Jewish Journey

Edward Gelles is an independent historian and genealogist. Born into a distinguished Jewish family, he came to England in 1938 after the Anschluss and studied at Balliol College, University of Oxford, UK. He pursued a career in chemistry, returning to the study of history and genealogy after his retirement.

• Preface Introduction - A Mirror of the Past Part 1. Genealogical Threads 1. Carolingian Connections in the 8th Century - Kalonymos of Narbonne 2. In the Spanish March and Provence from the 10th Century - Benveniste and Shem Tov Halevi3. From Portugal to the Ottoman Empire in the 16th Century - Joseph Nasi, Duke of Naxos4. From Provence to Venice and Beyond - Eliyahu Menachem Chalfan Part 2. 16th - 17th Centuries 5. Bohemia, England, and America - David and Chaim Gans of Prague6. Golden Age for the Jews of Prague - Judah Loew and Contemporary Rabbis7. From Padua and Venice to Poland and Lithuania - Life and Times of Saul Wahl8. A Polish Affair - Sigismund III Vasa and Hannele WahlPart 3. 18th Century and Later9. Capitalists and Rabbis - Galician Social and Economic Background 10. Jewish Community Life in Brody - “The Jerusalem of Austria”11. From the Baltic to the Black Sea - Jewish Migrations in Eastern Europe12. Shmuel Hillman of Metz - Connections of an Influential 18th-Century Rabbi13 Frankists - A Heretical Jewish sect in Eastern Europe 14. Chasidism in the Age of Enlightenment - Rational and Mystical strands in 18th-Century JewryPart 4. Various Roads to Modern Times15. Mendelssohn, Marx, Buber and other Descendants of Saul Wahl16. Chayes: Prague, Brody, Livorno, and Vienna - Pan-European Connections from the 15th to the 20th Centuries 17. They Met in Trieste - Christians and Jews in an Ethnic Melting-Pot 18. Rabbis and Lawyers - A Shared EthosPart 5. A Brief Look Back to our Legendary Past19. Davidic DescentAppendices - Onomastics and Genetic Genealogy20. Family Names 21. A Study in Genetic Genealogy22. The Wahls of Tarnobrzeg - Genealogical Links and DNA tests23. X-DNA Matches and European Roots24. Genetic Admixture of Ashkenazi Jews - Relating to Millennial MigrationsEpilogueGlossary