‘Father of Jewish Genealogy’ Dan Rottenberg to speak at Heinz History Center

A genealogical master is treating Pittsburghers to a day of learning. Dan Rottenberg, author of “Finding Our Fathers: A Guidebook to Jewish Genealogy,” will speak at the Heinz History Center’s Rauh Jewish Archives on July 20 at 11 a.m.

The Sunday program, which is also accessible on Zoom, is a chance to hear from a preeminent authority, according to Steve Jaron, president of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Pittsburgh.

Rottenberg’s 1977 book, “Finding Our Fathers,” delivered critical tools for conducting research while introducing various genealogical theories, Jaron, 46, said. “Those of the older generation cut their teeth on his book. He really is considered the father of modern Jewish genealogy.”

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Speaking by phone from his office in Center City, Philadelphia, Rottenberg, 83, acknowledged his contributions to the movement and joked how much has changed in the past 50 years.

Unearthing one’s ancestry used to require knowledge of family crests, biblical inscriptions or potential holdings during the American Revolution. Most of those details “didn’t apply to me,” the Jewish writer said. “All I knew was that my ancestors were told, ‘When you see a coat of arms, you run for your life.’”

Rottenberg’s push, he explained, was for Jewish searchers to investigate ship manifests, naturalization records and birth and death certificates.

The investigative tack may seem obvious now — especially with the internet enabling easy means for searching and sharing documents — but the idea was predicated on a belief about peoplehood.

“There aren’t that many Jews in the world,” Rottenberg said. “If you can get us all to trace and exchange our family trees, we are going to learn a lot about each other’s and our own trees.”

There are about 15 million Jewish people worldwide, according to the Jewish Agency for Israel.

The number, which was about 2 million fewer 50 years ago, once seemed staggering; Nowadays “that’s nothing” as computers and social media connect billions of people by the second, Rottenberg said.

The New York City-born author never intended to guide a movement. Writing about genealogy was simply something he needed to do after attending his grandmother’s funeral as a teen.

During the ceremony, Rottenberg noticed four generations in the family plot.

“I found myself copying the names and dates,” he said.

Rottenberg tried scribing a family tree but encountered various difficulties. As years passed, he realized “there was very little in terms of guidance for Jews. I finally wound up saying, ‘I guess I’ll write a guidebook myself.’”

“Finding Our Fathers” wasn’t Rottenberg’s first foray into writing. The University of Pennsylvania graduate started out as a journalist in daily newspapers before transitioning to magazines, journals and books. As an editor, he oversaw seven publications, most recently Broad Street Review, an independent cultural arts website he launched in December 2005.

Rottenberg’s other posts included executive editor of Philadelphia Magazine, managing editor of Chicago Journalism Review, a Wall Street Journal reporter and editor of the Commercial-Review, a daily newspaper in Portland, Indiana. Between 1978 and 1997, he wrote an editorial-page column for the Philadelphia Inquirer. His list of publications, apart from 13 books, include more than 300 articles for magazines, including Town & Country, Reader’s Digest, The New York Times Magazine, Forbes, Civilization, American Benefactor, Bloomberg Personal Finance, TV Guide, Playboy, Rolling Stone and Chicago.

Something he’s particularly proud of, he said, was a practice he performed throughout the 1970s: recording the richest people in various cities. When Forbes magazine decided in 1981 to begin its “Forbes 400” list of wealthiest Americans “they came to me, and I basically showed them how to do it,” he said.

Whether in genealogy or journalism, Rottenberg has observed considerable change. As much as he traces it, he’s a piece of history as well.

Born in 1942 in Queens and raised on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Rottenberg was bar mitzvahed in 1955 at The Society for the Advancement of Judaism. Officiating his bar mitzvah was Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionist Judaism.

Rottenberg has plenty of tales to tell but the message he’s hoping to convey is an invitation to his July 20 talk.

Apart from that, “everybody should trace their ancestry,” he said. Doing so is a transformative experience. By undertaking a genealogical search “I am much more aware of my place in the world, and my place as the Jew in the world.”

The author acknowledged that there will always be people who are “critical of genealogy” for various reasons. Still, he said, “I find that when you trace your ancestors, you learn more about yourself, you learn more about history, and you are able to place your ancestors in the context of history. It’s a really personal way to tie yourself into the rest of the world. That’s what makes it so valuable.”

Having some perspective is “what we need right now, or in any era,” he continued. “Most people understand the present, but they don’t understand the past. And yet, we are tied into that, all of us.” PJC

Adam Reinherz can be reached at areinherz@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org.