News About Jewish Genealogy, Jewish History, and Jewish Culture
Editor: Phil Goldfarb, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
A Happy, Healthy and Peaceful New Year to All!
- NEW: LitvakSIG Discussion Forum. The Litvak Jewish Special Interest Group announced a new LitvakSIG Discussion Forum that is now available for use, The LitvakSIG Discussion Forum is for Litvak researchers and is free to anyone who has an account with LitvakSIG. No donations are required to use the Forum, but you do need to be logged into your account in order to use it. To read more about the Forum and it’s features, before logging into your account, it is suggested that you go to their link on their website: discussion forum. To create a new LitvakSIG account, go to: https://donors.litvaksig.org/
- Pension Files: A Genealogist’s Friend. What Are Pension Files? The federal government granted pensions to military veterans and their widows and dependents following military service and the pension files contain a lot of valuable information. Read more from the Fold3 blog: Pension Files: A Genealogist’s Friend – Fold3 HQFold3 HQ NOTE: Access will be free until 7 October 2024 at 1:59PM MT. After the free access period ends, you will only be able to view records using a paid Fold3 membership.
- Belgium Museum Kazerine Dossin Opens Exhibition “Picturing the Unimaginable.” It depicts the Holocaust by using 10 cartoons by 10 different illustrators. From their own perspective, they created a story in the context of three former Nazi concentration camps from their (neighboring) country: Neuengamme in Germany, the Dossin Barracks in Belgium and camp Westerbork in the Netherlands. At the heart of the exhibit is an eighty-year-old comic strip discovered some time ago in an American archive. The comic was published in early 1945 while most of the German death camps were still in full operation. The website is in Dutch, English and French: Gastexpo: Imagining the unimaginable | Kazerne Dossin Thanks to Jan Meisels Allen Chairperson, IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee for this story.
- Miriam Weiner article. Miriam Weiner has won almost every award that there is to be given from numerous genealogy organizations: RTRFoundation-Awards & Honors. She has been called “A Rock Star in the Jewish Genealogy World,” The Genealogist Who lifted the Archival Iron Curtain,” and “The First Lady of Jewish Genealogy.” There was an excellent article written about her in The Together Plan’s September issue that I wanted to share: https://www.thetogetherplan.com/miriam-weiner-the-genealogist-with-a-desire-and-a-copy-machine/ Of course her website is extraordinary if you have not checked it out! Routes to Roots Foundation (rtrfoundation.org)
- The Fast of Gedalia. One day after Rosh Hashanah commemorates a Jewish tragedy whose message reverberates today. What is the meaning of this fast, and why does it occur during the intermediate days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur? Read the story from Aish: The Fast of Gedalia | Aish
- The curious history of Rosh Hashanah cards. How the huge popularity of postcards led an artist to produce Rosh Hashanah cards from his photo studio in Warsaw. Roughly between 1880 and 1980, almost all Jews in Europe, America and Palestine (later Israel) sent their relatives and friends shone-toyves, or new year’s cards. Shone toyve actually means “a good year.” Read the story from The Forward: Video: The curious history of Rosh Hashanah cards – The Forward
- How to Greet Someone on Rosh Hashanah. Shana Tova and various other greetings are used when wishing someone a happy Jewish new year. Jews will often greet one another on the holiday with the rough Hebrew equivalent, shana tovah (pronounced shah-NAH toe-VAH), which literally means “good year.” Shana tovah is actually a shortened version of a longer greeting: L’shana tovah u’metukah (pronounced l’shah-NAH toe-VAH ooh-meh-too-KAH), which literally means “for a good and sweet year.” Read the full story from My Jewish Learning: How to Greet Someone on Rosh Hashanah | My Jewish Learning
- Shofars blown along Ukrainian frontlines as part of Rosh Hashanah initiative for soldiers. For the first time since Ukraine was plunged into war in 2022, soldiers on the front lines could hear the blast of the shofar marking the Jewish new year. The largest Jewish communal body in the country distributed shofars to Jewish soldiers stationed in dozens of military positions along the 620 miles of the Ukrainian frontline. Each received training in how to blow the ritual instrument. Read more from The Forward: Shofars blown along Ukrainian frontlines as part of Rosh Hashanah initiative for soldiers – The Forward
- The Jerusalem Post…50 Most Influential Jews in the World: You can read more information on each by clicking on their picture: 50 Most Influencers Jews 2024 (jpost.com) You will also notice at #37 the most influential philanthropists in the world including JGS of Tulsa member Lynn Schusterman.
- The man who brought high fashion to New York. Jewish businessman Henri Bendel rose from running a plantation store in the deep south to becoming a Manhattan retail king. How many of us know that the concept of the “seasonal sale” was the brainchild of Henri Bendel, who founded his eponymous Manhattan store in 1895? Read his story from The Jewish Chronicle: The man who brought high fashion to New York – The Jewish Chronicle (thejc.com)
- When “The Hebrew Hammer” Struck Twice on Rosh Hashanah. Ninety years ago, American baseball star Hank Greenberg played on the Jewish New Year holiday, even hitting two home runs, but later sat out Yom Kippur. Read about one of the best Jewish baseball players in history from the National Library of Israel: When “The Hebrew Hammer” Struck Twice on Rosh Hashanah (nli.org.il)
- ‘White Bird’ stars Helen Mirren (Golda) as a Holocaust survivor who teaches her grandson about kindness. In “White Bird,” a long anticipated film about a Jewish girl who is rescued by her classmate in Nazi-occupied France, the Holocaust is fertile ground for teaching children how to be good. Read more from JTA: ‘White Bird’ stars Helen Mirren as a Holocaust survivor who teaches her grandson about kindness – Jewish Telegraphic Agency (jta.org)
###
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.