YEKHIEL SHTERN

YEKHIEL SHTERN (July 1, 1903-June 30, 1981)

            He was born in Shebreshin (Szczebreszyn), Poland, the son of Avrom Shtern.  He attended in religious elementary school and synagogue study hall, and privately studied secular subject matter.  In 1929 he graduated from the Jewish teachers’ seminary of “Vilbig” (Vilner yidisher bildungs gezelshaft, or Vilna Jewish Education Society) in Vilna.  He worked as a Hebrew and Yiddish teacher in Poland, and from 1936 until 1968 in Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, and Montreal.  He wrote stories, poetry and articles on Jewish education.  He debuted in print in Kanader vokhnblat (Canadian weekly newspaper) in 1926, and he later contributed to: Vokhnshrift far literatur un kunst (Weekly writing on literature and art), Foroys (Arise), Folkstsaytung (People’s newspaper), and Literarishe bleter (Literary leaves) in Warsaw; Vilner tog (Vilna day), Yivo-bleter (Pages from YIVO), and Shriftn far psikhologye un pedagogik I, II (Writings on psychology and pedagogy) in Vilna; Bleter far yidisher dertsiung (Pages for Jewish education), Di yidishe shul (The Jewish school), Di yidishe shprakh (The Yiddish language), and Undzer shul (Our school) in New York; Dos yidishe vort (The Jewish word), Keneder odler (Canadian eagle), and elsewhere.  In book form: Der nosi hilel (Hillel, head of the Jewish people) (Montreal: Yidish bukh, 1946), 14 pp.; Berele un dos hintele (Berele and the puppy) (Montreal: Yidish bukh, 1946), 3 pp.; Kheyder un beys-medresh (Religious elementary school and synagogue study hall) (New York: YIVO, 1950), 128 pp. (winner of the Lamed Prize).  He died in Montreal.

Sources: Max Weinreich, in Forverts (New York) (August 17, 1949); A. Mukdoni, in Morgn-zhurnal (New York) (May 23, 1952); Moyshe Shtarkman, in Forverts (October 22, 1974).

Khayim Leyb Fuks