Genealogy
The tree of the Jewish people, branch after branch: connecting families, sources and generations in a single living memory.
« Here is the book of generations… » — from the first genealogies of the Torah to the registers of communities, descent lies at the heart of Israel's memory. To remember (zakhor) is first to know whom one is descended from. This menu brings together Zakhor's genealogical work: to reconstruct, patiently and with evidence, the tree of the Jewish people — not an abstract tree, but the concrete fabric of families, bound to one another and to their sources.
Why this menu
Genealogy is not an archival pastime: it is a way to restore each name to its history. A recovered lineage illuminates a community, a migration, a trade, a fidelity. By connecting the personal trees you contribute to the more than 5,000 lineages already documented — to their places, their communities and their Great Books — Zakhor makes visible what no family sees alone: the bridges between branches, forgotten cousinages, the geography of exile. This menu opens two gestures — exploring the common tree, and searching for a specific family connection — and calls upon each person to help it grow.
How the tree of the Jews was built
The tree is not decreed: it is proven. It is composed by cross-referencing authentic sources, never by convenient deduction. Each descent carries its degree of certainty — established, probable or transmitted — and remains linked to the document that grounds it.
Authentic sources
Civil registers and communal pinqasim, ketoubot and rabbinic deeds, archives of the Alliance israélite universelle, manuscripts from the Bodleian and the BnF, fragments from the Cairo Genizah: the tree draws from documents, not from assumptions.
Trees submitted by families
Descendants import their own trees — GEDCOM, PDF, spreadsheets — which connect, name by name, to the already documented fabric. Your data remains private by default; only you choose what joins the collective memory.
Cross-referencing and verification
A descent is only retained when at least two sources agree, or when an expert attests to it. Doubtful cases are flagged as such rather than affirmed: a branch marked 'probable' is better than a false branch.
The link to Great Books
Each reconstructed lineage is connected to its Great Book, to its places and to its community. The tree ceases to be a list of names: it becomes the living framework of a collective history.
Family trees
Reconstruct your family tree by drawing on community registers, rabbinic acts, and archives.
Community registers
The pinqasim (registers) of Jewish communities constitute a precious source of genealogical data.
Rabbinic filiations
Chains of transmission (shalshelet ha-qabbala) linking masters to disciples across the generations.
Migrations and diasporas
Mapping population movements — from Spain to the Maghreb, from Eastern Europe to the Americas and Israel.
Sources and resources
- ›Civil records of Jewish communities (ketubot, divorces, births)
- ›Archives of the Alliance Israélite Universelle
- ›Luzzatto collection and Italian archives
- ›Bodleian Library, Oxford — Hebrew collections
- ›Bibliothèque nationale de France — Hebrew manuscripts
- ›Cairo Genizah — documentary fragments
Search for a person
A name, a spelling, a century: find a person among the 32,000 in the tree, and open their family.Explore the tree
Browse the tree of the Jewish people: its lineages, their origins, the bridges between families.Find a family connection
Two names, two families: is there a path between them? Measure the kinship, with evidence to support it.Import your family tree
Already have a digital family tree or family documents? Import them directly onto the platform to integrate them into our collaborative database and link them to historical sources.
GEDCOM (.ged)
Standard genealogy format — compatible with Geneanet, MyHeritage, Ancestry, Gramps, etc.
PDF / Images
Handwritten trees, ketubot, civil records, photos of family documents.
Spreadsheets (.csv, .xlsx)
Lists of names, dates, and places exported from a spreadsheet or genealogy software.
Geneanet / MyHeritage links
Simply share the link to your public tree on existing platforms.
Guaranteed confidentiality
Your data remains private by default. You choose what you wish to share with the community. Files are stored securely and will never be passed on to third parties without your explicit consent.
Bring a loved one back to life
Their letters, their photographs, their voice — gathered, read, and restored to conversation
Open the workshop →Enrich the genealogy
The richness of a collective genealogy rests on everyone's contribution. Whether it is a rabbinic record found in family archives, a ketubah passed down from generation to generation, or an oral tradition about the origins of a lineage, every fragment matters. This page brings together the avenues of contribution open to all — researchers, descendants, institutions.
Submit a document
Upload a record, a ketubah, a register or a family archive photograph to enrich our holdings.
Deposit a tree
Share an already-constituted family tree — GEDCOM, PDF or chart — so that it may be linked to existing sources.
Write an entry
Contribute a biography, a lineage entry or a family account documented by your own sources.
Report a connection
Establish a link between two personalities, families or archival items already present in the database.
How to contribute
- Create an account or log in to access the contribution tools.
- Choose the type of contribution suited to your document or knowledge.
- Provide the essential metadata: dates, places, persons, sources.
- Submit your contribution — it will be reviewed by the scientific committee before publication.
This tree grows with you
The genealogy of the people is a collective work. It calls for three commitments, open to all — no account needed to begin.
Contribute content
A GEDCOM tree, a ketouba, a rabbinic deed, an oral tradition about your origins: each item you contribute can unlock research for ten other families.
Enrich the genealogy →Become a coordinator
Watch over a lineage or community: gather descendants, arbitrate sources, keep the living thread across generations.
Become a coordinator →Join the experts
Paleographers, historians, rabbis, onomasticians: your learned eye validates descents and settles uncertain cases.
Become an expert →Contribute to genealogical research
Share your family trees, archival documents and genealogical information to enrich our collective database.
Submit genealogical data →