NOYEKH ZABLUDOVSKI

NOYEKH ZABLUDOVSKI (July 4, 1958-April 18, 1934)

            He was born in Bialystok, Russian Poland, into a merchant household.  He studied in religious elementary school.  He early on became acquainted with the Jewish Enlightenment movement.  He lived in Ukraine, 1884-1894, and thereafter returned to Bialystok.  He was a cofounder of the society “Jewish Art” and librarian of the Jewish community and YIVO.  He lived in Minsk during WWI, and after the March 1917 Revolution he was editorial secretary of Der yud (The Jew).  In late 1918 he returned to Bialystok, where he was active in the Zionist movement and edited several issues of the Zionist election newspaper, Unzer frayhayt (Our freedom).  From 1879 he was publishing articles, features, and correspondence pieces in Hatsfira (The siren), Hamelits (The advocate)—among other pieces here, the series “Meri rosi haketana” (Little Mary Rosie)—the weekly Di yudishe folkstsaytung (The Jewish people’s newspaper)—a series of letters from Lithuania under the pen name “Halitai” (The Lithuanian)—and Tog (Day) in St. Petersburg (edited by L. Rabinovitsh).  He was also the Bialystok correspondent to Fraynd (Friend), internal contributor to Dos naye lebn (The new life) in Bialystok, and a correspondent to Moment (Moment) in Warsaw.  He also placed work in the following Bialystok publications: Hayntige tsayt (Present times), Byalistoker vort (Bialystok word), Byalistoker tageblat (Bialystok daily newspaper), Byalistoker shtime (Voice of Bialystok), and Unzer lebn (Our life), among others—in which he published, in addition to articles and features, material about the Jewish past in Bialystok.  He edited several issues of a newspaper that Jewish soldiers, 1916-1917, at their own expense published at the Minsk front.  His writings would include: A shenere parnose (A nicer living), a one-act play (Bialystok, 1918), 24 pp.; Farbiterte hertser (Embittered hearts), a one-act play (Warsaw, 1923), 29 pp.; An ekspropryatsye (An expropriation), a one-act play (Warsaw, 1923), 33 pp.; Eydims doktoyrim (The son-in-law’s doctors), a comedy about life during the war, three acts (Bialystok, 1924), 65 pp.  He also wrote the four-act comedy Dos umgerikhte glik (Unexpected happiness).  His one-act plays were staged by the drama section of the Bialystok group “Jewish Art.”  Among his pseudonyms: Zavdi, Naki, Zev Vakhludski, Yikhezkl Sbudnov, Myudad, Lo-Safra, Y. L. Berz, Yitskhok Elknzon, Kh. Y. Shevna, Avi-Shem, N. Barash, and Bar-Nash, among others.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 1; Z. Zilbertsvayg, Leksikon fun yidishn teater (Handbook of the Yiddish theater), vol. 1; Literarishe bleter (Warsaw) 18 (1934); A. Sh. Hershberg, in Pinkes byalistok (New York) 2 (1949), p. 418,