מאגר סיפורי מורשת

For his family roots project Jordan made a replica of what a small Jewish village would have looked like in Eastern Europe in the early 20th Century. These small Jewish villages were commonly known as shtetls, and were very common in countries like Poland and Russia in the early 1900s, the first one being built all the way back in the 13th century. He truly believes that this represents his family history and the history of European Jews.

Many of his ancestors, and even some of his recent ancestors, like his great – grandparents, came from shtetls in Europe. That's why he decided to do this project.

In his shtetl’s shul there is a cemetery representing his family members that perished during the Holocaust. There were hundreds of people in his family who were victims of the Holocaust. He is named after his great- grandmother's sister who perished.

On the roof of one of the houses in his shtetl, there are old flags of the countries that his family are originally from. Some of these flags include the old flag of Poland, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Romania. They all came from cities and towns like Bardejov, Satoraljaujhely, Stashow, Krosniewice, and more.

In his shtetl, he added typical things that would have been in a 19th century village like animals, a horse-drawn carriage, and more. His shtetl is also decorated with flowers in the corners of the houses. In his town there is a small store with a sign that reads “sklep spożywczy”- general store in Polish, with Yiddish underneath. This represents the store that his great – grandfather’s parents had in Poland.

He also found out that his family tree goes all the way back to King David! He is his 105rd great-grandfather!

He will always be proud of where he comes from and will never forget his roots. He will always be proud of being Jewish.

הזוית האישית

Jordan Samuel participated in My Family Story 2022. My Family Story is an experiential and fun Jewish heritage program that involves Jewish youth from 30 countries around the globe. Students research their roots, conduct family interviews and use their creative skills to design original, artistic installations that capture the essence of their family history. Top entries are selected for display in an international exhibition in Memory of Manuel Hirsch Grosskopf, displayed at ANU – Museum of the Jewish People.