SHLOYME (SHLOMO) DAMESEK

SHLOYME (SHLOMO) DAMESEK (April 15, 1896-May 23, 1963)

            He was born in Nyesvizh (Niasviž), Minsk region, Byelorussia.  He studied with his father and later worked as a Hebrew teacher.  He came to the United States in 1921.  Over the course of two years, he studied at Dr. S. Weiss’s Jewish Institute of Religion, and it was there that he became a teacher of Hebrew.  He first published in Haivri (The Jew) in New York (in the issue for April 22, 1921); and in Yiddish in Tog (Day) in New York (December 10, 1933) with a treatise on the writer and artist Shoyel Raskin.  From that point, he published in: Tsukunft (Future), Amerikaner (American), Idisher kemfer (Jewish fighter), Di yidishe post (The Jewish mail) in Melbourne; Folksblat (People’s newspaper) in Montevideo; Bitsaron (Fortress), Hadoar (The mail), and others in New York; Yeda am (Folklore) and Davar liyeladim (A word to children) in Israel.  Among his books: Begorali (In my fate) (New York, 1945), 156 pp.; Hedim, reshimot (Rumors, notes) (New York: Bitsaron, 1947), 171 pp.; Bamikhḥol uvaet (Brush and pen), notes and sketches (New York: Bitsaron, 1952), 173 pp.; Mipo umisham (From here and there) (New York, 1956), 193 pp.; In gerangl farn lebn (In the struggle of life) (New York, 1958), 118 pp., which appeared first in Hebrew under the title Reshimot mibet haḥolim (Notes from the hospital).  His translated from Yiddish Daniel Charney’s memories under the title Shenot yaldut (Childhood years) (New York, 1954), 90 pp.  He died in Lakewood, New Jersey.

Sources: P. Berman, in Forverts (New York) (April 6, 1951); Yankev Glatshteyn, in Idisher kemfer (New York) (March 23, 1951); M. Ayzenbud, in Di yidishe post (Melbourne) (October 24, 1952); Z. Verba, in Hadoar (New York) (March 27, 1953); Ts. T. L., in Bitsaron (New York) (October 1952; July-September 1953); M. Shveyd, in Forverts (January 23, 1953); N. Shemen, in Der yidisher zhurnal (Toronto) (January 24, 1954); D. Perski, in Hadoar (1956); Perski, in Davar (March 8, 1957); D. Naymark, in Forverts (October 7, 1956); Sh. Slutski, Avrom reyzen biblyografye (Avrom Reyzen’s bibliography) (New York, 1956), no. 5374; Naymark, in Forverts (April 6, 1958).