Adventures in Jewish Genealogy
April 8 and 15, 7:00-8:30 pm

In this two-part course, Nina Sitron will provide an overview of Jewish genealogy and Paula Ressler will offer a personal account of her genealogical research. They also will introduce the audience to CBI’s new Genealogy Havurah as well as the Western Massachusetts Jewish Genealogical Society.

April 8: “Climbing Your Family Tree”

Nina will introduce the audience to what’s possible to discover when exploring one’s family history, including an array of resources available for doing genealogical research, what is unique in the field of Jewish genealogical research, the myths that people believe about researching their families, obstacles people might encounter, and how to break through what might appear to be “brick walls.”

Nina Sitron is President of the Western MA Jewish Genealogical Society. She has actively engaged in researching her family history for over 30 years, and is committed to supporting the research of people who are curious about their families’ histories. As a Genetic Counselor for Long Island Jewish Medical Center in New York, Nina helped people use their medical family history to deal with health issues.

April 15: “Genealogy Matters!”

Paula will present her research about her maternal family, particularly her uncle, a working-class adult who escaped from Vienna to the United States in 1935. Extended family were killed there in 1942. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum will be digitizing and archiving the audio tape, Paula’s introduction, and original documents because “they provide a window into the experiences of Austrian Jews who were able to emigrate before the Anschluss.”

Paula Ressler is author of Dramatic Changes: Talking About Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity through Drama; and co-author, with Becca Chase, of Meaningful Encounters: Preparing Educators to Teach Holocaust Literature. She is a former director of English Education and associate professor emerita of English, Illinois State University.

CBI is lucky to have vibrant and quality programs and services. Fair Share Membership dues help cover the costs. If you are a member, thank you! If you wish, you can help us continue to offer robust and joyful Jewish education and to support the guest teachers of this class, by offering a donation to support the programming.

If you are not a member, please consider joining our community through membership or paying for the class with a donation on a sliding scale of $18-180 to support the guest teachers of the class. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.