YANKEV SHEYN

YANKEV SHEYN (1848-June 1913)

            He was born in Eperies (Eperjes), Hungary, and immigrated to the United States in 1879.  He was active in the socialist fraternal movement.  He was said to have published the first socialist writing in Yiddish in America in 1885, which until now has yet to be located.  He died in New York.

Source: Elye Tsherikover, ed., Geshikhte fun der yidisher arbeter-bavegung in di fareynikte shtatn (The history of the Jewish labor movement in the United States), vol. 2 (New York: YIVO, 1945), pp. 251, 485.

Berl Cohen

YOYSEF SHEYN

YOYSEF SHEYN (b. March 15, 1915)

            He was theatrical showman and the author of stories, born in Ponevezh (Panevėžys), Lithuania.  He completed high school.  In 1935 he moved to Moscow, where he graduated from the Yiddish theater school and a theater academy (1945).  In 1959 he moved to Israel, later settling in Paris.  He wrote on theater and art in: Di goldene keyt (The golden chain) and Letste nayes (Latest news) in Tel Aviv; Forverts (Forward) in New York; and Unzer tribune (Our tribune), Unzer kiem (Our existence), Unzer vort (Our word), and Almanakh (Almanac) in Paris.  In book form: Arum moskver yidishn teater (On the Moscow Yiddish theater) (Paris: Poliglot, 1964), 258 pp.; Der komedyant afn shteyn, dertseylungen (Paris: World Jewish Culture Congress, 1970), 91 pp.  He placed a lengthy piece, entitled “Yidish teater in sovet-rusland” (Yiddish theater in Soviet Russia), in Yidisher teater in eyrope tsvishn beyde velt-milkhomes (Yiddish theater in Europe between the two world wars), vol. 2 (New York, 1971).

Dr. Noyekh Gris

YOYSEF SHEYN

YOYSEF SHEYN

            He was the author of Dos grindung der ershter yudisher gemeynde in amshterdam (The establishment of the first Jewish community in Amsterdam) (Warsaw, 1903), 58 pp.; and R’ shoyel morteyra (R. Shaul Mortera) (Warsaw, 1903), 30 pp.

Berl Cohen

EMA SHEYVER-LAZAROV (EMMA SCHAVER)

EMA SHEYVER-LAZAROV (EMMA SCHAVER) (March 15, 1905-January 26, 2003)

            She was a singer, born in the Russian empire.  He moved to Rochester, New York, later settling in Detroit.  She studied in several music schools.  She performed in concerts and operas.  She recorded Hirsh Glik’s “Zog nit keyn mol” (Don’t say never), Mortkhe Gebirtig’s “Es brent” (It’s burning) and “Viglid” (Lullaby), Leyb Rozental’s “Tsu eyns, tsvey, dray” (One, two, three), and Perets Hirshbeyn’s “Nign” (Melody), among other songs.  In book form: Mir zaynen do! Ayndrukn un batrakhtungen fun a bazukh bay der sheyres hapleyte (We are here! Impressions and thoughts from a visit with the Holocaust survivors) (New York, 1948), 176 pp.; Mir zaynen do appeared in Hebrew translation by Y. Kariv under the title Anaḥnu po (Tel Aviv: Eged, 1981), 110 pp.

Source: Zalmen Zilbertsvayg, Leksikon fun yidishn teater (Handbook of the Yiddish theater), vol. 4 (New York, 1963).

Berl Cohen

[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 527.]

SHLOYME SHIDLOVSKI

SHLOYME SHIDLOVSKI (b. March 11, 1914)

            He was a journalist, born in Warsaw, who came from a Hassidic family.  After WWII he was in refugee camps in Austria and Italy.  He was active in Haḥaluts (The pioneer) and the Gordonia youth movement.  From 1949 he was living in Israel.  From 1932, he was contributing to Warsaw’s Unzer ekspres (Our express), Hayntike nayes (Today’s news), Varshever radyo (Warsaw radio), and the humor weekly Der blofer (The bluffer).  He also wrote for the survivors’ press and later for the daily newspaper Letste nayes (Latest news) in Tel Aviv.

Berl Cohen

LEYZER SHIBOLES

LEYZER SHIBOLES (1897-1941)

            He was a journalist, born in Nadzing (Nedzingė), near Vilna.  He studied in yeshiva and general subject matter as well.  He began his journalistic work for Vilner tog (Vilna day), later writing for Unzer fraynd (Our friend).  He moved to Kovno and contributed there to the daily Folksblat (People’s newspaper).  In 1936 he founded and edited the daily Letste nayes (Latest news), and after it closed down he worked for the Revisionist Unzer moment (Our moment).  He perished in WWII while escaping from Kovno to Russia.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 4; Yahadut lita (Jewish Lithuania), vol. 2 (Tel Aviv, 1972), vol. 3 (Tel Aviv, 1967), see index.

Ruvn Goldberg

YUDE-LEYB SHTSHEKATSH (LEON SZCZEKACZ ROZEN)

YUDE-LEYB SHTSHEKATSH (LEON SZCZEKACZ ROZEN) (April 18, 1910-May 11, 1971)

            He was born in Vyerushov (Wieruszów), Poland.  He added Rozen to his surname.  He received a fervently religious education.  He studied in yeshivas.  Over the years 1912-1931, he lived in Lodz, later until the beginning of 1939 in Paris.  He was a cofounder of “Poale Agudat Yisrael” (Workers of Agudat Yisrael) in Poland and was later also active in the Revisionist Zionist movement.  During a visit to Poland in 1939, he was trapped there and spent a year’s time in the ghettos of Lodz and Petrikov (Piotrków Trybunalski).  In September 1940 he fled to the Soviet border, where he was detained by the Soviets and later deported to Siberia.  Freed in 1941, he became a field rabbi in the Polish army created in the Soviet Union.  Over the years 1946-1968, he lived in Atlanta, Georgia.  He received a law degree from the local university there and went on to become a professor.  He published articles, reportage pieces, stories, and poems in: Der yudisher arbayter (The Jewish worker) and Beys yankev (House of Jacob) in Lodz; Yudishe arbayter-shtime (Voice of Jewish laborers), Der yud (The Jew), and Dos yudishe togblat (The Jewish daily newspaper) in Warsaw; Hamshekh (Continuation) in Atlanta, three issues in Yiddish and English, served as editor; Forverts (Forward) and Morgn-zhurnal (Morning journal) in New York; and Yidish tsaytung (Jewish newspaper) in Tel Aviv, editor from 1975; among others.

In book form: Der ershter mai, farvos m’darf im nit fayern (May 1^st, why we don’t celebrate it) (Warsaw, 1930); Geṭo koltubanḳa, geshikhte funem proyekt tsu shafn a yidishn legyon bay der poylisher armey in sovet rusland (The Koltubanka ghetto, a history of the project to create a Jewish legion in the Polish army in Soviet Russia) (Paris and New York, 1951), 31 pp.; Yaades un religyes fun felker (Judaism and [other] people’s religions) (Tel Aviv: Nay-lebn, 1971); Fun eybikn kval, gedanken un aforizmen fun gedole hatoyre ṿehakhsides (From the wells of eternity, thoughts and aphorisms of the great Torah scholars and Hassidism) (Tel Aviv: Hamenorah, 1975-1976), 2 vols.  Among his pen names: Leybele der Kleyner, L. Nakhmanovitsh, A. Gelber, L. Ash, Yude Ash, Ben-Nakhmen, and Leon Rozen.  He published several books in English as well.  His books, Portretn (Portraits) and Yidish-frantsoyzish lern-bukh (Yiddish-French textbook), both typeset in Piotrków Trybunalski by Mesoyre Farlag in 1940, were destroyed by the Germans.  He died in Tel Aviv.

Berl Cohen