News About Jewish Genealogy, Jewish History, and Jewish Culture
Editor: Phil Goldfarb, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
- MyHeritage Acquires MesAieux.com. Founded in 2004, MesAieux.com (also known as YourFolks.com in English) has grown to become Quebec’s most popular family history service, with over one million users. The website offers an online family tree builder with automated features to add ancestors and is also home to approximately 15 million historical records from Canada, primarily from Quebec, and several exclusive collections. Read more on their blog: MyHeritage Acquires MesAieux.com – MyHeritage Blog
- RootsTech Early Bird Registration Opens September 25! Registration will open at the same time for both in-person and online attendance. The paid in-person conference will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah, on March 6–8, 2025. The online RootsTech conference will be available for free on RootsTech.org. Read more from their blog: RootsTech 2025 Registration Opens September 25! (familysearch.org)
- The new hidden Jews of Oporto, Portugal. More than 500 years after the expulsion of its community, the Jews of Portugal’s second city are defiantly staging a renaissance. Five hundred years ago, the Jews of Portugal were expelled. Their roots in Lisbon, Oporto, the Algarve and the mountains of Belmonte, dating back thousands of years, were wiped from history. Fast forward to 2024 and the community of Oporto, (Porto) the second largest city in Portugal, now comprises more than a thousand Jews from more than 30 countries around the world. Read more from Jewish News UK: SPECIAL REPORT: The new hidden Jews of Oporto – Jewish News
- Patterns of Jewish History: Examining the Jews of Spain. The Ultimate Showrunner embedded repeating patterns throughout history. One place to see these patterns playing out is through turbulent history of the Jews of Spain. Read the story from Aish: Patterns of Jewish History: Examining the Jews of Spain | Aish
- NYC poised to officially recognize Landing Day, when the first Jewish community arrived in 1654. Three hundred and seventy years ago, a group of 23 Sephardic Jews arrived on the shores of New York — then called New Amsterdam — and created the first organized Jewish community in the city. What a difference a few centuries make: Today, New York City is home to the largest Jewish population of any city in the world. Read the story from NY Jewish Week: NYC poised to officially recognize Landing Day, when the first Jewish community arrived in 1654 – New York Jewish Week (jta.org)
- Shem Tov Bible with ‘miraculous journey of survival’ sells at auction for $6.9 million. Rare 14th century codex originating in Spain survived centuries of wars and turmoil before being sold to private individuals who ‘look forward’ to making it public. The Shem Tov Bible was written in 1312 by Rabbi Shem Tov Ibn Gaon, who was able to take it with him to the Holy Land before he died in the city of Safed around 1330. Read the story from the Times of Israel: Shem Tov Bible with ‘miraculous journey of survival’ sells at auction for $6.9 million | The Times of Israel
- The Search for the Lost Menorah. In the footsteps of the Temple Menorah from the Middle East, to Europe, and Africa, in search of its most probable location in the world today. While Jewish tradition suggests that the Ark of the Covenant went underground prior to the destruction of the First Temple some 2500 years ago, historical accounts suggest that the Temple’s golden Menorah was taken out of the country after the destruction of the Second Temple nearly 2000 years ago and made its way across three continents. Read the story from Aish: The Search for the Lost Menorah | Aish
- 10 Unusual Cemeteries from Around the World. From Billion Graves, they list their 10 most unusual cemeteries which includes The Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery, located in Jerusalem, which is the largest and the oldest historic Jewish cemetery in the world and is also considered to be the most holy Jewish cemetery. Having been in continuous use for more than 3,000 years, the Mount of Olives Jewish Cemetery contains approximately 150,000 burials. Read and see more from their blog: Unusual Cemeteries from Around the World – BillionGraves Blog
- Digital (and Virtual Reality) reconstruction of the wooden Great Synagogue of Wolpa is launched by the Belarusian Jewish Cultural Heritage Center. Available options include a virtual guided audio tour and free exploration mode, enabling users to navigate the building, examine the interior and exterior in detail, and access comprehensive descriptions of individual elements. The virtual reconstruction project is a part of a larger multimedia initiative — Belarus Shtetl — which aims to virtually reconstruct several significant synagogues in Belarus. Read more from Jewish Heritage Europe: https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2024/09/12/belarus-volpa/
- Vienna’s Jewish history: Of prosperity and persecution. Jews were tragically expelled from the Austrian capital three times, but when allowed to stay, they were able to reach great heights leaving an indelible mark. The earliest official records of Jews in Austria date back to the year 904. However, it was not until 1194 that a Jew was specifically mentioned in Vienna, with a man named Schlom (Shalom) being recognized as a mint master under Duke Leopold V. Read more from JNS: Vienna’s Jewish history: Of prosperity and persecution – JNS.org
- As a Follow-Up…The Vienna City Temple is being renovated. The City Temple is Vienna’s only surviving synagogue. For the 200th anniversary, the house is now to be adapted to its current requirements. With its 700 seats, the temple is located in the old Jewish area in Vienna’s city center and is the largest synagogue in Austria. It was the only major synagogue in Europe not to have been burned down during Kristallnacht. Read more from Die Presse: The Vienna City Temple is being renovated | DiePresse.com Thanks to Stephen Katz for passing along this story to me.
- What Is A Cantor (Hazzan or Chazan)? A cantor, (hazzan (חזן) in Hebrew) is the person who chants worship services in the synagogue. The position of prayer leader originated in the era following the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem when most Jews were unfamiliar with prayers and required a leader to recite them on their behalf. Scholars date the earliest historical reference to a hazzan as a musical leader in the synagogue to around the sixth century; however the title came to refer to a formal clergy member only in Europe in the 1700s. Read the story from My Jewish Learning: What Is A Cantor (Hazzan or Chazan)? | My Jewish Learning
- Jewelry seized from Poles in Nazi concentration camps returned to families. Germany’s Arolsen Archives hands over Stanislawa Wasilewska’s bracelet, watch and crucifixes to her grandson and great-granddaughter at an emotional ceremony in Warsaw. Read more from Times of Israel: Jewelry seized from Poles in Nazi concentration camps returned to families | The Times of Israel
- In Albania, which saved Jews from the Nazis, educators teach the Holocaust to a new generation. Albania was the only European country that ended World War II with more Jews than it started with. It is estimated that up to 3,000 foreign Jews found refuge in Albania during World War II. Read the story from JTA: In Albania, which saved Jews from the Nazis, educators teach the Holocaust to a new generation – Jewish Telegraphic Agency (jta.org)
- During Israel’s Dire Need: Arming Israel in 1948. A motley group of Israelis and others defied global arms embargoes to save Israel. In 1948, hours after Israel declared independence, the neighboring states of Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, and Iraq declared war on the nascent Jewish state. Israeli fighters desperately needed arms with which to resist the onslaught, but the world was silent. The United States and the United Nations imposed blanket bans on selling any weapons or military-grade equipment to Israel. Read this historical story from Aish: During Israel’s Dire Need: Arming Israel in 1948 – Aish.com
- Jewish Clothing. Clothing has long played a significant role in Judaism, reflecting religious identification, social status, emotional state and even the Jews’ relation with the outside world. The ancient rabbis taught that maintaining their distinctive dress in Egypt was one of the reasons the Jews were worthy of being rescued from servitude. When the Jews were sovereign in their land in ancient times, the standard of dress of those who were wealthy, such as successful landowners, reflected their status. Over time the Jews adopted distinctive dress voluntarily, to separate themselves from the prevailing culture. Read more from My Jewish Learning: Jewish Clothing | My Jewish Learning
- What Does “Chai” Mean? “Chai (חי)” is the Hebrew word for life, and you’ll see people wearing it as a necklace (or even tattooed on their bodies). But why “life,” and what does that say about the deeper meaning of life in Jewish tradition? What is its deeper meaning and significance? Read the story from Aish: What Does “Chai” Mean? | Aish
- A Blue Plaque now marks the site of York, UK’s long-destroyed 13th century synagogue. It marks the location of York’s 13th century Synagogue and the house of Aaron of York, one of the city’s most prominent Jews in the 13th century. Read more from Jewish Heritage Europe: https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2024/09/13/uk-york/
- New interactive digital memory map brings the history of the UK’s first Jewish club to life. Brady was established in 1896 and transformed the lives of teenage refugees. Driven by Lady Rothschild, this lifeline project aimed to improve the social quality of life of the ‘working poor’ – young men, in reality just kids of 14 who had left school and headed into the workforce, most of them from East European refugee families, speaking only Yiddish. Read more from Jewish News UK: New interactive digital memory map brings the history of the UK’s first Jewish club to life – Jewish News
- Jewish billionaire returns to Earth after making spacewalking history. Jared Isaacman became the first civilian to conduct a private spacewalk, after traveling farther from Earth than any human in over 50 years. Read the story from JNS: Jewish billionaire returns to Earth after making spacewalking history – JNS.org
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About The Weekly News Nosh
The Weekly News Nosh contains news about Jewish Genealogy, Jewish History and Jewish Culture. The Nosh is published on Sundays and distributed by the L’Dor V’Dor Foundation on its website and social media platforms. “A Family Without The Understanding Of Their Past History, Foundation And Ethnicity Is Like A Tree Without Roots.” Subscribe to receive future announcements.