Recently, at an Orange County, California book group, our host, Anna, suggested that we publish our own family tree alongside those of Vera and Alla. It was a timely topic since my husband has been compulsively researching our family trees over these last two months. I knew a lot more about Vera and Alla’s family histories than my own. I admit I was a skeptic about genealogy since it seemed pointless to know a name, place, date of birth and death without understanding the story of the person.
My husband, Harry, has attended his share of talks on our book, Jewish Luck. He resonated with one of our many themes, the centrality of the immigrant, the one who chose to leave his or her home country. Trained as a systems analyst, he likes a project. When he was asked to become part of a new Jewish Genealogical Society in Minneapolis/St. Paul,...



