shapira was taken to the Trawniki work camp near Lublin. Although offered the opportunity to escape from the concentration camp, he apparently refused. Following the Jewish uprising in the Treblinka death camp (August 2, 1943) and in Sobibor extermination camp (October 14, 1943), there was increasing concern among the Nazi authorities that there would be further outbreaks of violence at other concentration camps. For this reason, Aktion Erntefest (Operation Harvest Festival) was launched. During this operation, carried out on November 3, 1943, all the remaining Jews in Trawniki, including Rabbi Shapira, were shot to death.
Resource:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klonimus_Kalman_Epstein
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalonymus_Kalman_Shapira
Finding Our Fathers-a guidebook to Jewish genealogy by Dan Rottenberg
Labels: Ashkenazim, genealogy, Kalonymus Kalman Shapira, Klonimus Kalman Epstein, Poland, Rabbis
Wednesday, September 18, 2019
Alpert/Ziegelman-Goldfoot Genealogy From Rabbis of Worms, Germany, Troyes and Dampierre, France
Andi Ziegelman
Nadene Goldfoot
Ashkenazis of today are now found through DNA testing to have come from 350 Jews who lived 600 to 800 years ago. That takes us back between 1214 and 1414. There was a bottleneck that caused the European population to be down to such a low number.
My Goldfoot line descended from Halpern/Alpert ancestors, many who lived in Worms, Germany. From Rabbi Wertheimer to Rashi to King David, our genes traveled back to the Kingdom of Judah.
Though Goldfoot is of Q1b1a haplotype, we have intermarried with Jews of their haplogroups, such as the Cohen line of J1c3d and E1s and a few others common in European Jews. The Familyfinder test from FTDNA is an autosomal DNA test that matches chromosomes, and this led to the finding of being connected to the Rabbi of Worms; actually several of the rabbis living there, who were connected to RASHI.
Below is the work from our Halpern leader through Family Tree DNA, Andi Ziegelman who said, "We both descend from this guy below." Andi Ziegelman.
*** ISAAC BEN SAMUEL HA-ZAKEN of Dampierre ***
French tosafist and Biblical commentator: flourished at Ramerupt and Dampierre in the twelfth century. He died, according to Gratz ("Gesch." vi.210),
about 1200; according to Gross ("Gallia Judaica," p. 161, and "R.E.J."vii.76),
between 1185 and 1195; and as he is known to have reached an advanced age, Gross supposes that he was not born later than 1115.
On the other hand, Michael ("Or ha-Hayyim," p. 512) says that as Isaac b.Samuel was spoken of as "the sainted master" ("Sefer ha-Terumah," 55
131, 161; Tos., Zeb. 12b.59b), a term generally given to martyrs, he may have been killed at the same time as his son, Elhanan (1184).
On his father's side Isaac was a grandson of R. Simhah of Vitry, author of the Hahzor Vitry; on his mother's side he was a nephew of R. Tam of RAshbam, and of Isaac b. Meir (RiBaM), a great-grandson of Rashi, and a relative of R. Eleazar of Worms.
The Rabbi of Worms was Eleazar Ben Judah (1160-1238), a native of Mainz, Germany and from 1201, he was rabbi at Worms, Germany. His wife and 2 daughters were slaughtered by Crusaders before his eyes in 1196. His works made the Ashkenazi theory of practical kabbalah popular which stressed the doctrine of repentance. His ethical teachings were embodied in his code, Sepher ha-Rokeah (The Book of the Spice Dealer). Then he was known as Eleazar Rokeah.
Isaac ben Samuel was surnamed "ha-Zaken" (the elder) to distinguish him from another tosafist of the same name, Isaac b. Abraham, surnamed "ha-Bahur" (the younger). He is often quoted as R. Isaac of Dampierre ("Maimuniyyot, "Ma'akalot Asurot, No. 5; "Shibbole ha-Leket" ii., No. 40,
It seems that he lived first at Ramerupt, where his maternal grandfather resided ("Sefer ha-Nayyar," p. 162; "Maimuniyyot,"l.c.). It was also at Ramerupt that he studied under his Uncle R. Tam (Luria, Responsa, No.29). After the latter had gone to Troyes, Isaac b. Samuel directed his school.
The village of Ramerupt is a small village located north east of France. The town of Ramerupt is located in the department of Aube of the french region Champagne-Ardenne. The town of Ramerupt is located in the township of Ramerupt part of the district of Troyes.
Isaac settled in Dampierre later, and founded there a flourishing and well-attended school ("Or Zarua", i.126). It is said that he had sixty pupils, each of whom, besides being generally well grounded in Talmud, knew an entire treatise by heart, so that the whole Talmud was stored in the memories of his pupils (Menahem, "Zedah la-Derek," Introduction). As he lived under Philip Augustus, at whose hands the Jews suffered uch, Isaac prohibited the buying of confiscated Jewish property, and ordered that any so bought be restored to its original owner.
A particular interest attaches to one of his responsa, in which he relies on the oral testimony of his aunt, the wife of R. Isaac b. Meir, and on that of the wife of R. Eleazar of Worms, a great-granddaughter of Rashi ("Sefer ha-Nayyar," p. 167.a).
Isaac's tosafot completed the commentary of Rashi on the Talmud (Romm of Wilna included in his edition of the Talmud, Isaac ben Samiuel's tosafot on Kiddushin). He also compiled and edited with great erudition all the preceding explanations to Rashi's commentary. His first collection was entitled "Tosefot Yeshanim," which, however, was afterward revised and developed. He is quoted on almost every page of the Tosafot, and in various works, especially in the "Sefer ha-Terumah" of his pupil Bariuch b. Isaac of Worms, and in the "Or Zarua" of Isaac b. Moses.
Isaac is mentioned as a Biblical commentator by Judah b. Eliezer ("Minhat Yehudah," p. 8b), who quotes also a work of Isaac's entitled "Yalkute Midrash" (ib. p. 22a); by Isaac ha-Levi; by Hezekiah b. Manoah in his "Hazzekuni"; and in two other commentaries (see "Kerem Hemed," vii.68). Isaac b. Samuel is supposed to be the author also of several liturgical poems, of a piyyut to the Haftarah (Landshuth, "ammude ha-'Abodah," p. 108, and of a piyyut for Purim (Mahzor Vitry, No. 255; comp. Luzzatto in Berliner's "Magazin," v. 27, Hebr.part). The authorship of these piyyutim may, however, belong to the liturgical writer, Isaac b. Samuel of Narbonne.
From the New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia, I find that Isaac, also known as Rabbi Isaac ha-Zaken, who was born before 1115 and died after 1184 was a French tosaphist. He succeeded his uncle, Rabbenu Tam, as head of the Ramerupt Yeshivah and later settled at Dampierre. His tosaphot (critical and explanatory notes on the Talmud by French and German scholars of the 12th to 14th centuries) are quoted by his pupils, while his responsa are scattered through many contemporary works.
His commentary on the Pentateuch has not survived. The tosaphots were initially supplementary to Rashi's Talmud commentary, which they frequently criticize and modify. The tosaphists soon developed a new independent mode of Talmud study. They also investigated in detail the form and content of the talmudic discussions and demonstrated that these too contained implicitly a considerable body of law which they proceeded to render explicit.
Isaac was interested in mysticism and was in touch with the Kabbalists of southern France. His scholarly son, Ethanan, was martyred in his lifetime and died in 1184.
From Andi: See below all the rabbis that studied under R. Isaac ben Samuel of Dampierre, in Isaac's school.
I don't have time now to check, but if I remember correctly, all these students of Isaac's went on to lead synagogues in their home towns of France. Each synagogue had to have nine more men in addition to the rabbi. At the time these students lived, there were also Jews in Germany and Italy and a few in Poland.
"The bottleneck was in this case in the interval 950-1250 AD. The size of the Ashkenazi population dropped to some 350 people. "
"The second admixture occurred according to [1] in Eastern Europe 10-20 generations ago. That gives the time span 1400-1700 AD. No mass conversions to Judaism are known from early Jewish communities in Eastern Europe."
"According to the estimates for 2007 of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, the world population of Jews is 13.2 million.[1] Adherents.com cites figures ranging from 12 to 18 million Jews.[2] These statistics incorporate both practicing Jews affiliated with synagogues and the Jewish community, and approximately 4.5 million unaffiliated and secular Jews. In 2007, 41% of the world’s Jews were living in Israel." We are 0.02% of the world population.
Have you ever read the entries in the online JewishEncyclopedia for FRANCE, GERMANY, ITALY, POLAND? They are very informative.
Best, Andi.
Search for "Isaac ben Samuel of Dampierre" by:
1. SAMUEL BEN JOSEPH OF VERDUN...French tosafist of the 12th and 13th centuries. He was a disciple of Isaac ben Samuel the Elder of Dampierre, with whom he corresponded, and is mentioned in the Tosafot, in "Or Zarua," and in ...Haggahot Maimuniyyot" as "ha-bahur" (the Yunger). He is sometimes confounded with Samuel ben Hayyim, likewise cited as "Samuel of Verdun." Bibliography:
2. DAMPIERRE...debtor the seigneurs of Dampierre and the abbey of Saint-Loup of Troyes.Rabbis:
(1) Isaac ben Samuel the Elder, abbreviated, surnamed "the Saint".
(5) Isaac ha Laban ben Jacob..Brussel,... the Middle Ages there was a somewhat important Jewish community in this village. King Philippe-Auguste, after an agreement with the Countess of Champagne, and Gui.Seigneur of Dampierre in 1206 ordered the Jews...
3. SOLOMON BEN JUDAH OF DREUX...French tosafist and Bible commentator of the 12th and 13th centuries. He was a disciple of Isaac ben Samuel the Elder of Dampierre, and presided over the school of Dreux during the 1st quarter of...who corresponded with Isaac ben Abraham of Dampierre; was most probably a son of the subject of this article. Bibliography.
4. DAVID THE PIOUS...him with R. David ben Joseph, who, with Isaac ben Abraham of Dampierre, Isaac ben DAvid, and Joseph ben Moses, adopted the decisions of the synod of Troyes which had met about 1160 under the auspices of Rabbenu...Together with Solomon ben Judah the Saint of Dreux, the two brothers Simson and Isaac ben Abraham of Dampierre, Samson of Corbeil, Abraham of Touques, and Eliezser be Aaron of Burgundy, he was among those scholars of...Tam.Samuell of Falaise (Sir Morel) probably referred to David the Pious when he spoke of as being a contemporary of Sir Leon of Paris ("Rev. Et.Juives"vii.47....
5. NATHANAEL OF CHINON...French tosafist: flourished about 1220. He was a disciple of Isaac ben Samuel of Dampierre. After 1224 Nathanael was director of the yshibah in Chinon and was in correspondence with the most famous and...learned of his contemporaries, including Samuel ben Sheneor of Evreux, Isaac of Evreux (author of "Sha'are Dura"), Jehiel of Paris and Isaac ben Todros. The last, in answer to Nathanael of Chinon's reuest for his...opinion concerning a question at issue between himself and Jehiel, wrote that he dared not speak in the presence of the "pillars of the world." Nathanael wrote tosafot to the treatises Bezah, Hullin, Berakot, and...
6. ELIEZER BEN SAMUEL OF VERONA...Italian tosafist, lived about the beginning of the 13th century. He was a disciple of Rabbi Isaac the elder, of Dampierre, and grandfather of the philosopher and physician HILLEL OF FORLI. He had...resulted, into which other rabbis were drawn, Eliezer ben Samuel is often quoted on Biblical and halakic questions. Mordecai, in speaking of Eliezer, calls him "Eliezer of Verdun," though undoubtedly meaning "Verona...sanctioned the second marriage of a young woman whose husband had probably, though not certainly, perished by shipwreck. But Eliezer ben Joel ha-Levi refused to endorse the permission, and a protracted controversy....
7. ISAAC BEN SAMUEL HA-ZAKEN...says that as Isaac b. Samuel was spoken of as "the sainted master", a term generally given to martyrs, he may have been killed at the same time as his son...quoted as R. Isaac of Dampierre ("Maimuniyyot," Ma'akalot Asurot, NO.5; "Shibbole ha-Leket"ii,No.40), but it seems that he lived first at Ramerupt, where his maternal grandfather resided ("Sefer ha-Nayyar,"p...a Talmud (Romm of Wilna included in his edition of the Talmud Isaac ben Samuel's tosafot on Kiddushin). He also compiled and edited with great erudition all the preceding explanations to Rashi's commentary. His first...
8.ABRAHAM OF TROYES... incident. Eleazar ha-Nadib (the word nadib denotes a Jewish Maecenas), against whom he had brought an action, demurred to appearing before the rabbinical court at Troyes; and being supported by Isaac ben Samuel...of Dampierre, had his ase referred to another tribunal (ross, "Gallia Judaica," pp. 165, 239). Yom Tob ha-Nadib, the son of Eleazar, being placed in a similar position, also refused to be judged at Troyes, and...was sustained in his contention by Judah Sire Leon of Paris ("Rev. Et.Juives," vii.42(. At the same time, Simson ben Abraham of Sens took the part of the son-in-law of Simson of Troyes, who, being afraid of the...
9. JONATHAN BEN DAVID HA-KOHEN OF LUNEL...went with Tobiah and Samuel ben Simson; he corresponded with Isaac ben Abraham of Dampierre, who had sent him a Talmudic responsum on a subject concerning the Holy Land.
10.BARUCH B. ISAAC (ha Kohen?)... Isaac b. Samuel of Dapierre, Baruch wrote tosafot to several treatises (e.g., Kiddushin, Nazir, Shabbat, Hullin): nearly all those extant on the order Zebahim are his A. Epstein believes that the ...tosafist and codifier; flourished about 1200. He was born at Worms, but lived at Regensburg; hence he is sometimes called after the one and sometimes after the other city. A pupil of the great Tosafist...commentary on the Sifra contained in the Munich MS. No.59 is the work of this Baruch. He is the author also of the legal compendium, "Sefer ha-Terumah" (book of the Heave-Offering, Venice 1523; Zolkiev, 1811...
11. JUDAH BEN ISAAC...French tosafist, born in Paris 1166, died there 1224 (Solomon Luria, Responsa,No.29). According to Gross he was probably a descendant of Rashi, and a pupil of Isaac b. Samuel of Dampierre and his son...associated with Abraham, occurs the name of Leo blund, whom Jacobs identifies with Judah ben Isaac (ib.p.88; comp. Bacher, in "J.Q.R."vi.360). Sir Leon must have left Paris in 1182...when all Jews were expelled from the French king's dominions; he did not return till 1198. According to Gross, however, he received his chief training at Dampierre under Simson of Sens, Simson of Coucy, Solomon of...
12. SAMSON BEN ABRAHAM OF SENS...School of Rabbi Isaac ben Samuel ha-Zaaen of Dampierre, after whose death he took charge of the school of Sens. Asheri says of him that after R. Tam and Isaac ben Samuel, he exercised the greatest influence upon....the Younger to distinguish him from his t eacher, Isaac the Elder (Isaac ben Samuel), whom he succeeded as principal of the school of Dampierre; is also onae of the prominent toafists. He wrote, too, some....Talmudic studies in France and in Germany during the 13th century. Joseph Colon declares that Isaac ben Samiuel, Judah Sir Leon of Paris, and Samson ben Abraham formed the three strong pillars of the northern...
13. SAMSON BEN SAMSON ....Museum.) Samson was a disciple of Isaac "ben Samuel the Elder of Dampierre and one of the prominent rabbis to whom Meir ben Todros Abulafia addressed his letter of protest against Maimonides...
Isaac ben Moses of Vienna, with whom Samson corresponded, was one of his pupils. Many of Samson's ritual deisions are mentioned in the rabbinical works "Or Zarua"," "SeMaG," "Orhot Hayyim," and "PIske Rekantati...commentator. Samson was a descendant of Joseph b. Samuel Bonfils, a nephew of the tosafist Judah of Corbeil, and a brother-in-law of Moses of Concy, who in "SeMaG" often quotes him. In the glosses of Perez on "SeMaG....
14. TOUL...mentioned R. Eliezer of Toul, the author of tosafot; and his brothe Abraham, a pupil of Rabbi Isaac the Elder of Damierre and identical, according to Gross, with Abraham of V12p211002.jpg.
15. CHATEAU-THIERRY...ALSO ASCRIBED TO HIM (zUNZ, "z.g."P.38). ZUNZ (l.c.) says that Samuel was the son of R. Yom-Tob of Evreux and the disciple of R. Isaac b. Abraham of Dampieerre. Gross ("Gallia Judaica," p. 39) on the ...contrary, identifies him with R. Samuel ben Shneor, the correspondent of R. Jehiel of Paris, and Nathaniel, the Elder, of Chinon. R. Isaac and his son Bonne Vie are two scholars of this place only known through...the Pious, one of the celebrated French rabbis to whom R. Meir ben Todros Abuilafia of Toledo addressed, about 1204, his letter against the theory of the resurrection as propounded by Maimonides. Samuel of...
16. ABRAHAM BEN NATHAN...abraham-ben-david-of-posuieres
His regular rabbinical studies, however, were pursued at Dampierre, in northern France, at the academy of R. Isaac ben Samuel, called R....epistolary conclusion: Shalom! A.B.N." (Greeting! Abraham ben Nathan). The 2nd part contains extracts from the halakic works of Alfasi, Isaac ibn Giat, and Isaac ben Abba Mari, a relative of Abraham's. The...French author, born in the 2nd half of the 12th century, probably at Luinei, Languedoc. He received his education in that town, after which he is sometimes called ("RABN"=RABBI ABRAHAM BEN NATHAN...
17. TOSAFOT...
It is the critical and explanatory note on the Talmud by French and German scholars of the 12th-14th centuries, first meant to be supplements to Rashi's Talmud commentary. What is the Talmud? We have 2 of them; the Babylonian version and the Palestinian version. They are the records of academic discussion and of judicial administration of JEWISH LAW.
Samuel ha-Zaen (RI) of Dampierre, whose tosafot form a part of the Tosafot Yshanim (see below). Isaac was succeeded by his pupil ben-abraham-of-sens" Samson ben...No.6). After the death of Isaac ben Samuel, Isaac ben Abraham succeeded him as head of the school of Dampierre, after which place he is often called ("Or Zarua", i.225a). Isaac ben Abraham was oneof the...tosafot (for example, those to Kiddushin by Isaac b. Samuel ha-Zaken of Dampierre, and those to 'Abodah Zarah by his son, Elhanan b. Isaac); (3) a collection of old tosafot published by Joseph Jessel b. Wolf ha-Levi...
Interestingly, the Crusaders have a story as well about Guy de Dampierre and a damsel named Rebecca. Could it be that a Crusader fell in love with a Jewish maiden? It's a Scottish tale. She is the image of Elizabeth Taylor, who did convert to Judaism, by the way. It's the story of IVANHOE: Loyal British knight Wilfred of Ivanhoe (Robert Taylor) sets out on a mission to free the kidnapped King of England, Richard the Lionheart (Norman Wooland), in this rousing adventure tale. The brave Ivanhoe must eventually confront the devious Prince John (Guy Rolfe) and the fierce Norman warrior Brian de Bois-Guilbert (George Sanders), while also juggling the affections of the beautiful maidens Rowena (Joan Fontaine) and Rebecca (Elizabeth Taylor).
Bibliography:
Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim, i.;
Michael, Or haHayyim, pp. 511-513;
Qwiaa, Soe, ic.286, 342, 349;
Gratz, Gesch. 3d ed., vi. 210, 211, 214;
Gross, Gallia Judaica, pp. 161- 168, 638
idem, in R.E.J.vii. 76;
Neubauer, ib. xvii.67
Resource:
https://goldfoot_genealogy.blogspot.com/2014/10/goldfoot-genealogy-from-rabbis-of-worms.html
https://goldfoot_genealogy.blogspot.com/2015/08/unusual-connecting-to-wertheimer-family.html
http://www.pienisalaliittotutkimus.com/2018/02/17/origins-of-the-ashkenazi-jews/
Nadene Goldfoot
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| Chateau at Dampierre, France |
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| King David 1010-970 BCE |
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| RASHi 1040-1105 |
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| Rabbi Wertheimer 1658-1724 |
Though Goldfoot is of Q1b1a haplotype, we have intermarried with Jews of their haplogroups, such as the Cohen line of J1c3d and E1s and a few others common in European Jews. The Familyfinder test from FTDNA is an autosomal DNA test that matches chromosomes, and this led to the finding of being connected to the Rabbi of Worms; actually several of the rabbis living there, who were connected to RASHI.
Below is the work from our Halpern leader through Family Tree DNA, Andi Ziegelman who said, "We both descend from this guy below." Andi Ziegelman.
*** ISAAC BEN SAMUEL HA-ZAKEN of Dampierre ***
French tosafist and Biblical commentator: flourished at Ramerupt and Dampierre in the twelfth century. He died, according to Gratz ("Gesch." vi.210),
about 1200; according to Gross ("Gallia Judaica," p. 161, and "R.E.J."vii.76),
between 1185 and 1195; and as he is known to have reached an advanced age, Gross supposes that he was not born later than 1115.
On the other hand, Michael ("Or ha-Hayyim," p. 512) says that as Isaac b.Samuel was spoken of as "the sainted master" ("Sefer ha-Terumah," 55
131, 161; Tos., Zeb. 12b.59b), a term generally given to martyrs, he may have been killed at the same time as his son, Elhanan (1184).
On his father's side Isaac was a grandson of R. Simhah of Vitry, author of the Hahzor Vitry; on his mother's side he was a nephew of R. Tam of RAshbam, and of Isaac b. Meir (RiBaM), a great-grandson of Rashi, and a relative of R. Eleazar of Worms.
The Rabbi of Worms was Eleazar Ben Judah (1160-1238), a native of Mainz, Germany and from 1201, he was rabbi at Worms, Germany. His wife and 2 daughters were slaughtered by Crusaders before his eyes in 1196. His works made the Ashkenazi theory of practical kabbalah popular which stressed the doctrine of repentance. His ethical teachings were embodied in his code, Sepher ha-Rokeah (The Book of the Spice Dealer). Then he was known as Eleazar Rokeah.
Isaac ben Samuel was surnamed "ha-Zaken" (the elder) to distinguish him from another tosafist of the same name, Isaac b. Abraham, surnamed "ha-Bahur" (the younger). He is often quoted as R. Isaac of Dampierre ("Maimuniyyot, "Ma'akalot Asurot, No. 5; "Shibbole ha-Leket" ii., No. 40,
It seems that he lived first at Ramerupt, where his maternal grandfather resided ("Sefer ha-Nayyar," p. 162; "Maimuniyyot,"l.c.). It was also at Ramerupt that he studied under his Uncle R. Tam (Luria, Responsa, No.29). After the latter had gone to Troyes, Isaac b. Samuel directed his school.
The village of Ramerupt is a small village located north east of France. The town of Ramerupt is located in the department of Aube of the french region Champagne-Ardenne. The town of Ramerupt is located in the township of Ramerupt part of the district of Troyes.
Isaac settled in Dampierre later, and founded there a flourishing and well-attended school ("Or Zarua", i.126). It is said that he had sixty pupils, each of whom, besides being generally well grounded in Talmud, knew an entire treatise by heart, so that the whole Talmud was stored in the memories of his pupils (Menahem, "Zedah la-Derek," Introduction). As he lived under Philip Augustus, at whose hands the Jews suffered uch, Isaac prohibited the buying of confiscated Jewish property, and ordered that any so bought be restored to its original owner.
A particular interest attaches to one of his responsa, in which he relies on the oral testimony of his aunt, the wife of R. Isaac b. Meir, and on that of the wife of R. Eleazar of Worms, a great-granddaughter of Rashi ("Sefer ha-Nayyar," p. 167.a).
Isaac's tosafot completed the commentary of Rashi on the Talmud (Romm of Wilna included in his edition of the Talmud, Isaac ben Samiuel's tosafot on Kiddushin). He also compiled and edited with great erudition all the preceding explanations to Rashi's commentary. His first collection was entitled "Tosefot Yeshanim," which, however, was afterward revised and developed. He is quoted on almost every page of the Tosafot, and in various works, especially in the "Sefer ha-Terumah" of his pupil Bariuch b. Isaac of Worms, and in the "Or Zarua" of Isaac b. Moses.
Isaac is mentioned as a Biblical commentator by Judah b. Eliezer ("Minhat Yehudah," p. 8b), who quotes also a work of Isaac's entitled "Yalkute Midrash" (ib. p. 22a); by Isaac ha-Levi; by Hezekiah b. Manoah in his "Hazzekuni"; and in two other commentaries (see "Kerem Hemed," vii.68). Isaac b. Samuel is supposed to be the author also of several liturgical poems, of a piyyut to the Haftarah (Landshuth, "ammude ha-'Abodah," p. 108, and of a piyyut for Purim (Mahzor Vitry, No. 255; comp. Luzzatto in Berliner's "Magazin," v. 27, Hebr.part). The authorship of these piyyutim may, however, belong to the liturgical writer, Isaac b. Samuel of Narbonne.
From the New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia, I find that Isaac, also known as Rabbi Isaac ha-Zaken, who was born before 1115 and died after 1184 was a French tosaphist. He succeeded his uncle, Rabbenu Tam, as head of the Ramerupt Yeshivah and later settled at Dampierre. His tosaphot (critical and explanatory notes on the Talmud by French and German scholars of the 12th to 14th centuries) are quoted by his pupils, while his responsa are scattered through many contemporary works.
His commentary on the Pentateuch has not survived. The tosaphots were initially supplementary to Rashi's Talmud commentary, which they frequently criticize and modify. The tosaphists soon developed a new independent mode of Talmud study. They also investigated in detail the form and content of the talmudic discussions and demonstrated that these too contained implicitly a considerable body of law which they proceeded to render explicit.
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| Crusaders went through Europe killing Jews while on the way to Jerusalem |
Isaac was interested in mysticism and was in touch with the Kabbalists of southern France. His scholarly son, Ethanan, was martyred in his lifetime and died in 1184.
From Andi: See below all the rabbis that studied under R. Isaac ben Samuel of Dampierre, in Isaac's school.
I don't have time now to check, but if I remember correctly, all these students of Isaac's went on to lead synagogues in their home towns of France. Each synagogue had to have nine more men in addition to the rabbi. At the time these students lived, there were also Jews in Germany and Italy and a few in Poland.
Our Halpern ancestors wrote (I don't know where - in their books I guess) that because life was so hard from 1200 -1500, they didn't have a family tree for that period.
So maybe in the 1100s there were more Jews in Europe than in the 1400s. I don't know."The bottleneck was in this case in the interval 950-1250 AD. The size of the Ashkenazi population dropped to some 350 people. "
"The second admixture occurred according to [1] in Eastern Europe 10-20 generations ago. That gives the time span 1400-1700 AD. No mass conversions to Judaism are known from early Jewish communities in Eastern Europe."
"According to the estimates for 2007 of the Jewish People Policy Planning Institute, the world population of Jews is 13.2 million.[1] Adherents.com cites figures ranging from 12 to 18 million Jews.[2] These statistics incorporate both practicing Jews affiliated with synagogues and the Jewish community, and approximately 4.5 million unaffiliated and secular Jews. In 2007, 41% of the world’s Jews were living in Israel." We are 0.02% of the world population.
Have you ever read the entries in the online JewishEncyclopedia for FRANCE, GERMANY, ITALY, POLAND? They are very informative.
Best, Andi.
Search for "Isaac ben Samuel of Dampierre" by:
 |
| RASHI (1040-1105) (SOLOMON BAR ISAAC) born in Troyes, France studied in the Rhineland. He was at Worms for a time, his first teacher being Jacob b. Yakar, of whom he speaks with great veneration. After Jacob's death his place was successively filled by Isaac ben Eleazar ha Levi, or Segan Lewiyah, and by...name of Yarhi, applied to him as early as the 16th century, originated in a confusion of Solomon bar Isaac with one Solomon de Luinel, and a further error caused the town of Lunel to be regarded as Rashi's....Rashi's relative, Isaac b. Judah, the head of the school of Mayence, a school rendered illustrious through R. Gershom b. Judah (the "Light of the Exile), who may be regarded as Rashi's precursor, although he was..... |
2. DAMPIERRE...debtor the seigneurs of Dampierre and the abbey of Saint-Loup of Troyes.Rabbis:
(1) Isaac ben Samuel the Elder, abbreviated, surnamed "the Saint".
(5) Isaac ha Laban ben Jacob..Brussel,... the Middle Ages there was a somewhat important Jewish community in this village. King Philippe-Auguste, after an agreement with the Countess of Champagne, and Gui.Seigneur of Dampierre in 1206 ordered the Jews...
3. SOLOMON BEN JUDAH OF DREUX...French tosafist and Bible commentator of the 12th and 13th centuries. He was a disciple of Isaac ben Samuel the Elder of Dampierre, and presided over the school of Dreux during the 1st quarter of...who corresponded with Isaac ben Abraham of Dampierre; was most probably a son of the subject of this article. Bibliography.
4. DAVID THE PIOUS...him with R. David ben Joseph, who, with Isaac ben Abraham of Dampierre, Isaac ben DAvid, and Joseph ben Moses, adopted the decisions of the synod of Troyes which had met about 1160 under the auspices of Rabbenu...Together with Solomon ben Judah the Saint of Dreux, the two brothers Simson and Isaac ben Abraham of Dampierre, Samson of Corbeil, Abraham of Touques, and Eliezser be Aaron of Burgundy, he was among those scholars of...Tam.Samuell of Falaise (Sir Morel) probably referred to David the Pious when he spoke of as being a contemporary of Sir Leon of Paris ("Rev. Et.Juives"vii.47....
5. NATHANAEL OF CHINON...French tosafist: flourished about 1220. He was a disciple of Isaac ben Samuel of Dampierre. After 1224 Nathanael was director of the yshibah in Chinon and was in correspondence with the most famous and...learned of his contemporaries, including Samuel ben Sheneor of Evreux, Isaac of Evreux (author of "Sha'are Dura"), Jehiel of Paris and Isaac ben Todros. The last, in answer to Nathanael of Chinon's reuest for his...opinion concerning a question at issue between himself and Jehiel, wrote that he dared not speak in the presence of the "pillars of the world." Nathanael wrote tosafot to the treatises Bezah, Hullin, Berakot, and...
6. ELIEZER BEN SAMUEL OF VERONA...Italian tosafist, lived about the beginning of the 13th century. He was a disciple of Rabbi Isaac the elder, of Dampierre, and grandfather of the philosopher and physician HILLEL OF FORLI. He had...resulted, into which other rabbis were drawn, Eliezer ben Samuel is often quoted on Biblical and halakic questions. Mordecai, in speaking of Eliezer, calls him "Eliezer of Verdun," though undoubtedly meaning "Verona...sanctioned the second marriage of a young woman whose husband had probably, though not certainly, perished by shipwreck. But Eliezer ben Joel ha-Levi refused to endorse the permission, and a protracted controversy....
7. ISAAC BEN SAMUEL HA-ZAKEN...says that as Isaac b. Samuel was spoken of as "the sainted master", a term generally given to martyrs, he may have been killed at the same time as his son...quoted as R. Isaac of Dampierre ("Maimuniyyot," Ma'akalot Asurot, NO.5; "Shibbole ha-Leket"ii,No.40), but it seems that he lived first at Ramerupt, where his maternal grandfather resided ("Sefer ha-Nayyar,"p...a Talmud (Romm of Wilna included in his edition of the Talmud Isaac ben Samuel's tosafot on Kiddushin). He also compiled and edited with great erudition all the preceding explanations to Rashi's commentary. His first...
8.ABRAHAM OF TROYES... incident. Eleazar ha-Nadib (the word nadib denotes a Jewish Maecenas), against whom he had brought an action, demurred to appearing before the rabbinical court at Troyes; and being supported by Isaac ben Samuel...of Dampierre, had his ase referred to another tribunal (ross, "Gallia Judaica," pp. 165, 239). Yom Tob ha-Nadib, the son of Eleazar, being placed in a similar position, also refused to be judged at Troyes, and...was sustained in his contention by Judah Sire Leon of Paris ("Rev. Et.Juives," vii.42(. At the same time, Simson ben Abraham of Sens took the part of the son-in-law of Simson of Troyes, who, being afraid of the...
9. JONATHAN BEN DAVID HA-KOHEN OF LUNEL...went with Tobiah and Samuel ben Simson; he corresponded with Isaac ben Abraham of Dampierre, who had sent him a Talmudic responsum on a subject concerning the Holy Land.
10.BARUCH B. ISAAC (ha Kohen?)... Isaac b. Samuel of Dapierre, Baruch wrote tosafot to several treatises (e.g., Kiddushin, Nazir, Shabbat, Hullin): nearly all those extant on the order Zebahim are his A. Epstein believes that the ...tosafist and codifier; flourished about 1200. He was born at Worms, but lived at Regensburg; hence he is sometimes called after the one and sometimes after the other city. A pupil of the great Tosafist...commentary on the Sifra contained in the Munich MS. No.59 is the work of this Baruch. He is the author also of the legal compendium, "Sefer ha-Terumah" (book of the Heave-Offering, Venice 1523; Zolkiev, 1811...
11. JUDAH BEN ISAAC...French tosafist, born in Paris 1166, died there 1224 (Solomon Luria, Responsa,No.29). According to Gross he was probably a descendant of Rashi, and a pupil of Isaac b. Samuel of Dampierre and his son...associated with Abraham, occurs the name of Leo blund, whom Jacobs identifies with Judah ben Isaac (ib.p.88; comp. Bacher, in "J.Q.R."vi.360). Sir Leon must have left Paris in 1182...when all Jews were expelled from the French king's dominions; he did not return till 1198. According to Gross, however, he received his chief training at Dampierre under Simson of Sens, Simson of Coucy, Solomon of...
12. SAMSON BEN ABRAHAM OF SENS...School of Rabbi Isaac ben Samuel ha-Zaaen of Dampierre, after whose death he took charge of the school of Sens. Asheri says of him that after R. Tam and Isaac ben Samuel, he exercised the greatest influence upon....the Younger to distinguish him from his t eacher, Isaac the Elder (Isaac ben Samuel), whom he succeeded as principal of the school of Dampierre; is also onae of the prominent toafists. He wrote, too, some....Talmudic studies in France and in Germany during the 13th century. Joseph Colon declares that Isaac ben Samiuel, Judah Sir Leon of Paris, and Samson ben Abraham formed the three strong pillars of the northern...
13. SAMSON BEN SAMSON ....Museum.) Samson was a disciple of Isaac "ben Samuel the Elder of Dampierre and one of the prominent rabbis to whom Meir ben Todros Abulafia addressed his letter of protest against Maimonides...
Isaac ben Moses of Vienna, with whom Samson corresponded, was one of his pupils. Many of Samson's ritual deisions are mentioned in the rabbinical works "Or Zarua"," "SeMaG," "Orhot Hayyim," and "PIske Rekantati...commentator. Samson was a descendant of Joseph b. Samuel Bonfils, a nephew of the tosafist Judah of Corbeil, and a brother-in-law of Moses of Concy, who in "SeMaG" often quotes him. In the glosses of Perez on "SeMaG....
14. TOUL...mentioned R. Eliezer of Toul, the author of tosafot; and his brothe Abraham, a pupil of Rabbi Isaac the Elder of Damierre and identical, according to Gross, with Abraham of V12p211002.jpg.
15. CHATEAU-THIERRY...ALSO ASCRIBED TO HIM (zUNZ, "z.g."P.38). ZUNZ (l.c.) says that Samuel was the son of R. Yom-Tob of Evreux and the disciple of R. Isaac b. Abraham of Dampieerre. Gross ("Gallia Judaica," p. 39) on the ...contrary, identifies him with R. Samuel ben Shneor, the correspondent of R. Jehiel of Paris, and Nathaniel, the Elder, of Chinon. R. Isaac and his son Bonne Vie are two scholars of this place only known through...the Pious, one of the celebrated French rabbis to whom R. Meir ben Todros Abuilafia of Toledo addressed, about 1204, his letter against the theory of the resurrection as propounded by Maimonides. Samuel of...
16. ABRAHAM BEN NATHAN...abraham-ben-david-of-posuieres
His regular rabbinical studies, however, were pursued at Dampierre, in northern France, at the academy of R. Isaac ben Samuel, called R....epistolary conclusion: Shalom! A.B.N." (Greeting! Abraham ben Nathan). The 2nd part contains extracts from the halakic works of Alfasi, Isaac ibn Giat, and Isaac ben Abba Mari, a relative of Abraham's. The...French author, born in the 2nd half of the 12th century, probably at Luinei, Languedoc. He received his education in that town, after which he is sometimes called ("RABN"=RABBI ABRAHAM BEN NATHAN...
17. TOSAFOT...
It is the critical and explanatory note on the Talmud by French and German scholars of the 12th-14th centuries, first meant to be supplements to Rashi's Talmud commentary. What is the Talmud? We have 2 of them; the Babylonian version and the Palestinian version. They are the records of academic discussion and of judicial administration of JEWISH LAW.
Samuel ha-Zaen (RI) of Dampierre, whose tosafot form a part of the Tosafot Yshanim (see below). Isaac was succeeded by his pupil ben-abraham-of-sens" Samson ben...No.6). After the death of Isaac ben Samuel, Isaac ben Abraham succeeded him as head of the school of Dampierre, after which place he is often called ("Or Zarua", i.225a). Isaac ben Abraham was oneof the...tosafot (for example, those to Kiddushin by Isaac b. Samuel ha-Zaken of Dampierre, and those to 'Abodah Zarah by his son, Elhanan b. Isaac); (3) a collection of old tosafot published by Joseph Jessel b. Wolf ha-Levi...
Interestingly, the Crusaders have a story as well about Guy de Dampierre and a damsel named Rebecca. Could it be that a Crusader fell in love with a Jewish maiden? It's a Scottish tale. She is the image of Elizabeth Taylor, who did convert to Judaism, by the way. It's the story of IVANHOE: Loyal British knight Wilfred of Ivanhoe (Robert Taylor) sets out on a mission to free the kidnapped King of England, Richard the Lionheart (Norman Wooland), in this rousing adventure tale. The brave Ivanhoe must eventually confront the devious Prince John (Guy Rolfe) and the fierce Norman warrior Brian de Bois-Guilbert (George Sanders), while also juggling the affections of the beautiful maidens Rowena (Joan Fontaine) and Rebecca (Elizabeth Taylor).
Bibliography:
Azulai, Shem ha-Gedolim, i.;
Michael, Or haHayyim, pp. 511-513;
Qwiaa, Soe, ic.286, 342, 349;
Gratz, Gesch. 3d ed., vi. 210, 211, 214;
Gross, Gallia Judaica, pp. 161- 168, 638
idem, in R.E.J.vii. 76;
Neubauer, ib. xvii.67
Resource:
https://goldfoot_genealogy.blogspot.com/2014/10/goldfoot-genealogy-from-rabbis-of-worms.html
https://goldfoot_genealogy.blogspot.com/2015/08/unusual-connecting-to-wertheimer-family.html
http://www.pienisalaliittotutkimus.com/2018/02/17/origins-of-the-ashkenazi-jews/
Labels: Ashkenazis, Crusaders, Dampierre, France, genealogy, Isaac ben Samuel Ha-Zaken, King David, Rabbi Wertheimer, Rabbis, Rashi, Troyes
Sunday, September 01, 2013
DNA Connections to King David, Rashi, Isaac of Worms, Talmudists of Lithuania, Germany and France
Nadene Goldfoot
To be related through DNA to RASHI, one of the most famous of rabbis, is quite a thought. Legend is that he was a descendant of the royal family of King David (1010-970 BCE). How can people learn such things?
A group has been created on Family Tree DNA, Halpern and Branches, that have connected members back all the way to Rashi, a famous Rabbi born in 1040 in Troyes, France and died July 13, 1105 in Troyes, France. He was the son of Yitzchak Ben Shlomo of Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany who died in 1060 in Worms. Rashi's grandfather was Shalma Tzarfali born about 1000 CE. He had been a scholar and wine merchant. Rashi's income was from the vineyard. He was a French rabbinical scholar and studied in the Rhineland of Germany and had his own school there. France had been home to Jews before 70 CE when Jerusalem was attacked and destroyed by the Romans. The Jewish position there faced hardships with the development of Christianity with Church councils taking steps to enforce the conventional anti-Jewish codes. Many Jews had settled here for purposes of trade, importing foreign luxuries and establishing new communities up the Rhone Valley and into Champagne. After 1096, French Jews were attacked by the Christian Crusaders. Rashi is well known for his commentaries on the Bible and the Babylonian Talmud. He was born into the Rishonim Period of 1000 to 1500 CE of revered rabbis. We are now connected to this group because of some of the segments of our DNA on our 23 chromosomes match other people with connections from genealogies. .
It is said that the first Jews to settle in Worms were the Benjamites, descendants from the tribe of Benjamin.That goes back a long ways since Moses lived from 1391-1271 BCE and the 12 tribes were about to enter the Promised Land of Canaan just as he died. Since a connection was made with Worms, Germany, we are also connected to another famous rabbi, Isaac of Worms (Baruch ben Isaac c 1200 who was a Tosafist and codifier, born in Worms, a town in Rhein-Hesse, Germany. He lived at Regensburg and sometimes was called by either name. We can also be connected to Rabbi Samson Wertheimer (1658 -d Vienna 1724) of Worms, Germany. His best friend was Samuel Oppenheimer (1630-1703), the great financier. Oppenheimer's nephew was Rabbi David Oppenheim (1664-1736). He was also born in Worms and was a rabbi in Nikolsburg and also in Prague starting in 1702. He had built up a huge library and was considered a bibliophile. Because Prague had censorship, he kept his books in Hanover, Germany.
The Jewish community of Worms was annihilated in the First Crusade, but it re-established shortly afterward and was again destroyed in the Black Death outbreaks of 1349. The Jews were expulsed in 1615. The people found were massacred by soldiers of Louis XIV in 1689. Its cemetery dated from the 11th century while its synagogue originally was built in 1034. Close to it is the "Rashi Chapel" of 1624 and the ritual bath of 1186 which had stood until they were destroyed in November 1938 at the onset of WWII. After the war they were reconstructed. The 1933 community of Jews of 1,200 were killed by the Nazis. It's a miracle that some of the descendants had survived.
Through having the familyfinder test at familytreedna, my brother and I were informed that we had segments of our dna that connected to people in their group. A thorough search was done by the investigators of the project and sure enough, we were. A first cousin then was also familyfinder tested whose mother was a Goldfoot, a sibling of our father, matched more people than we did who were already found to be connected to the group. Our grandfather, Nathan Goldfoot, had married Hattie Jermulowske of Suwalki, Poland, and we carry her genes as well, so as a Goldfoot, so I cannot say whether these genes of ours were from one or the other side. Now I'd love to have a Jermulowske cousin tested.
This group is found to be also connected to other Talmudists such as Rabbi Jehiel Ben Solomon Heilperin (c 1660-1746) a scholar from Glusks (White Russia) and in 1711 from Minsk, Belarus much later. He had a wide secular education and was a student of Kabbalah as well. This has led to finding families with surnames such as Alpern, Guggenheim, Halpern, Rubenstein and Wertheim who are found to be connected. The American, Meyer Guggenheim (1828-1905), famous for establishing a very successful and philanthropic family must have an ancient rabbi as his origins, for they also have matching dna. I found a Rabbi Isaac Rubinstein (1880-1945) who might be related. In 1906 he was the rabbi in Vilna, Lithuania and by 1920 was the minister of Jewish affairs in the Lithuanian government. Vilna was annexed to Poland in 1922 and he was elected to the Polish Senate where he fought for Jewish rights until the Nazis came in. He was an ardent Zionist. The Soviet Russia then annexed Lithuania in 1940 and he moved to New York where he taught in a yeshivah.
The surname of Wertheim, Wertheimer, Wertheimber are all taken from the town of Wertheim in Baden, Germanay. Wertheimer family trees beginning in 1588 have been found. The family has a family crest. They are related to Samson, Katz, Oppenheim, Oppenheimer, Arnstein and many others that have been found.
Heilprin is a German name derived from the town of Heilbronn in Wurttemberg. Not all Jews bearing this surname are related as many Jews of Austria, Germany and Russia took this name and others similar to it when they were ordered to take family names in about 1800. They actually had to buy them. However, 4 distinct branches have been found. Jewish Encyclopedia has charts for 3 branches. Many Heilprins in Russia claimed in 1900 descent from the 4th branch. The oldest branch dates back to Zebulon Heilprin of the 16th century whose son, Moses of Brest-Litovsk was the father in law of Samuel Edels. Another branch comes from the Lithuania Rabbi Jehiel Heilprin, a descendant of Rabbi Solomon Ben Jehiel Luria (1510-1573) , known as the Maharshal, a codifier who traced his genealogy back through RASHI. He was found in many Lithuanian and Polish communities, the last being in Lublin. A Heilprin branch is also related to the BAAL SHEMTOV, Israel Ben Eliezer c 1700-1760) founder of Hasidism who was born in Podolia, region in S.W. Ukraine; formerly a region of S.E. Poland, passing to Russia in 1793. He was known for his miraculous cures. .
Our own personal Goldfus history from Telsiai, Lithuania from Stanley Goldfoot handed down to him was that the family was also connected to the Vilna Gaon, Elijah Ben Solomon Zalman of Lithuania (1720-1797), where the Goldfus clan lived. Elijah's father was Shlomo Zalman of Vilna b: 1695 and d 1756. Jews were reported to be in Lithuania by 1321. This must be because in 321CE, the emperor Constantine issued regulations of Jewish communities that were in Germany. Jews had been in Germany as Roman soldiers serving in Roman garrisons, either forced or by choice. Barbarians invaded the land. In the 8th and 9th century, the Carolingian royal house adopted a pro-Jewish policy and encouraged the settlement of Jews in order for Germany to develop trade.
By 1398 a group of Karaites lived in Troki, France. They were Jews who had split off from the main group who did not agree with the Oral Law. The Spanish Inquisition of 1492 had a great effect on the world Jewry and the attitude of their host country, so that by 1495 we find 10,000 Jews moving into Vilna, Grodno and Kovno. By 1529 they had a charter guaranteeing freedom of movement and employment and soon were excelling in foreign trade and tax-farming. From 1566 to 1572 our ancestors had to wear the Jewish badge and face the unfairness of not being allowed to bring in witnesses in giving evidence in court, thus not being treated like other citizens.
There are genealogies which show connections. During the days of the 2nd Temple, a Cohen had to have a genealogy to prove he was indeed who he said he was in order to serve. A genealogy of this group was from a written genealogy tracing back to Zebulon Eliezer without gaps showing that 2 Halpern families came from the same family and even seem to have the Ydna haplogroup of G2C. A Rabbi Meir Wunder documented facts at the time. We have lost much of our knowledge due to WWII, and it is wonderful to find these old family trees as well as to be able to use DNA to clinch facts of family connections.
This group is one of many sources that proves the history of Ashkenazi Jews of a people taken to Rome after 70 CE's fall of Jerusalem from the Roman attack who then later made their way to France and Germany. It was there that a Goldfus family took on their German-Yiddish surname before people were required to do so in Eastern Europe. They brought their family and their surname up to Poland/Lithuania with them. I am finding that once a rabbi has established himself and keeps a genealogy, his children have followed his footsteps so that this dedication is often continued even to this day within the family.
Resource: http://www.jewishhistory.org/the-house-of-rashi/
Eliyahu's Branches by Chaim Freedman
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
Halpern and Branches Group
http://www.geni.com/projects/Revered-Rabbis-Kabbalists-Sages-Torah-Scholars-and-Luminaries-of-Renown/1052
http://www.chabad.org/libraryarticle_cdo/aid/11229/jewish/Rabbii-Samson-Great-Escape.htm
http://www.geni.com/people/Rashi-%D7%A8%D7%A9-%D7%99/6000000006709501378
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/15013-worms
Finding Our Fathers-a guidebook to Jewish genealogy by Dan Rottenberg.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0016_0_15889.html
http://www.isogg.org/wiki/Y-DNA_project_help
To be related through DNA to RASHI, one of the most famous of rabbis, is quite a thought. Legend is that he was a descendant of the royal family of King David (1010-970 BCE). How can people learn such things?
A group has been created on Family Tree DNA, Halpern and Branches, that have connected members back all the way to Rashi, a famous Rabbi born in 1040 in Troyes, France and died July 13, 1105 in Troyes, France. He was the son of Yitzchak Ben Shlomo of Worms, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany who died in 1060 in Worms. Rashi's grandfather was Shalma Tzarfali born about 1000 CE. He had been a scholar and wine merchant. Rashi's income was from the vineyard. He was a French rabbinical scholar and studied in the Rhineland of Germany and had his own school there. France had been home to Jews before 70 CE when Jerusalem was attacked and destroyed by the Romans. The Jewish position there faced hardships with the development of Christianity with Church councils taking steps to enforce the conventional anti-Jewish codes. Many Jews had settled here for purposes of trade, importing foreign luxuries and establishing new communities up the Rhone Valley and into Champagne. After 1096, French Jews were attacked by the Christian Crusaders. Rashi is well known for his commentaries on the Bible and the Babylonian Talmud. He was born into the Rishonim Period of 1000 to 1500 CE of revered rabbis. We are now connected to this group because of some of the segments of our DNA on our 23 chromosomes match other people with connections from genealogies. .
It is said that the first Jews to settle in Worms were the Benjamites, descendants from the tribe of Benjamin.That goes back a long ways since Moses lived from 1391-1271 BCE and the 12 tribes were about to enter the Promised Land of Canaan just as he died. Since a connection was made with Worms, Germany, we are also connected to another famous rabbi, Isaac of Worms (Baruch ben Isaac c 1200 who was a Tosafist and codifier, born in Worms, a town in Rhein-Hesse, Germany. He lived at Regensburg and sometimes was called by either name. We can also be connected to Rabbi Samson Wertheimer (1658 -d Vienna 1724) of Worms, Germany. His best friend was Samuel Oppenheimer (1630-1703), the great financier. Oppenheimer's nephew was Rabbi David Oppenheim (1664-1736). He was also born in Worms and was a rabbi in Nikolsburg and also in Prague starting in 1702. He had built up a huge library and was considered a bibliophile. Because Prague had censorship, he kept his books in Hanover, Germany.
The Jewish community of Worms was annihilated in the First Crusade, but it re-established shortly afterward and was again destroyed in the Black Death outbreaks of 1349. The Jews were expulsed in 1615. The people found were massacred by soldiers of Louis XIV in 1689. Its cemetery dated from the 11th century while its synagogue originally was built in 1034. Close to it is the "Rashi Chapel" of 1624 and the ritual bath of 1186 which had stood until they were destroyed in November 1938 at the onset of WWII. After the war they were reconstructed. The 1933 community of Jews of 1,200 were killed by the Nazis. It's a miracle that some of the descendants had survived.
Through having the familyfinder test at familytreedna, my brother and I were informed that we had segments of our dna that connected to people in their group. A thorough search was done by the investigators of the project and sure enough, we were. A first cousin then was also familyfinder tested whose mother was a Goldfoot, a sibling of our father, matched more people than we did who were already found to be connected to the group. Our grandfather, Nathan Goldfoot, had married Hattie Jermulowske of Suwalki, Poland, and we carry her genes as well, so as a Goldfoot, so I cannot say whether these genes of ours were from one or the other side. Now I'd love to have a Jermulowske cousin tested.
This group is found to be also connected to other Talmudists such as Rabbi Jehiel Ben Solomon Heilperin (c 1660-1746) a scholar from Glusks (White Russia) and in 1711 from Minsk, Belarus much later. He had a wide secular education and was a student of Kabbalah as well. This has led to finding families with surnames such as Alpern, Guggenheim, Halpern, Rubenstein and Wertheim who are found to be connected. The American, Meyer Guggenheim (1828-1905), famous for establishing a very successful and philanthropic family must have an ancient rabbi as his origins, for they also have matching dna. I found a Rabbi Isaac Rubinstein (1880-1945) who might be related. In 1906 he was the rabbi in Vilna, Lithuania and by 1920 was the minister of Jewish affairs in the Lithuanian government. Vilna was annexed to Poland in 1922 and he was elected to the Polish Senate where he fought for Jewish rights until the Nazis came in. He was an ardent Zionist. The Soviet Russia then annexed Lithuania in 1940 and he moved to New York where he taught in a yeshivah.
The surname of Wertheim, Wertheimer, Wertheimber are all taken from the town of Wertheim in Baden, Germanay. Wertheimer family trees beginning in 1588 have been found. The family has a family crest. They are related to Samson, Katz, Oppenheim, Oppenheimer, Arnstein and many others that have been found.
Heilprin is a German name derived from the town of Heilbronn in Wurttemberg. Not all Jews bearing this surname are related as many Jews of Austria, Germany and Russia took this name and others similar to it when they were ordered to take family names in about 1800. They actually had to buy them. However, 4 distinct branches have been found. Jewish Encyclopedia has charts for 3 branches. Many Heilprins in Russia claimed in 1900 descent from the 4th branch. The oldest branch dates back to Zebulon Heilprin of the 16th century whose son, Moses of Brest-Litovsk was the father in law of Samuel Edels. Another branch comes from the Lithuania Rabbi Jehiel Heilprin, a descendant of Rabbi Solomon Ben Jehiel Luria (1510-1573) , known as the Maharshal, a codifier who traced his genealogy back through RASHI. He was found in many Lithuanian and Polish communities, the last being in Lublin. A Heilprin branch is also related to the BAAL SHEMTOV, Israel Ben Eliezer c 1700-1760) founder of Hasidism who was born in Podolia, region in S.W. Ukraine; formerly a region of S.E. Poland, passing to Russia in 1793. He was known for his miraculous cures. .
Our own personal Goldfus history from Telsiai, Lithuania from Stanley Goldfoot handed down to him was that the family was also connected to the Vilna Gaon, Elijah Ben Solomon Zalman of Lithuania (1720-1797), where the Goldfus clan lived. Elijah's father was Shlomo Zalman of Vilna b: 1695 and d 1756. Jews were reported to be in Lithuania by 1321. This must be because in 321CE, the emperor Constantine issued regulations of Jewish communities that were in Germany. Jews had been in Germany as Roman soldiers serving in Roman garrisons, either forced or by choice. Barbarians invaded the land. In the 8th and 9th century, the Carolingian royal house adopted a pro-Jewish policy and encouraged the settlement of Jews in order for Germany to develop trade.
By 1398 a group of Karaites lived in Troki, France. They were Jews who had split off from the main group who did not agree with the Oral Law. The Spanish Inquisition of 1492 had a great effect on the world Jewry and the attitude of their host country, so that by 1495 we find 10,000 Jews moving into Vilna, Grodno and Kovno. By 1529 they had a charter guaranteeing freedom of movement and employment and soon were excelling in foreign trade and tax-farming. From 1566 to 1572 our ancestors had to wear the Jewish badge and face the unfairness of not being allowed to bring in witnesses in giving evidence in court, thus not being treated like other citizens.
There are genealogies which show connections. During the days of the 2nd Temple, a Cohen had to have a genealogy to prove he was indeed who he said he was in order to serve. A genealogy of this group was from a written genealogy tracing back to Zebulon Eliezer without gaps showing that 2 Halpern families came from the same family and even seem to have the Ydna haplogroup of G2C. A Rabbi Meir Wunder documented facts at the time. We have lost much of our knowledge due to WWII, and it is wonderful to find these old family trees as well as to be able to use DNA to clinch facts of family connections.
This group is one of many sources that proves the history of Ashkenazi Jews of a people taken to Rome after 70 CE's fall of Jerusalem from the Roman attack who then later made their way to France and Germany. It was there that a Goldfus family took on their German-Yiddish surname before people were required to do so in Eastern Europe. They brought their family and their surname up to Poland/Lithuania with them. I am finding that once a rabbi has established himself and keeps a genealogy, his children have followed his footsteps so that this dedication is often continued even to this day within the family.
Resource: http://www.jewishhistory.org/the-house-of-rashi/
Eliyahu's Branches by Chaim Freedman
The New Standard Jewish Encyclopedia
Halpern and Branches Group
http://www.geni.com/projects/Revered-Rabbis-Kabbalists-Sages-Torah-Scholars-and-Luminaries-of-Renown/1052
http://www.chabad.org/libraryarticle_cdo/aid/11229/jewish/Rabbii-Samson-Great-Escape.htm
http://www.geni.com/people/Rashi-%D7%A8%D7%A9-%D7%99/6000000006709501378
http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/15013-worms
Finding Our Fathers-a guidebook to Jewish genealogy by Dan Rottenberg.
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/jsource/judaica/ejud_0002_0016_0_15889.html
http://www.isogg.org/wiki/Y-DNA_project_help
Labels: Ashkenazis, Baal Shem Tov, dna, France, genealogy, Germany, Halpern, Jehiel Heilperin, Rabbis, Rashi, Wertheim, Worms
