SROL (ISRAEL) OSMAN (November 12, 1887-June 8, 1951)
Born into a Hassidic scholarly household in Vishkove (Wyszków), Warsaw region. His first publication appeared in Hillel
Zeitlin’s Idishes vokhnblat (Yiddish weekly newspaper) in 1906. He emigrated to the United States in 1909,
returning to Poland in 1911 and 1913 before once again making the trip to America. For many years he was the agent for Tog
(Day) in California. He published
articles and stories in: Kundes (Prankster), Dos idishe folk (The
Jewish people), Tog, Tsukunft (Future), Haivri (The Jew), Hatoren
(The mast), and Hadoar (The mail).
He translated into Yiddish Thomas Carlyle’s On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and The Heroic in History (Y. Iber heldn, heldn-fargeterung un
dos heroishe in der geshikhte), though it was not published. Among his books: Dos bukh fun nisyoynes
(The book of temptations), stories (Los Angeles, 1926), 288 pp. This book was also published in Hebrew as Sefer
hanisyonot, mitokh alim balim (The book of temptations and trials) (Los
Angeles, 1948), 224 pp. Shortly before
his death, he traveled to Israel.
Sources: Zalmen Reyzin, Leksikon,
vol. 1, pp. 141-42; A. Glants, “Dos yidishe lebn unter di palmen-beymer in
kalifornye” (Jewish life under the palm trees of California), Tog (New
York) (January 9, 1935).
From the Lomza Yizkor book, during the years of 1906-1909 he resided in that city, was given title המלמד מבריאנסק - the melamed / teacher from B'riansk and as a young scholar spoke publicly and gave lectures in Aggadata ("stories" in the Talmud) and Ain Ya'akov (a medieval commentary that explains the meaning of the aggadatot) and tried to resonate these to his modern times.
ReplyDeleteMy great-great-uncle Abraham Ismach also from Lomza, when he came to the UK and settled in Glasgow, Scotland, decided to change his family name to Osman (his siblings changed their family name to Davidson). I am sure he did this because he, being a teenager during those years when this melamed was in Lomza, had a lot of influence on him in those years and he looked up to him, rather than the "old school".
BTW, he called one of his children "Israel", but since he had cousins who did likewise this names sake Israel Osman was more likely named after Abraham's grandfather Israel Ismach.
According to WW1 USA draft paper which seems to match this person, the date of birth given is Nov 23rd 1886. This disparity is probably because someone miscalculated a Hebrew date of birth. Assuming he was born in day time:-
ReplyDeleteSat 12th November 1887 = 25th Cheshvan 5648 (here)
Tues 23rd November 1886 = 25th Cheshvan 5647 (draft card)
So both dates indicate that he was born on a 25th Cheshvan. My gut feeling is that the draft card is the correct date and the person who put in the civil date in this article either miscalculated or took it from a source that miscalculated from the Hebrew date and thought that Cheshvan 5647 was 1887 when it is 1886 because it is already the new Jewish year from the beginning of the month before (Tishri).
You may very well be right about this.
ReplyDeleteWhat was the source of your information?
DeleteDid this give a Hebrew date or civil date?
Civil date.
ReplyDeleteIn that case, who provided the source of the civil date that does not match what is written on the draft card? Are you able to make contact with the person explaining why the error might have come about? If not, are you able to put me in touch? Is there a way I can PM you?
DeleteThis volume of the biographical dictionary was written roughly 60 years ago. And, this entry was unsigned. I seriously doubt any of the authors are still alive.
ReplyDeleteSo if your entry here is a direct quote from the bibliographical dictionary and is the only quote that is online, then I suppose we will need to suffice with the quote and this dialog. If its online in other places, then the issue should also be brought to attention there as well.
DeleteOn the other hand, if this entry were a rewrite/summary from that source, then it might be as well to incorporate the "new" information within and mark as a correction. What do you think?
I see from your December 10, 2015 update of the introduction of this fantastic translation work that you have undertaken, you mention Yossi Galron-Goldschläger, Judaica librarian at Ohio State University. Is he still going strong? Maybe, he should be consulted as other entries in the original encyclopedia might have errors that came about the same way.
DeleteAbsolutely, and we are in frequent communication, esp. when a difficult Hebrew title crops up.
ReplyDeletePlease keep informed me and whoever might read this thread, if there are anymore insights on this issue.
DeleteI am jumping into the issue: One source mentioned in the entry of the Leksikon fun der Nayer Yidisher Literatur is Zalmen Reyzin, Leksikon, vol. 1, pp. 141-142. I checked Reyzin's Leksikon and the date of birth appears as: 25 Heshvan 1887 - that makes it as: November 12, 1887. -- Yossi Galron
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand - I found a Death record from Los Angeles, that states that he was born on November 23, 1886
ReplyDeletehttps://www.myheritage.com/research/record-10071-1209514/israel-osman-in-california-deaths
Go figure it out :-)
Vey iz mir!
ReplyDeleteThank you Joseph Galron-Goldschläger . I only just now came across this update. The civil date of birth death record index transcribed on My Heritage resonates with that on the draft card. Simply, November 23, 1886 was 25th Cheshvan 5647 as can be calculated these days from an online Hebrew-civil date calculator.
ReplyDeleteDate of birth as appears in the Leksikon (25 Heshvan 1887) is simply wrong - probably the author looked it up in a 120 year calendar of some sort and looked at the wrong year or forgot that the Jewish year counting changes on 1st Tishri (Rosh HaShannah) which falls sometime during September or October.