Hold the Press!
It is not often we have an opportunity to use that old newsroom expression in a genealogical context but that was the aim of an email to Professor Ira Robinson (Concordia University, Montreal) in early January. What led to doing so was truly bashert... Stanley
Over the years, I have made it a practice to personally thank researchers who make particularly generous donations in support of the JRI-Poland mission. In January, one such researcher proudly mentioned that he is a grandson of the illustrious Rabbi Yehuda Yudel Rosenberg, a descendant of both R. Judah Hasid (d. 1227) and R. Meir of Apta (d. 1831). I was particularly familiar with the Rabbi for two reasons: I chaired Professor Robinson’s lecture to the JGS of Montreal about the Rabbi’s significant judicial role in the “Kosher wars” of the 1920s and my wife Ruth had charted the tenure and “shul-hopping” of Montreal Rabbis in first half of the 20th century. This was all the inspiration needed to try to surprise our valued supporter.
Obviously, it was necessary to first dig into Rabbi Rosenberg’s ancestry so as not to duplicate anything that might already be well known. As I viewed a few of the sources, Page 1 of an online biography - purported to be an accurate portrayal of the Rabbi – jumped out at me. The author had used a transliterated town name (not the Polish spelling genealogists consider mandatory in accurately documenting family history) and incorrectly located his place of birth, Skaraschev (sic), as being close to Radomsko (actually, 158 km ENE of Radomsko). Then I noticed a pre-publication announcement of Professor Ira Robinson’s latest book, “A Kabbalist in Montreal, the Life and Times of Rabbi Yudel Rosenberg.” It was all the inspiration needed to turn to JRI-Poland sources for possible answers.
I quickly found a Radom birth record that was an obvious match and included facts that contradicted numerous references to Rabbi Rosenberg in books and articles over the years. The records showed that:
He was born at 11:00 pm on December 24, 1860, not November 8, 1859.
Particularly relevant in considering the accuracy of the record is that it was written into the birth register on the day of his bris,
He was born in Gebarzów, not Skaryszew (7 km east). Since babies were typically born at home, we can presume the family was living in the Gebarzów commune where his father Yisroel Yitzhak tended cattle although the family was prominent in the larger Jewish community in nearby Skaryszew.
I was also able to provide Professor Robinson with records of the death of Yudel's father Izrajel Icek and mother Marja Gitla, the births of ten sisters and brothers and the marriages of three siblings. Coincidentally, JRI-Poland assistant director Robinn Magid is a distant cousin of Yudel, a result of their common ancestry in Yudel’s mother’s CYGIELMAN family.
In his note of appreciation, Professor Robinson wrote: “Because of this new information, I was able to revise my forthcoming book and introduce exact information concerning Rabbi Rosenberg’s birth and family background.”
JRI-Poland is obviously proud that our database not only makes a difference by changing lives but also corrects history. What started with a supporter’s passing comment about a distinguished grandfather has enabled JRI-Poland to set the record straight. That is the very point of a slide I used in two recent presentations reproduced here:
