1

THE SER-CHARLAP FAMILY NEWSLETTER

Vol. 6, No. 1 Adar 5755; February 1995

THE CHARLAPS OF SLONIM

The earliest evidence we have of Charlaps in Russia/Poland shows the family to be concentrated in Suwalk Gubemiya. This is the area in the extreme northeast comer of present day Poland, incorporating some of what today is Lithuania. The Charlaps, being a d_istinguished scholarly dynasty, were often invited to other regions to serve as rabbis and cantors. These moves often resulted in a change of pronunciation of the Hebrew acronym l)"~.,n . Among the variations are Charloff, Harlaff, and Charlip. Yitzhak Yaacov ben Eliyahu Yehezkiel Charloff (4383,Pl.A-9), born about 1860, became a rabbi and cantor in Tykocin, a little to the south of Suwalk in the jurisdiction of Bialystock. He was prominent in the Tykocin Music Conservatory and some of his sons continued his dedication to liturgical music. One son, Eliyahu Yezkiel (4388), named for bis grandfather, studied at the Slonim Yeshiva. Yeshiva students were generally supported with help from townspeople. It has become apparent that there were many family homes in Slonim which would give shelter to the young Eliyahu Yehezkiel. Yitzhak Yaacov's cousin, Yaacov ben Mordecai Harlaff (7859) lived in Bakelerowe, Suwalk Guberniya and also in a small village near Slonim. His son Yehezkiel (7864,Pl.A-9b) was born near Slonim in 1897 and eventually became Chief Ashkenazi Rabbi of Tiblisi, Georgia. Several of Yehezkiel 's brothers and sisters joined him in Tiblisi. His sister's daughter, Sarah (7938) married Joseph Rozansky (7939). We will show that the name Rozansky (Roshansky, Rosansky) has significance for us. It is also interesting that Yitzhak Yaacov Charloff, Yaacov Harlaff, and Yaacov's brother (name unknown) all married sisters from the Belouze family. Belouze is the ancestral family of the Jewish-American novelist Saul Bellow. The elder Eliyahu Yehezkiel and Mordecai had a brother Yosef (7836) who also settled in Slonim. His progeny all made their way to South Africa where most lived in Capetown. Another Slonim Charlap was Gimpel Harlaff (8130,Pl.A-9). We have a suspicion thathe may have been a son ofEliyahu Yehezkiel. In any case, Gimpel's descendants are now in Israel. We have been researching the Slonim and Baronowice records with more diligence in recent months. For one, it is apparent that this branch of the Charlap family has close ties with those who had settled in Tykocin (Tiktin). The descendants of the Tykocin Charloffs have been very supportive of the family research. A major group from the Pakciarz branch of our family are also from Tykocin and attended the very synagogue which rang with the voices of Charloff cantors. There are Pakciarz relatives who followed the Charlaps to the Slonim area and settled in Baronowice. Indeed some married into a family with the name Baronowicz. Then, in the latter part of 1994, I received a letter from Rabbi Zebulon Charlop (3742,Pl.A-4a). Zebulon, Dean at the Isaac Elhanon Seminary of Yeshiva University, wrote that he had met some people from the Rosansky family who might be related to us. Zebulon told me that they showed him an old photo taken in Slonim which was an exact duplicate of one that had been in his father's possession. Script on the reverse of the photo identifies one of the people as Bubba Breine Charlap Rosansky (9016,Pl.A-9e). I didn't have Breine on the family tree at that time but I knew that we already had a Rozansky/Charlap marriage (Joseph and Sarah) in Slonim (cont. next page) 2

SLONIM (cont.) THE BARONOWICE CHARLAPS and that the town had become a center of the family. Sholem Charlap (7562,Pl.A-14) and his wife Zebulon put me in contact with these new-found relatives Pesche (7563) were born in the first half of the 19th and Nancy and I met them on a recent trip to Florida. In century. They had at least four children: a daughter true Ser-Charlap fashion, Betty Rifkin (9040), Leo Sokol Menucha (7564) and three sons, Reuven (7565), Motre (9039), their mates, and their cousin Mayer Udell (9037) (7566), and Eliyahu (7567). All married and had turned out to be intelligent, warm, sensitive people. families. For some reason, Reuven changed his name to They are the great-grandchildren of Breine Charlap Haberman. Menucha married Menashe Niesvisky (7568) Rosansky. of Lechowice [spelling uncertain] a small village near Breine bore eight children for her husband Noah Baronowice. Eliyahu wed Zlote (7571), Menashe's Rosansky (9017). We know their names and are trying sister. There was a growing concentration of Charlaps in to acquire details on their lives. Betty, Leo, and Mayer the region surrounding Slonim. This branch was in close were able to provide some information. Breine's son contact with them. So close, in fact, that we are quite Aaron (9018) emigrated to America and established the certain that Eliyahu (7567) was named for the same Superior Knitting Mills in Brooklyn. He prospered, ancestor as Eliyahu Yehezkiel (4383,Pl.A-9). The two married Malka Bachrach (9021) and raised two children, Eliyahus were contemporaries. Isidore (9024) and Blanche (9025). Both were well­ Zlote added 13 Charlap children to the family educated but neither married. Blanche earned a B.A. in tree; but three died as young children. Nine of the History from Brooklyn College and Isidore studied at remaining children married and had families. They all Columbia University Law School and was also trained as emigrated to America where the name became Charlip. a rabbi at Yeshiva University. Both entered the family For the most part they settled in the Detroit region. We business. Breine's daughter, Shayna (9019) married first learned of the existence of this branch through Shaul Mortkofsky (9022) and emigrated to America Barbara Charlip (7623), a granddaughter of Eliyahu and where she settled in Brooklyn. Breine's son Yehuda Zlote, who has been a staunch supporter of the family (9020) was the grandfather of our three hosts. He was in research. Barbara introduced Ruth Averbuch (7679), the lumber business in Baronowice. He had six children, daughter of Minnie Charlip Lipchinsky (7598), who has one of whom was Fanny (9028). Leo Sokol informed us also shown a keen interest. Another grandson of Eliyahu that Fanny "arrived in America in the early 1900s from and Zlote is Eliot Charlip (7615). Just after we had met Baronowice. She lived with her uncle Aaron Rosansky the new Rosansky/Charlap family from Slonim we and aunt Shayna Mortkofsky in Brooklyn. Around the received a call from Eliot. He had heard we were in end of World War I she married Morris (Moshe) Sokol Florida and though we had corresponded he wanted to (9032) who had arrived from Bielsk circa 1904/05. After meet in person. He was leaving for Detroit the next day their marriage they moved to Youngstown, Ohio where and could meet us for coffee early in the morning. The Morris worked in construction, having learned his trade experience with Eliot was an echo of that with our as a carpenter in Europe. In 1923 the family moved to Rosansky relatives. He has all the qualities which have Cleveland where Leo and Betty were born. They lived insured the success of the Charlap family and we had to there until the early 1930s when they moved to Brooklyn have him speak with Leo Sokol before he left. The where Morris joined his family in the meat business. telephone contact accomplished, we sat there thinking Morris died in 1938, Fannie in 1978." Noah and Breine about the time and distance traversed until this reunion. Charlap Rosansky had at least 16 grandchildren and 16 Its been generations since the family was together in great-grandchildren. Surely there are more. Slonim/Baronowice. ********************************************* Eliot provided some additional information. "My THE SER-CHARLAP FAMILY NEWSLEITER is father Meyer Charlip (7594) once bad a friendly meeting published quarterly. We encourage submittal of news with Ben Sharlip, 1st violinist for the Philadelphia items, essays, poems, and historical articles. Orchestra. He had a brother and a sister and my father Correspondence should be directed to: believed we were related." That sounds reasonable Arthur F. Menton, Editor considering the musical talent in the Charlap family. P.O. Box 108 Eliot continued, "I once met the Director of the Kennedy Cold Spring Harbor, N. Y. 11724 Center in Washington, D.C. I believe his name was Tel. and Fax.: (516)754-1742 Avrum Charlip. My father remembered the pogroms in Copyright © 1995 Europe. My grandfather had come to America in the All rights reserved (cont. p. 4) 3 BEGINNINGSINBARONOWICE by Mayer Udell (9037 ,Pl.A-9ea)

My grandfather was Yehuda Rosansky (9020). He was in the lumber business in a little village between Slonim and Baronowice. We were always told that we were related to Israel Meir Ha-Kohen. He was the famous Lithuanian rabbi and writer known as the Chofetz Chaim who died in the 1930s. I believe that the relationship might have been through my grandmother but, incredible as it seems, I don't remember her name. We were also told that we were related to the famous cantor, Chazanan Nayach (Cantor Noah). My great-grandfather's name was also Noah (9017). He was married to Breine Charlap (9016). _ Yehuda's daughter Sarah Esther (9027) was my mother. My father was Shmuel Yosef Judelowicz (9031). He ran a water mill where he would grind flour. The mill was inherited from his father and was in a small community named Wolna, which means freedom. I was born in Wolna on July 26, 1918. There were six children. Some of us were born in Neshviz, a 40 minute train ride from Baronowice. By Russian/Polish standards we were well off. Though we lived in Wolna, my father had a house in Baronowice which was divided into two apartments. One apartment was rented and the other was for our family's use. I went to a Tarbut school in Baronowice and stayed in the house, along with my sisters. The school was run by the labor Zionist group Poalei Tzion. Hebrew was the only language allowed. My sisters went to a different school but they too learned Hebrew. My father died when I was not yet 11 and it was a severe blow to the family. My brothers took over the business. After my Bar Mitzvah I transferred to a Polish government high school run by Jews. Over 95% of the students were Jewish. I graduated in 1937. Meanwhile pressure was mounting on the Jewish community. Joseph Pilsudski had run the government since 1926 and he never engaged in Jew-baiting. That's because Jews had rescued him from the Bolsheviks. The government bloc even included some Jews. Nevertheless, certain anti-Jewish laws were enacted by the Sejm [legislature]. Pilsudski died in 1935 and conditions deteriorated. The Polish Nationalists limited Jews in universities and the Sejm declared that the "Jews are an obstacle to the Polish nation." Long before the German invasion Poles were talking about freeing their nation of Jews, of driving them out, of depriving them of a living. Once again pogroms became the governmental policy. In 1938 Polish mobs attacked our mill. They came in and destroyed the equipment, looted our supplies, and made it impossible to continue in business. My brother Feitel (9036) had just returned from serving two years in the army. This was the reward for his service. My brother Moshe (9185) decided to be defiant and start anew. He leased a mill in Skrobowa, about 35 miles from Wolna. He was there until the Nazi invasion. Then he, along with several members of the family, fled to Horodicz. My aunt Chana (9030) had been living there. The Germans swept across Poland and into Russia. Moshe, Chana, and the rest were rounded up and forced to dig trenches which were to become their graves. They were all shot - murdered because they were Jews. I escaped the terror. When Pilsudski died my uncle Nathan Rosansky (9029) wrote us from the United States, imploring us to emigrate. Nathan had emigrated just before World War I. He had studied in the Yeshiva to be a rabbi but left before receiving shmita. Nathan sponsored me and in 1939 I arrived in America. My sister Yehudis (9035) was long gone from Poland. She had been trained as a pharmacist and had made aliyah in 1929. In Israel she became very religious. My sister Breine (9034) followed Yehudis in 1932. She had been active in the Zionist Revisionist movement and was a member of Betar. Now a grandmother of four, she's still a strong supporter of Likud. My sister Sima (9184) was a bright, lovely girl who had studied to be an accountant. She had just landed a wonderful job when she was stricken with cancer. She died at age 23 many years before the war. I had mentioned that my brother Feitel had returned to Wolna after two years army service. With the outbreak of war he was inducted once again. He was a 2nd lieutenant in the Polish army and was taken prisoner by the Russians. Stalin wanted to destroy the Polish intelligentsia and officer corps, a large number of whom were Jewish. It seems that the Poles didn't mind Jewish blood being shed in their army. Anyway, Feitel was scheduled to be shot in the Katyn forest in the infamous massacre of Polish officers. A young Russian woman who was influential in the Communist Party saved him. They were later married and had two sons and a daughter. After many years we've made contact with them. The children were raised with no knowledge of their Jewish heritage and are not religious. After discovering the family, they consider themselves Jewish and both boys married Jews. They are engineers living near Odessa. I learned a great deal of the family's wartime experience from Kucile Poczapowski (9181). He was my aunt Chana's husband. He was a powerful man who escaped from under the nose of the Germans while digging his own grave. He managed to sneak behind Russian lines and then headed south. In the turmoil created by the war he was able to get across the border to Iran. He later turned up in Israel where he found Yehudis. He also told about the fate of my aunt (cont. next page) 4

MAYER UDELL (cont.) MARRIAGES

Rivka (9180). She was the wealthiest of all my aunts and Edward Charlip (7624,Pl.A-14a) was married on Sept. uncles. Her husband sold hardware supplies and farm 27, 1994 to Linda Helvorson (9015). Edward is the equipment. They and their two children; Yehuda (9189) grandson of Eliyahu (7567) and Zlote (7571) Charlap. and Breine (9190) were executed in Horodicz along with These are the Baronowice Charlaps discussed on P. 2. Chana and her two children. The family was murdered in 1941 on Rosh Chodesh Cheshvan. Adam Kristol (1075,Pl.7e) and Susan Cullivan (9241) ********************************************* are newlyweds. Susan writes, "Adam and I were married BARONOWICE (cont. from p. 2) on Oct. 8, 1994 with Rabbi Dennis Math of the Village Temple (Manhattan) presiding. We were married at the 1890s and lived in Philadelphia for a while. He found University Club in New York City with many of our the atmosphere too irreligious and returned to Europe. family and friends present. We met you at the Ser­ My father came here with his brother Israel (7593) Charlap Family Reunion in the Catskills a few summers before World War I. At the conclusion of the war they ago. Since then, I converted to Judaism and my Hebrew brought their mother and the other children." name is Chana Elishevah. It was then especially ********************************************* significant for me that the chuppah under which Adam NEW ADDITIONS and I joined together was built by my father and sister." Susan is surely the first in the family to be born in Rom Savidor (9073,Pl.A-6) is the latest Sabra in the Dakha, Bangladesh. She is an electrical. engineer and family. First child for Dov (5232) and Mikal (1691), Adam is in real estate investment and management. Rom was born Aug. 2, 1994. He is the grandson of the Adam is the son of Howard (1049) and Rochelle (1060) late Menachem (5224) and Raya (5224) Savidor for and grandson of Pearl (1044) and the late Abraham whom he is named. Rom is a contraction of their two ("Boomy") Kristol (1039). He is the fifth generation names. Menachem was prominent in the Likud party and descended from Mattis Leml Kuhr (672,Pl. 7) and was Speaker of the Knesset. The baby's name could still Shayna Parczewski (671). be Charlap. He represents the fifth generation from Yitzhak Yehezkiel Charlap (3217). Yitzhak's grandson, Jeffrey Martasin (5892,Pl.28) of Overland Park, Beryl (5218), assumed the name Chodorowski. His son Kansas and his wife Deborah (9134) were wed in Oct., was Menachem who Hebraicized the name in Israel. 1994. Jeffrey's parents are Larry (5883) and Lynette (5878) and his grandmother was Ida Levine Gastman Stefani Gabrielle Johnson (9077 ,Pl. 8ab) was born on (5868). Jeffrey is descended from both the Lew (Lewin) Dec. 20, 1994, the second child of Tom (2521) and line and the Danowitz line of our family. Ida's parents Gayle (1334) of Chattanooga, Tennessee. Gayle's were Abraham Tuvia Lew (5859) and Sarah Danowitz parents are Yuppie (1311) and Harold (1320) Shavin (5863). Abraham was a successful boot manufacturer who are now the grandparents of four. Yuppie's father, who was killed by radicals during the revolutionary Solomon Sir (1299,Pl.8a) was born in Nur, as was his unrest of 1904/05 in Bialystock. After his death, Sarah father Moshe (1292). Moshe, one of the first in the came to the United States with her three children. family to show up in Chattanooga, was the grandson of ********************************************* Zebulon Ser (1285,PI.J-1) and Chaya Kopyto (1286). NEW ADDITIONS (cont.)

Daniela Nicole Vinick (9074,Pl.3ec) is our first baby of Renee Gabriella Wietschner (9076,Pl.2a), first child of 1995. She is also the first child of Daniel (137) and Mordecai (532) and Heidi (6052), was born on Dec. 31, Randa (7040) and the first of our family to be born in 1994. Mordecai, an M.D. alumnus of Yeshiva Puerto Rico. Daniel is an M.D. serving with the U.S. University, is the son of Samuel (519) and Tova (525). Navy in Sajardo. He is the son of Ted (135) and Raquel Sam, in turn, is the son of Anna (472) and the late Louis (134) Vinick of Schenectady, New York. Raquel, was Wietschner (476). Anna's father was Tuvia (Tifke) Sier born in Argentina. Her father, originally Yehoshua Ser (470) who was very active in Chevra Bnei Moshe from Lomza Guberniya, emigrated early in the 20th Neistadt Chechnovtze. Renee is Anna's eleventh great­ century. His parents, Avraham (125,Pl.3e) and Liebe grandchild. (124), were both born Sers. (cont. next column) MAZAL TOV TO ALL ON THEIR SIMCHAS 5 THE AGE OF RESPONSIBILITY - AT LAST!

Freely translated, Bar Mitzvah means "the age of responsibility", and 2,000 years ago a boy was given this title when he reached his 13th birthday, to indicate that he was now responsible for fulfilling the Mitzvot, the religious obligations of Judaism. Originally, he attained this status automatically. No special ceremony was required. Around 800 years ago, such boys began to be honored by being called to read the Torah in the community synagogue service, as a demonstration that they had crossed the boundary from childhood into responsibility. This is how the ceremony of Bar Mitzvah evolved. Until our own time, girls were given no comparable recognition. Jewish tradition saw girls reaching the age of responsibility, Bat Mirzvah, at age twelve-and-a-half, again with no ceremony required. Since women were not called to read from the Torah, no similar public ritual developed. In the 20th century, the less traditional branches of Judaism began to experiment with a new ritual to celebrate the coming of age of girls. Girls were increasingly studying the Hebrew texts and some families requested that their accomplishments be recognized through a Bat Mitzvah ceremony. In recent years we have heard much about the dangers of assimilation. Less publicized is the movement by adult Jews to reclaim their heritage they had been denied as youth. More and more, the opportunity for adults to celebrate their Bar or Bat Mitzvah ceremony has been provided, in response to requests of those who did not observe this event earlier in their lives. These adults attend classes in Hebrew, become familiar with the Siddur, observe Shabbat in their synagogues and homes, and prepare to read the Torah and Haftorah. They also learn to chant, following the ancient musical tradition. Our family has had their share of adult Bar and Bat Mitzvah ceremonies. Trudy Donchin Chityat of Fort Lee, New Jersey invited several of the mishpocha to her Bat Mitzvah at which she demonstrated her fluency in Hebrew and comfort in chanting from the Holy Books. Trudy's family name of Donchin was derived from Don Yachya. The Don Yachya, or Ibn Yachya, family of Spain and Portugal gave rise to the Charlap dynasty. On 9 Kislev 5755 (Nov. 12, 1994) Ted (135,Pl.3ec) and Raquel (134) Vinick were among ten adult Bar/Bat Mitzvah celebrations at Temple Gates of Heaven in Schenectady, New York. They expressed their feelings to the congregation and wanted to share them with the family.

MY BAR MITZV AH by Ted Vinick

Today I am a boy! The reason I say this is because sixty years ago when I was thirteen, there was very little Hebrew and no Bar Mitzvah in this temple where I was confirmed. So I'm starting over since I've been told, "It's never too late." And this ta/lis I'm wearing was lent to me by my son Howard who celebrated his Bar Mitzvah twenty-two years ago on this very spot. Why did I decide to become Bar Mitzvah? I felt there was something missing in my Jewish lif:: Not knowing Hebrew, I was an illiterate Jew, a passive spectator on the outside looking in. I wanted to come out of th~ Judaic closet and learn more of the Jewish experience. Raquel and I agreed we would become B'nai Mitzvah together. What have I learned? I am able to chant and decipher the Hebrew that initially looked like impossible hieroglyphics and to participate in the service, not as a speed reader, but as one who belongs to the group. To know what some of the words mean is doubly rewarding. My teachers have enlightened me about Judaism, its language, history, and customs - and they described the miracle and mystique of Jewish continuity and survival. Even my Torah portion shows me how life imitates art as I have drawn personal parallels from the text. It tells of Jacob, later married to Rachel (or Raquel) who is "shapely and beautiful." Jacob experiences dreams and revelations about G_ d and Heaven and upon awakening says, "How awesome is this place. G_d is surely here and this is the Gate of Heaven." Shaarei Shemayim is coincidentally the name of this synagogue! Who can I thank? I thank G_d for making me a Jew and enabling me to reach this special day. For placing me in America where being a Jew is cause for joy, not the burden it was in more hostile climes. And what joyful sounds were heard here last Sunday night from Kol B 'Seder, whose music reflected the spirit and pride of our Jewish heritage. I thank the menschen who are my rabbis and teachers; Judaic scholars who have inspired me over the years . . . I now have a greater understanding of who I am and what Judaism and the Jewish people mean to me. When I look into our Holy Ark with its distinctive Torahs from around the world, I'm reminded that these scrolls bind us together and that G_d is one and we are one! Adult Bar Mitzvah has taught me to remember the past, live more Jewishly in the present, and to have faith in the future. My Jewish journey moves on as I strive to attain my own "Jacob's dream" of nearness to G d through study, prayer, and mitzvot. - (See page 6 for Raquel Vinick's address) 8 OBITUARIES HONOREES OF OHEL

Harlan Charlip (7621,PI.A-14a) died on Sept. 1, 1994 OHEL is a Jewish social service organization at the age of 57. Harlan was the son of Jack (7602) and which provides help to children and families in need. Dorothy (7611) Charlip and the grandson of Eliyahu OHEL's Children's Home and Family Services held its . (7567) and Zlote (7571) Charlip (Charlap). 25th annual dinner at New York City's Marriott Marquis Hotel on January 14, 1995. OHEL bestowed its Chesed We have just learned that Jack Chodoroff (5225 ,Pl.A-6) Award on our own David (2362,Pl.32aca) and Nina died in December 1993 at age 81 and his wife Ruth (2354) Mermelstein. The testimonial read, "The followed him a month later. Jack was the brother of Mermelsteins continue the wonderful tradition of OREL Knesset Speaker Menachem Savidor (5224) and the son honoring members of the community whose lives reflect of Boris Chodorowski (Beryl Charlap) (5218). Beryl was the highest standards of Chesed and Tzedaka.. OREL a rabbi and linguist who had emigrated to the United exists because of the sensitivity of individuals such as States and then returned to Europe. Jack followed in his David and Nina. Residents of Monsey, New York, father's footsteps, was proficient in many languages, David is the President of Croton Nationwide Watch wrote poetry and prose, but after emigrating to Canada Company and is the nephew of OHEL's Vice-President earned his livelihood in men's retail clothing. Jack and Sol Mermelstein. Nina is a pediatric nurse in the office Ruth lived in Toronto. They had no children. of Dr. Martin Gewirtz and is known and loved as the nurse of Camp Sternberg. Proud parents of Adeena Eugene Levine (5680,PI.26ba) died on Jan. 27, 1995 at (2372), Eliyahu (2373), Shmuel (2374), Esther (2375), age 57. He is survived by his wife Jacqueline (5693) and Avrami (2376), and Chani (2377), the Mermelsteins are four daughters: Janet (5713), Kathy (5714), Heidi instilling within their children the importance of helping (5715), and Lisa (5712). Eugene lived in California those less fortunate and becoming personally involved where he operated a chemical sales business. He was the with those in need. Members of Chevra Bais Ralevi in son of Louis (5666) and Pauline (5671) Levine and Monsey, the Mermelsteins take active roles in grandson of Joseph (5643) and Esther (5654) Levine. community organizations and in their children's schools. Esther was from the same Lewin family of Ciechanowiec We are extremely grateful to them for introducing OREL as her husband. She died in Europe after Joseph had and its comprehensive social service programs for the emigrated to Kansas City. Louis had already been born Jewish community to their neighbors and friends." and joined his father in America after World War I. Nina is the daughter of Rabbi Seymour (2253) Eugene was raised in Kansas City. and Beverly (2265) Atlas and granddaughter of the late Rabbi Elias (2244) and Laura (2248) Atlas. Seymour and Shepsel Lew (4627 ,Pl.23a) died in Miami, Florida on his brother Raphael (2251) recently spoke about the Dec. 24, 1994. Shepsel was born in Ciechanowiec, one origin of their surname. They both confirmed that their of eight children of Mordecai (4641) and Rivka (4642) father told them that Atlas was derived from a Hebrew Lew. Shepsel had made aliyah and had emigrated to acronym "aleph-tet-lamed-samech." The acronym was a Cuba where he joined his cousin Gershon Smolarczyk shortening of the words which read "Always For the (2726,PI.20t). Gershon was a first cousin of Chippa Good of Israel." It is apparent that David and Nina are Smolarcyk (4623), Shepsel's wife whom he had married leading their lives in consonance with the meaning of the in Ciechanowiec. Chippa died on Jan. 1, 1992. During family name. the Castro revolution, Shepsel took his family to the ********************************************* United States and settled in Brooklyn where he resumed and Czyzewo before emigrating to America. Rose was his life-long trade of shoe repairing. Chippa and Shepsel a life-long resident of the Kansas City area and was a had a son Carlos (Betzalel) (4654) and a daughter Blanca member of Congregation Beth Shalom and its (Beyla) (4655), both of whom survive. They live in the Sisterhood. Her husband, Harry Silverburg (5614) died Miami area. Shepsel is also survived by six in 1981. Rose is survived by a daughter, Rhea Salasche grandchildren and ten great-grandchildren. (6619) of Lake Forest, California, three grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. Rose Silverburg (5608,PI.27a) died on Dec. 9, 1994. She was born in Kansas City, Missouri on May 27, 1906 May the survivors find comjon in the warm memories one of six children of Max (5597) and Eva (5601) and good deeds of the deceased, and may the souls of Cooper. Max, who was born Meir Kopyto, lived in Nur the depaned be bound with the immonal souls of our (cont. next column) revered Patriarchs and Matriarchs. 9

DETROIT AREA REUNION LETTERS (cont. from p. 6) by Barbara Charlip (7623,Pl.A-14a) United States of overseas relatives, so that we could In 1967, when I was a graduate student at open our homes to them. It would be so much nicer for Wayne State University, I enrolled in a genealogy them than staying in impersonal hotels. And it would course. As part of the course requirements I began a engender a cohesiveness in the family that distance could research project into my family's history. This project not destroy. We could emulate our Patriarch Abraham has continued to be a labor of great interest and love who greeted guests under the "Abraham Tree"; we have over the years. A few years ago, I learned of the our Ser-Charlap Tree. Let us not be like "ships that pass massive research done by Arthur Menton regarding the in the night." Ser-Charlap family. I contacted him and exchanged Tillie Sier (475,Pl.2a) information. Shortly afterwards I was attending a large New York, N.Y. family reunion in the Catskill Mountains of New York. More recently, with the inspiration of the Ser-Charlap January 6, 1995 Family Association, a mini-reunion was held in the The Suwalk and Lomza Jewish communities suburbs of Detroit on Sunday, Oct. 23, 1994. The were early supporters of Zionism. Before that many attendees were all descendants of Eliyahu (7567) and residents of these areas left to settle in Eretz Yisrael with Zlote Niesvisky (7571) Charlap of Baronowice. the Bilu and Lovers of Zion movements. But even Approximately 50 relatives engaged in reminiscing and earlier, religious Jews had been going to the Holy Land examining the family history. It was a wonderful to study and live in Jerusalem. As you have documented opportunity for cousins, three or four generations in your newsletter Brayshit, there are numerous removed, to meet and become reacquainted. examples of Charlap family members who had Displays included photographs going back to established themselves in Jerusalem long before the pre-World War I days. Each attendee was given an modern era. Jews have been the majority population in updated version of Plate A-14a - The Family of Eliyahu Jerusalem for at least 200 years. I am therefore and Zlote Charlip (Char lap) which includes 177 people somewhat incensed at the raising of Jerusalem as an covering five generations. Also on display was an even issue for negotiation in the current round of so-called larger chart showing the relationship of the Charlip and "peace talks" between Arabs and Israelis. Niesvisky family. This 15 foot by 3 foot chart, which Samuel Heilman is a noted writer on Jewish lists over 300 people and spans seven generations, concerns and is professor at Queens College of the City attracted a great deal of attention. Some recalled that University of New York. He is not noted as a "rightist." Eliyahu had a brother who settled in Philadelphia, where Yet he, too, is upset over the same subject. Heilman the name became Sharlip. His son was a musician with states that "the religious and ethnic residential divisions the Philadelphia Orchestra who had studied at the of the Old City are more myth than reality. For years, University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. The older Sharlip Muslims have been moving into the so-called Christian would travel to Michigan to see his son and visit with Quarter, so that today, except for a few clerics and nuns his Charlip relatives. We have lost contact with this who inhabit several of the churches and monasteries, branch of the family and would love to hear from what was once an area overwhelmingly Christian is anyone who has information about them. predominantly Muslim. But no one calls this an The real highlight of the reunion was the encroachment on historical borders. evocation of warm memories; of the stories about What today is called the Muslim Quarter was "Bubby Zlote", of Shabbos visits, the struggles to "make until 1948 an area filled with Sephardic Jews, Mugrabis, it" in America, the large family seders, and the delicious who lived in the houses in the streets surrounding the Jewish cooking, especially my favorite strudels. We tried Western Wall. The clefts in the stone doorposts of these to recreate those memories for those too young to have houses where the mezuzah, identifying a Jewish known them. We all felt the need to transmit the family residence, was once firmly placed, are still visible. history on to the next generation and we hope to have Many of those who moved in after the Jews were future gatherings. In particular, a larger, more inclusive forcibly removed by the Jordanians have tried to fill reunion would be of value to the family in Michigan and them in with cement to obliterate signs of a former nearby areas, including Ontario. We could then get a Jewish presence. clearer picture of the inter-relationships between the What is today called the Jewish Quarter was only various branches of the family and insure that we are all part of the city in which Ashkenazic Jews lived. Many truly descendants of King David! (cont. on page 10) ti ~o l LETTERS (cont. from page 9) chuckled over this mistake and thought little of it. I did· ;I places that remain in Muslim hands have a long Jewish not, however, throw away your letter. ·· history. The Petra Hotel in the Christian Quarter was I am now in the process of translating some once the Amdursky Hotel, a Jewish establishment. There letters collected by the wife of my great uncle Sam are many more examples which I cite in my book 'A (Isaiah) Garfinkle, born in Nur in 1900. His wife, Rivka Walker in Jerusalem.' The objections and protests that Schlechter, was born in Ciechanowiec in 1902. A Jews moving into houses in another quarter upset the comment of Joseph Schlechter in a letter from one of status quo or trespass historical lines are nothing other Rivka's sisters, notes with delight that his son Shimon is than a continuing anti-Jewish bias. Such bias cannot be coming back from Palestine to claim his bride and doctrine in the Jewish homeland or in its capital, intends to return to Palestine. The bride's name: Chana Jerusalem." Ptashek. I remembered your letter and through it Jews in America and elsewhere must support contacted Chana Ptashek. My cousins journeyed to Israel Israel in maintaining Jerusalem as the undivided capital last fall and visited Chana in a pensioners' home in of the Jewish nation. The nonsense we hear that Jews Haifa. Although Shimon had died several years ago, they should not move into "Arab areas" must be resisted. met the children of this marriage. Chana also referred Arabs continue to in.crease in population and are free to them to another cousin, the former Gittel Pianko of spread over the face of Eretz Yisrael, yet Jews are Wysokie Mazowieckie. I know that the Piankos and constrained by their own government from repopulating Ptasheks are somehow related to your family and all this areas from which they were driven by marauding Arabs. would not have arisen had my handwriting been more We must all learn our history. Then we can rationally legible in that original letter. I have also learned from support Jerusalem Reclamation and applaud people like these old documents that in the late 1930s, Rivka's sister General Ariel Sharon who insist on the right to live was staying in Warsaw with a family named Syr living anywhere in Israel's capital city. at Mila 18/28. I also found an old photograph of my One-hundred-and-fifty years ago, Charlaps great-aunt and uncle in a canoe with a teacher named walked anywhere within the walls of the Old City of Helem and two people named Pasternak. They are most Jerusalem. Let us insure that now, when we have an likely in your family and I will forward copies. In the independent nation of our own, we can do the same. meanwhile, thank you for the information you have Irving Cohen provided in the past and for connecting me to lost New York, NY relatives. ------Judy Baston Feb. 4, 1995 San Francisco, CA Several years ago I sent you a handwritten chart ********************************************* in which I indicated my great-grandmother was Chaya IT IS NOW TIME TO JOIN THE Nesha Piasczyk. Because my penmanship was somewhat SER-CHARLAP FAMILY ASSOCIATION illegible you thought I wrote Ptashek and tried to Please send in the enclosed form today. connect me to someone named Chana Ptashek. I *********************************************

THE SER-CHARLAP FAMILY ASSOCIATION P.O.BOX 108 COLD SPRING HARBOR, NY 11724