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Oct. 19, 2007
Cultivating our family trees
Geneology expert notes the importance of the past for our future.
CISSIE EPPEL
A Jew meets a fellow Jew from another city. "Do you know so
and so?" he asks. We Jews are very interested in learning about
each other in the here and now, or in the recent past – but
what about our ancestors?
The truth is that many of us, whose ancestors came from Europe,
know very little about our roots. There are very few Jews alive
today who know about, care about or are interested in knowing about
their great-great-grandparents, or even their great-grandparents.
All sorts of questions about our historical forbearers remain unanswered,
vaguely recollected or forgotten. Who were these people? Where did
they live?
Much of our understanding is based upon ignorance, apathy or both.
We are told, "Everything was destroyed in the Holocaust....
It was so long ago.... They came from Kiev guberniya ... or some
other guberniya." Or, "I don't have time to talk to you
about it.... I was too young at the time. Go ask so and so"
and other similar replies.
Even when there is a keen interest, most people don't know how to
trace their genealogy, or who to turn to for professional assistance.
Due to ignorance and neglect we have allowed our personal past to
recede into oblivion, despite the fact that we have proven very
capable of community self-preservation ever since the great emigrations
of the past century. It is time to recognize that genealogy, and
the study of family history, has gone beyond what is generally believed
to be a "hobby to take up when we retire." Genealogy is
important. It is the story about lives lived, lessons learned and
wisdom gained. It communicates who we are, what we value, of what
we are made. Our collective stories bind us together, with each
other and the whole human family.
At some stage, our children are going to question us, "Who
were my grandparents? What were there names? Where were they born?
How did they get from there to here?" Will you have the answers?
Investigating your family history will not only give you an insight
into their lives and times, it will also teach you the history and
geography of the places where they lived and their occupations –
all of which is a legacy to be passed onto future generations.
While exploring their roots, many researchers have located previously
unknown family members. Personally, I found members of my grandfather's
family who were born in Latvia and are now living in Israel. After
years of uncertainty, this answered the burning question as to whether
my grandfather was an only child. I not only discovered that he'd
had three brothers and a sister, I had the pleasure of meeting some
of them when I visited Israel.
There is evidence that many genealogists have had similar successes,
proving that genealogy is a significant way of strengthening one's
identity, of taking on a new feeling of belonging and gaining a
great deal of self-gratification. Bringing together relatives who
had no previous knowledge of other members of the family is a commitment,
a mitzvah.
We must encourage young people to study Jewish genealogy as a lifetime
pursuit. I believe genealogy to be one of the key elements essential
for ensuring the physical and spiritual survival of the Jewish people
in the Diaspora for generations to come.
It all begins in the home. This is where our Jewish identity is
shaped and created from an early age. As parents and grandparents,
we must make a concerted effort to pass our family history on to
our children. We must give them every opportunity to explore their
personal heritage. We must help them chronicle their generational
past with names, dates, places, photographs and stories by the best
methods available. Let us make their past part of their present,
part of their future. The answer is found in everyone's personal
backyard – the family unit.
In 1992, I founded the Jewish Genealogical Institute of British
Columbia, in an effort to share my enthusiasm for anyone researching
their roots, and because I believed that it was essential for Vancouver
to have a venue for Jewish genealogical research.
The institute is affiliated with a support network of more than
80 Jewish genealogical societies, throughout the world.
To emphasize my main point, here's a quote from an essay, "The
Family Reunion," by Leslie Farber.
"For the family is, indeed, inescapable. / You may revile it,
renounce it, reject it / but you cannot resign from it; / You are
born into it / and it lives within and through you to the end of
your days. / This may be inspiring. / It may also be very annoying
/ in either case it is very humbling."
Cissie Eppel is the founder of the Jewish Genealogical
Institute of British Columbia.
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