YOYSEF RAVIN

YOYSEF RAVIN (November 11, 1890-1937)

            He was a poet, prose writer, and playwright, as well as the author of textbooks and children’s books, born in the town of Germanovitsh, Vilna district. He attended religious elementary school. In 1903 his family moved to Lodz, Poland, and he took up studying with a pharmacist, but soon thereafter he turned to pedagogy and literature. He worked as a teacher for several years in a Lodz public school, later in Jewish schools of Minsk. He was killed during the purges of 1937. In 1916 he founded in Lodz a publishing house “Far unzer kleynvarg” (For our youngsters), and there (1917-1921) he published a series Ravins ilustrirte kinder-biblyotek (Ravin’s illustrated children’s library) of children’s plays in verse: Royt hitele (Little red cap), 20 pp.; Vays shneyele (White snow); Berele un perele (Berele and Perele), children’s poetry, 15 pp.; Far di kleyntshige, megiles ester (For the tiny ones, the Scroll of Esther); a picture book, Di kindervelt, mayselekh sheyne far kinderlekh kleyne (The world of children, beautiful tales for little children). In Lazar Kahan’s publishing house, he brought out Friling leb (Beloved spring) for use in public schools (Lodz, 1918), 64 pp.; from A. Gitlin’s publishing house, Der koter in shtivl (The tomcat in boots), the children’s play in verse (1921), 38 pp., and Farkishefte basmalke (The enchanted princess) (1922), 39 pp. A series of booklets with stories: A keyt (A chain), Yapanishe folksmayselekh (Japanese folktales), Estraykhishe folksmayselekh (Austrian folktales), Mayselekh fun khayes un feyglvelt (Tales of animals and the world of birds), and Mayselekeh fun der gantser velt (Tales from the entire world), 16 pp., among others—all published in Warsaw. From 1921 he published original and translated tales in verse in: Grininke beymelekh (Little green trees) and Lodzer folksblat (Lodz daily newspaper). In Minsk, where he settled in 1922, he continued his intensive creative work, especially in compiling textbooks for Jewish schools. He published there: Pyesn far dramkrayzn (Plays for dramatic circles), part one (Byelorussian State Publishers, 1925), 116 pp.; with Hersh Sagalovitsh, Matematik, ershter teyl, arbetbikhl farn III shulyor (Mathematics, part 1, workbook for the third school year) (Byelorussian State Publishers, 1926), 185 pp. and Matematik, tsveyter teyl (Mathematics, part 2) (Byelorussian State Publishers, 1928), 238 pp.; Mayselekh in ferzn (Tales in verse) (Byelorussian State Publishers, 1928), 40 pp.; with Sagalovitsh, Heft far matematishe arbetn (Copybook for mathematical work), part 1 (Minsk: Byelorussian State Publishers, 1928, 1931), 45 pp., part 2 (Minsk: Byelorussian State Publishers, 1929, 1930), 52 pp., part 3 (Minsk: Byelorussian State Publishers, 1929, 1930); with Miriam Margoline and Shloyme-Itshe Ravin, Zay greyt, arbetbukh far 4tn lernyor (Get ready, workbook for the fourth school year) (Moscow-Minsk: Central People’s Publishers, USSR, 1930), 474 pp.; with V. Shats, Farn finfyor, arbet bukh af literatur (For year five, workbook for literature) (Moscow-Minsk: Central People’s Publishers, USSR, 1932); with V. Shats and Sh. Buz, Literatur, farn 3tn un 4tn shulyor (Literature, for the third and fourth school year) (Moscow-Minsk: Central People’s Publishers, 1933), 176 pp.—over the years 1934-1937 there were five reprintings. He translated Klaus Neukrantz’s Barikadn in veding, a roman fun eyner a gas in di berliner may ṭeg 1929 (Barricades at the wedding, a novel from a Berlin street in May days 1929 [original: Barrikaden am Wedding]) (Minsk: Byelorussian State Publishers, 1933), 80 pp.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 4; Chone Shmeruk, comp., Pirsumim yehudiim babrit-hamoatsot, 1917-1961 (Jewish publications in the Soviet Union, 1917-1961) (Jerusalem, 1961), see index; Khayim-Shloyme Kazdan, in Bikher-velt (Warsaw) 2 (1922); Khayim Leyb Fuks, Lodzh shel mayle, dos yidishe gaystiḳe un derhoybene lodzh, 100 yor yidishe un oykh hebreishe literatur un kultur in lodzh un in di arumiḳe shtet un shtetlekh (Lodz on high, the Jewish spiritual and elevated Lodz, 100 years of Yiddish and also Hebrew literature and culture in Lodz and in the surrounding cities and towns) (Tel Aviv: Perets Publ., 1972), pp. 52, 202; Yeshurin archive, YIVO (New York).

Berl Cohen

[Additional information from: Chaim Beider, Leksikon fun yidishe shrayber in ratn-farband (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers in the Soviet Union), ed. Boris Sandler and Gennady Estraikh (New York: Congress for Jewish Culture, Inc., 2011), pp. 347-48.]