Len's Mother

The history of the Meyuchas Family

On June 28, 1984, Fannie's nephew Justin Wolfson wrote as follows:

Dear Len, Mary Lou, and Children:

You will recall my Dad and I were to have gone to Israel for several weeks...

My dad and I stayed in the heart of old Tel Aviv, near Frishman Street. About our third day as I walked to the HaYarkon, a main street which passes near the Mediterranean and along which the major hotels stand, I observed two young men sitting at an outside cafe drinking Coca-Cola. I selected them to ask directions of, since they looked as if they might well speak English. My choice turned out to be valuable in several regards, since I received good directions, found a good place to rent a car, and because one of the two, who owned a tourist agency, handed me his card. His name was Benny Meyuchas.

As you know, one of my purposes in going to Israel was to find some of my missing relatives. I was completely unsuccessful. However, my meeting with Benny turned out to be very valuable, as you will now read. We had an interesting interchange. He told me something of the background of the Meyuchas family and informed me that he had a published book in his office on the history and genealogy of the family, which I was welcome to look at.

My dad and I dropped up to his office to see the book. Indeed, it is a heavy volume. Its title is Jerusalem Within The Walls, written by Avraham Yakov. Its publisher is Ruven Mass. Date of publication was 1976. It is probable, I was told, that it is now out of print. I was informed by Steimatsky's Bookstore that there is now another book on the Meyuchas family as well.

It happens that many Israelis perk up their ears when they hear the name Meyuchas, because the family is very well known and its membership large.

The history

The following is a translation, more or less, of the Hebrew text:
The oral tradition (BaPeh) is that the Meyuchas family originates from the tribe of Judah and can be traced to the time the Jews returned to their land from Babylon. They originate from the Parosh family (discussed in the books of Nehemiah and Ezra), who were the antecedents of the Meyuchas family.

Zerubavel, who was the son of King Jokin, came from Babylon with the members of his family, which included Parosh and his family. This material apparently is to be found in Chapters 2 and 3 of Ezra and Chapters 7 and 8 of Nehemiah.

The translation continues, stating that there are people who think that the Meyuchas family was derived from Spain in the year 1492, when some members went to Turkey. The members of this family spent 70 years in Turkey, after which many migrated to many different nations. Other people add that the Meyuchas family are descendants of Schlomo Ibn Virga, who was the author of a book entitled Shevat Yehuda. There are others who say that the original name of the family was Bakar. Three of these families settled in Cordova.

We were able to read only the first few pages of this book, where what I have just written and what follows appeared.

With the exile from Spain, two brothers and their families went to Constantinople. After some time two of the families reached Israel, having received a “Firman” from the Sultan which gave them special commercial rights. These people were then distinguished from their fellow Jews and were undoubtedly very wealthy as well. They became known as “Meyuchas” i. e. from nobility. In time “Meyuchas” became the family name.

One member of the family, a writer and educator who died recently, Joseph, was the son of Rachamim Natan Meyuchas. He wrote that the name of the family is Bakar Meyuchas. The family that migrated to Israel had lived there for two hundred years. He also wrote that II the family was among the exiles who came to Turkey and that its members settled in Constantinople, Bulgaria, and Jerusalem. He wrote also that “it is known to us that some of the members of the family were found in Roumania, Yugoslavia, Poland, and Hungary. Also in Egypt, Eden, and Afghanistan. And in Libyia and in Casablanca. And Morocco. And Tunis. And in Russia, England, France, South Africa, and in other countries”....

“At the time of the second World War, Robert Meyuchas served in the Consulate of France in Tel Aviv. At the end of his service, he returned to France and died there.

The text then indicates that many members of the family gave much of themselves for the Jewish people and that many were distinguished.