Re: [Cz-L] Our origin.

Part of my family tree may illustrate what Hardy was looking for
when he asked about the migrations of Jewish people during the last
900 years or more, also why and when some moved to the Bukovina
or to Czernowitz.

Both my parents were born in Czernowitz, my father in 1907 and
my mother in 1908. My paternal grandparents were born in
the immediate vicinity of Czernowitz; my grandfather, Moische Reifer,
son of Hendel Reifer,born in 1870 in Davideni, now called Davidivka,
south of Czernowitz and my grandmother, Etti Reisch or Resch, daughter
of Hersch and Gittel, born 1877 in Rivne (now called Revne) west of
Czernowitz.
As far as I know the Reifer and Resch/Reisch families had lived in
the Bukovina for a few generations, but my father used to say that they
probably were descendants of the Khazars. They had dark, very curly hair
and Jewish noses, no Mongolian features.
When DNA testing becomes cheaper, I will try to find out whether I have
any Turkic ancestry, also whether Bruce Reisch and I are related.

My maternal grandmother, Schendel Fruchter was born in Klivodin,
a village north of Czernowitz, in 1883. Because her oldest brother,
Hersch Fruchter was born in Stanislav, now called Ivano Frankivs¹k,
I believe that her parents, Mordechai Fruchter and Rachel Reiner,
had come to the Bukovina a few years earlier from Stanislav, which is
about 100 km. north-west of Czernowitz.

Most interesting, for the sake of this discussion are the origins of my
maternal grandfather, Shaul Leib Steinmetz. He was born in 1879
in Nagy Boczko, near current Sighetu Marmatiei, Romania, and came
to Czernowitz as a baby. His father was Israel Steinmetz, born in Borsa,
pronounced Borsha, in 1858. His mother was Pesel Steinmetz
(her maiden name as well), also born in 1858, in Nagy Boczko.

Israel Steinmetz had paid a man to assume his identity and serve
instead of himself in the Austrian army. Then, being afraid of extortion
he thought that he should move from Borsa. For advice he went to
the Wiznitzer rabbi, who just then had a visitor from Czernowitz,
a Mr. Drimmer, who owned a wine wholesale business in Czernowitz.
The Wiznitzer rabbi advised my great-grandfather to move to Czernowitz
and arranged for him to be employed by Mr. Drimmer.

A number of families by the name of Steinmetz lived in Czernowitz.
But to the best of my knowledge they were not closely related to my family.

My true ³Yiches² derives from my great-grandmother Pesel Steinmetz
and her ancestors. She was the daughter of Aharon Yaakov Elimelech
ben Shaul Yehuda Steinmetz of Nagy Boczko (now named Bocicoiu Mare)
and Yutta Rachel Landau of Sighet, who was the great-granddaughter
of Yehuda Heller Kahana, the author of the book ³Kuntras Ha-Sfekot
and a well known Talmudist and Hallachist.
He was born in 1738, in the town of Kalush, or Halicz, then Galitzia,
now Ukraine and was a descendant of Yom Tov Lipman Heller,
born in Germany in 1579 and the author of glosses on the Mishnah,
and a number of ³Selichot².
Yom Tov Lipman Heller was reputedly a descendant of
Meir ben Isaak Katzenellenbogen, born about 1482 and a great
Talmudic scholar. Peter Elbau and Emil Rennert are also descendants
of the Katzenellenbogen - we are all "Mishpuche".

Yutta Rachel was also the great-granddaughter of Ezikiel Landau, scholar,
chief rabbi of Prague and adviser to Maria Theresa on Jewish affairs.
Ezikiel Landau was a descendant of Rashi, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki,
the most famous Biblical commentator, born in Troyes in 1040,
died in Worms in 1105, killed by a crusader.

Rashi, is believed to be a descendant of king David, who despite being
born in ³Eretz Israel², reportedly was NOT swarthy as a ³Bedouin²,
had reddish hair and since he was of the tribe of Judah, may have had
blue eyes*.

*Look at Genesis 49:12

anyhow: DESCENDANTS OF KING DAVID LIVED IN CZERNOWITZ !

And now in Bloomington Indiana?

Mimi

On 4/17/12 3:54 AM, "HARDY BREIER" <HARDY3_at_BEZEQINT.NET> wrote:

> Our Yiddish comes from the Rhine valley from the 10- th century .
> Here was a jewish settlement from Roman times,
> Worms , Bacharach, Francfort , Mainz : Jewish centers.
> Then came the crusades and massacres and the Jews were expelled
> or fled the beautiful Rhine valley.
> 900 years later they surface in Bukovina.
> 1500 km away.
> Carrying with them the Yiddish and the Torah.
> This was not an afternoon stroll at that time.
> In Bukovina they took a rest.
> Then as times changed they moved on...
> PS.
> I am looking for those 900 years...
> Hardy
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Received on 2012-04-21 12:37:47