PINKHES KHURGIN (PINCHOS CHURGIN)

PINKHES KHURGIN (PINCHOS CHURGIN) (November 25, 1894-November 28, 1957)

            He was born in Pahost (Pohosti), Minsk district, Byelorussia.  His father Ruvn-Yoyne was a rabbi in Volozhin, Lithuania.  In 1905 he moved with his parents to Jerusalem.  He father later sent him to study in the Volozhin Yeshiva, from which in 1913 he returned to Israel.  During WWI he was compelled, despite his Russian citizenship, to leave Jerusalem and in 1915 he arrived in the United States.  He graduated from Yale University with a Ph.D.  He was president (1950-1952) of the Mizrachi movement in America and a member of the executive of the Mizrachi World Movement.  From 1924 he worked as professor of Jewish history and literature at Yeshiva University in New York, and he was the founder and spiritual leader of the school for teachers associated with Yeshiva.  He was also the initiator and president of Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel.  He authored historical works in Hebrew: Targum ketuvim (Translation of the writings [Hagiographa]) (New York, 1945), 278 pp.; Meḥkarim bitekufat bayit sheni (Writings on the era of the Second Temple) (New York, 1949), 378 pp.  In English: Targum Jonathan to the Prophets (Yale University, Ph.D. dissertation, 1927).  He published articles on historical and Zionist themes in: Morgn-zhurnal (Morning journal), Dos idishe folk (The Jewish people), Unzer shtime (Our voice), Der mizrakhi-veg (The Mizrachi way), Hatekufa (The epoch), Hadoar (The mail), Bitsaron (Fortress), and Sefer hashana leyehude amerika (Annual for the Jews of America), among others—all in New York—as well as in Mizrachi periodicals in Israel.  He published the pamphlet: Der mizrakhi un zayn tetikeyt (Mizrachi and its activities) (New York, 1938), 16 pp.  He served as editor of the biweekly Unzer shtime in New York (1926-1928) and Ḥorev (Aridity) in New York (1934-1956); co-editor of Bitsaron (New York) and of the anthology Mizraḥi, kovets yovel lemelot 25 shana lekiyuma shel histadrut hamizraḥi baamerika (Mizrachi, a jubilee compilation of speeches for twenty-five years of the existence of the Mizrachi federation in America), with A. L. Gelman (New York, 1936), 118 pp. in Yiddish, 140 pp. in Hebrew, and 83 pp. in English.  He died in New York and was buried in Tel Aviv.

Source: M. Dantsis, in Tog (New York) (July 7, 1933); N. Perlberg, in Sefer hayovel shel hadoar (Jubilee volume for Hadoar) (New York, 1926/1927); Z. M. Kershteyn, in Mizraḥi, kovets yovel (New York, 1936), p. 256; A. Ben-Ezra, in Hadoar (new York) (August 29, 1947); Dr. Y. Rozental, in Hadoar (March 24, 1950); Yontef bleter (Los Angeles) 6 (1950); M. Ginzburg, in Keneder odler (Montreal) (December 1, 1957; January 13, 1958); Tog-morgn-zhurnal (New York) (November 29, 1957; December 1, 1957 [editorial]); M. Unger, in Tog-morgn-zhurnal (December 3, 1957); A. B. Shurin, in Forverts (New York) (December 3, 1957); Der mizrakhi-veg (New York) (December 6, 1957); A. Sh. Urlans, in Hadoar (December 6, 1957); Kh. L., in Hadoar (December 20, 1957); Bitsaron (New York) (Kislev [= November-December], 1957), editorial; Y. Goldshlag, in Areshet (Jerusalem) (1958/1959), pp. 495-96; S. Dingol, in Tog-morgn-zhurnal (January 23, 1960); Who’s Who in World Jewry (New York, 1955), pp. 127-28.

Khayim Leyb Fuks