YITSKHOK SHEHN

YITSKHOK SHEHN (December 3, 1899-1970)

            He was born in Banovtse (Bánovce nad Bebravou), Slovakia.  He attended religious elementary school and yeshivas.  In 1919 he emigrated to the United States.  For roughly thirty years, he worked as a cantor in Cleveland.  He wrote humorous stories and jokes about American schools, cantors, synagogue sextons, and “community” centers in: Amerikaner (American), Forverts (Forward), and Nyu-yorker vokhnblat (New York weekly newspaper) in New York, and he collaborated (1940-1953) with Di idishe velt (The Jewish world) in Cleveland.  He published Yontef blat (Holiday newspaper) in Cleveland (2 issues, 1954).  His pen names: Y. Yofe, Y. Sh-n, Yitskhok Yafe, and Y. Neshes.  Dov Sadan translated his eight stories in his Kearat egozim o elef bediha ubediha, asufat humor beyisrael (A bowl of nuts or one thousand and one jokes, an anthology of humor in Israel) (Tel Aviv, 1953).  He died in Cleveland.

Beyle Gottesman