| Home Surname List Name Index Sources Gedcom File Email Us | Matz - Jaffe - Rabinowitz Global Family This site is also connected to the Family Tree DNA Group "Matz Global Family" and the Facebook Group "Descendents of Rabbi Dob Ber Jaffe of Turets". It's open to any & all descendents of Rabbi Dov Ber Turetzer/Turetsky JAFFE of Turets Belarus (b. 1789 in Turets Belarus - d. 20 Jan 1829 in Vilnius Lithuania). Rabbi Dov Ber was himself a descendent of the great 16th century rabbi, Mordecai ben Avraham Jaffe, called the "Ba'al HaLevushim" (after the title of his compendium of Jewish law), a major rabbinic leader and scholar of his day ( born ab.1530 in Prague - d. 07 March 1612, Poznan Poland). Rabbi Dov Ber was the rabbi of Korelichi Belarus, Lyubcha Belarus, and Utena Lithuania. He was the father of the famous Rabbi Mordechai Gimpel Jaffe (1820-1891), an early Zionist, called the "Rav from Yehud". Here are a few brief story snippets about Rabbi Dov Ber from Lithuanian rabbinic literature: "R. Dov Ber Jaffe was one of the original group that learned in the Volozhin yeshiva, all of whom were outstanding students of R. Chaim of Volozhin. He was known as R. Ber Karlitzer (after his home town), as well as R. Ber Turtzer (after the town where he held his first rabbinical position)." "R. Ber’s heartfelt prayer was remarkable. Wonderful things were told in Lithuania of his prayers. R. Chaim of Volozhin said of him, “I taught R. Ber how to pray.”" "R. Ber was known to pray slowly, with great concentration. It is told that one time he went traveling with a wagon driver. When the sun set, they stopped at an inn and recited the evening prayers. As R. Ber began Shmoneh Esrai, the wagon driver (who had already finished his prayers) left him and went to sleep. It was a long, winter’s night. When the wagon driver awoke before dawn, he found R. Ber still engaged in Shmoneh Esrai." "When the gaon R. Ber, the father of the gaon R. Mordechai Gimpel Yaffe of blessed memory was asked why he wiped his nose with his handkerchief in the midst of his prayers, he replied, “When a violinist is playing music, if there is something wrong with a string, he does not stop playing. He rubs oil on it right away and continues playing without interruption.”" And here's the inscription written on Rabbi Dov Ber's Gravestone in Vilnius (cemetery destroyed after World War II): "This is the gravesite of the rabbi great in Torah and fear of God, Who both preached and practiced beautifully, our master and teacher, Dov Ber, Son of our master and teacher, R. Yaakov, m”n and moreh tzedek of the holy communities Of Karlitsh, Lyubatsh and Otian. Passed away 15 Shevat in the year 5589. May his soul be bound up in the knot of life." Rabbi Dov Ber had four sons and two daughters: - Rabbi Yaakov MATZ (1810- after 1877) - Rabbi Yoseph Yehoshua RABINOWITZ - Rabbi Chaim Zalman JAFFE (?-1890) - Rabbi Mordechai GIMPEL JAFFE (1820-1891) - Miriam JAFFE m. Jonah LURIA - Batya Frida JAFFE m. Nahum HA-COHEN KOOK (grandparents of Rav. Avraham Kook, first chief rabbi of British Mandate Palestine) Rabbi Dov Ber's eldest son was Rabbi Yaakov (Yankel) Matz of Utena Lithuania (b. 1810 -d. after 1877). Rabbi Matz's descendents stayed in Utena, and some also moved to other towns in Lithuania, including Kalvarija and Vilkaviskis. The Matz surname is a Hebrew acronym for the title "Moreh TZedek", which means "Righteous Teacher". Descendents of the Matz, Jaffe, and Rabinowitz families now live across the world, including Europe, the US, South Africa, and Israel. We're trying to map out an accurate picture of the world's greater Matz-Jaffe-Rabinowitz family, through oral family histories, archival documents, and DNA information. So check out our family tree here on this site, and see if you're part of our family - we've got some very interesting stories to tell!
Created 30 Dec 2008 with RootsMagic Genealogy Software |