YISROEL ZILBERBERG-KHOLEVA (SILBERBERG-CHOLEWA)

YISROEL ZILBERBERG-KHOLEVA (SILBERBERG-CHOLEWA) (March 30, 1898-October 15, 1981)

            He was born in Shidlov (Szydłów), Kielce district, Poland.  He studied in religious elementary school and Yarotshinski’s school in Lodz.  From 1913 he was living in Copenhagen, where he studied philosophy, literature, and history in university.  In late 1922 he moved to the United States, where he worked from that point on as a teacher in afternoon Jewish schools in New York.  He wrote correspondence pieces from Copenhagen to Tog (Day) in New York (1915)—he also published his interview with Georg Brandes in Tog.  He additionally contributed to: Varhayt (Truth), Di tsayt (The times) (edited by Dovid Pinski), Tsukunft (Future), Idishe kemfer (Jewish fighter), Fraye arbeter-shtime (Free voice of labor), Fraynd (Friend), Bleter far dertsiung (Pages for education), and Pedagogisher buletin (Pedagogical bulletin), among others—all in New York.  In 1922 he attempted (with Sh. Altshul) to publish a monthly magazine about Danish-Jewish writers in Copenhagen, using the title Di yugend-shtime (The voice of youth)—only two issues appeared.  He wrote essays on Danish-Jewish writers and translated from their work into Yiddish.  Together with Refuel Meyer, he wrote the first work in Danish on the modern Yiddish language and literature, published in the eleventh volume of a Danish-language series (Copenhagen, 1922).  He also translated from Yiddish literature into Danish.  He abridged and arranged for school use Sholem-Aleykhem’s Motl peysi dem khazns (Motl, the son of Peysi the cantor) (New York: Matones, 1946), 237 pp.  His books include: Denemark, denishe un denisk-yidishe perzenlekhkeytn (Denmark: Danish and Danish-Jewish personalities) (Tel Aviv: Hamenorah, 1975), 175 pp.; Mentsh un folk (Man and people) (Tel Aviv: Hamenorah, 1967), 501 pp.  He edited (with Yudel Mark) Antologye fun der yidisher literatur far yugnt (Anthology of Yiddish literature for youth) (New York: Culture Congress, 1969-1976), 2 volumes (vol. 1, second printing, 1974; vol. 2 edited by Hyman Bass).  He received an award from Tsukunft for his essay on Henry Nathanson in 1946.  He died in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.

            His older brother, HERSHL ZILBERBERG (1885-October 10, 1944), published stories in Avrom Reyzen’s Naye land (New land) in Paris, Yugend-shtime in Copenhagen, and elsewhere.  He was killed at the Nazi concentration camp at Theresienstadt.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 1 (under Cholewa); Avrom Reyzen, in Tsukunft (New York) (August 1930); Yudel Mark, in Pedagogisher buletin (New York) (1946); Yankev Glatshteyn, in Idisher kemfer (New York) (August 19, 1949); M. Dantsis, in Tog (New York) (September 14, 1951); Dr. E. Neks, in Tog (November 2, 1951); D. Tsharni (Daniel Charney), in Tog (March 13, 1954); Dr. A. A. Robak, Di imperye yidish (The imperium of Yiddish) (Mexico City, 1958), p. 74.

[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 261.]