SHIMEN-NAFTALI-HERTS ALTSHUL

SHIMEN-NAFTALI-HERTS ALTSHUL (b. 1877)

Born in the Jewish colony of Koytshits, Bobryusk region, Byelorussia.  He studied in religious schools through yeshiva.  He was a cabinet journeyman, and later a grain merchant.  In 1901 he moved abroad, settling in Copenhagen where (using the pseudonym Ben-Shmuel) he contributed to the local Yiddish newspapers.  He edited the journal Der emes (The truth), and later Di naye tsayt (The new time) (which commenced publication in October 1923) and he wrote up a paper entitled Frederitsye un ir yudishe gemeynde (Fredericia and its Jewish community).  In 1921 he published Di geshikhte fun di yuden in denemark, 1: di yuden in denemark in 16-17 yorhundert (The history of the Jews of Denmark, vol. 1: The Jews in Denmark in the 16-17^th centuries), 48 pp.  In 1922 he started publishing his translation of the celebrated philosophical work Bechanut olam (In the storehouse of the world) by Yedaya Hapnini in the Copenhagen monthly, for Yugend shtime (Voice of youth).  Altshul also translated from Danish to Yiddish Meir Aron Goldschmidt’s (1819-1887) Livs erindringer og resultater (Lebns erinerungen un rezultaten, di ershte tsvey kapitlen fun bukh = Life’s memories and results, the first two chapters of the book) (Copenhagen, 1923), 58 pp.; and his Udvalgte Skrifter (Oysgeveylte shriftn = Selected writings), three volumes (Copenhagen, 1924-1926), vol. 1, 51 pp.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 1