DANIEL Origin of surname
DANIEL, DONYEL
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name is a patronymic, derived from a male ancestor's personal name, in this case of biblical origin. Daniel, meaning "God has judged" in Hebrew, was the name of the son of David and Abigail (1 Chronicles 3.1) and of the biblical prophet of the book of Daniel. This biblical name became a family name and assumed several variants. Daniel took suffixes from various languages to form patronymics indicating descent in the male line (the German "-sohn", the Italian "-i", the Slavic "-vitz/vitch", the Latin "-ius"). Danielillo ("little Daniel" in Italian) is recorded in the 17th century, Danill in the early 18th century, Daniels in the 18th century, Danigel, Dannihl, Danielis and Tannigel in the late 18th century. Daniel is documented as a Jewish family name in the mid 18th century in both Paris and New York.
Distinguished bearers of the family name Daniel include the Baghdad community leader, Menahem Salik Daniel (1846-1940), who was a member of Ottoman and Iraqi parliaments, the Bulgarian-born founder of the satirical Matate theater in Tel Aviv, Yitschak Daniel (1895-1942) and Mark Naumovich Daniel Meyerovich (1897-1940), the Soviet Yiddish novelist and dramatist who wrote under the pen names Daniel and Donyel.
Leon Daniel
(Personality)Leon Avram Daniel (1927-2008), theater director and film maker, born in Ruse, Bulgaria. He graduated in directing from the Leningrad State Theater Institute (now St. Petersburg, Russia) in 1952. He made his directorial debut with Maxim Gorky's Guilds at the Drama Theater in Ruse in the same year. Daniel worked at various theaters in Bulgaria throughout his career, including the Drama Theater in Ruse (1952-1957), Drama Theater in Burgas (1957-1960), The Bulgarian National Television (BNT) (1960-1961), Bulgarian Army Theater (1961-1963), Narodna Theater Stage (1963/1964), Studio for Chronicle and Documentary Films (1964-1965), Theater of Poetry and Variety (1965-1968), Drama Theater in Vratsa (1968-1971), State Musical Theater (1972-1978), Sofia Theater (1978-1982), and Pazardzhik Drama Theater (1981-1986). He also worked at the Ivan Vazov National Theater in Sofia.
Daniel directed over 90 productions throughout his career as well as documentaries and TV shows. His performances participated in Bulgarian and foreign festivals, and he was the winner of numerous awards. In March 2003, he was presented with the Order of "Stara Planina" - 1st degree by President Georgi Parvanov for his overall contribution to Bulgarian culture. He was also a three-time laureate of the directing awards of the Union of Artists in Bulgaria and was awarded the honorary IKAR of the Union of Artists in Bulgaria in 2007 for his outstanding achievements and overall creative contribution to theater art in Bulgaria. Daniel also authored many studies and other publications.
Musayib
(Place)Musayib
Musayyib; in Arabic: المسيب
A rural settlement on the banks of the river Euphrates, central Iraq.
The local Jewish community was founded in 1870 (or 1878) when Menahem Suleiman Daniel, a son of the Daniel family of Baghdad, built there a synagogue in memory of his son Joseph.
In the cellar of the synagogue was a mikveh and a kosher slaughter house was set up in the courtyard. A beth midrash for children was also based in the synagogue. Most of the local Jews came from Baghdad. They were goldsmiths and silversmiths, while others engaged in selling fabrics, in petty trade and in peddling. In 1884 there were some 30 Jews at Musayib. In 1908 only a few Jews lived at the place but in 1910 some 20 Jewish families, most of them from Baghdad, were living at Musayib, making a living as shopkeepers and peddlers. In 1947 there were 193 Jews in the community.
The relations with the Muslim neighbors were generally orderly and no evidence is available as to untoward incidents, except one in 1900 when Muslims destroyed a Jewish shop.
The children of the community attended government schools from the beginning of the 1920’s. There was no Jewish cemetery at Musayib and the dead were buried at the cemetery of Hilla, some 40 km south of Musayib.
In matters of halakha (religious law), and especially in matters of marital laws, the Jews of Musayib referred to the community of Hilla or the community of Baghdad. The Jews of Musayib went to Israel, via Baghdad, in the years 1950 and 1951 in the Aliyah operation Ezra and Nehemiah, thus putting an end to the community.