Avrom- It's nice you have documents, but it can't be true.
1. Rabbi Yaakov Emden and his father Chacham Zvi never wrote they descendants of the Rema, however they wrote many times about their clan, information like this has not disappeared so quickly.
2. their surname was clearly different, Zak isn't Meisles (or Bunim's).
3. The familys live in other countrys, the Ottmon Empire, Prussia, Netherland & East Galicia for one family (Zak) and Poland for Rema G-Children.
I know that the policy of geni are to create the biggest tree but we don't need to fabricate truth.
Since we are both descendents of R' Saul Lowenstamm, A.B.D. Amsterdam and thus the Chacham Tzvi Hirsch Ashkenazi through his daughter Miriam, I've been following this conversation with great interest. While I can't speak authoritatively about the actual geneology, I would note that it's possible that they might not have known the relationship with Rabbi Moses ben Israel Isserles, "RaMA" as the connection is through several generations of daughters more than a century before. And, from what I can see, looking at hundreds of our ancestors geneologies, the records relating to women are thin, at best. Thus, it's quite possible they would have known little of any matrilineal associations such as this
Also, from what has been written about the Chacham Tzvi and his father, they were among the more mobile rabbis of their time, with years spent as far East as Bosnia and as far west as London and known to be more scholarly than "social."
As of now, we connected to the ReMa along at least two lines.
All the best
Peter (8th cousin)
In this profile we speak about paternal ancestors (Chacham Zvi- Rabbi Yaakov- Rabbi Binyamin Wolf- ''Rabbi Isaac Bunim's the groom of Rabbi Simcha Bunim the groom of Rema), so your claim of lack of knowledge by the matrillineal is irrelevant.
Rabbi Simcha Bunim Meisles Who married the Rema daughter died in 1624, 34 years before the Chacham Zvi birth. Do you really think that such information has been lost in 34 years?
The Chacham Zvi raised up on his grandfather's lap Rabbi Efraim Author of Shaar Efraim, if it was true, why Rabbi Efraim never told to his G-Child? or Rabbi Yaakov his father who live with him in Uban (now Budapest)?
What is shown here about Rabbi Yaakov Zak family is ridiculous and rewrites history.
Geni has to decide whether her field is in history or in science fiction.
Dear Netanel,
I'll try to answer your questions with the following information.
~In these times the Rema was known as a 'simple' Rabbi.Only years after he was
niftar, he got well-known by his halachic writings.
~Reb yaakov Emden wrote down his yichus, but it looks like he didn't write about all
the grandfathers from all sides.
~In these times the Jewish families had to move from one place to the other.(galus)
As you see in the writings of Reb Yaakov Emden. So the grandfather of the Chacham
Tzvi ,the Shaar Efraim (Reb Efraim Zalmen Margulis) was in the beginning Rabbi in
Wilnius (Vilna),where the Chacham Tzvi was born. And with his grandfather , the
Shaar Efraim, he moved to Budan(now Budapest,Hungary), and later he moved to
Saloniky and Constantinopel( Turkey ). After 2 years he returned to Budapest, where
he got married. A couple of years later , there was a war raging in Budapest. He fled
alone to Sarajevo in Bosnië, then to Berlin , then to Venecia ,then to Ansbach, then to
Fjorda, then to Praag ,then to Altuna ,and then he was a Rabbi in Amsterdam, then a
Rabbi in London ,then to Emden ,and then to Levov (Poland).
~His children,family and in-laws were also all spread out in different countries.
Like Reb Nosson ,his son-in-law who was living in Brod . And also years later his
descendant ,the Divrei Chaim , the Rabbi of Tsanz . etc.
~In these times the family names changed a lot:
The Chacham Tzvi's last name was Zak and was changed afterwards to Ashkenazi.
The Rema also had different family names Maizlish ,Isserlis .
This information is all based on documents.
I hope that this knowledge will be clear enough to solve your questions.
Kol tuv, Avrohom
Dear Avrom,
The ABD in krakow couldn't be a simple man, you can read all the books rabbis write in this ages, no one describe Rema as a simple man.
The Yaavez wrote clearly why they take the name Ashkenazy. All Rema sons called Isserlis, Meisles was his daughter spouse.
Otherwise- Rabbi Efraim Zalman Margulies isn't the Shaar Efraim, they are different persons, Rabbi Efraim Hacohen.
The Shaar Efraim was judge in Vilnius at the same time with the Shach (Rabbi Shabtai Hacohen), who was son-in-law of R' Binyamin Wolf (actualy Shimon Wolf) the g-grandson of Rema, why Shaar Efraim and The Shach never wrote they are relatives? Because it's a story that never happened!