What the Experts Say

/What the Experts Say
What the Experts Say 2014-03-24T13:41:45+00:00

David Einsiedler, Are You a Descendant of King David? A Look at Rabbinic Sources
Ashkenazic families of Central and Eastern Europe.

Can We Prove Descent from King David?
Karo, Yahia-Charlap, Sassoon, and Abravanel/Abarbanel families.

Descent From King David – Part II
Sources pertaining to Judah Loew the Elder.

Fathers of Jewish Genealogy – Authors who made great contributions to Jewish genealogy: Azulai, Dembitzer, Kaufmann, Wettstein, Wachstein, Horowitz, Friedberg, and Gelber.

The Oldest Jewish Dynasty: A 3400-Year Line of Descendants

Families Who Trace Their Ancestry to King David English Version
Families Who Trace Their Ancestry to King David Hebrew Version
Published in Sharsheret Hadorot, Volume 19, No.3, August 2005 and reproduced with the permission of the Israel Genealogical Society. Chaim Freedman: Ancestry of the Gaon of Vilna – Descent from King David

Article providing newly discovered and rare sources which establish the previously unknown descent of the Vilna Gaon from King David.

Chaim Freedman: “Saving the Maharal of Prague” (Large Word Document). An analysis of errors in the traditional descent of the Maharal of Prague and a proposal of an alternative.


Yehuda Klausner,
European Rabbis Throughout the Generations Development of the Jewish communities in Europe and origin of the generations of rabbis and rabbinic families. Appendix includes early rabbinic works, surnames of rabbinic families, and rabbinic genealogical literature.

The Hasidic Rabbinate, Part I – Birth and foundation of the Hasidic movement and the persons responsible for its formation. Appendix includes students of the Baal Shem Tov and Dov Ber, the Magid of Miedzyrzec (Mezritsh).

The Hasidic Rabbinate, Part II – Latter generations of the Hasidic movement and organization of the movement into dynasties. Appendix includes succession of Hasidic dynasties.

Arthur Menton: “The Book of Destiny, Toledot Charlap”

Two chapters, XXVXXVI, of Professor Arthur Menton’s book “The Book of Destiny, Toledot Charlap,” Published in 1996 by the King David Press, Cold Spring Harbor, NY. See site http://www.charlap.org for details. Prof. Menton is a member of Davidic Dynasty’s honorary Genealogy Committee.

Prof. Menton’s book traces the genealogy and history of the Charlap and other families descended from the Davidic House. These two chapters describe the sequence of the generations of the Davidic Royal house through the kings of Yehudah (Judea), the Rashei Galut (Exilarchs) down to the migration of the descendants of the Exilarchs to Spain and Portugal. Menton presents the many sources for the origin of the Charlap and Don/Ibn Yechia family as well as touching on the families Abarbanel, Dayan and Shealtiel.

Study of these chapters provide the basis for many Davidic families and are particularly valuable as various theories for the manner of such descent are analyzed.

The chapters were given to Davidic Dynasty with the kind generosity of the author, Professor Arthur Menton.

Gary Mokotoff, Publisher of Avotaynu: The International Review of Jewish Genealogy. “Review of Chaim Freedman’s research of the Vilna Gaon, the Maharal of Prague and the Jaffe Family.” Published in “Nu ? What’s New ?” E-zine of Jewish Genealogy, Volume 7, Number 1, February 19, 2006.

Rambam Library Exhibition  Golden Dynasty (in Hebrew) report and explanations of some sources.

Dr. Chanan Rapaport: The Rapaport Family (Director, Rapaport Family Research Center; Member of executive board, the International Institute for Jewish Genealogy and the Paul Jacoby Center, Jerusalem).
Many families of Davidic descent also descend from the ancient Rapaport family, such as the famous rabbi of Lemberg, Chaim Rapaport (1700-1771). This article appeared in “Et-Mol”, a journal of Yad Ben Tzvi, Jerusalem and then in “Sharsheret Hadorot” Volume 20, #2, May 2006 (the journal of the Israel Genealogical Society).  The article is reproduced with the permission of the editors of both journals.

Sarina Roffé: Sephardic Rabbis Impact Halachah
Yoshiyahu Pinto, Shmuel Vital, Yosef ibn Zalach, Yosef Caro

Sephardic Rabbis: Four Short Biographies
Yitzhak Attia, Shabatai Beda, Shalom Hedaya, Ovadya Hedaya.

Rabbi Murad Maslaton, A Great Leader
Rabbi for the Ahi Ezer community in Brooklyn and Damascus