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Yichus (יִחוּס yḥws), a Hebrew-based Yiddish word meaning "lineage". In some past and present Jewish communities, good yichus - meaning descent from a family of high reputation - is necessary for a person to be considered as a potential marriage partner.
Colloquially, the term refers to the chain of origin for a statement, creative work or object.[1]
Yichus first appeared in the Bible in the Book of Ezra.[2] It appears in Ezra 2:62 and Nehemiah 7:5), where the Hebrew root (yud-chet-sin) means "relation to" or "related to."[2] In the later rabbinic Hebrew, the last letter of the root changed from sin (ש) to samekh (ס), though the pronunciation and meaning remained unchanged. The latter spelling (yud-hey-samech) appears frequently in rabbinic literature.[3]
Although the word yichus originated in Hebrew,[4][5] the term is generally accepted as a Yiddish word that has flowed into Modern English. The Anglicized word has been transliterated as yichus,[6] yikhes,[7][8] yiches,[9] and yikhus.[10]
As far back as the Talmudic era, being son-in-law to someone widely respected was valued.[11] Subsequently, even the yichus of being son-in-law to the son-in-law and similar lineage links were valued.
From the 14th century onwards, yichus was an important concern for Eastern European Jews.[7] Good yichus could refer to Torah scholarship or wealth, while bad yichus resulted from the suspicion of illegitimate descent.[7] However, many rabbis disapproved of the concept of yichus, instead insisting on judging individuals based on their personal merits.[2] "In Lithuania some Jewish families hid their Yikhus (lineage)".[12] There was a tension between yichus on one hand, and "meritocratic leadership based on scholarship" on the other.[7] Judgments of yichus became one of the mechanisms which determined social hierarchies.[7]
From the 19th century, the significance of yichus declined as more marriages were based on romantic love,[13] and reformers criticized yichus for leading to inbreeding within small circles of "acceptable" families.[7] However, nowadays yichus is still an important qualification for marriage in charedi communities.[14][15]
The family trees, or pedigree charts, of Jewish families, listing genealogy and family history records, have been identified with several names, among which are Yichus book,[16][17][18] Yichus brief,[19] and Yichus record.[20][21]
To help a child trace lineage, some families would write a "Yichus book".[22]
The focus of a Yichus brief (letter of relationship)[23] is not as extensive as a Yichus Book[24][23][25] whereas a Yichus book or Yichus record/"sefer yuchsin"/registry[20] is community-oriented.
Some families also kept a separate "Register of Circumcisions".[22]
Being the mechutan (מְחוּתָּן, father of one's child's spouse[26]) of a notable person is sometimes considered important enough to include in a wedding invitation and in giving other credentials.[27][28] Although primarily used for same generation relatives, it can be used beyond that generation.[29]
Being a ben achar ben (literally son-after-son, i.e. patrilineal) descendant is sometimes considered more notable than other forms of descent.[30][31][32][33]
For various reasons, surnames/family names were changed, and sometimes reverted.[22] Thus, Jewish family names have not always been a reliable indicator of ancestry. For example: certain family names, such as Cohen, are not as strongly indicative of being a Kohen as Katz.