Biterman Family of Hrubieszow, Poland
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ROOTS IN THE IBERIAN PENINSULA Oral tradition tells us that ancestors of the modern Biterman family originated in Spain. In March of 1492, when King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella of Spain ordered all Jews to either convert to Catholicism or leave Spain, ancestors of the Biterman family refused to convert. The family left Spain. At that time, the family may have sought refuge the Netherlands, as the Dutch were the enemies of the Spanish. After massive expulsions of Jews from the Western Europe (England, France, Germany, and Spain), many Jews found refuge in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. Jewish immigration brought valuable manpower and skills to the rising state of Poland. THE MIGRATION EASTWARD I am not sure where Biterman ancestors were from the late 1400s to the mid-1500s, but oral tradition tells that Biterman ancestors settled in Hrubieszow, Poland in the mid-1500s. During the Jagiellon Era (1385-1572) Poland became the home to Europe's largest Jewish population. In particular, after the mid-sixteenth century the Polish lands supported the world's largest concentration of Jews, whose number was estimated at 150,000 in 1582. Under the Jagiellons, Jews suffered fewer restrictions in Poland-Lithuania than elsewhere in Europe while establishing an economic niche as tradesmen and managers of noble estates. The 16th and the first half of the 17th century saw increased settlement and a relatively fast rate of natural population growth among Polish Jews. The number of immigrants also grew, especially in the 16th century. Many Sephardic Jews from Spain, Portugal, Italy and Turkey came to Poland of their own free will. The travails of Spanish Jews as they sought refuge wherever they could and their persistent identification for generations with the land they still considered home is a unique and fascinating story. Deprived of their possessions, often murdered on ships for whatever little they had left, their travels took them to nearby North Africa, Italy, the Ottoman empire whose sultan welcomed them ("if the Spanish soverain is foolish enough to expel his Jews, his loss will be our gain"), and the frontier edges of the New World in their attempt to flee the Inquisition which followed them wherever it could. Thus, the Biterman family may have stayed in any of the countries of Europe, but by 1560 had settled in Hrubieszow, Poland. SEPHARDIM AS A PEOPLE In the 12th Century, 90% of the world's Jewish populaton was Sephardic. But, by 1700, only 50% of the world's Jewish population was Sephardic. By 1930, a mere 10% of the world's Jewery was Sephardic. Today the word Sephardim has taken a much wider meaning and includes Jewish communities in North Africa, Iraq (Babylon), Syria, Greece, Turkey and most Jews who are not Ashkenazim. Today the distinction between Sephardim and Ashkenazim is primarily one of differing traditions due to their backgrounds. Differing languages (latino and arabic vs. yiddish and polish), religious melodies during the services, festival traditions, Hebrew pronunciation are among the things that differ between Sephardim and Ashkenazim. POLISH ASSIMILATION In the middle of the 17th century there were 500,000 Jews living in Poland, about five percent of the total population of Poland. This large population of Polish Jews, of which the Biterman family was a part, was primarily Ashkenaz in origin. The town of Hrubieszow, where the Biterman family settled, did have a Sephardic synagogue. The Biterman family practiced religiously Sephardic rituals at that synagogue until 1939. More on that below. That said, being a Sephardic Jew surrounded with the traditions of Ashkenaz Jews was not easy. In the recent three or four centuries, Ashkenaz Jewry exploded into prominence around the world, both in culture and population, and Sephardic Jews, like their host countries, went into a cultural decline that is only recently beginning to reverse itself. There is no doubt that families of Sephardic origin in Poland saw many of their traditions erase from generation to generation as they assimilated into the European way of life and forgot their Western European origin. The Biterman family is no different. ASSUMPTION OF THE BITERMAN SURNAME By April, 1797, Jews in South and New East Prussia (including Poland) were required to adopt surnames, however many families escaped name assignments. It is unknown when or how the surname Biterman came about. There are numerous possibilities regarding the meaning of the surname Biterman. It is likely that the ancestors named Lejb, married to Chai, adopted the surname in the mid-to-late 18th century. The Biterman name, while virtually non-existent in the United States, was a fairly common surname in Poland. Derivatives were also common (Bederman, Fiterman, Biderman, etc.). In a 1862 marriage document, the surname is spelled Bederman. One explanation of the surname is that "biter" is the Polish translation of gorzki (meaning bitter in Polish), a surname likely assigned to a sour, bitter, or severe person. If this is the derivative of the name, perhaps it was a surname assigned to the family by gentile Polish officials. An alternative explanation is that the surname is an occupational name derived from the Middle High German bitten, meaning 'to bid' for a bidder, broker, suitor, or municipal collector. 'Beder' may also indicate a 'better' man. Danuta Biterman in Sweden believes Biterman is the Polish spelling of German "Bittermann," as Polish forms of German surnames are very common among Polish Jews. The German-like surname would be indicative of our ancestors having lived in the territory that fell under Austrian jurisdiction after one of the successive partitions of Poland in 1772, 1793 or 1795. Until then Jews living in the Polish Kingdom didn't use any surnames, because Jewish community was granted some autonomy and paid taxes directly to the king as the collective, not individually. After partitions, when Jews became subjects in the Russian or Austrian Empire respectively, they were requested to pay taxes individually as everybody else. As such, Jews were required to take individual family names. The wealthy persons could buy themselves beautiful names, such as Goldszmit or Silberberg. The less wealthy must have depended on official's good mood. Danuta Biterman says, "Maybe this particular ancestor was not so rich and the official in question (not Polish, but Austrian) who assigned the name had a bad day (or, alternatively, didn't like him) and named him accordingly." FAMILY RELIGIOUS STATUS The Biterman family was middle class. Great-grandfather Josef Biterman (1870-1939) owned a dairy farm, but was said not to farm it formally. Grandfather Judah Biterman (1901/4-1975) dealt in commerce. That said, the family had yichus in the community. Yichus translates from Yiddish and means lineage, distinguished birth, or pedigree. But it means much more in Yiddish culture, demonstrating good blood and cherished genes. Biterman family members were trained in the Jewish traditions of their ancestors. Judah Biterman had no formal education; he was trained and instructed in Torah, Talmud, and Hebrew language. His father, Josef Biterman, was a devoutly pious man. In Poland, and definitely in Hrubieszow, families only would marry those who were in the same social status. That's simply how marriages were arranged. The Biterman family was among the more religious families of Hrubieszow, and, thus, married with other religious families. Families from Hrubieszow who are known to have intermarried with the Biterman family include ADLER, AJDELMAN, CIMET, CYMET, EDELMAN, FINGER, FOLK, GERYNG, GRUBER, GOLOMB, HARING, HERING, KIFER, and TRUK. |
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