News About Jewish Genealogy, Jewish History, and Jewish Culture
Editor: Phil Goldfarb, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
- News Nosh Tip Of The Week: Exploring the L’Dor V’Dor Foundation’s Website. Discover, investigate and search DoJR-Documents of Jewish Records Worldwide Project, which is using AI to find new, previously unknown records. Only 15% of existing records have been identified — fewer still are easily searched. DoJR will discover and inventory in JCat the 85% unknown records, often hidden-in-plain-sight and the majority not labeled Jewish. JDays-The Worldwide Jewish Event Calendar…interesting, stimulating, and educational events listed that you could view (or post your event) 24/7/365. Search the JCat catalog’s descriptions of Jewish documentary heritage – record collections that lead to discoveries of Jewish ancestors and about their lives. The Weekly News Nosh…News about Jewish Genealogy, Jewish History and Jewish Culture. If you do not like Facebook…never miss an issue as the NN is at your fingertips at any time along with past issues! Sign up for free and the Nosh will be sent to your e-mail box (coming shortly). For more, go to: Home – L’Dor V’Dor Foundation (LDVDF)
- 3rd quarter updates to the LitvakSIG All Lithuania Database. The new data includes births, deaths, marriages, passports, revision lists, and tax/voter lists. To browse or search only the new data, include Any Field Contains 2024q3as a search term. For a detailed list of the new data, go to the LitvakSIG Discussion Forum. Note that the Discussion Forum is free and available to everyone. The only requirement is (free) one-time registration on the LitvakSIG website.
- Brooklyn City, New York Directories Digitized and Available on Internet Archive. Some say as many as one in seven Americans have family roots in Brooklyn, so give it a try: Illuminating the Stories of Brooklynites Through Digitized Directories | Internet Archive Blogs Thanks to Jan Meisels Allen, Chairperson, IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee for this update
- New Movie to Check Out: A Real Pain. Mismatched cousins David (Jesse Eisenberg) and Benji (Kieran Culkin) reunite for a tour through Poland to honor their beloved grandmother. The adventure takes a turn when the odd-couple’s old tensions resurface against the backdrop of their Jewish family history. See the Official Trailer: A REAL PAIN | Official Trailer | Searchlight Pictures It is only on for a limited time at these theaters: ARP – A Real Pain – Theaters as of 10/25 – Google Sheets ‘Yet another story from ‘A Real Pain’ is Jesse Eisenberg’s love letter to Poland, the country his family left under duress that you can read from JTA: ‘A Real Pain’ is Jesse Eisenberg’s love letter to Poland, the country his family left under duress – Jewish Telegraphic Agency
- CBS 60 Minutes Program on Concentration Camp Survivors who Witnessed Bombing of Cap Arcona. The CBS program 60 Minutes showed a segment on Concentration camp survivors who witnessed the bombing of the Cap Arcona on May 3, 1945. Just days before the end of World War II in Europe, British Royal Air Force planes mistakenly attacked the Cap Arcona ocean liner in Lübeck Bay in the Baltic Sea. The ship was crammed with thousands of concentration camp prisoners. Read more and watch the clip: Victims’ families remember Nazi ship sunk with prisoners on board | 60 Minutes – CBS News Thanks to Jan Meisels Allen, Chairperson, IAJGS Public Records Access Monitoring Committee for alerting us to this story.
- Hundreds of Jews murdered at a little-known Nazi labor camp are remembered. The ceremony took place at the site of a Nazi labor camp where Jews were forced to work in fields before they were murdered in 1943. During World War II the area was under the occupation of Nazi Germany, which used Jews as slave labor and carried out mass executions in death camps like Auschwitz but also at many other places which — like Adampol — have received very little attention. Read the story from the AP: Hundreds of Jews murdered at a little known Nazi labor camp are remembered | AP News
- 5,000-year-old site near Beit Shemesh offers clues to how cities developed in Israel. Ancient inhabitants could have been precursors to biblical Canaanites; temple building found to contain unique collection of intact miniature, ritual ceramic vessels. The site includes one of the earliest temples ever discovered in the Judean Lowlands. Read more from The Times of Israel: 5,000-year-old site near Beit Shemesh offers clues to how cities developed in Israel | The Times of Israel
- Jews of the Middle East. While all Jews have roots in the Middle East, Mizrahi Jews never left it. Mizrahi and Sephardim, two distinct communities are often confused with one another. Read the story from My Jewish Learning: Jews of the Middle East | My Jewish Learning
- Meet the New Yorker tracing the 300-year history of the Twersky rabbinical dynasty, from Chernobyl to the Bronx. The influential family now boasts tens of thousands of members, including leading Hasidic rabbis and countless descendants who don’t share the family surname. Read the story from NY Jewish Week: Meet the New Yorker tracing the 300-year history of the Twersky rabbinical dynasty, from Chernobyl to the Bronx – New York Jewish Week
- Building third Jewish Temple, Ark replica shown in Jerusalem. “Now we can see with our own eyes something which we have missed for 2,000 years,” said Israeli scholar Lt. Col. (res.) Mordechai Kedar of Bar-Ilan University. A replica of the Ark of the Covenant, painstakingly constructed, its creators say, to the Torah specifications of the sacred vessel that was the First Temple’s central fixture, was displayed in Jerusalem. The ark described in the Torah, which housed the Ten Commandments tablets among other holy objects, was hidden after the destruction of the First Temple, per rabbinic tradition. Read the story from JNS: With eyes on winning war, building third Jewish Temple, Ark replica shown in Jerusalem – JNS.org
- Was literacy important in the biblical Kingdom of Judah? An expert offers answers. Questions related to literacy in ancient times are not an exclusive prerogative of academic studies on the Israelites. In Biblical times… there was no Bible yet! But some books that came, much later, to comprise the Tanakh, were highly valued by some Judeans and took on an increasing importance throughout the Second Temple period. Read more from The Jerusalem Post: Was literacy important in the biblical Kingdom of Judah? – The Jerusalem Post
- Ancient settlement attests to origins of urban development in land of Israel. The site in Hurvat Husham reveals some of the first characteristics of the transition from village to urban life, said the excavation managers. Read the full story from JNS: Ancient settlement attests to origins of urban development in land of Israel – JNS.org
- Israel: Ten of thousands of archaeological relics uncovered in 2024. Over the past year, approximately 120 sites were excavated, where tens of thousands of significant finds were uncovered, ranging from prehistoric periods to modern times. Read the story from JNS: Israel: Ten of thousands of archaeological relics uncovered in 2024 – JNS.org
- Hidden Jewish medieval cemetery discovered beneath Barbican. The Barbican Estate’s Thomas More Garden marks the furthest southwards extent of the 1,000 year old Jewish cemetery, the first Jewish burial ground in England. The cemetery existed until the Jews’ expulsion from the country in 1290, an edict announced on Tisha B’Av of that year to be completed by All Saints’ Day. After that, the cemetery and the generations buried in it were neglected, desecrated and then forgotten. Read more from Jewish News UK: Hidden Jewish medieval cemetery discovered beneath Barbican – Jewish News
- In Oświęcim, the Bunker of Memory commemorative project in the Jewish cemetery is completed — watch the video. The Oshpitzin Jewish Museum in Oświęcim, the town in southern Poland where the Nazis built the Auschwitz death camp, has completed another element in its complex of memorial sites in the city — transforming a Nazi bunker in the Jewish cemetery into a “Bunker of Memory” From Jewish Heritage Europe: https://jewish-heritage-europe.eu/2024/10/27/poland-oswiecim-bunker/
- Meet the Jews going back to their roots on a ‘Birthright to Africa’ trip. Teshuvah Across the Waters offers black Jews the chance to explore their roots by visiting communities throughout the African and Jewish diaspora. Read more from The Jewish Chronicle: Meet the Jews going back to their roots on a ‘Birthright to Africa’ trip – The Jewish Chronicle
- Why Jews Read Torah on a Yearly Cycle. The history of the weekly portion — and the different schedules on which it’s done. Read more from My Jewish Learning: Why Jews Read Torah on a Yearly Cycle | My Jewish Learning
- How the Lion of Judah Became a Jewish Symbol. From menorahs to tombstones, the lion of Judah has been a Jewish symbol since ancient times. Though originally associated specifically with the tribe of Judah, it has since become a Jewish symbol representing the entire people. Read more from My Jewish Learning: How the Lion of Judah Became a Jewish Symbol | My Jewish Learning
- Ten shocking Jewish traditions you’ve never heard of. From waving a chicken over your head for atonement to baking key-shaped challah, Jewish traditions are as surprising as they are meaningful. These customs, passed down for centuries, are more than just rituals — they reflect deep spiritual and cultural ties. Despite their ancient origins, many traditions continue to thrive in modern Jewish life, uniting communities through shared history, heritage, and cultural identity. From Jewish Unpacked: 10 shocking Jewish traditions you’ve never heard of – Unpacked
- The Amulet: A Jewish Charm. Belief in the power of amulets persisted widely among Jews for many centuries, and still exists in some communities today. Read more from My Jewish Learning: The Amulet: A Jewish Charm | My Jewish Learning
- Why a historic hotel on the Lower East Side has a mural depicting 2,000 years of Jewish tragedies. Artist Randy Settenbrino is the owner of Orchard Street’s Sweet Dreams Cafe and the adjacent Blue Moon Hotel, both homages to the area’s deeply Jewish history. Read more from NY Jewish Week: Why a historic hotel on the Lower East Side has a mural depicting 2,000 years of Jewish tragedies – New York Jewish Week
- A new documentary about Paul Simon charts the magic of his music, his life and his Jewishness. The New York Jew has lost most of his hearing but continues to make music. If there were any doubts whatsoever about Paul Simon’s ethnicity, they are dispelled early on in a new documentary about the iconic singer-songwriter. Read more from Jewish News UK: New documentary about Paul Simon charts the magic of his music, his life and his Jewishness – Jewish News
- A Real Culture Treat (Not a Trick!): Nine Iconic Halloween Songs That Were Written By Jews. From famous TV and movie themes to spooky scary skeletons. Here are some of the most popular spooky season songs written by incredible Jewish writers and composers, and some fun (and spooky!) facts behind them, from Kveller: 9 Iconic Halloween Songs That Were Written By Jews – Kveller
- Fanny Brice. Few Jewish comedians have made such a significant contribution to both Jewish humor and popular culture as this daughter of saloon-owning immigrants. No career illustrates the limits and possibilities of being a Jewish comedian better than that of Fanny Brice. Read her story from My Jewish Learning: Fanny Brice | My Jewish Learning
###
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.