SHMUEL-KHAYIM LANDAU

SHMUEL-KHAYIM LANDAU (February 3, 1893-June 4, 1928)

            He was born in Motshets (Maciesze), Lemberg district, Russian Poland.  In 1917 he joined the Mizrachi movement, and he later became a member of the central committee of the party in Poland, as well as of its World Union.  He was a cofounder of “Dat veavoda” (Religion and labor) and of the youth organization “Hashomer hadati” (The religious guard) in Poland.  He was a leader of the religious “Hakhshara kibutsim” (Training for agricultural emigrants to settle on kibbutzim in Palestine) in Poland and Israel where he was living and was active in “Hapoel hamizrachi” (Mizrachi labor) from 1926 until his death.  He began writing for Lubliner togblat (Lublin daily newspaper) in 1917 and later contributed to: Hamizraḥi (The Mizrachi) (1919-1926); Dos yudishe leben (The Jewish life) and Unzer shtime (Our voice) (1925-1926); Der mizrakhi-veg (The Mizrachi way), Hakedem (The days of yore), and Der vegvayzer (The guide)—all in Warsaw; Unzer tribune (Our tribune) in Mlave (Mława) (1925); and Hator (The turtle-dov) and Netiva (Path) in Jerusalem; among others.  He also published under such pen names as: Shaḥal, Ben-Moshe, Memelzohn, Mizrakhist, and Aḥer Hatseiri.  He died in Jerusalem.  In his memory were established: “Shaḥal” (Volunteer service) in Rehovot; the town of Kiryat Shmuel [near Haifa], and the Yaar Lando (Landau Forest) near Kfar Yehoshua.  In 1935 there was published in Jerusalem a volume entitled Kitve shmuel-ḥaim landau (The writings of Shmuel-Khayim Landau), which includes a collection of his Hebrew and Yiddish essays.

Sources: A. M. Genikhovski, in Der vegvayzer (Warsaw) 9 (1926); B. Gutsdiner, in Habonim (Warsaw) (1926); Netiva (Jerusalem) (Tamuz 1 [= June 19], 1928); Dr. M. Shulvas, Datn un khronik fun der toyre-veavode-bavegung in poyln (Dates and chronicle of the Tora veavoda movement in Poland) (Warsaw, 1937); Sefer haishim (Biographical dictionary) (Tel Aviv, 1937), p. 588; Sh. A. Abella, in Keneder odler (Montreal) (June 10, 1960); G. Shtutsiner, in Der amerikaner (New York) (March 24, 1961); N. Shemen, in Der idisher zhurnal (Toronto) (June 23, 1961).

Khayim Leyb Fuks