YANKEV
DINEZON (JACOB DINESON) (1850s-August 29, 1919)
He was born in Nay-Zager (Žagarė),
Kovno district, Lithuania. He studied in
religious elementary school, yeshiva, and read widely. He was strongly influenced by two major
figures in Žagarė of that time: R. Khayim Zak and the poet Mikhl Gordon
(1823-1890). When he was twelve years of
age, his father died. He was raised by
an uncle, Ayzik Elyashev, in Mohilev (Mogilev), near the Dnieper River. The wife of the wealthy Mohilev merchant
Hurvits had an influence on Dinezon’s spiritual development, as he worked as a
Hebrew teacher in her home. Sent from
the Hurvits household to Vilna, Dinezon got to know Ayzik Meyer Dik at the Romm
Publishing House. By that time he had already
published articles in Hamagid (The
preacher) and Hamelits (The
advocate), as well as in Smolenskin’s Hashaḥar
(The dawn); and he published the pamphlet Duner
un blits (Thunder and lightning) (Vilna, 1874). He sent the manuscripts of his first two
novels to Vilna: Beoven avos (For the sins of the fathers),
“or a play for Jewish girls, shopgirls, and female innkeepers”; and Haneehavim
vehaneimim, oder der shvartser yunger-mantshik (The beloved and the pleasant, or the dark
young man) (Vilna, 1877). He sold the
first of these two novels for a high price, but it was never published because
a wealthy party in Mohilev, a relative of the Vilna censor, was portrayed
negatively in the novel. The second
novel was, according to Shmuel Niger, “the first long Yiddish novel and also the
first sentimental novel in Yiddish”—a book with a moral; after it appeared in
1877 it enjoyed great success, selling some 10,000 copies in a short period of
time. The novel was subsequently
republished many times and was even dramatized and performed on stage. For a long time thereafter Dinezon did not
write. This was allegedly due to his
love for a Hurvits daughter, his tutee.
Another version has it that it was due to a public stance taken against
Yiddish by Perets Smolenskin. Like all
of his contemporaries, Dinezon looked upon Yiddish as a means of enlightening
and teaching the masses, and it seems he remained undecided about writing
further in Yiddish. He afterward spent a
brief time in Kiev, and in late 1885 he came to Warsaw and met with Y. L.
Peretz.
This
was a crucial moment in his life and an important date in the history of
Yiddish literature. This acquaintance
gradually developed into an intimate friendship for his entire life. Dinezon’s apartment became the gathering site
for Yiddish writers in Warsaw. Dinezon then
returned to his literary activities. His
article in Yudishes folksblat (Jewish
people’s newspaper)—entitled “An entfer profesor grets, ver mit vemen darf zikh
shemen” (A response to Professor Heinrich Graetz, who should be ashamed of whom?)—a
reply to Graetz’s attack on Yiddish, undoubtedly had to do with his new
approach to the language issues among Jews.
He published images and stories, such as: “Kreplekh zolstu esn” (You’ve
got to eat dumplings), in Sholem-Aleykhem’s Di
yudishe folks-biblyotek (The Jewish people’s library), as well as in Yon-kiper (Yom Kippur) and in Hoyz-fraynd (House friend), and in 1890 he
brought out his major novel: Even
negef, oder a shteyn in veg (A stumbling block in the path) (Vilna,
1890), 380 pp.; (Warsaw, 1902, 1926), 492 pp.; (Moscow, 1938), 275 pp. He also published a children’s story,
entitled “Avigdorl” (Little Avigdor).
Soon thereafter appeared his third novel: Hershele (Warsaw, 1891,
1895, 1903), 200 pp.; (New York, 1905); Hebrew translation by Sh. Herberg (Tel
Aviv: Mitspe, 1937). He also published
his children’s tale: Yosele (Little Joe) (Warsaw, 1899, 1903), 188 pp.;
(New York, 1923, 1926); (Buenos Aires, 1949); (Warsaw, 1951); Hebrew
translation by H. D. Shaḥar (Tel Aviv, 1950?).
Yosele was also reprinted in the work Finf niftorim:
sholem-aleykhem, y. l. perets, mendele moykher-sforim, sh. sh. frug, y. dinezon
(Five deceased persons: Sholem-Aleykhem, Y. L. Peretz, Mendele Moykher-Sforim,
Sh. Sh. Frug, Y. Dinezon) (Vienna: Der kval, 1920). His novel Alter, a roman in eyn teyl
(The old man, a novel in one part) appeared in a supplement to Der fraynd
(The friend) (1904; Warsaw, 1928, 201 pp.); as did Kindershe neshomes
(Children’s souls) in 1904. Other
writings include: Tevyele, a shvues mayse (Little Tevye, a Shavuot
story) (Warsaw, 1905?), 16 pp.; Der krizis, ertseylung fun soykherishn lebn
(The crisis, a story of merchant life) (Warsaw, 1905), 133 pp.; Shimshen
shloyme mit zayne ferd (Samson Solomon with his horses) (Warsaw, 1905), 14
pp.; Giteles yon-kiper (Gitele’s Yom Kippur) (Warsaw, 1909), 30 pp.; Indyen,
dos land (India, the country) (New York, 1909), 64 pp.; Bovl, dos land
(Babylonia, the country) (New York, 1909), pp. 167-201; and Egipten, dos
land (Egypt, the country) (New York, 1909), pp. 105-66. Dinezon also published his experiences in Pinkes
(Records) in Vilna (1911); he translated Graetz’s Volkstümliche Geschichte
der Juden (Popular history of the Jewish people), except for vol. 1
[translated by someone else]; and Velt-geshikhte, fun di elteste tsaytn biz
oyf di gegenvart (World history, from ancient times until the present), in
a supplement to Yud (Jew) in 1900, later frequently republished (Warsaw,
1901, 1909). After Dinezon’s death, the
following works of his appeared: Falik un zayn hoyz, dertseylung (Falik
and his house, a story) (Warsaw, 1926), 106 pp.; Zikhroynes un bilder,
shtetl, kinderyorn, shrayber (Memoirs and images, town, childhood, writer)
(Warsaw, 1928), 244 pp.; Ale verk fun yankev dinezon (Collected works of
Yankev Dinezon) (Warsaw, 1928-1929). Dinezon
stopped writing in 1910. He left behind
a number of unpublished works: Em habanim, oder di sheyne rokhele
(Mother of children, or the beautiful Rokhele), a novel in four volumes (750
pp.); Maysim bekol yom (Stories for everyday), a novel in two parts (508
pp.); Khelme teyve khazey, a kritishe ertseylung fom lebn gegrif forgeshtelt
in a kholem (A critical story of life drawn a concept in a
dream) (200 pp.); Far likht bentsn (Before blessing the candles); Reb
berl der groyser, a kheyder mayse (Reb Berl the great,
an elementary school story); Kheyder yunglekh, an emese mayse (Elementary
school boys, a true story); Vegn robinzon kruze—eykh mayn ersht verk (About Robinson
Crusoe—also, my first work); Tsushnayder, dertseylung (Cutter, a story);
Yonkiper motiven (Yom Kippur themes); Der zeyger
(The clock); Di milkhome (The
war); and Seyfer hazikorn (The book
of memories). Another work in Yiddish is
mentioned in his memoirs, Miryam
hakhshmonit (Miriam, the Hasmonean).
His story “A brif tsu a mekhaber” (A letter to an author) was never
published in book form either. Dinezon
also translated into Yiddish sixty-five short works for the series “Pitgamim umivtaim” (Proverbs and pronunciations), from the writings of Kh. N. Bialik and
Ravnitsky’s Sefer haagada (The book
of tales), and he contributed them to Fraynd,
Tsukunft (Future) which also carried
his story “Yosele algebranik” (Little Joe Algebranik), and virtually all
Yiddish publications of his time.
Dinezon’s letters constitute a major cultural historical work—a small
portion of them were published by Yankev Shatski in Pinkes (a quarterly journal of Jewish literary history, linguistic
research, folklore, and bibliography) in New York: 1.4 (1928), pp. 377-80; 2.1
(1929), pp. 61-69. In Warsaw he made a
living as an advertising agent for Yiddish and Hebrew newspapers. In the years in which he was no longer
writing, particularly after Y. L. Peretz’s death, he turned all of his
attention to work on behalf of nursery schools and children’s schools (during
WWI). “Yankev Dinezon did not represent
a great step forward in history of fiction writing,” wrote Shmuel Niger. “The novel was important for the reader of
Yiddish, and he remains of interest for those who study the history and
psychology of the Jewish public. Before
anything else, pure literature was a return to the morality-style of A. M. Dik
without a doubt.” He died in Warsaw and
was buried near Y. L. Peretz.
Dinezon with Sholem-Aleykhem
Sources:
Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 1; Z.
Zilbertsvayg, Leksikon fun yidishn teater
(Handbook of the Yiddish theater), vol. 1; D. Frishman, in Tsukunft (New York) (January 1928); Avrom Reyzen, Epizodn fun mayn lebn (Episodes from my life), vol. 1 (Vilna,
1929); Bal-Makhshoves, Geklibene
shriftn (Collected writings) (Warsaw, 1929); Sh. Dubnov, Fun
“zhargon” biz yidish
(From “jargon” to Yiddish) (Vilna, 1929); N. Mayzil, in Tsukunft (May 1934); N. B. Minkov, in Yivo-bleter (New York) 25 (May-June 1945), pp. 441-65; Shmuel
Niger, Dertseylers un romanistn
(Storytellers and novelists), vol. 1 (New York, 1946); Dr. A. Mukdoni, Y. l. perets un dos yidishe teater (Y.
L. Peretz and the Yiddish theater) (New York, 1949); Y. Y. Trunk, in Poyln (New York) 5 (1949); B. Yong, Mayn lebn in teater (My life in the
theater) (New York, 1950); M. Natish, in Yivo-bleter
6 and a treatise on the same topic in the YIVO archives in New York; Sh.
Slutski, Avrom reyzen biblyografye
(Avrom Reyzen’s bibliography) (New York, 1956), nos. 4511, 4623, 4625; Kh. Sh.
Kazdan, Fun kheyder un shkoles biz tsisho (From religious and secular primary schools to
Tsisho) (Mexico, 1956), see index; Sh. Rozhanski, Yankev dinezon, di mame tsvishn undzere klasikers, 1856-1919
(Yankev Dinezon, the mother among our classical writers, 1856-1919) (Buenos
Aires, 1956), 131 pp.; Rozhanski, in Afrikaner
yidishe tsaytung (Johannesburg) (December 28, 1956); N. Mayzil, in Di prese (Buenos Aires) (September 5,
1956); Y. Botoshanski, in Di prese
(August 31, 1956); B. Ts. Goldberg, in Tog-morgn
zhurnal (New York) (January 27, 1957; February 24, 1957); Y. Levin, in Fraye arbeter shtime (New York) (July
12, 1957); D. Naymark, in Forverts
(New York) (March 3, 1957); Kh. L. Fuks, in Fun
noentn over (New York) 3 (1957), p. 200; N. Mayzil, Noente un eygene, fun yankev dinezon biz hirsh glik (Near and one’s
own, from Yankev Dinezon to Hirsch Glick) (New York, 1957); Dr. A. A. Roback, The Story of Yiddish Literature (New
York, 1940), pp. 161-63.
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