Sacred Seforim
Siddur
United States- probably Englewood NJ
Ethan F. received this siddur from his great-great grandfather. Ethan F.’s maternal great-great grandfather, Nathan N., received this precious siddur as a very deserved award from his Shul. He earned it from his great chesed. He was very proud, and he cherished it for many years. He used it for many years to daven. The siddur has Nathan N.’s name engraved on it. It is not very big, as it is more of a pocket siddur. Nathan passed it down from generation to generation until it reached Ethan’s Zadie.
This siddur has been passed on and used for generations. Now Ethan’s Zadie has his chance to use and cherish this precious siddur for years and pass it to Ethan.
Siddur
Hungary
Judah A’s maternal great-great-great-grandfather, Yoseph U, received this handwritten siddur from his father, Yoel U of Rechnitz. His father was a famous Rabbi in the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. Yoseph was Yoel’s first born and both of them were Torah Scholars. Yoel [1800 - 1885] was the Chief Rabbi of Paks where he ran a great yeshiva. His most famous work is a responsa on the Shulchan Aruch called Tishuvat Riba. The nusach of this siddur is that of the Ari z”l, which is a mix between Askenazi and Sephardi. The siddur was handwritten which might be seen as a mystical act of devotion.
This siddur has been in A’s family for over 150 years.
Siddur
United Stated
Kayla S received this siddur from her maternal great-great grandmother, Fagel Leah S. She bought this siddur at a bookstore in the Lower East Side of Manhattan. Fagel Leah used it every day to daven to Hashem. She was a religious women who came over to America from Russia. It was very hard to stay religious at that time, but she thought that is was so important to be a religious Jew. To prove this dedication, she moved from her home in New Bedford, New Hampshire to Brooklyn, New York. Fagel Leah also owned a bed and breakfast and she sold it and moved to Brooklyn, from New Bedford because there were no yeshivot there and only one shul. There she bought this siddur. It was what helped her stay religious at the hardest times.
That is why the S family cherishes this siddur.
Gemara
Lithuania
Emma's family Gemara is from her paternal great-great grandfather, Alexander. Her great- great grandfather bought the entire set page by page from the printer. When each volume was completed he then had them bound until he had a complete set. When World War II broke out, he sent eight volumes to Emma’s great-great-great uncle in Belgium where they were kept safe. Emma’s great-great grandfather was forced by the Nazi’s to lead a procession to a book burning in his town. He put on his tallis and tefillin and carried the remaining Gemaras to the book burning. The eight volumes that survived the war were kept by Emma’s great- great uncle in Belgium and later in Israel until 1990 when this Gemara was sent to Emma’s father.
This object is significant to the Emma's family because this book survived the war, was one of the first Gemaras published in Vilna and belonged to Emma’s great-great grandfather. This object is used today to learn, and the family will cherish this Gemara for many generations.
Machzor
Israel
Devorah M received this machzor from her paternal great-great-great grandfather. It is used for davening on Pesach and was bought in Israel. It was passed down three generations. This machzor is special to the Moadab family because in Iran you were not allowed to bring anything with you if you were leaving, and this was one thing that was saved and smuggled out.
The M family will cherish this machzor forever.
Chumash
Poland
Evan H received this chumash from his maternal great grandfather. Evan’s maternal great grandfather, Oscar F, bought this chumash and studied from it in Poland. Many years later, Oscar moved to Berlin, Germany and took the precious chumash with him. In Berlin, he met Evan’s great grandmother, Sarah F, and had three children. Years passed and word broke out that the Nazis were attacking the Jews. Oscar decided that he had to leave Germany and move to America. One of the few objects that he chose to take with him was the special chumash.
The H and M families will cherish this chumash for many generations.
Yellow Star and Suddur
Hungary
Dean S received this siddur and yellow star of David from the Holocaust from his maternal grandfather. Dean S’s maternal grandfather Yosef Rosner found these objects, and they originally belonged to Dean’s great grandfather. He used the siddur to daven from, and he had to wear the Yellow Star of David during the Holocaust.
This siddur and Yellow Star of David from the Holocaust is important to the S family.
Siddur
Philadelphia
Hilary s received this book from her maternal grandfather.This siddur was published in 1845 in Philadelphia. The cover of the siddur had three very important names printed on it: Lewis A , Alan J h and Edward H H . At the very end of the siddur there is a handwritten family tree.These people were relatives of Aaron H who fought in the Quebec War in 1759. Aaron later became the first Jew to settle in Canada. His son Ezekiel was elected to the Canadian legislation. He wasn't allowed to participate because he wore a kippa and refused to swear on the bible. He insisted on using a chumash. On the family tree there is man named David Hart. The original hockey (NHL) award for most valuable player was the Hart trophy.
It was donated by him and named for him. Gordon is a direct relatives of these men.
Siddur
Germany
My great great grandfather
Talia G received this special siddur from her paternal great grandfather. Talia G's paternal great grandfather, S O, aka, O, received this siddur from his parents in 1904. He kept the siddur with him when he traveled to England and eventually to escape the Holocaust so he could daven from it. The G still have their siddur because O valued it.
The G family keeps this siddur today to remember O dedication to Judaism.
School Books
Libya
Shanee M received these books from her paternal great ancestors. Her paternal great ancestors studied from these textbooks in 1941 when they were in school in Tripoli, Libya. These books belonged to eight people in the M family and were passed down to four generations. Today, no one uses these books because they are very old, and also they are written in Hebrew letters but pronounced in Arabic.
The M family will cherish these books for many more generations to come.
Book
Palestine
Ari B received this book from his paternal grandfather. Ari B’s paternal grandfather Moshe B received this when he collected cigarette cards and created a collection. When he was a young boy living in Palestine, a company distributed collectible cards in cigarette boxes. The cards were pictures of famous Jewish leaders and scholars, and he could paste the pictures into a special slot in a collection book. The cards focused on the history of the Jews. They spanned the creation of the world through the problems in Germany. All the children at that time collected these cards. It was a goal to fill in the whole book so children went around to all people who smoked and asked for the cards.
The B family has learned many stories from this object.