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Avotaynu: The International Review of Jewish Genealogy, Vol. XXIII. No. 1, Spring 2007

On November 16, 1707, eighteen-year-old Jakob stood in front of a three-member Beit Din (rabbinical court) to testify about an unfortunate joke that he had made four years earlier. On the first day of Sukkot in 1703, Jakob, the son of Moshe, a wealthy brewer and head of the Jewish community of Mattersdorf, Hungary (now Mattersburg, Austria), had been home playing nuts (a game similar to marbles) with his two friends Götzl and Mordechai. Jakob’s mother and a younger sibling had taken ill and the 16-year-old servant girl, Chaya, who was also Jakob’s first cousin, had been asked to purchase medication from the non-Jewish druggist. However, she needed collateral and was told to get it from Jakob.

In Jakob’s possession was a silver ring with a red stone, which belonged to Pinchas, a community member who had used it as collateral to obtain wine from Jakob’s father. When Chaya asked for the ring, Jakob was so caught up with the game that he did not want to be disturbed. So he refused to hand over the ring even though Chaya had stated the urgency.

About half an hour later, Chaya returned and said, “Give me the ring. Your father is really angry.”

This time Jakob produced the ring. He offered it teasingly to Fayele and then to Braindl, two other girls who were present. Annoyed, Chaya grabbed the ring from Jakob’s hand. As she did so, he said in Hebrew, “Behold you are betrothed to me!” and the other boys yelled “Mazel Tov!” Chaya did not bother to reply and hurried off to the druggist.

Soon the trouble began. Under the halachic principles governing marriage, it appeared that Jakob might have taken Chaya as his bride. During the part of the marriage ceremony called Kidushin, the groom traditionally gives the bride a ring in the presence of two witnesses and says, “Behold you are betrothed to me with this ring, according to the law of Moses and Israel.” The bride’s silent acceptance of the ring validates the marriage.

Now four years later Jakob was still in hot water. His case had been sent to the Beit Din in Wiener Neustadt, a community about eight miles from his home and he needed to argue convincingly that he had never meant to make Chaya his wife.

I never intended anything by these words, he said. I was not aware that if you say these words that it is binding. I thought the rabbi or the dayan (rabbinical judge) had to say it first and I would repeat it…I was just teasing and being chutzpadik, and the proof is that after I gave her the ring I continued playing…

The other witnesses testified and Chaya had her say in court, too: In my life I had no idea to be betrothed by him… I have no interest in him for his money. The fool! His mother is sick, she sent me to get a ring from him and he doesn’t want to give it to me... I have no interest in such a fool…

The halachic issue was of such a serious nature that the court testimony was sent to Rabbi David Oppenheimer (1664-1736), the chief rabbi of Prague, who ruled after extensive deliberation that no marriage had taken place. We learned about Jakob’s travails in a responsa written by Rabbi Oppenheimer.[1]

From other Mattersdorf records it is clear that Jakob married, had at least two sons and perhaps a daughter, and died fairly young. His son Gottlieb left no descendants, but the offspring of Jakob’s other children can be traced, some to the present day.

Both of us—Carole Vogel and Yitzchok Stroh—belong to Jakob’s family and to many other family lines from Mattersdorf. When we began working together, we never expected to find so much material that revealed the character of individuals living in Mattersdorf and the challenges they faced. We also never anticipated accruing enough information to construct the genealogies of many of the families that dwelled in the community from 1698-1939.

In fact, when we first started our ancestor pursuit, archivists and other knowledgeable people told us that the early Mattersdorf records would be useless because all they contained were first names and father’s names. Experience has shown us that many genealogists and archivists tend to ignore the importance of Hebrew-language communal ledgers because the ledgers often lack surnames and are not systematically organized. What these naysayers fail to grasp is that with a sound research plan, good detective work, and plenty of tenaciousness, Hebrew records used in concert with other materials can be a genealogical treasure trove. We believe the approach presented here is applicable to other European communities whose Hebrew records have survived. [From their infrequent mention in genealogical periodicals and conferences, we think that more Hebrew records have survived than is generally assumed. Many have been collected by the Central Archives for the History of the Jewish People Jerusalem (CAHJP).]

In Mattersdorf’s earliest records (1698-1735) hereditary surnames rarely appeared. An individual was simply referred to by first name or nickname, or with modifiers, such as his patronymic, profession, town of origin, father-in-law’s name, or title. Modifiers were used interchangeably so a single individual could appear in a variety of ways in different documents. Often several different men had the same first name. For example, in the earliest tax records we found Löb Chait (meaning “tailor”) and Löb Kirzner (meaning “hat maker/furrier”), as well as Löb the son of Abraham, and Löb the son of Aaron.

Was the hat maker the son of Abraham or the son of Aaron? The answer came in part from property transactions. Two of the most valuable asserts that a Jewish man could own were a house and synagogue seats. When these assets changed hands, the transactions were recorded. We found a document from 1715 stating that Löb the son of Abraham purchased a house, but two conditions were placed on the sale: he could not process skins on that property nor use the property for any other type of hat making activity.[2] Thus we inferred that Löb the son of Abraham was also Löb Kirzner, the hat maker/furrier, since such restrictions would not be placed on a tailor.

We then determined the name of Löb Kirzner’s wife through a recorded transaction involving a pair of synagogue seats, although neither Löb nor his wife owned the specific seats. In the men’s section, the seat in question was next to “the seat of Löb the son of Abraham.” In the women’s section, the seat was next to “Hindel the wife of the above-mentioned Löb.”[3]

Most family lines were not so straightforward as Löb Kirzner’s, so our first step in identifying family relationships was to create an inventory of all the individuals mentioned in tax rosters, property transactions, lists of names, and other records. We paid close attention to the many signatures that appeared in the ledgers as the signatories often included the patronymic and titles that belonged to their father. To organize this information, we used two different strategies.

Carole’s Organizational Strategy

Standardizing common first names is the first step in inventorying names on a town-wide basis. Decide from the outset how you will index each common name in Hebrew and its secular version. For example, take the name Isak. In Mattersdorf it appeared in five different languages with a wide variety of spellings--Yitzchak-Yitzchok-Aizik-Itzik-Itzig-Isaac-Isak-Ignacius- Ignatz-Ignacz and more. If you index everyone with these names as Yitzchak and Isak you can find them easily for comparison purposes. Standardization of spelling applies to surnames too. Be sure to also record the actual versions of each individual’s name including titles as they appear in the records.

Make an alphabetical listing for all first names and their variations as well as one for all last names. Knowing these names may facilitate the deciphering of bad writing and/or Gothic script. Update the lists as you go along.

For many people I had only the secular name. I did not assign a corresponding Hebrew name because occasionally my assumptions about Hebrew and seculars names were wrong. For instance, someone called "Simon" most likely had the Hebrew name "Shimon" but occasionally a "Simon" had the Hebrew name "Simcha." With a duel language tracking system I avoided assigning a person an incorrect Hebrew name.

Dual tracking actually helped me distinguish between two lines of Österreicher families where both lines had a significant number of Simon Österreichers. One line turned out to be Simchas and the other Shimons.

Managing all the data for one town is impossible without a computer and unfortunately there is no one-size-fits-all software to place it all in. You can deal with information in five separate ways:

1. Give each reference source its own document file where the translated information can be placed in the order it appears.

2. Assign each surname to its own document file with all relevant source information. Use the data to place individuals into family groups.

3. When you have first names in Hebrew but no fixed surnames, assign each first name to its own document file. Proceed as in step two.

4. Use spreadsheets to compare changes in census record listings over time, track tax records from year to year, and sort out large families with redundant first names.

5. Once family ties are established, place individuals in a genealogy database, along with supporting information. Important: Input all the name variations for each individual so each variant appears in the index. Enter a birth date for each person, even if the year is a wild guess, so you have a rough idea of when the individual lived. Revise dates later as new information arises.

Yitzchok’s Organizational Strategy

Yitzchok’s record keeping was strictly in Hebrew so he converted every person’s name to its Hebrew equivalent. He copied the data from each source into its own Word document file. (For example, the list of people who paid the 1816 King’s Tax was placed in a single file.) He used PowerPoint to store information about individuals. Within PowerPoint he opened a new slide for each person, treating the slide like an index card. For the title he used the person’s complete name. He noted in which sources the person appeared; listed the names of the parents, children, and other relatives; and cross-referenced the names to other places to look for additional information. He relied on the computer’s search feature to find people. He too placed confirmed family members into his genealogy database.

Yitzchok and Carole then shared their information via mail, email, and telephone, and worked out the familial relationships.

The process of elimination became one of our most powerful tools in identifying individuals. For example, in a ledger entry from February 1698, we found the original signature of our ancestor Yitzchak, the son of Yaakov Segal.[4] Yitzchak was probably about 70 or 80 years old at that time (his tax page in the same ledger defined him as “the elderly.”) He died within the next two years and the final entry on his tax page from November 1700 shows that the “heirs and sons of Yitzchak Segal paid all his obligations.”[5] Since no other Yitzchak Segal appears in the records in the late 1600s and early 1700s, we can surmise from these entries that Yitzchak Segal could have been born between 1620 and 1630.

Entries made between 1702 and 1726 allowed us to identify Yitzchak’s fours sons—Yishai, Joseph, Aaron, and Moshe—because they signed documents with the patronymic “son of ha-Rav Reb Yitzchak Segal Z”L.” (The Hebrew letters signify ל”ז [Z”L] that the person died; the title ha-Rav Reb shows that the individual was a somewhat learned person.) An inventory of the Jewish householders in Mattersdorf conducted in 1738 revealed Yitzchak Segal's last name to be Schischa (Segal merely denotes that he was a Levite).[6] One entry showed that “Joseph Schyschi” had inherited his house from his father Isaac [Yitzchak]. Other entries in various lists enabled us to identify the sons and sons-in-law of Yitzchak’s sons.

One Segal family line that we couldn’t trace backward or forward, was discovered in the public admonishment of Jakob the son of Zelig Segal in 1740. The judgment read:

“Jakob son of Zelig has not been conducting himself properly. So even though he is getting married we are not allowing him citizenship in the community. It is known to most people in the community that he didn’t conduct himself properly and sometimes we wanted to expel him from the community because of his actions. Neither he, his children, nor his inheritors will have the right to live in this community. No board can revoke this. Agreed by the head of the community.”[7]

Public reprimands came under the domain of the Mattersdorf Jewish community government and occasionally in the records we came across punishments meted out for of indiscretions, although few as harsh as Jakob’s. In some cases scribes deliberately blotted out an admonishment, apparently to prevent later generations from learning the sins of their ancestors.

A Brief Town History

Mattersdorf was one of the Sheva Kehilloth (Seven Holy Communities) in Esterházy lands that were renowned for their piety and the eminent rabbis they produced. The others communities were Eisenstadt, Frauenkirchen, Lackenbach, Kittsee, Kobersdorf, and Deutschkreuz (Tzehlem in Yiddish). Today, Mattersburg (Mattersdorf) lies in the midsection of Burgenland, a long, narrow strip of land between the foothills of the Alps and the lowlands of Hungary. Since 1921, Burgenland has formed Austria’s easternmost province and is famous for its many castles and vineyards. However, in the 1700s it was Hungary’s westernmost region and together with territory that is now Slovakia, was known as Royal Hungary, part of the Austrian Habsburg Empire.

According to tradition, six brothers named Schischa who fled Spain in the 14th or 15th centuries found a new home in Hungary and started the Mattersdorf Jewish community. Nonetheless, Jews may have settled in Mattersdorf as early as 800 CE. The synagogue, which was destroyed during the Holocaust, reportedly had a wall tablet that marked the building’s construction date as 1354. By 1569 there were 67 Jews living in Mattersdorf in 11 houses. The town lay along the route of the Turkish invasion of Vienna and was looted numerous times by the Turks between 1544 and 1671. In 1622, Mattersdorf came under the rule of the Esterházy family, Hungarian nobles loyal to the Austrian Habsburg monarchy.

In 1671, the Habsburg emperor, Leopold I, expelled the Jews from Habsburg territories but they were permitted to return a few months later. The Mattersdorf Jews found that in their short absence Christians had claimed their houses and only in 1675 were the Jews allowed to buy back their own homes. In 1694, Paul Esterházy issued a letter of protection to the Jews of Mattersdorf, which was confirmed by his heirs and updated in 1800.

In a scene right out of “Fiddler on the Roof” the Jews from the neighboring community of Neufeld (who were also under the protection of the Esterházys) were permanently expelled from their homes in 1739, ostensibly to stop the spread of an epidemic. They were resettled in Mattersdorf and the six other Jewish communities in the region. Mattersdorf’s Jewish community had to absorb 186 new residents into its small and already overcrowded Jewish quarter and assume additional financial burden. By 1744, about 416 persons inhabited 33 houses in Mattersdorf’s Jewish section. [8] The number increased to 897 Jews by 1811, but shrank during the cholera epidemic from 1830-1832.

The Mattersdorf Jewish community government consisted of an 11-man council lead by the Rosh Ha-Kahal (head of the community), who was typically one of the wealthiest men in town and quite learned. Other council members included two community elders, two city elders, three tzedakah (charity) treasurers, and three appointees in charge of a special tax collection. Additionally two trustees solicited funds for Torah study (just on Mondays) and three trustees collected money for Jews in Palestine. Leadership changed gradually in Mattersdorf as the men aged, died, or moved away and so tracking changes in the council has genealogical value.

In the records of Mattersdorf and similar communities, a person’s placement on a list of signatories provides a clue to status and age. Typically, community elders (scholars and wealthy businessmen) signed first, beginning on the right side of the page. In these communities it was not considered respectful for a man to sign before his father or before someone more learned. So if the father of a community leader was living, or if a man was a higher-ranking scholar, he signed higher up in a new column on the left side of the page.

Many of Mattersdorf’s tax rosters provided the names of the community members and the amount of taxes each paid, making it possible to surmise the relative wealth of each individual. The first such roster appears for the year 1704 with 40 householders. By 1723 the number had increased to 65.

In some lists the scribe noted each individual’s title, which usually appeared in the form of an acronym. The most common title was Reb (mister) but occasionally in a list where most people lacked titles one or two men might be distinguished with the word Reb. Though usually meaningless, Reb mentioned in such a case signified that the person was a scholar. We found that the best way to differentiate among people with identical first names was to keep track of the titles that accompanied their names.

Our Schischa line was easier to track than most because the men had the designation Segal (abbreviation for segan leviyah) following their names, indicating that they belonged to the Levite tribe. It is possible that not every Segal in Mattersdorf was a Schischa but certainly every Schischa was a Segal.[9] The acronym for Segal was written three ways: S’ [‘ס], S”L [ל”ס], or S”GL [ל”סג]. The S’ form caused some confusion because it also stood for sofer (scribe).

Kohanim (Kohens), members of the priestly caste, were distinguished by the acronym K”TZ [ץ”כ] (pronounced “Katz”), an abbreviation for kohen tzedek. During the 1800s so many Kohns lived in Mattersdorf that identifying each family line now will be extremely time consuming but we think it is possible.

With the exceptions of the use Segal, Katz, a few other acronyms, and the titles rabbi or shames (synagogue manager/caretaker) , men did not add titles to their own names when signing a document, though they did add such titles to their father’s names.

The significance of some titles changed over time in Mattersdorf and they may have had a slightly different meaning in other areas.[10] We found that titles used in rabbinic and family genealogies are of questionable significance as many writers added titles to their ancestors’ names that they never had in their lifetimes.

Titles Placed Before a Name Denoting an Individual’s Level of Learning

Titles Placed Before a Name Denoting Social and Marital Status

Notations Placed After a Name Denoting a Blessing for the Dead or Wishing a Long Life for the Living

Fluidity of Names

Among the most vexing problems we encountered was the changeability of given names. Each Jew in Mattersdorf had as many as five given names, excluding nicknames. The trick for cracking the naming code and tracking individuals was to understand the different kinds of record keeping and the tradition behind each.

Hebrew names. The Jews of Mattersdorf adhered to the strict naming customs of Ashkenazi Jews, and never named a child after a living parent or grandparent, but inevitably named children after deceased parents, grandparents, and other relatives until they had so many children they sought out different names. Boys received their Hebrew name at their bris (circumcision), typically eight days after birth. The names of newborn girls, with the patronymic, were announced in shul (synagogue) during services. Hebrew names appear on gravestone inscriptions, bris records, and important religious and secular documents maintained by the Jewish community.

Yiddish names. Yiddish was the spoken language of the Jews of Mattersdorf; hence, they used Yiddish names as the common form of address. For example, a man with the Hebrew name Menachem was called Mendel. Over time the Mattersdorf Jews switched to speaking German in the home but retained the use of Yiddish names well into the 1800s.[11]

Latin names. The official language of Royal Hungary was Latin, which was rarely heard outside of churches. However, it was used in official documents, including the Hungarian Jewish census, the Conscriptio Judaeorum. The Latin version of Jewish names was recorded in each census, and if no obvious Latin equivalent existed, the census taker invented one. Mendel appeared as Mandel in Latin, but a man named Mordechai might be recorded as Marcus or Marx. [12]

German names. In 1780, Emperor Joseph II initiated reforms that revolutionized Jewish naming practices throughout the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The reforms mandated that Jews take permanent German first names and permanent family names and that Jewish communities register all births, marriages, deaths, and circumcisions in German. Although the reforms were instituted seven to eight years later, the naming restrictions were not tightly enforced in Mattersdorf, and apparently the recording of vital records in German did not begin until 1833. This lasted about 50 years. So, for example, Menachem, who was known in the community as Mendel became Emanuel and/or Mandel in the metrical records.

The German names of the Jewish women in Mattersdorf created some confusion for us. Women apparently used their Yiddish names exclusively in the early to mid-1800s. When it came to recording a German version, it seems that little thought was given to the name. In the records there might be two sisters, or a mother and daughter, with identical secular names, such as Kati or Betti but their Yiddish names, which were not written down, differed from each other.

Hungarian names. In 1885, just about the time when the Jews of Mattersdorf had finally started to use German names as their common names, the laws changed. All Hungarian Jewish communities were compelled to keep records in Hungarian and use Hungarian names. So Emanuel became Manó in the metrical records. Nevertheless, the Jews of Mattersdorf continued to speak German and use the German or Yiddish version of their names.

We discovered that no matter which source was used or what language it was in, the spelling of names was variable and inconsistent, and the handwriting was often nearly illegible. Offsetting this was the linkage of names, such as Menachem-Mendel-Mandel-Emanuel-Manó, which made it possible to track people easily from source to source. See more examples in the sidebar.

Variations on common masculine given names in Mattersdorf

Variations on common feminine given names

Unfortunately, not every name fell into a neat pattern. Men with the name Meir, Mendel, Mordechai, or Moses could end up being recorded as Markus, Max, Moritz, Móricz, Mór, or Miksa. Even a straight- forward name as Simon which one would expect to be strictly a variation of the Hebrew Shimon, was also used for Simcha and Zelig. Even more frustrating are name variations that don’t fall into any logical pattern. For example, Chaim Schischa (1829-1907) appeared in the record books as Heinrich, Joachim, Jakob, and Abraham.

Surnames

In Mattersdorf before 1833 most families used a patronymic or a place name for the surname but these surnames were not fixed. Add in the variance in given names and tracking can become a nightmare. For instance, Meir Müller, who was born in Bohemia, was also known as Moritz Böhm and Meyer Stein. However, many surnames in Mattersdorf are linked to specific variations:

Surname used in 1800s	*Earlier or interchangeable surname used by some* families**
Brandweiner	Tzehlem (Jewish name for the town Deutschkreuz)
Deutsch	Frauenkirchen (appears mainly in Hebrew records and uses acronym P”K)
Deutsch	Sofer (appears as Sofer only in Hebrew records)
Gerstl	Neufeld
Götzl	Löb
Heim	Kobersdorf
Hessel	Wolf
Jaffe	Schön
Kerpel	Chait (later became Schneider, then Kerpel)
Kessler	Teltch
Lipschitz	Lackenbach
Löb	Schischa (Löb used by descendants of Shmuel Schischa)
Löwy	Schischa (Löwy used by descendants of David Schischa)
Moses	Schischa (Moses used by descendants of Moses Beer Schischa)
Müller	Böhm
Österreicher	Neufeld
Philip	Simon
Pollak	Mullendorf
Pollak	Shapitin
Schey	Frauenkirchen (appears mainly in Hebrew records and uses acronym P”K; likely part of the Deutsch/Frauenkirchen family. In late 1700s used the surname Philip)
Schischa	Baden (used by Isak Löb Schischa a restaurant owner in Baden)
Schischa	Kobersdorf (used by a family that settled in Neunkirchen)
Schwarz	Eisenstadt
Steinhof	Sofer
Zelzer/Salzer	Tziltz
Eger	Schlessinger
Pisling	Schlessinger
Schreiber	Sofer (family of the Hatam Sofer)

Even with these linkages, confusion in identifying individuals still abounds. The most problematic surnames are Löb, Löwy, and Hirschel because they were so common. Indeed, in one large clan these three surnames were interchangeable. One remarkable example is that of the 1836 birth of Pinchas, the son of Abraham Löb and Zilli. In the metrical records, three different birth entries exist for him, each with a different surname: Pinkas Hirschel, Pinkas Löwy, and Pinkas Löb.

Records from the mid- to late-1700s are scarce but nevertheless we noticed that by the mid-1700s, there was increased movement of people among the Jewish communities in Burgenland and adjacent regions, most probably due to marriage. It seems as though young women tended to stay with their families as a significant number of men from other towns joined the Mattersdorf community as sons-in-law. Few records, however, exist for women in the 1700s and this is has created a major hurdle. We can trace many families from the late 1600s to the mid 1700s, but lose their trail for one or two generations due to a scarcity records. The families resurface in the late 1700s and become increasing easier to follow through the 1800s.

We believe a solution exists but it is elusive. The Österreichisches Jüdisches Muse

Acronym	Long form	Translation	Denotes
-------	כמר Ke-Mar	Mister	Mister
ר' R’	רב Reb	Rabbi	Mister
הר"ר ha-R”R	הרב רב ha-Rav Reb	The rabbi, rabbi	Somewhat learned
ר' ר' R’ R’	רב רב Reb Reb	Rabbi, rabbi	Somewhat learned
התו' ha-To’	התורני ha-Torani	The Torah fellow	Torah scholar
-------	החבר ha-Chaver	Friend	Basic ordination
כהר"ר KHR”R	כבוד הרב רב Kvod ha-Rav Reb	Honorary rabbi, rabbi	Talmudic scholar
מוהר"ר MHR”R	מורנו הרב רב Morenu ha-Rav Reb	Our teacher the rabbi, rabbi	Higher ordination
כמוהר"ר KMhR”R	כבוד מורנו הרב רב Kvod Morenu ha-Rav Reb	Our honorary teacher, the rabbi rabbi	Practicing rabbi

Acronym	Long form	Translation	Denotes
ר"ה R”H	ראש הקהל Rosh Ha-Kahal	Head of the community	President of the community
ט"ע T”I	טוב העיר Tov ha-Ir	Good man of the city	City elder
ט"ה T”H	טוב הקהל Tov ha-Kahal	Good man of the community	Community elder
-------	ממונה Memuna	Appointee	Appointee
-------	גבאי Gabai	Treasurer	Treasurer
ג"ץ G”Tz	גבאי צדקה Gabai tzedakah	Charity treasurer	Charity treasurer
גבאי ת"ת Gabai T”T	גבאי תלמוד תורה Gabai	Treasurer of the Torah studies	School administrator
גא"י GE”Y	גבאי ארץ ישראל Gabbai Eretz Yisrael	Treasurer of the Land of Israel	Administrator of a fund for Jews in Palestine
-------	שמש Shamash	Sexton	Sexton
-------	נאמן Ne’eman	Trustee	Notary
שו"נ SHv”N	שמש ונאמן Shamash ve-Ne’eman	Sexton and notary	Sexton and notary
-------	חזן Chazzan	Cantor	Cantor
ש"ץ Sh”Tz	שליח ציבור Shaliach Tzibur	Public emissary	Cantor
-------	מלמד Melamed	Teacher	Teacher
ס' S’	סופר Sofer	Scribe	Scribe

Acronym	Long form	Translation	Denotes
-------	האלוף ha-Aluf	Esteemed	Affluence with degree of learning
הק' Ha-K’	הקצין ha-Katzin	Chief	Affluence
הק' Ha-K’	הקטן ha-Katan	The small	Humble
-------	הבחור ha-Bachur	The chosen	Bachelor
-------	נער Na’ar	Youth	Bachelor

Acronym	Long form	Translation	Denotes
שלי"ט ShALI”T	שיחי' לאורך ימים טובים She-yichiye le-orech yomim tovim	He should live a long good life	Living scholar or righteous person
יצ"ו Ytz”V	----	May G-d protect him	A living person
ShYe שי'	שיחי she-Yichiye	May he live	A living person
AH ע"ה	עליו השלום Alav Ha-Shalom	Peace be upon him	A deceased person
ז"ל Z”L	זכרונו לברכה Zichrono Li-vracha	May his memory be a blessing	A deceased person
זצ"ל ZTzL	זכר צדיק לברכה Zecher tzaddik li-vracha	May the memory of the righteous be for a blessing	Deceased scholar or righteous person
הי"ד [name] הק ha-K’ [name] ha-Y”D	הקדוש [name] השם ינקום דמו haKadosh [name of martyr] Hashem Yinkom Damo	The Holy [name] May G-d avenge his blood	Martyr [name of martyr]