Yichus ( yḥws), a Hebrew-based Yiddish word meaning "lineage". In some past and present Jewish communities, good —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.See the entry at Talk:Midrash (the "unsigned comment" that is the 3rd entry at Talk:Midrash#Midrash Rabbah) that is timestamped "17:19, 15 May 2007". QUOTE: << If the original source has "yichus" (i.e., Jewish Encyclopedia or Britannica) ... >>
Etymology first appeared in the Hebrew Bible in the Book of Ezra. It appears in and ), where the Hebrew root (yud-chet-sin) means "relation to" or "related to." In the later rabbinic Hebrew, the last letter of the root changed from sin () to samekh (), though the pronunciation and meaning remained unchanged. The latter spelling (yud-hey-samech) appears frequently in rabbinic literature.Sefaria search: יחס
Although the word originated in Hebrew,Nechemia,7:5 the term is generally accepted as a Yiddish word that has flowed into modern English. The anglicized word has been transliterated as , ,It was in the obituary of a YIVO expert who spelled it that The New York Times spelled it . , and .
History As far back as the Talmudic era, being son-in-law to someone widely respected was valued.Gittin 31b, regarding being son-in-law of Exilarch. Subsequently, even the of being son-in-law to the son-in-law and similar lineage links were valued. From the 14th century onwards, was an important concern for Eastern European Jews. Good could refer to Torah scholarship or wealth, while bad resulted from the suspicion of illegitimate descent. However, many rabbis disapproved of the concept of , instead insisting on judging individuals based on their personal merits. "In Lithuania some Jewish families hid their (lineage)". There was a tension between on one hand, and "meritocratic leadership based on scholarship" on the other. Judgments of became one of the mechanisms which determined social hierarchies. From the 19th century, the significance of declined as more marriages were based on romantic love,What’s Yichus Got to Do with It? and reformers criticized for leading to inbreeding within small circles of "acceptable" families. However, nowadays is still an important qualification for marriage in charedi communities.Samuel C. Heilman, Defenders of the Faith: Inside Ultra-Orthodox Jewry, p.280Block, Sima Zalcberg. “‘The Art of the Deal’: Preferences in Spouse Selection among Parents in a Hasidic Community.” Israel Studies Review 28, no. 2 (2013): 61–82.
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, yichus brief, and yichus record. To help a child trace lineage, some families would write a "yichus book". The focus of a yichus brief (letter of relationship) is not as extensive as a yichus bookSefer HaYichus, singular, or Sefer HaYichusim, plural - on the word Yichus."... drawn up about 15 years ago for one of our relatives. The letter dealt with the ancestors of ..." whereas a yichus book or yichus record/"sefer yuchsin"/registry is community-oriented. Some families also kept a separate "Register of Circumcisions".
Types Being the (מְחוּתָּן, father of one's child's spouseJewish English lexicon: mechuten) of a notable person is sometimes considered important enough to include in a wedding invitation and in giving other credentials. "Rav Yisroel Brog is the beloved and brilliant rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Tiferes Avigdor in Cleveland, Ohio. Rav Brog is... (link to Rav Avigdor Miller, ZTL) ex. "When he was 20 years old, he married the daughter of the Vilna Dayan, who was the son-in-law of ..." Although primarily used for same generation relatives, it can be used beyond that generation.Ex. That man is a Mechutan to me - his grandson is married to my grand-daughter. Being a (literally son-after-son, i.e. patrilineal) descendant is sometimes considered more notable than other forms of descent.(FIL=Father-in-law)
For various reasons, surnames/family names were changed, and sometimes reverted. 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.
References
External links Dem Ganefs Yiches (The Thief's Lineage), a 19th century song parodying the concept of yichus