For centuries, Jews have sought their yichus by connecting themselves to rabbinical families, either through marriage or by a paper trail. Thanks to recent advances in genetic genealogy and DNA technology, this is now possible to do for many more individuals of Jewish descent than ever before. For a little over ten years now, my research team and I, have been conducting Y-DNA research studies which utilize both traditional genealogical and current DNA methods and technology to identify the unique Y-DNA genetic signature and ethnic origin of some of the world’s most esteemed and historically significant rabbinical lineages and dynasties. These include the Katzenellenbogen, Lurie, Polonsky, Rappaport-Cohen, and Shapiro rabbinical lineages, and the Twersky and Wertheim-Giterman Chassidic dynasties. We have also conducted Y-DNA research studies on lineages descending from such luminaries and tzaddiks as the Baal Shem Tov, Rabbi Levi Yitzchak of Berdichev, Rabbi Naftula Cohen of Belaya Tzerkov, Rabbi Raphael of Bershad, Rabbi Yechiel Michel of Zlatchov, Rabbi Yehuda Heller-Kahana of Sighet, and the Shpoler Zeida. The goal of our rabbinical heritage Y-DNA research studies is to identify the Y-DNA genetic signatures of some of Jewry’s most renowned tzaddiks and rabbinical families. We accomplish this by finding and testing pedigreed patrilineal descendants of these rabbinical families; if their Y-DNA genetically matches, it confirms their paper trail and provides the unique Y-DNA genetic signature for their lineage. Anyone who matches one of these Y-DNA genetic signatures shares a common paternal ancestor with these pedigreed rabbinical descendants. Identifying that common ancestor would enable one to link to a pedigree and paper trail that may be many centuries old, and to rediscover their family’s lost Jewish heritage. In this review article, I explain the importance of rabbinical heritage research studies to the practice of Jewish genealogy and present an overview of some interesting findings and observations drawn from our Y-DNA research studies of thirteen rabbinical lineages and dynasties, including the defining haplogroup and subclade that is associated with the Y-DNA genetic signature for each of these lineages.

Most Ashkenazi Jews cannot trace their ancestry back to the period before the mandated adoption of fixed, inherited surnames during the late 18th and early 19th centuries in Europe. The notable exceptions are the major rabbinic families, who adopted fixed surnames long before they were mandated by governmental authority. These families intermarried extensively, and their lineages have been preserved for centuries. Those who can connect to a major rabbinic family can thereby trace their ancestry back many more generations. Because of the endogamous nature of the Ashkenazi Jewish population, many, if not most Ashkenazi Jews descend from a prominent rabbi or rabbinical lineage, although they may not be aware of it. Individuals of Jewish descent have long attempted to connect their families to the family trees of these great rabbinic families. For reasons that have been well-documented, however, knowledge of rabbinic ancestry has been lost to many contemporary individuals. The advent and development of Y-DNA testing has added a major, powerful new tool for tracing rabbinic ancestry, and now it is possible to use genetic testing to identify and verify these connections. This article presents a Y-DNA study of the Wertheim-Giterman rabbinical lineage, often referred to as the Savran-Bendery Hasidic dynasty, one of the most prominent Hasidic dynasties to emerge from Ukraine and Bessarabia during the 19th century. It focuses on the genealogical and genetic data that characterize this rabbinic lineage, and by which its descendants may be identified, thereby providing many Ashkenazi Jews with essential genealogical and genetic information for discovering their rabbinic ancestry. Twenty-one male descendants of the Savran-Bendery lineage, with no previous knowledge of their rabbinic ancestry, were identified in this manner.

As genealogists we have been trained to document every tree in the forest. The genetic genealogist can identify a distant relative far across the forest. This article from the Fall 2015 Issue of Avotaynu Magazine explains how to use Y-DNA to reach back in time and connect to the ancestors behind your brick walls. Examples from the Bacharach, Wertheim(er), and Shapiro families provide hands-on guidance.

During the period when Chassidic Judaism was still in its infancy, Rabbi Raphael of Bershad (c. 1751–1827) was a charismatic figure who was revered by his followers in the region that is now southwestern and central Ukraine. Rabbi Raphael was a beloved and influential spiritual leader and was known as a tzaddik. After the death of his mentor, Rabbi Pinchas (Shapira) of Koretz (1726–1791), some of his followers became Rabbi Raphael’s disciples and were known as Bershad Chassidim. We succeeded in identifying four pedigreed descendants of Rabbi Raphael. We also succeeded in identifying one partially pedigreed descendant, and several possible patrilineal descendants of Rabbi Raphael. The genealogical records for the partially pedigreed descendant were fragmentary and incomplete, but the naming pattern and available records enabled us to construct a family tree showing a hypothesized line of descent. In this pioneering Y-DNA research study, we succeeded in identifying the Y-DNA genetic signature and ethnic origin of Rabbi Raphael’s paternal lineage. Our study demonstrates the usefulness of identifying the Y-DNA genetic signature of a rabbinical line, and for verifying descent from that line, despite having fragmentary and incomplete genealogical records.

The goal of this Y-DNA research study is to utilize both traditional genealogical and current DNA methods and technology to identify the unique Y-DNA genetic signature of the renowned Shapiro rabbinical lineage descending from Rabbi Pinchas Shapira of Korets (1726-1791). Traditional genealogical methods provided the foundation for our study. We researched the history and genealogy of the Shapiro rabbinical lineage, and we identified and tested three pedigreed patrilineal descendants of three different sons of Rabbi Pinchas Shapira of Korets. We then utilized genetic genealogical methods to compare the Y-DNA genetic profiles of these three pedigreed descendants. We initially determined that all three descendants genetically matched at 37 short tandem repeat (STR) markers. Their lineage-specific haplotype, in conjunction with their G-M201 haplogroup/G-FGC1160 subclade designation, comprises the Y-DNA genetic signature of their patrilineal line, back to their most recent common ancestor, Rabbi Pinchas Shapira of Korets. Next steps in the research study include upgrading the Y-DNA analysis to 67 STR markers, and additional single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping through the Family Tree DNA Big Y-500 test. This Y-DNA research study validates historical lines of descent from the Shapiro rabbinical lineage using genealogical research methods, establishes a Y-DNA genetic signature that can be utilized to identify previously unknown or unrecognized descendants of the lineage, and demonstrates a pioneering methodology that can be applied to studies of other rabbinical lineages and their descendants. If you believe that you are a patrilineal descendant of Rabbi Pinchas Shapira of Korets, or the Shapiro rabbinical lineage/dynasty, and you wish to participate in this Y-DNA research study, please contact the first author, Dr. Jeffrey Mark Paull, at nobleheritage@msn.com.

According to Arthur Kurzweil, one of the pioneers of Jewish genealogy: For the Jewish people ... our royal families have been those of the illustrious rabbis. Through the practice of shidduch (arranged marriage), these illustrious rabbis and their descendants married into other prominent rabbinical families over the centuries to produce an intellectual elite that contributed to European culture, while holding the Jews together through millennia of hardship and persecution. They provided guidance and leadership, and within the framework of Jewish communal self-government, they were the interpreters of Jewish law, and the guardians of Jewish ethics. These great rabbinic families have long been recognized for their immense contribution to the preservation of Jewish identity and culture. However, it is only recently that Jewish genealogists have realized that these illustrious rabbinical families have yet another magnificent gift to offer their descendants – their inherited DNA. Individuals of Jewish descent have long attempted to connect themselves and their families to the family trees of these great rabbinic families. Now it is possible to use Y-DNA testing to identify and verify these ancestral connections, and to genetically connect to these rabbinic families. The current study focuses on the Y-DNA pedigree of the Savran-Bendery Chassidic dynasty, one of the most prominent Chassidic dynasties to emerge from Ukraine and Bessarabia during the 19th century. It presents the genealogical and genetic data that characterize this rabbinic lineage, and by which its descendants may be identified, thereby providing many Ashkenazi (Eastern European) Jews with the essential genealogical and genetic information necessary to bridge the gaps in their own paper trails, and discover their lost heritage.