SHOLEM LOKER

SHOLEM LOKER (b. October 2, 1921)

            He was born in Drohobych, Galicia.  In 1930, at age eight, he moved to Mexico.  In 1944 he graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico with a baccalaureate degree in philosophy.  In 1945 he attended lectures at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.  He took up teaching Hebrew, and from 1956 he was vice-president of Jewish subject matter at the Sephardic Hebrew School in Mexico City.  He served as executive secretary, 1941-1947, of B’nai Brith; 1947-1951, of the Jewish central committee; and 1951-1956, he was national director of the Jewish National Fund.  Over the years 1957-1961, he served as secretary general of “Brit Ivrit Olamit” (“World Association for Hebrew Language and Culture”) in Mexico.  He was also a member of the Labor Zionist party.  He debuted in print in 1938 in Der veg (The path) in Mexico City, and he was assistant editor (1938-1940) of the newspaper (editor: Moyshe Rozenberg).  He also contributed to: Di shtime (The voice), Dos vort (The word), Yidishe shul (Jewish school), Brit ivrit (Jewish covenant), and Hanoar hatsiyoni (Zionist youth); and in Spanish, Tribuna israelita (Tribune of Israel) and Prensa israelita (Press of Israel)—all in Mexico City; Tsukunft (Future) and Idisher kemfer (Jewish fighter) in New York); Davke (Necessarily) in Buenos Aires; and Am besefer (People and book) in Jerusalem; among others.  He translated his own writings from Yiddish to Spanish.  He wrote treatments on Judaism and Hellenism, Judaism and Christianity, the philosophy of the Rambam (Moses Maimonides), problems of Jewish existence, and Jewish culture generally.  Together with Zaynvl Liberman, he penned a number of works about Jewish and general scholarly topics.  He was last living in Mexico City.  In Tsukunft (September 1961), he published the work: “Sod un retenish fun yidishn kiem” (The secret and mystery of Jewish existence).

Sources: Khayim Lazdaynski, in Ilustrirte literarishe bleter (Buenos Aires) 1-3 (1961); Z. Liberman, in Der veg (Mexico City) (December 2, 1961).