- Born: Apr 7, 1937, Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA 1,2,4,5,6,7,8,9
- Marriage (1): Jonas, Deanna Ruth on Jul 4, 1960 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA 1,2,3
- Died: Jan 2, 1983, West Bloomfield, Oakland, Michigan, USA at age 45 2,7,8
- Buried: Clinton Township, Macomb County, Michigan, USA 7,8
Another name for Selden was Tochna, Selden A.6
General Notes:
My father Selden Allen Tachna was born April 7, 1937 in Detroit, Michigan. He was a public school teacher in Detroit where he taught social studies. During the long summer break from teaching, and on other holidays when school was not in session , he drove a Greyhound bus. Something I used to love accompanying him on the many occasions he used to take me with him. The primary school where my father taught for most of his career was at Brookes Middle School in Detroit. My father loved t eaching and he was very dedicated to his students, who all loved and treasured him dearly.
My father's parents, my grandparents, were Harry Nathan Tachna and Rose Perlmutter. They were both Polish Jews, born in Eastern Europe, who immigrated to the United States in the early 1920's from Poland.
My grandfather Harry Nathan Tachna was born in the Polish town of Mlawa on Aug 01, 1902 and my grandmother Rose Perlmutter was born in the Polish village of Nasielsk on May 27, 1905.
My grandfather Harry Nathan Tachna's parents were Shimon Alter Tachna and Zysla Kohn.
Shimon Alter Tachna was born on Jan 01, 1861 in Mlawa and Zysla Kon was born Mar 27, 1862 in the Polish capital city of Warsaw. My father's grandparents were married October 29, 1880 in the Polish town of Nowy Dwor.
My great grandfather Shimon Alter Tachna was a great tzaddik, saint, and Jewish religious author. He died in the year 1933 in Mlawa where he was born and lived his whole life. He also used to work as a leather tanner by trade.
My great grandfather Shimon Alter Tachna's parents were Icek Jankief Tachna and Chani Lai Cytryn.
Icek Jankief Tachna was born in Mlawa, Poland in about the year 1833. He died from starvation during the first world war, in Mlawa, on Mar 29, 1917. That he died from starvation was established by his grandson Arnold Tachna in the early 1990's.
Icek Jankief Tachna's wife, and my father's great grandmother Chani Lai Cytryn, was born January 13, 1833 in the small Polish village of Nasielsk, just like my father's mother, and my grandmother, Rose Perlmutter
Chani Lai (nee Cytryn) Tachna's parents were Moshe Hersh Cytryn and Ruchla.
Concerning Icek Jankief Tachna dying from starvation during the first world war, it should be known that there was allot of disease and hunger in Poland during the first world war. That was due to allot of the fighting between the Germans and th e Russians having taken place there. There was also a cholera epidemic at that time that took the life of my grandfather Harry Nathan Tachna's sister, and my father's aunt, Szajndla Tachna during the first world war in about the year 1916.
My great grandmother Zysla (nee Kohn) Tachna was born on March 27, 1862 in the Polish capital city Warsaw. She was murdered in the Holocaust by the Nazis, probably in the Nazi's Treblinka death camp were many early deportations of Mlawa's Jews we re deported to.
Zysla Kohn'a parents both came from great and important rabbinical families. Her father Yechiel Michel Cohn was a great rabbi and author on Torah. Her mother was Cypra Ruchla Bharier, whose father Rabbi Jakób Zalman Bharier is considered to thi s day to be one the great Jewish rabbis and authorities on Jewish religious law. They both have very important Jewish rabbinical ancestry themselves.
My father's great grandfather Yechiel Michel Kohn was born Mar 15, 1832 in Warsaw. His wife, and my father's great grandmother, Cypra Ruchla Bharier was born in about the year 1830 in Konstantynówi, ód, Piotrków, Poland that was then part of th e Russian Empire. They were married in Konstantynówi on Feb 13, 1850. Cypra Ruchla (nee Bharier) Cohn was a daughter of Rabbi Yaakov Zelman Baharier.
The surname Bharier is an acronym for Rabbi Yaakov Zelman Bharier that is, "Son of the rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Ravitzer from Rawicz." In Hebrew it is, "Ben Harav Rabbi Yehoshua."
Rabbi Moshe Yehoshua Ravitzer was the rabbi of Rawicz, Poland and was married to Eidel Horowitz who was the sister of the famous rabbis Rabbi Shmuel Shmelke HaLevi Horowitz of Nikolsburg and Rabbi Pinchas Horowitz of Frankfurt. Rabbi Shmuel Shmel ke HaLevi Horowitz was the founder of the Nikolsburg Chassidic dynasty.
My father's great grandfather Yechiel Michel Cohn was the son of the famous Jewish Torah authority and religious leader Rabbi Eleazar Leyzer Wolf (HaKohan) Cohn. He is known to this day by the acronym, "Maharach" which stands for him being a grea t Jewish religious leader and religious authority and the son of Rabbi Wolf Michel Cohn Leipziger. The Maharach's wife, and Yechiel Michel Cohn's mother, was the famous Breindel Lorbeerbaum who was the daughter of the famous rabbi and Jewish rel igious leader Rabbi Jakób Lorberbaum of Lissa.
The Maharach, Rabbi Eleazar Leyzer Wolf (HaKohan) Cohn was the eldest child of Sora Rochel nee Cohn and Wolf Michel Cohn Leipziger. He was born in 1791, perhaps in Warsaw, and died in about 1883 Sochaczew, present day Poland that was then part o f the Russian Empire. The Maharach was a merchant and a Chassidic Rabbi. He was a disciple of the Chassidic rebbes Simcha Bunem of Pzysucha, Menachem Mendel Morgenstern of Kock (the Kotzker rebbe), and Itzchak Meir Rothernberg Alter of Ger [Gor a Kalwaria] (the Chiddushei HaRim). Many of his descendants are Chassidic rabbis.
My father Selden Allen Tachna's great great grandmother Briendel, was the daughter of the famous Jewish Rabbi Jakób Lorberbaum from Lissa. Lissa us also known as Lesno. Rabbi Jakób Lorberbaum was born in 1760 in the town of Lissa (Prussia) wher e he was Av Beis Din, or head of the Jewish rabbinical court. He died on May 25, 1832 in Stryi, Lviv Oblast, Ukraine. In his youth, Rabbi Jakób Lorberbaum was a pupil of Rabbi Meshullam Egra, and later engaged in business which, upon failing, h e became Av Beis Din of Monastyriska where he also founded a yeshiva. He became the Av Beis Din of Kalisz and later of Lissa. In Lissa he taught Rabbi Akiva Eger the Yuunger who lived there from 1770-1791. He later returned to Kalisz where he l ived for ten years. Rabbi Jakób Lorberbaum most important books on Judaism were Chavat Da'at published in Lvov, Ukraine in 1799; Mekor Chayim published in Zolkiew, Ukraine in 1807; Netivot HaMishpat published in 1809 in Dyhernfurth, Lvov, and Zo lkiew, Ukraine; Torat Gittin published in 1813 in Frankfurt-on-Oder, Germany; Beit Yaakov published in 1823; and Kehillat Yaakov published in Lvov in 1831. Rabbi Jakób Lorberbaum also wrote commentaries on Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and the Son g of Songs, a compendium of laws Derech HaChayim in 1828, and a commentary on the Passover Haggadah and rituals. The Passover Haggadah is what Jews read on the first two nights of Passover that recounts the Jews deliverance from slavery in Egyp t and their journey to the land G-d promised them, Eretz Yisroel that is today the present State of Israel.
From the Bharier family, and the ancestry of Rabbi Jakób Zalman Bharier, my father Selden Allen Tachna, and myself of course, are direct descendants of the most famous and legendary Jewish rabbis, Rabbi Judah ben Betzalel Loew, the Maharal of Prag ue. From the family of The Maharach, Rabbi Eleazar Leyzer Wolf (HaKohan) Cohn, my father Selden Allen Tachna is also a direct descendant of another great and famous Jewish rabbi and probably the greatest and certainly one of the most famous Jewis h commentators on Jewish religious law and religious belief, Rabbi Shlomo ben Isaac Itzhaki, who is also popularly known by the acronym for his name that is Rashi.
Rabbi Judah ben Betzalel Loew, the Maharal of Prague was born April 10, 1512 in Poznan (Posen), Poland and he died on August 22, 1609 in the city of Prague that is today in the Czech Republic.
The Maharal, Rabbi Judah ben Betzalel Loew was an important Talmudic scholar, Jewish mystic, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher who, for most of his life, served as a leading rabbi in the cities of Mikulov in Moravia and Prague in Bohemia . He is most famous amongst Jews for what he wrote on Jewish philosophy and Jewish mysticism. He is also the subject of a later legend that he created the Golem of Prague, an animate being fashioned from clay; that he created to save the lives o f the Jews of Prague from the murderous, false, and antisemitic blood libels that were widespread at that time.
Rabbi Shlomo ben Isaac Itzhaki, who is also popularly known by the acronym for his name that is Rashi, was born February 22, 1040 in Troyes, Champagne-Ardenne, France and he died July 13, 1105 also in Troyes, Champagne-Ardenne, France. Rashi auth ored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and other works of the Jewish Torah. Born in Troyes, Rashi studied Torah studies in Worms, Germany under German rabbi Yaakov ben Yakar and French rabbi Isaac ben Eliezer Halevi, both of whom were pupi ls of the famed scholar Gershom ben Judah. Rashi is acclaimed for his ability to present the basic meaning of the text in a concise and lucid fashion, Rashi's commentaries appeal to both learned scholars and beginning students, and his works rema in a centerpiece of contemporary Torah study.
From both the Maharal of Prague and Rashi, my father Selden Allen Tachna's ancestry can be directly traced back some 3,000 years to my father, and thus myself, being a direct descendant of the biblical King David of Israel. Many famous Jewish fam ilies are able to trace their ancestry to the biblical King David, as my father's family can. Much of it is traced from the Jewish Luria family, whom my father, and thus myself, are also members of The Jewish Luria family is recorded in the Guinn ess book of world records, and also in other sources, as being the oldest family in the world. The Jewish Luria family is unique that it can trace itself back thousands of years, even to the biblical King David of Israel. There as so can my fath er's, and thus my own, ancestry be accurately traced back to the first Jewish King, the biblical King David of Israel.
My father Selden Allen Tachna is calculated to be the 99th generation great grandson of King David. That makes me the 100th generation great grandson of King David as well.
From King David, my father's descent is traced through 2 of his sons, the biblical Jewish King Solomon and King David's other son Shephatiah. It was the biblical Jewish King Solomon, who my father is the 98th generation great grandson of, and thu s myself being the 97th generation great grandson of, who built the first Jewish holy Temple in Jerusalem.
Yet all in all, my father Selden Allen Tachna, whose full Hebrew name was Chaim Shimon Alter Ha-Levy, was a very kind, giving, caring, just, and totally honest man. His many good qualities are still widely praised and recounted to this day with g reat awe and affection. There are still many stories of my father's great kindness, honesty, and acts of justice. All who knew him and remember him even to this day are amazed by his many great and praiseworthy acts of love and kindness. He sel flessly gave to others his entire life, and is rewarded with their great admiration and praise that continues today.
My father's yahrtzeit, or Jewish anniversary of his passing away is 18 Tevet 5743 which fell on the day he died January 2, 1983. His yahrtzeit is significant, and a sign of G-d's blessing and reward to him for the great life he lead, for it fall s on the 18th day of the Jewish month of Tevet.
In Judaism numbers are listed as letters, and the letters spelled by the number 18, for the 18th day of the Jewish month of Tevet that my father passed away on, are listed as the Hebrew letters of khess and yud. Together the letters khess and yu d spell the Hebrew word, "Chai." Chai is the Hebrew word for Life. And for the wonderful life my father lived. he has the reward of eternal Life. That is what we Jews believe. It comes from Judaism and is taught in the Jewish Torah.
So that although my father passed away on January 2, 1983 that is 42 years ago, he still has been blessed with Life, eternal life. And as we Jews believe in the eventual coming of Moshiach (Hebrew for Messiah) when G-d will resurrect the righteo us to live in the eternal Olam Habbah (Hebrew for, "The World to Come") that is G-d's greatest reward for all, and it is for "ALL", my father shall be there and I and the rest of us will know and love him directly again! He's actually never died . G-d has blessed him with "chai", Life!
Letter from Lyle Grant (Professor, Psychology Centre, Athabasca Univesity, Athabasca Alberta, Canada T9S 3A3), former student of Selden Allen Tachna:
"August 19, 2001.
Dear Robert,
I was a student of your father at Brooks Junior High School in the mid-1960's. I did a web search for him to see if I could contact him and thank him for being such a fine teacher. In this process I encountered your interesting web site. Your f ather was an excellent teacher and a very fine man. Thank you for your work in putting together the web site and allowing me to learn more about your family's heritage.
As I mentioned, your father was a superb teacher who excelled at inducing students to discuss issues and to think for themselves. He wanted his students to behave as individual thinkers rather than followers of a trend or a clique. He kept an or derly, no-nonsense classroom and insisted that all the students respect each other and himself, as is important in maintaining a classroom environment in which students can learn. However, he also had a genuine underlying sense of warmth for hi s students too. We studied world history with him and he imparted a love of knowledge and the importance of learning the lessons of history. He seldom spoke of his personal life but did make some references to his weekends and summers in the nat ional guard, where he was an officer if I recall correctly. His manner was at once controlled and yet relaxed and upbeat. Your reference to his "subtle and modest way" rings very true.
I'm elated to have the oppurtunity to correspond with you.l You seem like the decent, thoughtful, and bright children Mr. Tachna (as we knew him) would have had.
Lyle"
Noted events in his life were:
• Residence. 7
• Fact 3: Jewish Birthday-Wednesday, 26 of Nisson. 2
• Birth in Week: Wednesday. 2
• Race: White. 6
• EducationGraduation: Wayne State University 's College of Education. 3
• Residence. 7
• Hebrew name: Chaim Shimon Alter Ha-Levy. 2
• Wedding anniv: 9 Tammuz 5720. 2
• Wedding in week: Monday. 2
• Jewish Birth Date: 26 Nisan 5697. 2
• Yahrtzeit: 18 Teves 5743. 2
• Death in week: Sunday. 2
• Residence: StreetAddress: Fullerton; 13 Age: 13; EnumerationDistrict: 85-1179; LiveOnFarm: No; ThreeOrMoreAcres: No; Son RelationToHead: Son; Never Married MaritalStatus: Single, 1950. 6
• Military: 25 Age: 25, Jan 16, 1963. 4,7
• Residence: StreetAddress: Fullerton; 13 Age: 13; EnumerationDistrict: 85-1179; LiveOnFarm: No; ThreeOrMoreAcres: No; Son RelationToHead: Son; Never Married MaritalStatus: Single, 1950. 5,6,7
• Residence, 1952. 7
• Residence, 1955. 7
• Residence, 1983. 7
Selden married Deanna Ruth Jonas, daughter of Louis Jonas and Lenke Ungar, on Jul 4, 1960 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA 1,2.,3 (Deanna Ruth Jonas was born on Jul 1, 1938 in Detroit, Wayne, Michigan, USA 1,2,9,10,11,12.)
Noted events in their marriage were:
• Marriage In Week.
• Jewish Marriage Date.
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