Yichus ( ''yḥws''), a

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

-based

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

word meaning "lineage". In some past and present

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

communities, good —meaning descent from a family of high reputation—is necessary for a person to be considered as a potential marriage partner. Colloquially, the term refers to the chain of origin for a statement, creative work or object.

Etymology

first appeared in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Book of Ezra The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible which formerly included the Book of Nehemiah in a single book, commonly distinguished in scholarship as Ezra–Nehemiah. The two became separated with the first printed Mikraot Gedolot, rabbinic bib ...

. It appears in and ), where the Hebrew root (yud-chet-sin) means "relation to" or "related to." In the later rabbinic Hebrew, the last letter of the root changed from

sin In religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law or a law of the deities. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered ...

() to

samekh Samekh or samech is the fifteenth Letter (alphabet), letter of the Semitic abjads, including Phoenician alphabet, Phoenician ''sāmek'' 𐤎, Hebrew alphabet, Hebrew ''sāmeḵ'' , Aramaic alphabet, Aramaic ''samek'' 𐡎, and Syriac alphabet, Syr ...

(), though the pronunciation and meaning remained unchanged. The latter spelling (yud-hey-samech) appears frequently in rabbinic literature. Although the word originated in Hebrew, the term is generally accepted as a

word that has flowed into modern English. The anglicized word has been transliterated as , , , and .

History

As far back as the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ic era, being son-in-law to someone widely respected was valued. Subsequently, even the of being son-in-law to the son-in-law and similar lineage links were valued. From the 14th century onwards, was an important concern for Eastern European Jews. Good could refer to Torah scholarship or wealth, while bad resulted from the suspicion of illegitimate descent. However, many rabbis disapproved of the concept of , instead insisting on judging individuals based on their personal merits. "In Lithuania some Jewish families hid their (lineage)". There was a tension between on one hand, and "meritocratic leadership based on scholarship" on the other. Judgments of became one of the mechanisms which determined social hierarchies. From the 19th century, the significance of declined as more marriages were based on romantic love, and reformers criticized for leading to inbreeding within small circles of "acceptable" families. However, nowadays is still an important qualification for marriage in charedi communities. The

family tree A family tree, also called a genealogy or a pedigree chart, is a chart representing family relationships in a conventional tree structure. More detailed family trees, used in medicine and social work, are known as genograms. Representations of ...

s, or pedigree charts, of Jewish families, listing

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

and family history records, have been identified with several names, among which are yichus book, yichus brief, and yichus record. To help a child trace lineage, some families would write a "yichus book". The focus of a yichus brief (letter of relationship) is not as extensive as a yichus book whereas a yichus book or yichus record/"sefer yuchsin"/registry is community-oriented. Some families also kept a separate "Register of Circumcisions".

Types

Being the (מְחוּתָּן, father of one's child's spouse) of a notable person is sometimes considered important enough to include in a wedding invitation and in giving other credentials. Although primarily used for same generation relatives, it can be used beyond that generation. Being a (literally son-after-son, i.e.

patrilineal Patrilineality, also known as the male line, the spear side or agnatic kinship, is a common kinship system in which an individual's family membership derives from and is recorded through their father's lineage. It generally involves the inheritanc ...

) descendant is sometimes considered more notable than other forms of descent. For various reasons, surnames/family names were changed, and sometimes reverted. Thus, Jewish family names have not always been a reliable indicator of ancestry. For example: certain family names, such as Cohen, are not as strongly indicative of being a

Kohen Kohen (, ; , ، Arabic كاهن , Kahen) is the Hebrew word for "priest", used in reference to the Aaronic Priest#Judaism, priesthood, also called Aaronites or Aaronides. They are traditionally believed, and halakha, halakhically required, to ...

as Katz.

References

External links

Dem Ganefs Yiches (The Thief's Lineage)
a 19th century song parodying the concept of yichus {{Jewish life Orthodox Judaism Hebrew words and phrases Yiddish words and phrases Jewish marital law Jewish life cycle Genealogy Family trees