Wednesday, 29 May 2019

SHMUEL RAFALOVITSH


SHMUEL RAFALOVITSH (December 24, 1866-November 15, 1923)
            He was born in Bohupol (Bogopol), Podolia.  His Hebraized name was Rafaeli.  He was the brother of Yeshaye Rafalovitsh, and they came from a rabbinic-Enlightenment family.  He studied in religious primary school (with Micah Joseph Berdichevsky) and secular subject matter as well.  In 1882 he moved with his parents to Jerusalem.  In 1899 he left for London, in 1905 for New York, and in 1907 returned to the land of Israel.  He wrote mainly in Hebrew—novellas, research works, translations, and memoirs.  Especially well known from his Hebrew writings is Matbeot hayehudim (Jewish coins) (Jerusalem, 1913), 199 pp.  He also wrote for Yiddish-language newspapers.  He edited the Hebrew-Yiddish weekly Shaare tsiyon (Gates of Zion).  In 1890 he published and edited (with Shloyme Epshteyn) Der erets-yisroel yud (The Jew in the land of Israel) (Jerusalem)—8 issues over three months.  He died in Jerusalem.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 4; Getzel Kressel, Leksikon hasifrut haivrit (Handbook of Hebrew literature), vol. 2 (Meravya, 1967); D. Tidhar, in Entsiklopedyah lealutse hayishuv uvonav (Encyclopedia of the pioneers and builders of the yishuv), vol. 1 (Tel Aviv, 1947); E. R. Malachi, in Hatoran (New York) (December 1923); Prese-zamlung (Press collection) (New York, 1930), pp. 149, 215.
Ruvn Goldberg


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