HILLEL-YANKEV HURVITS (H. J. HOROWITZ)

HILLEL-YANKEV HURVITS (H. J. HOROWITZ) (b. 1879)

            He was born in Skidel, Grodno district, Russian Poland.  He came to the United States in 1910.  He lived in New York for a time, later moving to St. Louis.  He was a Hebrew and Yiddish teacher, as well as a religious leader.  Over the years 1935-1939, he served as rabbi in Pensacola, Florida, later in Houston, Texas.  He published poems on national themes in Idisher rekord (Jewish record) in St. Louis, and in Amerikaner (American) and Tog (Day) in New York.  He was the author of: Ḥezyone noar (Plays for youth), biblical-themed dramatic sketches for children, part 1 (St. Louis, 1925), 48 pp., which included “Solomon’s decision,” “Hannah and her seven sons,” “Awakening of the people of Israel,” and “Eternal wandering,” with a foreword in which the author reprimanded Jewish writers in America for neglecting the field of children’s literature, especially such things that should be adapted for children’s performances; Ḥezyone noar, part 2, including “Back home,” “Mordecai and Esther,” “The judgment of Purim,” and “David and Shulamit,” with his own poetry and text (Pensacola, 1939), 63 pp.  He also published short plays for children in English, such as: The First Great Call for Freedom: A Passover Playlet in Three Acts (Houston, Texas, 1942), 16 pp., for schools and community centers.  He also published under the name Hillelya.

Sources: Drsaytsenter yoyvleum-zamlbukh fun st. luiser idishn rekord (Thirtieth anniversary anthology of the St. Louis Record), 1913-1926; preface to Hezyone noar, part 1 (1925).