Number 113: What is a Hamburger? Where is Hamburg?  Turns out these questions have more than one answer.  And: Are Hamburgers Jewish?  Well  – they can be!  

“Ham” does not sound Jewish!! Hamburgers, the food, originate from Hamburg, Germany. Burg means fortress. Ham’s origin is not definitively known, but no connection to “pork”!! It may mean pastureland or angle: for example river curvature or “heim” meaning home or…?

Both Hamburg and Hamburgers have played important roles, winding through generations of our family story. While our direct ancestors with surname “Hamburger”, Ashkenazi Jews, didn’t live in Hamburg, but rather in Salzburg and, primarily, Amsterdam, other direct ancestors did.  

Abraham Aboab, received the New-Christian name of Duarte Dias. The family escaped to Hamburg with no need to hide anymore as “Conversos”, secretly practicing their Judaism.

Isabella Henriques alias Hannah ‘Duarte’ (Dias) born 1581, a Poetess at Generation 14, (taking Yair & Maya as Generation 1), married Dr Rodrigo ‘Andreas’ Namias de Castro, born Lisbon Portugal – Sephardi Jews. Like his father Dr Andres Fernandez, alias Jacob Namias de Castro, Rodrigo was a Physician, practicing in Hamburg as did his son Daniel David Namias de Castro.

Moses Oeb Brandon born 1661, Hamburg, was a Diamond Cutter. A long line of Diamond Cutters, Hamburg to Amsterdam through seven Generations to Jacob a’ Cohen Treves, Great Grandfather of Yair & Maya, who emigrated from Amsterdam to Cape Town before the Shoah, to manage a Diamond Cutting factory.

In February 2021 Yair & Debbie, their daughters Limkhitha & Mihle all became Hamburgers, moving from bustling Cape Town to the bumpy dirt roads of rural Hamburg, a small Xhosa village of about 1000 inhabitants, nestled beautifully within the rolling hills of South Africa’s Eastern Cape.  

Mia Skolni of Israel, daughter of David, Raymond’s brother, is spending some time in Hamburg Germany, close to 2 million residents!, home Country of her mother Ilana and city of Mia’s Uncle and family. 

So, like the beautiful Keiskamma and Elbe rivers that meander through Hamburg and Hamburg respectively, Hamburgers and Hamburg somehow continue to weave their way through the generations of our family! 

Note: Hamburger is the Family Name of some direct ancestors of Yair and Maya: Ya’akov Rubens born 1612 in Salzburg Austria had a son Salomon Hamburger Rubens of Amsterdam. His son was Ruben Salomon Hamburger Rubens whose son was Salomon Shlomo Zalman Ruben Hamburger. Salomon’s daughter Rachel Salomon Van Embden ‘nee Hamburger had a son: Mozes Salomon Van Embden. Mozes daughter: Aaltjie Mozes Olman ‘nee Van Embden married Israel Olman whose son was Machiel, great grandfather of Raymond and David, who tragically perished at Sobibor in the Holocaust. Machiel Olman’s daughter was Sophia a’ Cohen Treves ‘nee Olman whose daughter was Marcelle Schkolne, mother of Raymond and David.