AVROM HURVITS

AVROM HURVITS (February 26, 1863-December 30, 1940)

            He was born in Borisov, Minsk district.  His father Yisroel was an itinerant teacher.  Hurvits studied with his father in religious elementary school, later in the Borisov yeshiva.  In his early youth, he aided the then popular wedding entertainer Hillel Klibanov, who was paralyzed, to transcribe his poetry.  He later left home, worked in a factory, and in an accident with machinery he lost his right hand.  He then settled in Berezin (Berezino), married, and turned his attention to running a store and later to the work of a wedding entertainer.  He later became known as “Avrom the entertainer” or “the Berezin majordomo.”  He became blind and paralyzed in his later years, and he died in Berezin.  Aside from the improvisational remarks of an entertainer, Hurvits also composed wedding poetry, poems about pogroms and Jewish troubles, novels, stories, and memoirs of considerable cultural historical value.  He left behand a collection of aphorisms and klezmer language.  He sent his writings to his son Shoyel Hurvits in New York.  All that was published of it were the first two chapters of his story “Der shvartser pelts mitn vaysn kolner” (The black fur with white collar) in Oktyabr (October) in Minsk (1928), which he signed “A. B. G.” (Avrom Badkhn [wedding entertainer] Gurevitsh [Hurvits]).

Source: Information conveyed by his son Shoyel Hurvits and his grandson Meyer Hurvits.