BERNARD SHELVIN

BERNARD SHELVIN (April 1882-November 28, 1941)

            He was a journalist, born Borekh Shelevitski in a village near Nesvish (Nesvyžius), Minsk district.  He attended religious elementary school and yeshivas.  As an external student, he passed the fourth-level classes of high school.  At the end of the 1890s, he departed for London and in 1908 for New York.  He was a member of elite Zionist agencies.  His journalistic activities began in Hebrew periodicals: Hayehudi (The Jew), Hatsofe (The spectator), Hazman (The times), and elsewhere.  He debuted in print in Yiddish in Tsvi Prilutski’s Der veg (The way) (1905-1906).  He co-edited the London daily newspaper Der idisher ekspres (The Jewish express) (1906-1907), later becoming a regular contributor to Morgn-zhurnal (Morning journal) and Amerikaner (American) in New York.  In addition to general articles, he wrote about music.  Longer works by him include such series of articles as: “Di geshikhte fun der entshtehung, vuks un entviklung fun di idishe ordens” (The history of the creation, growth, and development of the Jewish orders), Amerikaner (May 5, 1916-November 16, 1917); “Ekhod-hoom zayn lere un aynflus” (Aḥad-Haam, his teachings and influence), Amerikaner (April 20-August 10, 1917); “Tsukunft fun khazones in amerike” (The future of the cantorial art in America), in Di geshikhte fun khazones (The history of the cantorial art) (New York, 1924).  He died in New York.

Source: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 4.

Berl Cohen