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.