On September 7, the final meeting of the project “Sefer ha-Dorot” (“Book of Generations”), conducted by the Israeli Institute for Research on the History of Jewish Clans “Am ha-Zikaron”, took place in the Novosibirsk ICC.
The leaders of the IEC and the project coordinator in Novosibirsk welcomed the gathered participants and their families, expressed the hope that the final meeting within the framework of the “Book of Generations” would be only the beginning of true friendship and solemnly handed over the brochures prepared in Israel with the help of information received from all participants.
Especially for this meeting, Malka Haguel, the coordinator from the Am ha-Zikaron Institute, recorded an address to the project participants from Novosibirsk, where she thanked everyone for the fruitful cooperation and explained the peculiarities of preparing brochures on family history.
Rabbi Miriam Zaklos and her son Menachem Mendel came to meet the participants and talk about the importance of preserving family history, traditions and values. Miriam spoke a little about the traditions of the Jewish New Year (Rosh Hashanah) and Menachem Mendel symbolically sounded the shofar.
A few testimonials from participants:
“The project is very interesting. Even as a volunteer, I enjoyed participating. There was a lot of informative stuff during the interviews. I was glad to help in an undoubtedly important cause – preserving family roots and finding information about a Jewish family.” – Tatiana
“In the course of my work, I rediscovered my family history. Talking with my grandmothers revealed many interesting details about my ancestors. It was fascinating to look at old photographs and documents. Thanks to the fact that I entered my data into the jewage database, I have already been found by two distant relatives who were only “squares” on the genealogical tree! From the brochure I learned about the origins of almost all the surnames found in my tree. I will gladly show and read my family’s “Book of Generations” to my daughter when she grows up.” – Elena
“Participating in the Book of Generations project has helped me to understand family ties with distant and often unknown relatives, as well as to find new ones that I had not previously suspected. Thank you for inviting me to participate!” – Alexander