MOYSHE VISENFELD (MOSHE WIESENFELD)

MOYSHE VISENFELD (MOSHE WIESENFELD) (August 24, 1883-1940)

            He was born in Rzeszów, Galicia, the older brother of Leon Vizenfeld.  At age fifteen he became a Hassid, belonging to a clique of young boys studying Hassidism and living according to Hassidic principles, and devoting his attention to Kabbala.  He then switched to follow the Jewish Enlightenment, founded a group known as Hashaḥar (The dawn) made up of former pious lads to liberate themselves from the Hassidic yoke and acquaint themselves with European education, and he edited their organ Hashaḥar, a monthly published in Lemberg (1908-1909), of which only four numbers appeared; it was later revived by Dr. Yirmiyahu Frenkel.  He wrote articles for Hamitspe (The watchtower) in Cracow, in Dr. Birnbaum’s Neue Zeitung (New newspaper) and Selbstwehr (Self-worth), both in German.  His first article in Yiddish was published in Der yud (The Jew) in Cracow (1905), edited by Froym-Fishl Vashits.  For over two years in Rzeszów, he published the weekly newspaper Naye folkstsaytung (New people’s newspaper).  From 1907 he was a contributor to: Togblat (Daily newspaper) in Lemberg; and in Moyshe Frostik’s Yidisher calendar (Jewish calendar), he published an article entitled “Di yudishe shprakhe un natsyonale politik in goles” (The Yiddish language and national politics in the Diaspora).  He was also the Galician correspondent for Morgn-zhurnal (Morning journal) in New York.  The last twenty years of his life, he lived in Cracow where he was in charge of the Jewish National Fund.  In 1940, under the Nazis, he escaped to the town of Krasne (Krasnoye), southern Galicia, and there—together with his family—he was shot.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol.1; Gershon Bader, Medina veḥakhameha (The state and its sages) (New York, 1934); information from his brother, Leon Vizenfeld, in Cleveland.