Number 89: Often we don’t know that people we spend time with, are family! How many generations back “qualify”?  Perhaps only our grandparents children and their offspring? Or, maybe, all Jewish people or indeed all human beings? Is family only those people we know and with whom we have a relationship?

Determining who is family is complicated and confusing. Names change; are spelt differently; the same first name is often given to family members of different generations. Families move to different countries and lose touch with each other.

Seven generations separate Winnie, Tony, Bennie and Hackey ‘s grandchildren from Levin Edelstein, born 1774.  He, z”l, is their great, great, great, great, great grandfather. Except when replications, we each have 64 different direct ancestor surnames originating from seven generations ago! 

Levin had two sons: Abram and Aizik. Abram and Shore had three sons: Israel; Isak and Abram!!

Isak and Tsipora had Wulf, Dvira, Sheina, Lena, Shore and Jegashue.  A family scroll painstakingly developed by late Tony Edelstein z”l, details these Edelsteins, their spouses and offspring.

In the Port Elizabeth Jewish Community where I and also David, Susan and Dunne Edelstein “grew up”, we knew most Jewish people roughly our age. I certainly didn’t know that Janice Meyers, in Susan Edelstein’s class at Theodor Herzl School, was part her broader family: Morris Kahn, son of Dvira ‘nee Edelstein and Sam Kahn, married Sarah Bortz. Their daughter, Jeannete Kahn, married Jackie Meyers, whose children were Janice and Gail. I don’t think Maya Schkolne nor Michael and Paul Edelstein (children of Maurice and Dianne) knew that Gavin Marcus, son of Janice ‘nee Meyers and Jonathan Marcus, in their Standard at Herzlia Cape Town, was family!  Philip Edelstein from Port Elizabeth, we were told is not family of Sheryl. Turns out he is!  His father was Harold Edelstein, son of C. Edelstein, son of Abraham Edelstein son of Aizik Edelstein, son of Levin Edelstein.

So what is the true meaning of family?  A group of people related by blood or ancestry or rather nothing to do with genes and everything to do with love, compassion, and support?