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Indexes to Meorei Galicia

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Introduction

Meorei Galicia: Encyclopedia Lekhakhmei Galicia (Encyclopedia of Galician Sages) contains extensively detailed genealogies of Galician rabbinical families, arranged alphabetically by surname according to the Hebrew alphabet. Most family sections include a genealogical chart. For prominent rabbis of each family biographical material is included, in particular, rabbinical compositions, responsa correspondence, and photographs. Updated information concerning current generations is included. Many sources are quoted for each family as well as extensive bibliography. This impressive and scholarly work is one of the most extensive and reliable sources of rabbinical genealogy written in the twentieth century.


A Galician Chassidic Jew wearing a traditional long black coat and shtreimel (a round fur-trimmed hat of sable or mink, worn by Chassidim on Shabbos, Yom Tov, and other important occasions).

The author, Rabbi Meir Wunder, is chairman of the Institute for the Commemoration of Galician Jewry, whose aim is to perpetuate the heritage of Galician Jewry through the collection, preservation, and classification of documented material gleaned from libraries, archives, private collections, and interviews. The Institute's main achievement is the published five-volume Meorei Galicia.

It is important to note that Wunder did not exhaust all possible variant spellings of surnames transliterated in the indexes to the five volumes. While perusing the surname index, the reader should keep in mind that some surname spellings are not those most commonly known. The following table shows some examples.

Surnames in Indexes to Meorei Galicia

Common Variation(s) or Spellings

Feirstein Feierstein, Feuerstein
Freminger Preminger

Frenkel

Frankel
Frish (and other surnames beginning with Frish) Frisch (and other surnames beginning with Frisch)
Geldzeller Geldzahler
Karo Kara, Caro
Katzenelenbogen Katzenellenbogen
Halbertal Halberthal
Levcovitz Lewkowitz
Pinelles Pineles
Rockach Rokeach
Tish Tisch
Tumim Thumim, Teomim
Wachs/Wax Waks, Wacks
Weiteles Veiteles
Zenwirth Tzenwirth, Zenwirt
Zinger Singer

Cities and Towns

Galicia formed part of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. Today, Galicia is divided between southern Poland and western Ukraine. Some of the larger cities and towns in this region include:

Krakow (Cracow), Poland
Przemysl (Pshemishl), Poland
Tarnow, Poland
Brody (Brod, Prode), Ukraine
Drogobych (Drohobicz), Ukraine
Kolomyya (Kolomea), Ukraine
Ivano-Frankivsk (Stanislawow), Ukraine
Lviv (Lwow, Lemberg, Leopol), Ukraine
Ternipol (Tarnopol), Ukraine

For a list of 324 cities and towns referenced, see Towns in Indexes to Meorei Galicia.

Resources

Contributors

The contributions of the following individuals are very gratefully acknowledged.

  • Rabbi Meir Wunder, for permission to reprint material from Meorei Galicia.
  • Chaim Freedman, for the description of Meorei Galicia.
  • Judy Wolkovitch, for proofreading the list of surnames.
  • Dr. Neil Rosenstein, Ilan Ganot, and Edward Goldstein for their assistance.