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NEWSLETTER OF THE WORLDWIDE CONGREGATION CHARLAPNAHYA

Vol. 16, No. 3 Kislev 5766; Dec. 2005

A PARCZEWSKI UPDATE

The ancestor of the Mankuta and Parczewski branches ofour family was Michel (5073,Pl. 3) ben Kalman ( 13 954). Kalman was a brother of David Charlap (4082), progenitor of the modem Charlaps, Sers, Lapins, and Budovitches. Michel was born about 17 40 in Lomza Guberniya, Poland. Before Thomas Jefferson penned the American Declaration of Independence, Michel sired a son Beryl (3084,Pl.208) who married a cousin from the proto-Mankuta group. Beryl's wife presented him with at least two sons, Yosef (3086) and Elias Hersch (3087), both of whom assumed the surname Parczewski. Our research had long ago yielded quite a trove of information about Elias' descendants. These include his granddaughter Shayna (671) who married Mattis Leml Kur (672),his grandson Yosef (5104) who changed the family name to Wilk, and his great-granddaughter Yehudis (1785) who married Kalman Mankuta (1787). . Ancilla To Toledot Charlap lists the names of only three children of Elias' brother Y osef. Subsequent to publication, we learned that Yosef had seven children but we knew little else about them. Recent communication with Rima Phillips ( 193 8 9 ,Pl. 4 25) of Port Townsend, Washington has filled in many of the gaps. Rima presented us with a database generated by Steve Rosenwasser (16869,Pl.352). We had spoken with Steve many years ago but had long since lost contact. Apparently, he built on the information we had provided and developed a tree for his branch of the family. To date this has resulted in close to 700 new names on our master family tree and we expect it to continue growing. Y osef ben Beryl Parczewski was the father of Tuvia (3090), born about 1826 in Lubowicz, about seven miles north of Ciechanowiec. On Dec. 16, 1846 he married Shayna Sosia (3091) who could well have been his cousin. Their oldest daughter, Faiga Leah (3092), born in Ciechanowiec, married Yitzhak David Kukova (16962) and gave rise to a large family. Other than their names, Chaya (3093) and Cyrka (3094), little is known about the next two daughters of Tuvia and Shayna. The fourth daughter Pearl (16958) married Yaakov Leib Simon (16963) who most likely came from the same family as Velvel Simon (1872,Pl.215). Velvelhadmarried Sarah (1864), daughter ofYankel Mankuta (1855) and Rachel Leah Tama (1852). The fifth daughter of Tuvia and Shayna was Dvora (16959), born in 1858 in Lomza Guberniya and who arrived at the Port of New York in 1903. She and her husband, Louis Dorfinan (16964), born in Wyszonki not far from Ciechanowiec, lived on Brook Avenue in a poor section of the Bronx. Tuvia's first son was born a year after Dvora. He was an immigrant to the USA in 1895. Changing his name to Frank Greenberg, he first settled in Chicago and then moved to Beaumont, Texas where he operated the Guarantee Shoe Store. Married twice, Frank was known as "The Old Horse." His younger brother Barnet "Red" Greenberg arrived in the USA a year later. With a few exceptions, most of the descendants of Tuvia Parczewski moved to Texas. They were concentrated in Beaumont, Houston, (continued on page 2) 2

THE DON-YECHIYA - LEVIN FAMILY Ph.D., is active in the Latvia Special Interest Group and has by Dr. Zeeva Levy (11869,Pl.l 79) collaborated in setting up a Ludza, Latvia Shtetlinks page with Chaim Freedman· (13053,Pl.204), Paul ·Cheifitz, Yosef Aharon Halevi Levin ( 11820), my grandfather, Elizabeth Reinhart (12737,Pl.195), and Robert Heyman. was the son of Slova Don Yechiya (11663) and Itzhak Levin Chaim and Elizabeth are also on our family tree. Paul, who (11669). To my surprise, about 15 years ago, a reputable lives in Capetown, South Africa, leads the Shereshevsky genealogist told about a sibling of my great-grandfather who genealogy effort. That family has ties with the Charlaps and had lived in Kineret []. He was absolutely sure that the Lapins and we are trying to define the exact relationships. man named Naftali Yaacov Halevi Levin (12691,Pl.194), son Zeeva lives in Tel Aviv with her husband Dr. Baruch Levy. of David Shmuel (12679), was a brother of my great­ With regard to Zeeva 's findings, we would add the following: grandfather. I had known the man since childhood. However, Census records from Eastern Europe are useful indicators I never knew about this relationship. but are often carelessly prepared and are replete with errors. The relation between my great-grandmother Slova and For example, the 1895 record for Itzhak Levin lists his wife the other Don Y echiya families was not certain. It was based on as Slova Chaimova, or Slova daughter of Chaim. This is a childhood recollection that Shabtai Don Y echiya was a either a mistake or the record refers to a different Itzhak and second cousin of mother (According to this memory, Slova and Slova. That is entirely possible as Levin is one of the most Eliezer Don Yechiya were siblings). Getting the three family common Jewish names and all the given names were also trees and Arthur Menton's book -(The Book of Destiny: very common at that time. Our Slova was the daughter of Toledot Charlap ), lent credibility to this, as well as for Naftali Shabtai Don Yechiya (11519). Her grandfather was Chaim Yaacov being a sibling to my great-grandfather. Nevertheless, Don Yechiya (11510). Likewise, the 1874 census record is both proved untrue. In a scarce prenumerantum page to either mistaken or refers to a different ltzhakLevin. ltzhak's Likutei Megadim, the author Ben Zion Don Yechiya writes, father is therein listed as Aharon Elyovitz which translates "Yosef Aharon Halevi Levin from Hadera, son of Slova Don Aharon son ofElyo (Elia or Eliyahu). Our traditional tree, Y echiya, a sister of my grandfather ..." Hence, Shabtai Don which has been documented through several sources lists Yechiya (11894) is a second cousin once removed from my ltzhak Eliyahu son of David Shmuel son of Yaacov Halevi mother. Levin. Shabtai (11894,Pl.181) is son ofBen Zion (11872) ben Attaining two census sheets, assured that my great­ Eliezer Don Yechiya. Eliezer was Slova 's brother. Slova was grandfather and "the old man from Kineret" were not brothers. the grandmother of Zeeva 's mother Sarah (11823). That The 1895 census sheet recorded Itzhak Aharonovitz Levin and makes Sarah and Shabtai second cousins. Another Shabtai his wife Slova Chaimova. The 1874 census recorded Itzhak (Katz) (11928,Pl.180) is also a grandson of Eliezer Don Aharonovitz Levin son of Aharon Elyovitz, already deceased. Yechiya and hence second cousin ofSarah Levin. Both censuses agreed: great-great-grandfather is Aharon and ************************************************* not David Shmuel. PARCZEWSKI UPDATE (cont.) . While visiting Lutzin (Ludza) cemetery, I found the gravestone of great-grandfather Yitzhak Eliyahu son of Galveston, and Orange. The family operated a company known Aharon. as the Fair Stores which had branches in several towns. Beaumont, Texas had the biggest concentration of the family. This piece is extracted from a much larger scholarly Indeed, Beaumont had a substantial Jewish community. Among article by Zeeva Levy entitled, "The Revival of the Jewish its most famous sons was the great trumpet player Harry State -A Story of a Family. "Zeeva, who has an earned James, who achieved fame with fellow Jew Benny Goodman, (cont. next column) known as the "King of Swing." The Goodman band's brass ************************************************* section also featured another great Jewish· trumpeter named B'RAYSHIT: THE NEWSLETTER OF Ziggy Elman, who introduced Americans to klezmer music CONGREGATION CHARLAPNAHYA is published 3 to with his big hit "And the Angels Sing." When Harry James left 4 times per year. We encourage submittal of news items, Goodman to start his own band, he became enormously essays, poems, and historical articles. Correspondence should successful. Much of that success was due to his female vocalist be directed to: Jewish Helen Forrest who was succeeded by another Jewish Arthur F. Menton, Editor maiden Kitty Kallen. As an aside, Harry James gave a skinny P.O. Box 108 kid singer from Hoboken, New Jersey his start in the music Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y. 11-724 world. His name: Frank Sinatra. At this point, we have not Tel. and Fax: (631)754-1742 connected Sinatra or James to our family. But we would bet e-mail: [email protected] that Harry's parents purchased his Bar mitzvah suit at the Fair Copyright @ 2005 Store in Beaumont. 3

A RECOLLECTION OF RUTH SAPIN HURWITZ by Leo W. Schwarz

This is a continuation of the article that was started in the previous issue o/Brayshit (vol. 16, no. 2). Ruth Sapin Hurwitz (4041,Pl. 15) was born in Scottsburg, Indiana on Dec. 1, 1888 and died in June 1961. In 1917 she wed Henry Hurwitz (4049), founder of the Menorah Movement at Harvard. Ruth was one of11 children ofJacob Sapinsky (4023) andMinnie (Dinah) Charlap (4019) who had left Lithuania and settled in New Albany, Indiana. Her grandfather was Yosef Ze 'ev Charlap (3159, Pl.4) ofMariampol, a mathematician, astronomer, and rabbinic scholar. Ruth's son David Lyon Hurwitz (4062) has been a frequent contributor to Brayshit These remarks were recorded at an Evening ofRemembrance, Oct. 20, 1961. Leo W Schwarz was a distinguished scholar, writer, and editor. Among his books are: The Jewish Caravan, Where Hope Lies, Memoirs of My People, and Great Ages and Ideas of the Jewish People.

One day I was illustrating an allusion in a Hasidic story with some reproductions of Chagall in the Menorah Journal. Seeing the familiar yellow cover, Henry Jr. remarked, "My father wrote that book!" Interpreting the remark as a statement of not only filial pride but also paternal superiority, I said that some of our ancestors had written a book which is as good as the Menorah Journal and some people considered even better. His face expressed skepticism. It happened to be a few weeks before the Purim festival, so I asked him whether he wouldn't like to read the story of Esther. He took the Bible without saying a word. The following week I inquired whether he had gotten around to the Esther tale. "Yes,'' he replied, and I thought I detected a curious sparkle in his eyes. "Did you enjoy it?" "It's a pretty good story, pretty good." "Do you think you could improve upon it?'', I ventured. "Yes," he shot back, without blinking an eyelash. I encouraged him to try his hand at it. When I mentioned the incident to Ruth later in the day, she said she would be surprised if he came up with anything, for he was engrossed just then in mastering chess from an article in an encyclopedia. The following week he quietly placed in my hands a very original product. He had retold the story in the form of a satirical musical comedy which not only kept the group and their parents in stitches, but also provided a motive for the conspirators which is lacking in the Biblical account. The upshot of this experience was a different approach during the second year. The ground had been broken for a historical treatment of the Jewish heritage so that we were enabled to study its evolution from Biblical days to the present. Out of the latter there emerged The Jewish Caravan; out of the former came the idea of turning the sleeve of history inside out and the courage to apply it in the second anthology, A Golden Treasury ofJewish Literature. The creation of a curriculum for the younger children required greater imagination and skill, and here I leaned heavily upon Ruth's experience and resourcefulness. She made me aware that formal history would repel young boys and girls but that biography would appeal intensely. In our talks she never employed the new educational jargon. She expressed herself simply and clearly, and what she said was stimulating and -for me- reassuring. She had the joyous instinct of imparting at all times the sweep of her own wide interest in life and children. As a consequence, we decided to have the teacher present to the youngest children a series of biographies ranging from the Patriarch Abraham to Albert Einstein. The method may be of interest: the teacher told the story of · the hero in about :fifteen minutes, after which the children discussed the events and persons. hiunediately afterwards, a number of children reenacted the story as a play and then sketched persons and scenes which appealed to them in their notebooks. One little girl, gifted with musical talent, improvised ditties about her favorites. Before opening the school for the second year, Ruth took the trouble to survey the public school curricula of all the children enrolled in the school. Checking the findings, we discovered that the youngest class would begin the study of American history. Consequently, we built the curriculum for this class around the theme of American Jewish history; and since there was no usable text available, we decided to have the children write their own books. During the first week or two, we asked the children to research at their homes and find out the origin of their families. Besides being an eye-opener to the children -and some of their parents - the discovery of one child that his forebears extended back to the days of the Civil War and the American Revolution served as a stimulant to begin the study with Columbus and his Jewish associates and the arrival of the first contingent of Jews on the French man-of-war, the St. Charles, at New Amsterdam in 1654. The method of the first year was again employed, with this modification: the children wrote down a brief account of the day's story and made original illustrations in their copybooks at home. During the course of the year, Ruth arranged for several parents to take the class on field trips to New York to visit places of historic Jewish interest, and what the children saw and heard found their way into their narratives and illustrations. For several years a number of these original books were exhibited at the Bureau of Education in Human Relations at Columbia University. The exhibit was arranged through Ruth's initiative, and she paid the penalty of having to reply to many letters of inquiry from curious visitors from various parts of the country. If memory serves, the children derived much enjoyment from this class and a strong sense of identity with their country and their heritage. But it was actually the teacher who was the chief beneficiary. Let me (continued on page 4) 4

RUTH HURWITZ (cont.) TWO POEMS ON CREATION

offer an example. G-D'S CREATIONS Among the things some of the children discovered by Larry Levy (1339,Pl.120) while researching into their family backgrounds were a number of private diaries. These elicited so much interest in the class Larry lives in Mt. Kisco, New York. He was born in Zareby that I found myself rummaging in the libraries and unearthing Koscielnie, Poland and raised his three sons in Chattanooga, autobiographical material which could be used to give color Tennessee. and verity to the presentations in class. I learned something of the historical and psychological value of autobiographical I was awake before dawn. literature and the pursuit of personal documents became a By that time all my dreams were gone. passion for a number of years. A decade later, just as I entered I glanced at the stars and moon; the US. Army, I had completed the typescript ofMemoirs of Not much later would appear the sun. My People, which was published when I was in uniform. The initial impulse for the book had come from that class in The universe is so colossal Westchester, and, I believe, from conversations with Ruth. When the sun is up it's day ... Now I have implied throughout what I have said that You better find refuge Ruth, and through her influence, the parents of the children, And get out of the way. neither desired nor made any effort to impose her own notions on the teachers. She believed in academic freedom and By day the flowers are awake; practiced it. But she did have a viewpoint and she believed in They open with a blossom's breath: saying what she thought and in making her position plain. Until Bui most of the flowers my association with the school, my own view of education was Go to sleep by sunset. rather academic. I learned from Ruth that education was inseparable from life, and that one of the purposes of Jewish And G-d said "The Heavens belong to me, they are mine, education should be to "help our youth toward sound emotional The earth belongs to you and mankind." and mental health." The phrase "emotional and mental health" is hers, and unlike today when the words have been robbed of I pray to the Almighty to give us their meaning by attrition, they were in 1931 an expression of Lots of sunshine everyday a wise and enlightened philosophy of education. How wise and So I can do some good today. how enlightened you may judge from her own statement: "Spiritual exile is too often the fate of the modern Jew who, DAWN OF CREATION emotionally snarled because of the wrong sort of "Jewish by Lionel Robinson (14737,Pl.305) education" in his childhood or no Jewish education at all, rejects his racial culture, and has neither forebears nor, in the Lionel lives in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. spiritual and therefore profoundest human sense, home." Together with this wisdom, rich and flavorsome as Dynamic forces activate changes Indiana pie, went a rare quality that brightened her Comets' fiery tales trail'across the universe conversation and personality, but which hovers a little beyond Sun moon stars set in the firmament my stuttering diction. She was full of dry humor which one Swirling gases explode in space does not always laugh at but which one feels all over. Big bang splits the atom [Her husband} Henry has said that Ruth was a Releasing unfettered energy character in her own right, and I knew this to be true. Yet I find Molten masses merge and melt it hard to think of her as inseparable from Henry. It was surely Spinning earth condenses matter true of the school in which Henry's influence, even though Mountains grow from land and sea unmentioned here, was strong. The Hurwitzes befriended me White hot rocks sizzle steaming when I was a youth and I have enjoyed their friendship ever Bursting clouds soak the planet since. Their lives and activities, in my own memory, mingle The deluge floods the oceans and merge. I am thankful and proud to be counted among their Feeding lakes and rivers friends who have assembled here at this Evening of Ruth's Thunder bolts sheets of lightning Remembrance. Strafe the skies with light and sound ***************************************************** Welcoming the new born world ...... and it was good. 5

PULL UP IN FRONT OF MY HOUSE

Several years ago, Charlotte (Shaindel bat Yitzhak) Sahr (48,Pl.102) clipped this editorial from a Colorado Springs, Colorado newspaper, the Gazette-Telegraph. It was written by William Aikens. Mr. Aikens was not Jewish and the Gazette-Telegraph is not a Jewish house organ or journal. He was reacting to a rash ofanti-Semitic incidents and graffiti on synagogues and other public buildings. Charlotte saved the article and shortly before she died gave it to us with the thought that "The family will find this ofinterest." This month marks the second yahrtzeit ofShaindel bat Yitzhak. It is appropriate to print Mr. Aiken's editorial as a memorial to her.

"Jews go home!" - Well, now this is nothing new. Never in the past have you ever taken this gentle suggestion to move on. But Heaven forbid, suppose just this once, you thought that expression of a few sick people actually expressed the conviction of all the people in this wonderful land of ours and all of you started to pack your bags and leave for parts unknown. · Just before you leave, would you do me a favor? Would you leave your formula for the Salk vaccine with me before you leave? You wouldn't be so heartless as to let my children contact polio? And would you please leave your knack for government and politics and persuasion and literature, and good food, and fun and love, and all those things, and would you please leave me the secret of your drive to succeed? And please have pity on us. Please show us the secret of how to develop such geniuses as Einstein and Steinmetz, and oh so many others who have helped us all. After all, we owe you most of the A-bomb, most of our rocket research, your advanced science which provided the advanced weaponry that helped us win so many wars. Perhaps we owe you for the very fact that we are alive today. Without you we might be looking up from our chains and from our graves to see an aging happy Hitler or Stalin drive slowly by in one of our Cadillacs. On your way out, Jews, will you do me just one more favor? Will you please drive by my house and pick me up too? I'm just not sure I could live too well in a land where you weren't around to give as much as you have given to us. If you ever have to leave, love goes with you, democracy goes with you. Everything I and all my buddies fought for in World War II goes with you. G-d goes with you. Just pull up in front of my house, slow down and honk, because so help me, I'm going with you too.

A Totally Random Sampling ofFamous American Jews (including some ofour relatives)

Jane Alexander (8938,Pl.20) -Actress, Head a/National Endowment for the Arts Herb Alpert - trumpeter, founder and leader ofTijuana Brass Louis (Lepke) Buchalter -Major gangster, leader ofMurder, Inc. Bill Charlap (3787,Pl.30) -Leading jazz pianist Marcia Clark- attorney, prosecutor in O.J Simpson trial Billy Crystal - abtor and comedian Sam Dash (10715,Pl.56) - leading attorney in Watergate hearings Kirk Douglas - actor and director. His sister Ida (96,Pl.103) married Iman Sahr (79) Sam Drebin - military hero, protege ofGen. "Black Jack" Pershing Larry Ellison - information age entrepreneur, CEO ofOracle Stan Getz - great tenor saxophonist Paulette Goddard- actress, one-time wife ofCharlie Chaplin Samuel Gompers - labor leader, founder ofAF ofL Cary Grant - actor Jascha Heifitz - one ofall-time greatest violinists Dick Hyman (3716,Pl.8) - composer and dean oflivingjazzpianists Peter Max - famous contemporary painter and designer Ayn Rand - philosopher and novelist; author ofAtlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead Carl Sagan - astronomer and author Dolph Sch ayes -NBA Hall ofFarner and All-American basketball star at NYU Artie Shaw - Bandleader and great clarinetist Albert "Tick-Tock" Tannenbaum (17168,Pl. 366) - gangster and protege ofLepke Barbara Walters -TVjournalist and interviewer; daughter ofLou Walters, owner ofLatin Quarter nightclub 6

ON DANIEL'S VISION BIRTHS

A recent issue of THE JEWISH PRESS has an AvrahamDavidAyalon (19747,Pl.326) was born in article by Bezalel Pixler which mentions Y osef ben Israel on Nov. 2. He is the 2nd child of Rabbi Eliyahu David Ibn Yahya who lived between 1494 and 1534. (18310) and Hadassah (15531) and the 17th Yosef is listed as #88 on p. 14 of ANCILLA TO grandchild of Rabbi Nachum (15514) and Dvora TOLEDOT CHARLAP: He was a rabbi and scholar (15507) Guttentag. Dvora is the daughter of Rabbi who was born in Florence and spent his lifo in Italy. Reuven (4739,Pl.325) and Shoshana (15504) Elitzur Among his four sons was Gedaliah Ibn Yahya (#89B) who now have 63 grandchildren and 64 great­ who was the author of SHALSHELET- HA­ grandchildren. Reuven's mother was Shoshana KABBALAH, an invaluable aid in unraveling the Charlap (4702). mysteries of our history and heritage. According to Pixler, Yosef ben David Mordecai Shlomo Elitzur (19746,Pl.325) was born commented on the Book of Daniel, chapter 8, verse on Sept. 20 in Israel. He is the 5th child of Rabbi 14. His interpretation of Daniel's vision was that the Nachum (15511) and Dvora (15518). (see Ayalon end of the Exile would come approximately in the birth announcement). Jewish year 5700 (1940 C.E.). Yosefs prediction was taken seriously by his contemporaries which included Ma' or Yoav Framowitz (19019,Pl.410) was born in Don Isaac Abravanel, who considered him a distant Kfar Saba, Israel on Sept. 25. Ma' or is the 1st child cousin. Pixler quotes the fateful prophesy, "At the end for Shlomo (18927) and Naama (18930) and the 1st of 5700 since creation, approximately, a little earlier grandchild for David (18899) and Joyce (18897) or a little later, will come the end of the galut with the (cont. on page 8) help of HaShem. This is so in order that the Bnei ********************************************** Yisrael should be able to sit securely on their land in that would occur close to 1948. But he also foresaw the 300 years that will be left before the world will be the non-response, the apathy - even hostility - on the destroyed as our sages tell us." part of some of our leaders to the pekida. Daniel THE JEWISH PRESS article goes on to foresaw that just as in the time of Ezra, only the reikim suggest that Y osef Ibn Y ahya was relating Daniel's would respond to the 1948 pekida. I urge every Jewto vision to the founding of modem Israel in 1948. "The look up for himself Ibn Yahya's awe inspiring, pekida (a glimpse of how the final Redemption will uplifting and prophetic words. They can be found in unfold, based on G-d's assessment of whether a the Book of Daniel. generation merits it) in the days of King Koresh (on ... This was the situation we found ourselves in at the whose orders the second Temple was built) was time of the 1948 pekida The gates of Eretz Yisrael incomplete, and it was in accordance with their not were wide open - the motherland was crying for her being ready to accept it. It was incomplete because the children to come home. What was our answer? Just as gedolim (the important people, the elite, the leaders) in the days of Ezra - and exactly as Ibn Y ahya warned did not want to leave the exile. Only the reikim (those us - our answer was a shrug of the shoulders, or worse, devoid of Torah, the uneducated, the uncommitted) a denial that G-d had anything to do with the return of went up with Ezra to Bretz Yisrael. Jewish sovereignty to Eretz Yisrael for the first time Why does Ibn Y ahya tell us what happened in 2000 years. Had we opened our hearts to HaShem' s during the time of the second Temple? Why does he calling [had we made in greater numbers], we elaborate on the refusal of the Jews to leave the galut? likely would not have suffered the horrors of recent Why is this relevant to his prediction of the end of our years - the intifadas, the ambushes, the suicide exile? Scholars of Ibn Yahya's stature (Reb Yosef bombers. There would be no demographic threat, no Karo personally handled his burial) did not utter words Gush Katiftragedy, no worry about future pullouts." lightly... Perhaps he posited the second Temple Pixler, who is a Holocaust survivor, calls for scenario as one we should not follow. He seems to be a fostering of a greater Jewish population in Israel - a saying 'Let us not repeat the same mistake the Jews population steeped in the Bible and the history of the committed during the time of Ezra. Let us not have a Jewish people, a people with a deeper appreciation of repetition of only reikim going up to Eretz Yisrael the attachment of Jews to this little slice ofland. Then with the gedolim remaining behind.' ... the phrase "Next year in " will be a call to It seems clear that Y osef Ibn Y ahya was sanctify Bretz Yisrael with our presence as G-d telling us that the Prophet Daniel foresaw a pekida intended. 7

MARRIAGES Sarah (17488). Rivka is the 36th grandchild of Rabbi Dov (15515) and Pua (15508) Schwartz. Pua is a Rabbi Yosef Schwartz (15544,Pl.327) was wed to daughter of Reuven and Shoshana Elitzur. (see Ayalon Leah Hulda Pozen (19748) in Israel on July 14. birth announcement) Yosefis a son of Rabbi Dov (15515) and Pua (15508) and a grandson of Rab bi Reuven and Shoshana Ayala Shapiro (19745,Pl.325) was born in Israel on · Elitzur. (see Ayalon and Schwartz birth Sept. 16, the 9th child of Rabbi Shaul Yehezkiel announcements). (15520) and Chana (15513). Chana is the youngest child of Reuven and Shoshana Elitzur. (see Ayalon Sam (Shmuel Leib) Ser (1655,Pl.115) was wed to birth announcement). . Melissa Joy (Miriam Aliza) Bernstein (19742) in ********************************************** Hollywood, Florida on Oct. 24, 2004. Sam's father DAVIDIC DYNASTY REUNION Elliot Ser (1648) lives in Coral Springs, Florida with his wife Jan (1652). Sam's mother is a resident of The historic gathering of the descendants of Chicago, Illinois. Sam and Melissa live in Jerusalem the Royal House of David will take place in where Sam is a journalist with . Yerushalayim on June 5-7, 2007 on the 40th Melissa earned a Ph.D. in Medieval English and is a anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem, teacher. symbolizing the 40 year reign of David HaMelech. ********************************************** The opening ceremonies and dinner will take .BIRTHS (cont. from p.6) place on Tuesday evening June 5. There will be a welcoming address by a high ranking Israeli dignitary, Framowitz of Givot Shomron, Israel. Joyce's mother and then an address by a renowned Jewish historian. Helen Greenstein (18847) now has 2 great­ All will then enjoy dinner to the accompanying strains grandchildren. Helen's great-great-grandparents were of live harp and lyre music. A leading Jewish Chuna Kur (3017,Pl.145) and Gittel Ser (3019) of genealogist will cap off the evening with an . Nur, Poland. informative talk . On the morning of Wednesday June 6, a Omer Horowitz (18940,Pl.410) was born on May 4, unique tour will guide .attendees through Hevron, the the 1st child for Yaniv (18907) and Chaviva (18906) old city of Y erushalayim and the historic Ir David. of Petah Tikvah, Israel. Omer is the 1st grandchild for Meanwhile, the many family lines of the Davidic Moshe (18898) and Renee (18896) Benyamini. Dynasty will run concurrent meetings regarding their Renee's sister is Joyce Framowitz (see previous birth particular branch of the larger family tree. announcement). The 2nd night of our reunion will be a gathering at the Western Wall. This spiritual event Shayna Tziporah Jacobson (19743,Pl.325) was will be highlighted by, what will quite possibly be, the born in Israel on June 27. She is the 3rd child for most crucial event of the entire gathering: the reciting Rabbi Tuvia (17076) and Tova (15586) and 3rd of selected Psalms. This emotional recitation of the grandchild of Rabbi Yaacov (15519) and Tzivia words of our "Grandfather" represents our prayer to (15512) Weil. Tzivia is the daughter of Reuven and HaShem to hasten the final redemption of Am Yisrael. Shoshana Elitzur. (see Ayalon birth announcement). This event will be broadcast and telecasted worldwide. A final dinner will be held on the 3rd night Hannah Joan Lind (18966,Pl.187) was born in with the focus on "Where do we go from here?" Once Brighton, Sussex, United Kingdom on Sept. 26. again sweet flowing harp and lyre music will set the Hannah is the 2nd child for Jonathan (12246) and mood. All during the reunion, a Davidic Dynasty Fair Sarah (18520) and the 3rd grandchild for Frederick will feature art, music, books, and religious items. (12243) and Eleanor Platt (12241) Lind. Eleanor's We are planning a special extension of the reunion grandmother was Esther Doniach Stein for the Don Y ahya-Charlap family and all its (12147,Pl.184) daughter of Menachem Mendel Don derivatives - Budovitch, Kopyto, Kur, Lapin, Lew, Yechiya (11666), the Lubavitch Rabbi of Drissa, Lewin, Mankuta, Pakciarz, Parczewski, Pasternak, Belarus. Ser, Smolarczyk, Tama, et al. We will keep you apprised in future issues and mailings. Advance Rivka Schwartz (19744,Pl.327) was born in Israel on knowledge of your interest in attending will be Aug. 14, the 2nd child of Rabbi Eliyahu (15541) and helpful in formulating plans. 8

GOLAN AND GALLIPOLI by David L. Hurwitz ( 4062,Pl. l 6)

A frequent contributor to B'rayshit, David Hurwitz responds to an article by Robert Bleiweiss that appeared in the Summer 1999 issue ofJewish Spectator. David's response originally appeared in the Winter 2000 edition ofthat journal. Atthe time, there were rumblings for the ceding ofthe Golan to Syria. The recent retreat from Gaza makes this article particularly relevant for today's policy makers. DavidLyon Hurwitz is a scholar and writer. He is the son ofHenry Hurwitz (4049) and Ruth Sapinsky (4041). His father was the founder of the Menorah Movement at Harvard and editor of the prestigious Menorah Journal. His mother is the subject ofanother article in this, and the previous, issue ofB 'rayshit Ruth Sapinsky 's mother was Minnie (Dinah) Charlap (4019) and she stems from a long line of distinguished Charlap scholars and rabbis. David's brother, Henry Hurwitz, Jr. (4061) was one ofthe leading experts in nuclear power in the United States.

There are many historical and strategic considerations that illustrate the folly of the move being actively pursued - what Bleiweiss rightly calls "the incredible surrender of militarily and economically critical territory." He observes that the Golan "had been mainly Jewish historically. It was legally annexed in 1981 and as such is as much Israel as Texas is part of the United States." More so, because Texas was Mexican, and before that Spanish, and before that Tejas Indian, whereas Ramat HaGolan has been Jewish since Biblical times over 3000 years ago. "Then Moses separated three cities beyond the Jordan toward the sun-rising... and Golan in Bashan, for the Manassites" (Deuteronomy 4 :41-43). "And unto the children of Gershon, of the families of the Levites, out of the half-tribe of Manasseh, they gave Golan in Bashan with the open land about it" (Joshua 21 :27). Golan, the city of refuge, supplied the name for the surrounding plateau also. Upper Golan, from Mount Hermon to Lake Kinneret, was known as Maachah in scripture, and was chiefly pasture land. Lower Golan was known as Geshur, and was rich and fertile until the Arabs invaded. The town Golan was the capital of the region in Second Temple times. Scores of archeological sites confirm Jewish presence during the Talmudic era, such as the remnants of the large synagogue and surrounding buildings at Qasrayn. At Y ahudiyya a Jewish community lived until the 13th century. After World War I, in April 1920, the Allies agreed at San Remo that the Mandates for Syria and Palestine (both formerly ruled by Turkey) should be assigned to France and Britain respectively. The League of Nations approved this in July 1922. The border between the two Mandates in the Golan region was the subject of talks between Britain and France for years. Zionist leaders urged that Britain insist on a demarcation line including the Golan not only because it was historically Jewish, but because of the water sources of the Jordan River and because of defense considerations. In the end it was decided that Palestine would include all the Galilean lake, the Hula basin and Nachal Dan, one of the Jordan River's sources. The Banias Springs were transferred to the Syrian Mandate. Some 20,000 acres ofland on the were owned by the Palestine Jewish Colonization Association, but that was ignored. An agreement was signed March 7, 1923 that established the new international border between French-controlled Syria and British-controlled Palestine. Golan had been severed from the Palestine Mandate. This 1923 line prevailed until June 10, 1967. [It should be noted that this Anglo-Franco agreement was prompted by the self-interest of the two signatory powers and has little basis in international law.] Bleiweiss presents a shocking list of national assets that would be forfeited to Syria, among them a major portion oflsrael's water supply, all in return for "peace." Will Assad and his supporters and their successors be magically transformed into doves? In May 1967, on the eve of the Six Day War, Assad vowed, "We shall never call for nor accept peace. We shall only accept war and the restoration of the usurped land. We have resolved to drench this land with our blood to oust you aggressors and throw you into the sea for good." The "usurped land" Assad referred to was not the Golan Heights, which Syria then held and had turned into a fortress, but all of Israel. "From 1948 to 1967 the used the strategic setting to wreak terror on Israel almost daily," Bleiweiss continues. In fact, Syria blanketed the Heights with a network of artillery positions and fortifications. Their gunners rained shells and sniper fire on Israeli farms and settlements in the Huleh Valley and on fishermen in the Sea of Galilee hundreds of feet below. Families in kibbutzim slept in bomb shelters. Assad entered into (continued next page) 9

GOLAN AND GALLIPOLI (cont.)

an alliance with Iran that heavily finances Hizbullah, the chief terror force in south Lebanon, and turned Damascus into a conduit for Iranian munitions, katyusha rockets, and other equipment. Just after the .Six Day War, General Wheeler, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, stated in his evaluation to the Secretary of Defense, "On military considerations .. .Israel must hold the commanding terrain east of the boundary of June 4, 1967 which overlooks the Galilee area. This would give Israel control over the terrain Syria has used effectively in harassing the border area." Later, the U.S. - with an eye on the suicide attack on the Marine barracks in Beirut and the downing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland - placed Syria on the list of countries supporting terrorism. Shortly before his death, Rabin told the , "Damascus has become a center for terrorism like there has never been before. Major General Yossi Peled, ex-commander of the IDF Northern Command warned in December 1993 that an Israeli withdrawal from the Heights would constitute "national suicide." In October 1994, a panel of 11 high-level military, intelligence, and security experts from the Center for Security Policy in Washington, DC published a report on the Golan. It focuses on the prospect that an Israeli agreement to pull out might be accompanied by "compensatory security arrangements" including the "deployment of American troops to the Golan as monitors or peacekeepers." They comment that "if war were to break out again, no one can seriously suggest that Israel would be better off holding a treaty signed by Assad than holding the Golan Heights ...modern technology has by no means eliminated the disadvantages ofhaving to fight uphill (their emphasis), a reality acknowledged by military commanders everywhere. The operational planning of the U.S. military, for example, still places great emphasis on command of the high ground as a critical force multiplier." · The amateur strategist who belittles the advantage of high ground in modern warfare, and is confident it could be neutralized by superior technology, might recall Gallipoli in World War I. The Middle East in that war is chiefly remembered in terms of the brilliant British campaign under General Allenby. He routed the Turks and Germans from Palestine and Syria and also freed Mesopotamia (later Iraq) and the Hejaz (later Saudi Arabia). But thousands of British and French soldiers and sailors were casualties in an earlier, sorrier chapter of the war in the calamitous campaign against the Turks in the Dardanelles. · In January 1915 Winston Churchill, then First Lord of the Admiralty, proposed a joint naval and military attack on the Dardanelles. He saw this as an important flanking move to supplement the dismal trench war front in the west and the ineffectual czarist Russian front in the east. The hopes were to capture Constantinople, conquer neutral Bulgaria, open a food and supply route between the Mediterranean and Black Sea, relieve pressure on Russia, and enhance Allied prestige in the Near East. A great force, seemingly invincible, was mobilized that included a huge naval armada and an entirely Jewish unit (except for its Irish commander) called the Zion Mule Corps. Field Marshall Kitchener, Secretary of State for War, and others in the British government were confident of Turkish weakness and believed the Turks would abandon the Gallipoli Peninsula under ,the impact of naval bombardment. On March 18, six British and four French battleships entered the Straits and pounded the Turkish forts with initial success. But the waters were full of drifting mines and Turkish shore batteries started to mobilize. The French battleship Bouvet was sunk and its 600 sailors were drowned. The British battleships Irresistible and Ocean were sunk, the Inflexible and Gaulois were put out of action. The commanding admiral suspended the attack to await the arrival of additional ground forces. Weeks were lost and Marshall von Sanders, head of the German military mission in Turkey, was given precious time to bolster fortresses, replenish ammunition, deploy mobile guns, dispose troops. The British and French land assault began on April 25 and gained only a foothold. The soldiers were pounded mercilessly by Turkish heavy guns. The heights were heavily entrenched by Turks under German supervision; nests of machine gunners and snipers were everywhere. In early August, a heroic attack on the heights of Sari Bair failed after four days of fierce hand-to-hand fighting. There were more defeats and on Sept. 21 the government in London began planning evacuation of the Dardanelles. A certain victory had been expected. It turned into a disaster, in Meyer Levin's words, "a slaughter that was to become a byword in history." If the Golan is ever ceded to Syria, residents ofisraeli farms, settlements and kibbutzim hundreds of feet below in the Huleh Valley and around Lake Kinneret would not be able to retreat to London. Considering the likelihood of joint action with Syria's allies (Lebanon, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, et al), all Israel may be in peril. "The Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold,'' wrote the poet, and it could happen again. 10

BOOKS ON THE HISTORY OF THE FAMILY

ANCILLA TO TOLEDOT CHARI.AP continues the story that is told in THE BOOK OF DESTINY. However, this second volume about the Charlap/Y ahya family is completely sold out. At present, there are no plans for the book to be reproduced. There are still a limited number available of THE BOOK OF DESTINY: TOLEDOT CHARLAP, the narrative history of the Charlap/Yahya family. If you do not have a copy, or want to order additional copies for your children and/or grandchildren, it is strongly advised that you order now.

"Arthur Menton is doing on a family level what I attempted in my book A History of the Jews. He is personalizing our story and, in so doing, is giving a very human perspective to our people's history." - Abram Leon Sachar

'1 have been ordering copies as gifts for friends and as Bar Mitzvah presents. I can think ofno present more appropriate than a gift of one's heritage. And everyone tells me how much they appreciate this beautiful book. " - Tillie Sier

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