Israel: 150 grandchildren

In many families, people are apt to call members by various names until they get to the right one. One relative would name her four children and multiple grandchildren until she hit on the right name for the right person.

Do you think you have trouble naming your children and grandchildren?

This YnetNews story from Israel concerns a 99-year-old woman died recently and left some 1,400 descendants including great-great-grandchildren.

Grandma knew all of her descendants, said Rachel Krishevsky's grandchildren.

She married her cousin, Yitzhak, before she turned 19 and the couple had seven sons and four daughters, in accordance with the Orthodox tradition that children are a great joy and large families are typical. Her 11 children have had 150 children of their own and, in turn, those grandchildren have produced 1,000 children. Krishevsky had a few hundred great-great-grandchildren as well.

The family isn't sure exactly how many they are, but the estimate is that it is about 1,400 people as the family line is blessed with many children, said a grandchild, who added that her door was always open to the homeless and poor who were looking for a place to eat.

Until two years ago, She participated in all family events, regardless of whether they were happy or sad, and she knew all of her descendants.

The article states that although Krishevsky had many descendants, this was not a record-breaker. In this ultra-Orthodox society, there are two cases of living people who have great-great-great-grandchildren.

[One]family is that of Rabbi Yosef Shalom Elyashiv, the leader of the Lithuanian branch of haredi Judaism. A few months ago, his great-great-grandson had his first child.

The saying - be fruitful and multiply - is demonstrated in this community.