Three of my four grandparents hit the shores of America in the early part of the 20^th century, hailing from Russia and Poland.  I know the names of the towns they came from:  Dnepepetrovsk and Komarin in the Ukraine, and Butchach near Lvov in Poland.  I know that my mother’s father, who was born in New York, had parents who emigrated from the Austro-Hungarian region of Europe in the late 19^th century.  And, I remember visiting my dad’s parents in Tel Aviv when I was 4 years old after they made aliyah to Israel from the U.S. But I’m sorry I don’t know more of the family history, the stories, the lore.  I regret not having spent more time with my grandparents and Dad when they were all alive, asking the right questions and listening to their wisdom.   

 

Where are your grandparents and parents from?  What are your families’ stories?

 

On Wednesday November 11, we heard about 13 different immigrant families from Steven Roberts, as he discussed his new book From Every End of This Earth.  Professor Roberts shared some of the histories of the families and reminded us of the importance of knowing our own family experiences, and preserving them as a gift to share with future generations. This message is especially poignant for many of us as we see our parents aging.  We can imagine the eventual loss of the first-hand, source data about our families - many of them tales of immigration - and feel critical knowledge slipping through our fingers. 

 

So, it’s perfect timing and quite serendipitous that an upcoming Temple Sinai Adult Education program will provide guidance on Jewish Genealogy – teaching us methodology to trace and better document our family histories and ancestry.  Taught by Temple Sinai’s very own David Simon, this is a perfect follow up to the November 11 event and will provide us a great start in discovering, appreciating and preserving our family stories.  I look forward to seeing you then – December 8, 7-9 p.m.