SHLOYME BIBER

SHLOYME BIBER (September 23, 1875- October 15, 1931).

Born in Ostrog (Ostróg), Volhynia, he graduated from secondary school and then studied at a vocational school in Ekatorinoslav.  He worked for a short time in the coal mines of the Donets Basin.  In 1894 he came to Warsaw and wrote correspondence pieces for the Russian Jewish newspapers (Voskhod [Sunrise] and Budushchnost’ [Future]).  He started writing in Yiddish for an illegal organ of the Jewish section of the Polish Socialist Party: Der arbayter (The worker); later, for the daily newspapers: Der veg (The way), Der telegraf (The telegraph), Unzer lebn (Our life), and Fraynd (Friend); later still he became a regular contributor with Moment (Moment).  He also wrote serialized novels in the newspapers, such as his In shturem fun lebn (In the storm of life), Der zakladnik (The hostage), Der amerikaner feter (The American uncle), Rasputin (Rasputin), Dem bekers tokhter (The baker’s daughter), Di shtim fun blut (The voice of blood), and Oyf di khurves fun tsarizm (From the ruins of Tsarism).  He also composed popular historical treatments of the Chmielnicki massacres, the intercession of Jews, and Rabbi Raphael Hamburger (for the Orthodox daily, Do yidishe vort [The Yiddish word], 1917-1918).  He was a member of the central council of the Jewish People’s Party in Poland and wrote for the party’s weekly, Dos folk (The people).  Among his books: Beylises protses in kiev, loyt stenografishn barikht (The Beilis trial in Kiev, according to the stenographic report), 3 parts (Warsaw, 1915), 149, 220, 244 pp.; Di kiever geheymnisn (The mysteries of Kiev), a novel in twenty-five parts (from the same trial) (Warsaw, 1914); Farshvundere tipn fun yidishn varshe (Types that have disappeared from Jewish Warsaw), memoires (Warsaw, 1924).

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 1; M. Ravitsh, Mayn leksikon (My lexicon), vol. 2 (Montreal, 1947); “Moment yubiley oysgabe, 1910-1935” (Moment, jubilee printing, 1910-1935), Moment (February 24 1924).