Jaffe family

For other people with the name, seeJaffe.

Jaffe family
Etymology	Jaffe (יפה) means "beautiful" in Hebrew.
Place of origin	Dampierre,France
Founded	1150
Founder	Elhanan Jaffe of Dampierre
Traditions	Judaism

TheJaffe family(Hebrew:יפה) is anAshkenazi JewishRabbinicfamily originally fromDampierre,France. The family descends from the 12th centuryTosafist,Elhanan Jaffe of Dampierre(died 1184). Members of the family have produced numerous famousRabbis,Court Jews,Talmudicscholars, Scientists, businessmen,academicsand politicians, with members in Germany,Bohemia,Austria, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Great Britain, Italy, Canada, Israel and the United States.

History

A descendant of theKalonymos family,Elhanan Jaffe of Dampierre was the son ofIsaac ben Samuelof Dampierre and the paternal great-grandson ofSimhah ben Samuel of Vitry.Through his maternal grandmother, Elhanan Jaffe of Dampierre was the great-grandson ofMeir ben Samueland thus the great-great-grandson of the biblical commentator,Rashihas been claimed to be a 33rd-generation descendant ofJohanan HaSandlar.Johanan HaSandlarclaimed to be part of theDavidic line.

In the mid-13th-century the Jaffe family emigrated toHeidelberg,Germany where they occupied several prominent rabbinic positions. Following the rise ofantisemitism in Germany,the majority of the family emigrated to parts of Eastern Europe.

The modern progenitor of the family,Moses Jaffe of Bologna(d. 1480) was a Polish rabbi who was forcedto live in Italy, where he served as theAv Beit Dinof several communities. He and his wife Margolioth had a son,Abraham Jaffe of Bohemia(d. 1535), who established the Bohemian branch of the family. Abraham Jaffe's son Eliezer Jaffe of Hořovice (b. 1455), was a prominent Bohemian rabbi who fathered Joseph Jaffe of Prague (d. 1510) andMoses Jaffe of Kraków(d. 1520). Joseph Jaffe of Prague was the grandfather of theposekMordecai Jaffe of Prague(1530–1612), and Moses Jaffe of Kraków was the grandfather of thehalakhistJoel Sirkis-Jaffe of Kraków (1561–1640). The descendants of Joel Sirkis-Jaffe of Kraków served prominent and important rabbinic positions all over Poland and Ukraine. His son-in-law wasDavid HaLevi Segal,and among Joel Sirkis-Jaffe's descendants is the prominent Ukrainian rabbiBetzalel HaLevi of Zhovkva(1710–1802), who was the maternal grandfather of the Hasidic master,Simcha Bunim of Peshischa(1765–1827).

The descendants of Mordecai Jaffe of Praguespread out throughout Europe. His descendants who emigrated to Western Europe and the United States became successful businessmen, politicians, scientists and academics, such asTheodor Julius Jaffé(1823–1898),Philipp Jaffé(1819–1870),Sir Otto Jaffe(1846–1929),Daniel Joseph Jaffé(1876–1921),Abraham Z. Joffe(1909–2000),Avraham Yoffe(1913–1983),Joel Joffe, Baron Joffe(1932–2017) andJosef Joffe(b. 1944) and Israel Joffe (1979). His descendants who moved to Eastern Europe continued to occupy key rabbinic positions, such asDov Yaffe(1928–2017),Mordecai-Gimpel Jaffe(1820–1891) andMordechai Jaffe(ca. 1742 - 1810), who founded theLechovitch Hasidic dynasty.