Levan, Lask, and Cohen-Lask: A Family Saga with More Drama Than a Purim Spiel
(Or, “How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the 56 Surnames in My Living Room”)
My journey into Adrienne’s family history began with a simple question: “So, your dad’s name is Maurice Levan… but what’s with all the ‘Lask’ and ‘Cohen-Lask’ business?” Little did I know, I’d signed up for a genealogical rollercoaster with more twists than a challah braid. Let’s just say, if our family tree were a Netflix series, it’d be titled “Fiddler on the Roof Meets Sherlock Holmes.”
It all started with Idydie Lewinowicz, born in 1880 in Raciez, Poland. Picture this: a man whose name sounds like a Scrabble champion’s final move, launching a lineage that would scatter across continents like matzo crumbs at Passover. Idydie’s story sparked a collaborative tchotchke hunt, with relatives popping out of the woodwork like nosy neighbours at a bris. Arnold Levan shared photos older than the shtetl itself. Ruth Rosen unearthed documents so fragile, they made gefilte fish[ look durable. And Paul and Hannah Harris? They brought the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for arguing over who makes the best chicken soup.
My role? Let’s call me the “gonif of genealogy”—stealing hours to piece together fragments like a Jewish Indiana Jones, but with more coffee and less whip. The Family Tree website became my Wailing Wall, connecting us to cousins so distant, they probably owe us money from 1923. Together, we solved mysteries that would stump even bubbe’s Mahjong group: “Was Eva Lask really Leah Lask’s daughter-in-law, or just her arch-nemesis at the synagogue bake sale?” Turns out, they were family. Mazel tov!
As Adrienne’s husband of 40 years (or as her relatives call me, “the new guy”), I’ve been welcomed with open arms and relentless questions: “You’re writing this down, yes?” and “Sure, you can marry Adrienne… but can you handle her zayde’s kugel recipe?” Their warmth rivals a cholent simmering for 12 hours stubborn, hearty, and impossible to resist.
Current Stats (Because Jews Love Numbers):
- 243 Individuals: Enough for a minyan on Mars.
- 104 Family Groups: Or, “Why We Need a Spreadsheet Just for Pesach.”
- Earliest Birth: 1775 (when George Washington was still arguing with his own bubbe about powdered wigs).
- Most Recent Birth: 2025 (plot twist: we’ve time-travelled. L’chaim!).
- 56 Surnames: From Levan to Cohen-Lask to Furgacz Rogenstein—a name so long, it needs its own zip code.
Highlights include FILUT (sounds like a Yiddish verb for “to argue in line at the deli”), SHAPNITZKI (the family’s answer to “Smith”), and KAPOTA (which I’m 80% sure is a lost tribe of matzo ball taste-testers).
But we’re not done! DNA testing has entered the chat, because why rely on oral histories when science can tell us we’re 2% latke? We’re chasing leads like “Who hid the good silver before the Cossacks came?” and “Why does Aunt Miriam’s mandelbrot recipe include a secret ingredient called chutzpah?”
This project isn’t just a family tree—it’s a forest, watered with schmaltz and fertilized by decades of kvetching. To Adrienne’s clan: thank you for letting me scribble in the margins of your epic. To newcomers: grab a seat, a bialy, and a magnifying glass. The next chapter’s brewing, and rumour has it, Uncle Moishe’s ghost still owes someone £5 10 Shillings and 6 pence.
Got a clue? Reach out. We’ll supply the rugelach and the side-eye. 🥯
Current Family Tree Overview
- 243 Individuals documented
- 56 Unique Surnames traced
- 104 Family Groups identified
- Earliest Recorded Birth: 1775
- Most Recent Birth: 2025
ALDRIDGE, ALMOND, BANKS, BEHR, BERLE, BERNSTEIN, COHEN, COHENLASK, DAVID, DENT, DINER, EVANS, FILUT, FLAX, FORGACZ, FURGACZ, FURGACZ ROGENSTEIN, GITTLESON, GLICKSMAN, GOODWIN, GRAHAM, GRIBLER, HARRIS, HENDY, HILDEBRAND, KAPOTA, KUFELD, LASK, LEVAN, LEVANOVITCH, LEVENOVITCH, LEVENOVITZ, LEVINOVIS, LEVINOVITCH, LEVO, LEVONOVITCH, LEWINOWICZ, MANSOOR, MINZ, MOND, MORRIS, PASSARELLA, ROSEN, SANDFORD, SHADMON, SHAPNITZKI, SOLSTEIN, SPELLER, STADEN, TAUSIG, TOISTER, URBAN, VAUGHAN, VEINER, WAINE, and ZAMET.
This evolving project stands as a testament to collaboration, patience, and the enduring desire to honour our shared roots.