Just An Update

 

#MaltipooMonday: “We look fabulous…the camera doesn’t…

 “But we can put up with the camera for treats.”

Commentary: What I’ve Learned About Refusal To Connect, Etc. In Genealogy

This was originally a comment in a Facebook group, edited here to be more general—although it specifically addresses Jewish genealogy for multiple reasons. It also addresses a situation into which I ran today: 

Unfortunately, there’s nothing that you can do if they do not want to take the time and effort to connect with you. On the other hand, sometimes they cannot do so due to circumstances in their lives—including possible medical conditions that may drain the energy that they would expend to genealogy (I know that Depression and other conditions that I have certainly drain me of the energy that I would expend to genealogy if I had more energy.). They may also not want to deal with anything that involves the trauma that their side of the family directly or more-directly endured (especially if a factor such as severe generational PTSD is involved. For example, I quickly figured out why one of my great-granddad Czarnecki’s siblings was not exactly mentioned: the sibling who was born before Great-Grandaunt Regina was not exactly conceived consensually—there is no record or any other indication of Great-Great-Granddad going back to Shumeve).

On the other hand, though this may not be the case, they might feel that (as I’ve unfortunately experienced with some family members and others) they’re better than you because they know more and/or at least want to think that they know more about family history and genealogy in general and/or as it specifically relates to their family history and genealogy. If they do indeed have that kind of attitude, that attitude is on them—not you—as I’ve had to learn with family members whom have that kind of attitude—and God will deal with them, especially in the days when the Temple be rebuilt and genealogies can be once again fully known and traced. By the way, the books  of Ezra and Nechemya never say that God gave Ezra and Nechemya blessings to cast out the children  whom were born of gentile mothers—they say only that Ezra and Nechemya claimed that they were doing so in God’s name, and that four men opposed the children being punished for the sins of the fathers (intermarriage with pagan gentile women) and (implicitly) the gentile women not being given the chance to convert to Judaism (unlike, e.g., Rut the Moabite and the Egyptian husband of Shelomit bat Divri ).

Per Sefer Ezra (JPS 1917): 

“ 1 Now while Ezra prayed, and made confession, weeping and casting himself down before the house of God, there was gathered together unto him out of Israel a very great congregation of men and women and children; for the people wept very sore. {S} 2 And Shecaniah the son of Jehiel, one of the sons of Elam, answered and said unto Ezra: 'We have broken faith with our God, and have married foreign women of the peoples of the land; yet now there is hope for Israel concerning this thing. 3 Now therefore let us make a covenant with our God to put away all the wives, and such as are born of them, according to the counsel of the LORD, and of those that tremble at the commandment of our God; and let it be done according to the law. 4 Arise; for the matter belongeth unto thee, and we are with thee; be of good courage, and do it.' {P}

“5 Then arose Ezra, and made the chiefs of the priests, the Levites, and all Israel, to swear that they would do according to this word. So they swore. 6 Then Ezra rose up from before the house of God, and went into the chamber of Jehohanan the son of Eliashib; and when he came thither, he did eat no bread, nor drink water; for he mourned because of the faithlessness of them of the captivity. {S} 7 And they made proclamation throughout Judah and Jerusalem unto all the children of the captivity, that they should gather themselves together unto Jerusalem; 8 and that whosoever came not within three days, according to the counsel of the princes and the elders, all his substance should be forfeited, and himself separated from the congregation of the captivity. {S} 9 Then all the men of Judah and Benjamin gathered themselves together unto Jerusalem within the three days; it was the ninth month, on the twentieth day of the month; and all the people sat in the broad place before the house of God, trembling because of this matter, and for the great rain. {P}

10 And Ezra the priest stood up, and said unto them: 'Ye have broken faith, and have married foreign women, to increase the guilt of Israel. 11 Now therefore make confession unto the LORD, the God of your fathers, and do His pleasure; and separate yourselves from the peoples of the land, and from the foreign women.' 12 Then all the congregation answered and said with a loud voice: 'As thou hast said, so it is for us to do. 13 But the people are many, and it is a time of much rain, and we are not able to stand without, neither is this a work of one day or two; for we have greatly transgressed in this matter. 14 Let now our princes of all the congregation stand, and let all them that are in our cities that have married foreign women come at appointed times, and with them the elders of every city, and the judges thereof, until the fierce wrath of our God be turned from us, as touching this matter.' {P}

“15 Only Jonathan the son of Asahel and Jahzeiah the son of Tikvah stood up against this matter; and Meshullam and Shabbethai the Levite helped them. 16 And the children of the captivity did so. And Ezra the priest, with certain heads of fathers' houses, after their fathers' houses, and all of them by their names, were separated; and they sat down in the first day of the tenth month to examine the matter. 17 And they were finished with all the men that had married foreign women by the first day of the first month.”

In other words, Ezra went after the majority to do evil and perverted Torah to do so. 

In conclusion, then, you can do nothing about what your family members do—especially if they have the haughy and self- and pseudo-righteous attitude of Ezra.

#SillySunday and #MothersDay: An Unusual Card

 

#FluffyFriday and #FlashbackFriday: Milking the Bellyrubs and Being a Sleepyhead

#SillySunday: Puppy Antics

 

#ShabbatPesach: Puppies and the Afikomen

 

No wonder that the matzah looked like the Gates of Heaven or the two tablets given on Sinai when it was broken…it ended up giving an idea of how Reilly and Camille would consider even a piece of matzah.

Commentary: Chametz during Pesach? That’s exactly what bullying in any Jewish genealogical group is

(PS Much of this is what I posted in these groups in response to some inquiries, and some information that I thought could help others.)

Without going into any specific recent posts in some genealogy groups too much, and even though I’m certainly not a moderator of any of the groups, I would ask everyone to remember that we are all trying to find out about our family history. Not all of us had the privilege to know that we are Jewish from the beginning, and some of us are (if you will) the products of interrelationships—whether or not those relationships were consensual. 

Also, it is Pesach: why especially during this time of year or some of us intend on committing sinat chinam and lashon hara against each other? Also, remember that—for example—the sons Moshe had a Midianite-Ethiopian mother, and that the son of Shelomit bat Divri had an Egyptian father. 

Being similarly mixed-blooded to Gershon and Eliezer and ben Shelomit, I can tell you that I myself did not find out that I am Jewish until I was 18, and I have also been bullied for—quite frankly—being mostly Patrilineally Jewish (I know that my being mixed blooded frankly perturbs some people) and having different beliefs from the traditional beliefs (I am a Jewish Christian, which is really pissed off some people— my answer in short is “Oh well. Jesus was Jewish.”). In fact, I’ve had to block some people because of the sinat chinam and lashon hara; and the effects of their bullying in conjunction with the brick walls which I have faced have sometimes tempted me to give up genealogy—and even life—altogether. 

One thing that I can say, nonetheless, is that if anyone is in a position similar to mine, know a couple of (summed-up) facts (among other facts): 

1. Per Tanakh, God accepts both Patrilineal and Matrilineal Jews.
2. If you suspect that you may in fact be Jewish and have taken a DNA test before you have done any family-tree research, you would have to research your family tree to see if you are Jewish—including Crypto Jewish. Having a Jewish DNA match may indicate that you at least have some Jewish ancestry (though keep in mind as well that DNA reference panels don’t always have even-numbered groups—and that by itself can skew results) although certainly more research would have to be done (Also keep in mind that autosomal DNA is different than YDNA and mitochondrial DNA).
3. Bullies who are behaving as equivalents to the Spanish Inquisitionists will have to answer to God. Tricia Adams, that doesn’t make any less of at least of Jewish descent. Unlike some people, I would not dare to dismiss anyone just because of circumstances of birth, etc. which they cannot control—especially because ancestors of mine went through those kinds of circumstances (In fact, as I write this, I am more convinced that Great-Granddad Czarnecki‘s sibling who was born before his sister Regina was not conceived consensually. Conspicuously enough, he or she is never listed as a child of Great-Great-Granddad Czarnecki—not at all even being noted as of existing on the 1910 Census—although he or she is listed as one of Great-Great-Grandma Czarnecki’s children— listed as one of three children born I’m currently living in 1909 when Regina was born in March 1909 and  deceased in June1910  when Great-Grandaunt Alice was born. On Great-Granduncle Stanley’s November 1911 birth certificate, he or she is either oddly mentioned again as one of five or not mentioned at all—assuming that another child seems to have been born in February 1911, since none of the children in any regard is listed as a twin or triplet. By the way, prematurity did occur in our family; so, it would be no surprise if Great-Great-Grandma was able to keep the purity laws regarding childbirth and any child was prematurely born). 

In conclusion please don’t let anyone tell you that you are not something that you are just because they want to disingenuously gatekeep—and conversely, please do not disingenuously gatekeep. Remember that whether we are mixed blooded or fully blooded, etc., we were all strangers in Egypt.

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#FluffyFriday: Two Puppies Ready For

 

#ThrowbackThursday: Auntie Michelle‘s accidental photoshoot just before #NationalPetDay

 

And I was not happy that Auntie Michelle took so many photos. - Reilly

#ThrowbackThursday: Brain Ball Time with Reilly