Introduction to Charlap
The name of the organization originates with the first Ser, the son of
Abraham Charlap, born circa 1740. At the time, Charlap was not a surname
but an honorary title; an acronym consisting of four Hebrew letters,
standing for "Chief Sage of the Exile in Poland." The Charlaps are a
distinguished rabbinic dynasty, whose yichus is well established. They
stem from the Ibn Yahya (Don Yahya) rabbis of Spain and Portugal and
before that go back to the Exilarchs in Babylonia and Persia.