(Jewish Telescraphie Agency)
Is Jankel the corrupted Polish form of the Biblical name Jacob the same as Jacob?
This question was argued in a Vilna court when police arrested Jacob Shapiro because he had signed official documents with the name Jacob instead of Jankel the name appearing on his passport. The court released Shapiro after he had submitted a copy of his birth certificate issued by the Russian authorities in which he was inscribed as Yakov, the Russian equivalent of the Biblical name.
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