ViewMate - Image Archive, Image 112201 - Translation - Tombstone - USA - Malden, Massachusetts - Lubarsky


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Information

Picture

Question

Category: Translation - Tombstone
Approval Date: 9/17/2025 2:17 PM
Family Surname: Lubarsky
Country: USA
Town: Malden, Massachusetts
Date of Image: September 2025

Click the picture to enlarge

I'm documenting a cemetery for JOWBR. The translation of most of this is straightforward, however would like help especially with the line underneath the cut out (Rivka bas R' Yosef z"l) that has "Harav Gershon" in it. I would like to document this as well as possible. Is this noting family lineage, etc? Is there a second surname there? Thanks for the help! Much appreciated

Response

9/17/2025 5:04 PM

This is indeed a challenge, due to the important text that begins the line but is unfortunately eroded.

Here are a couple of ideas.

The eroded text might be the letters vav-bet-tav, v'bat, and the daughter of ... This would make sense if her biological father had passed away, her mother had remarried, and the new husband had adopted and raised her.

Another possibility would be that the letters are nun-chaf-daled, an abbreviation for the word nechdat, granddaughter of.

The name on this line is, as you say, haRav Gershon. This is followed by what looks like Kiteved or Kitever (the latter of which might indicate that he came from a place called Kitev. The Internet tells me that Kitev was a Yiddish name for Kiev.)

The date of death was the 16th or 17th of Tevet, 5668 [or 5665]. If 5668, the corresponding dates would be Dec. 20-22, 1907. If 5665: Dec. 23-25, 1904.

Her biological father predeceased her ("of blessed memory"). This Rav Gershon's name is not followed by any indication that he had died, which might give some support to my idea that he may have been a second father, and that she predeceased him. Her age is not given, nor is she identified as having been a mother, so perhaps she died young.

On the other hand, there is theoretically room at the beginning of the next line, before the date of death, for a two-letter abbreviation representing "of blessed memory", so he might have been her grandfather.

I hope that the above helps a bit, especially if you have any records from that time for comparison.

9/19/2025 4:45 AM

In the annals of Ukrainian and Polish Chassidic Jewry there was one famous Reb Gershon Kitover ZT"L. He was from Kuty, Kosiv District, Ivano-Frankivsk Province, Ukraine.
Kuty was referred to in Yiddish as Kitev or Kitov. It is about 500 kilometers from another similar named Kitov called Kotowa Vola in the Zaleszany District, Poland.

he is one of the pious tzadikim of Chassidic lore.
Beside being the brother in law of Reb Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, the founder of Chassidus, Reb Gerhson himself was a renown scholar and pious Jew. He was descended from famous scholars and Rabbis.
Here is a wiki page about Reb Gershon.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraham_Gershon_of_Kitov

ViewMate Posting VM 112201

Submitted by Pauline Shapiro

Learn more about our organizational leadership, mission, and values. There are numerous opportunities to get involved yourself!

Search millions of records from around the globe, including more than 4 million records related to the Holocaust, and more than 4.2 million burial records. Records are continually added each month - check back often for new information!

Discover your ancestral town, explore geographic/regional based sections of the JewishGen site (Research Divisions), and explore what daily life was like for your ancestors - and what we can learn from them today.

Enhance your research with online classes and dozens of helpful articles. University students can apply for the Bennett & Robin Greenspan L'dor V'dor Legacy Program, and those "out of school" can help preserve Jewish Heritage in Poland with unique study & volunteer experiences.

Connect with tens of thousands of other JewishGen members via the Family Finder, Discussion Group, Facebook Group, and ViewMate. It's a great way to share success, ask questions, and stay informed of the happenings throughout the Jewish genealogical community.

The JewishGen site is offered as a free public resource. However, it costs a lot of money to maintain and expand our services. If you are in a position to do so, please consider a contribution today - your support will make a difference!

ViewMate Posting VM 112201

Submitted by Pauline Shapiro