SHMUEL-YANKEV
YATSKAN (1874-November 23, 1936)
He was born in Vabolnik (Vobol’niki,
Vabalninkas), near Ponevezh (Panevezys), Lithuania. He studied in religious elementary schools
and yeshivas, and at age eighteen he received ordination into the
rabbinate. In his youth he was a
wandering preacher and at the time published a short religious text Penine hayahadut (Pearls of Judaism)
(Vilna, 1895). At the beginning of the
twentieth century, he was living in Ponevezh where he was running a “cheder
metukan” (improved religious elementary school). He then moved to Vilna and wrote a Hebrew
monograph on the Gaon of Vilna; he later moved on to St. Petersburg where, in
1895, he began his journalistic activities for Hamelits (The advocate)—using the pen name “Avi David.” In 1902 he settled in Warsaw, was a regular
contributor to Hatsfira (The siren),
edited by Dr. Rokhlson, and when the newspaper folded in 1905, he published an
illustrated, humorous weekly entitled Di
bin (The bee). Together with N.
Finkelshteyn, in 1906 he founded the first Yiddish penny-newspaper, Idishes tageblat (Jewish daily
newspaper) which, both because of its inexpensive price and because it adapted
itself to the tastes of the broad reading public, hit out at the more serious
and more expensive Yiddish newspapers.
The newspaper also published Idishe
vokhenblat (Jewish weekly newspaper) which devoted more space to journalism
and fiction, with Hillel Tsaytlin as the principal contributor. At the beginning of 1908, Yatskan and the
brothers Noyekh and Nekhemye Finkelshteyn founded Haynt (Today), one of the most popular Yiddish daily newspapers,
with a record circulation (for a Yiddish newspaper in Europe) of 100,000
copies. Over the course of time, the
editorial board of Haynt attracted
the most prominent Yiddish writers, such as: Y. L. Perets, Sholem-Aleykhem,
Sholem Asch, H. D. Nomberg, Dovid Frishman, and others. In the later years of its existence, numerous
authors of prose and poetry wrote works for the newspaper from a younger
generation of writers in Poland. From
1912 there was a daily supplement to Haynt
entitled Der hoyz-doktor (The house
doctor): “in the interests, life issues, and practical information in Warsaw”
(altogether forty-two issues). Under the
headings, “Familyen-biblyotek” (Family library) and “Hoyz-biblyotek” (House
library), the publisher of the newspaper brought out approximately one hundred
pamphlets on popular science and historical themes. From the emergence of Herzlian Zionism,
Yatskan was a member of the Zionist Organization, and after the sixth congress
he was a follower of the Uganda Program and also influenced Haynt at the time in the direction of
territorialism. The newspaper had great
difficulties during WWI and afterward when Poland became an independent
nation. In June 1915 the newspaper was
discontinued by the Tsarist military authorities; in August 1915, now under
German occupation, it began once again to appear in print, but it was prohibited
beyond the borders of Crown Poland.
After the departure of the Germans, it was again closed by the Polish
authorities, and then resumed publication anew under the title Der tog (The day) in Warsaw
(1919-1920). In 1920 it merged with the daily
Zionist organ Dos yudishe folk (The
Jewish people), and then once again was closed by the Poles and again reemerged
in print under the title Der nayer haynt
(The new today). A little later, it
returned to its original title of Haynt. In addition, Yatskan published and edited the
weekly Di handels velt (The business
world) in Warsaw (1921-1922), the weekly Velt-shpigl
(World mirror) in Warsaw (1929-1939), the daily Parizer haynt (Parisian daily) in Paris (first issue: January 24,
1926), and the afternoon newspaper Hayntike
nayes (Today’s news) in Warsaw (1937-1939).
He also published the Polish-language Jewish daily Piąta
Rano (Five in the morning) in Warsaw (1936-1939).[1] In 1921 he spent some time in the United
States and published his memoirs in Morgn-zhurnal (Morning
journal). In brochure format in Yiddish,
he published Gvald! oder an ernst vort iber dem hoyz-fraynd (Help!, or
a serious word about Hoyz-fraynd [House
friend]) (Vilna, 1894), 28 pp.—a pamphlet in opposition to M. Spektor’s Hoyz-fraynd. In book form in Hebrew: Ḥinukh
lanaar (Education for the youth)
(Vilna, 1895); Rabenu eliyahu mivilna: ḥayaṿ, zemanav, korotav umifalav (Rabbi
Elijah of Vilna: his life, his times, events in his life, and his writings)
(Warsaw, 1900), 190 pp. Together with
Nisn Levin, he founded in Vilna the Yehudiya publisher house which brought out
twenty volumes in the series “Folks-universitet” (People’s university). He also published a translation by Rabbi
Mortkhele (Kh. Tshemerinski): Makhzer af
yidish (High Holiday prayer book in Yiddish). He died in Paris and was buried in Warsaw.
Sources:
Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 1 (with
a bibliography); Dr. Y. Shatski, in Algemeyne
entsiklopedye (General encyclopedia), “Yidn G,” p. 199; Dovid Druk, Tsu der geshikhte fun der prese (On the
history of the press) (Warsaw, 1920), pp. 49-102; Shmuel Niger, in Tsukunft (New York) (April 1928); D. Frishman,
in Tsukunft (January 1928); Vl.
Grosman, in Di 7 teg ilustrirt
(Paris) (July 27, 1928); Z. Tigel, in Poylishe
yidn (Polish Jews), yearbook (New York, 1937), p. 33; B. Kremer, in Haynt yoyvl-bukh, 1908-1938 (Jubilee
volume for Haynt, 1908-1938) (Warsaw,
1938), pp. 23-25; Y. Uger, in Haynt
yoyvl-bukh, 1908-1938, pp. 20-23; Z. Shneur, in Forverts (New York) (July 1, 1932); M. Grosman and Kh.
Finkelshteyn, in Fun noentn over (New
York) 2 (1956), pp. 3-213; Y. Grinboym, in Fun
noentn over 2 (1956), pp. 233-37; G. Hal, in Haboker (Tel Aviv) (Elul 27 [= September 12], 1958); M. Vaykhert, Varshe (Warsaw) (Tel Aviv, 1961), see
index.
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