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Reading Hebrew Tombstones![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/HebrewAlphabet.gif"=20) =20
Jewish tombstones with Hebrew inscriptions have an added value = to=20 genealogists, in that they not only show the date of death and = sometimes=20 the age or date of birth, but they also include the given name of = the=20 deceased's father. This permits you to go back one more=20 generation. Here are a few helpful pointers if you cannot read Hebrew. At the top of most Jewish tombstones is the abbreviation At the end of many Hebrew tombstone inscriptions you will find =
the=20
abbreviation If any Hebrew characters at all are written on a tombstone, =
they are=20
most likely to be the person's Hebrew name. A Hebrew name always =
includes=20
a patronymic, the person's father's given name. This is a unique =
feature=20
of Jewish tombstones, and a great boon to Jewish genealogy. The =
Hebrew=20
word The Jewish Calendar![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/HebrewDays.gif") =20
Dates are written in Hebrew according to the Jewish = calendar. =20 This calendar, which starts its "year one" with the Creation of = the World,=20 was probably designed by the patriarch Hillel II in the fourth=20 century. He calculated the age of the world by computing the = literal=20 ages of biblical characters and other events in the Bible, and = came up=20 with a calendar that begins 3760 years before the Christian = calendar. The letters of the Hebrew Alphabet each have a numerical = value,=20 specified in the accompanying chart. When a Hebrew date is = written, you=20 must figure out the numerical value of each letter and then add = them up.=20 This is the date according to the Jewish calendar, not the = calendar we use=20 in every day life, known as the Gregorian calendar (also referred = to as=20 the Common Era, civil or Christian calendar). In September 1999, = for=20 example, the Jewish year was 5759. Given a Hebrew date, you need = to do=20 only a little bit of math to change the Hebrew year into a secular = year.=20Often a Hebrew date after the year 5000 on the Jewish calendar = will=20 leave off five thousand. For example, the Hebrew year 5680 will be = written=20 as 680 rather than 5680. To compute the civil (Gregorian) year, = simply add=20 the number 1240 to the shortened Hebrew year. Here's one example: If the year is written as ![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/HebrewMonths.gif") =20
The Hebrew year begins on Rosh Hashanah, which occurs on the = Gregorian=20 calendar in September or October. Therefore, the dates listed for = the=20 months of Tishri, Heshvan, Kislev and sometimes Tevet must be read = as=20 applying to the preceding year of the civil calendar. The complete transposition of a Hebrew date to a Gregorian date =
uses a=20
very complex formula. It is easiest to simply refer to one of the=20
published or online reference works, such as: The Comprehensive =
Hebrew=20
Calendar, 5703-5860, 1943-2100 by Arthur Spier (Jerusalem, New =
York:=20
Feldheim Publishers, 1981); or 150 Year Calendar by Rabbi =
Moses=20
Greenfield (Brooklyn: Hotsaat Ateret, 1987). Most synagogues and =
Jewish=20
libraries possess one of these works. Another alternative is to =
use one of=20
several computer programs: CALCONV, JCAL, LUACH (shareware); =
Zmanim,=20
HaYom, Itim (http://www.davka.com/);=20
or JewishGen's online JOS calculator ( For more information about the Jewish calendar, see the =
JewishGen=20
InfoFile Some Hebrew PhrasesIn addition to names and dates, here are the common Hebrew = words which=20 appear on tombstones:
Hebrew Abbreviations on Tombstones:There are many many different Hebrew abbreviations that are = found in=20 tombstone inscriptions and Hebrew literature. Abbreviations are = usually=20 indicated by a quote mark or an apostrophe. Often, the apostrophe = is used=20 to abbreviate a single word, whereas the quote mark indicates an=20 abbreviated phrase. For more information, see the following works: =
Symbols on Tombstones:In addition to the inscription, symbols on the tombstone can be = clues.=20 Two hands, with four fingers each divided into two sets of two = fingers, is=20 the symbol of a priestly blessing =97 this signifies a Kohen, a = descendant=20 of Aaron. A pitcher signifies a Levite =97 the Levites were = responsible for=20 cleaning the hands of the Temple priest in ancient days. A candle = or=20 candelabra often is used on the tombstone of a woman; and the = six-pointed=20 Star of David on that of a man. A tombstone with the motif of a = broken=20 branch or tree stump often signifies someone who died young. Bibliography:
Links:
Copyright =A91996, 2001 by Warren=20 Blatt.
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![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/sm-pay.gif")
, which stands for po nikbar or po =
nitman, meaning=20
"here lies". ![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/sm-hay.gif")
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/sm-bet.gif")
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/sm-tsadik.gif")
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/sm-nun.gif")
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/sm-tav.gif")
,![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/sm-nun-sofit.gif")
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/sm-resh.gif")
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/sm-gimel.gif")
is 3. 400 + 200 + 80 + 3 =3D 683. The =
5000 is=20
usually left off, so the actual year would be 5683. By =
using our=20
formula, 683 plus 1240 is 1923. That is the civil year. ![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/pay.gif"=20)
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/bet.gif"=20)
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/resh.gif"=20)
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/vav.gif"=20)
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/hay.gif"=20)
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/koof.gif"=20)
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/yud.gif"=20)
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/alef.gif"=20)
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/nun.gif"=20)
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/mem.gif"=20)
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/ayin.gif"=20)
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/tav.gif"=20)
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/chet.gif"=20)
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/shin.gif"=20)
![](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/infofiles/heb/tet.gif"=20)
![3D""=20](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/JG/images/jg_bottomlogo.gif") |
Edmond J. Safra Plaza | 36 =
Battery=20
Place | New York, NY 10280 646.437.4326 | |
![3D""](3D"http://www.jewishgen.org/JG/images/homeT_NNNN_74.gif"=20) |
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