TSVI (HERMAN) MORAT

TSVI (HERMAN) MORAT

            The owner of Riga tobacco factory, he published between the two world wars a series of pamphlets in Yiddish, Russian, and German, including: Nekome far idn, oder di kale fun idishn folk (Revenge of the Jews, or the bride of the Jewish people), “an image of the Jewish people’s soul” in four acts (Riga, 1926), 92 pp.; Lenin af yener velt (Lenin in the next world), “a musical fairy tale in one act” (Riga, 1927), 11 pp.; Di shlang (The snake), “a tragedy of our life in three acts and six scenes” ( Riga, 1927), 28 pp.; Harts un neshome (Heart and soul) (Riga, n.d.), 34 pp.; Idn in di baltishe melukhes, interesante bilder fun lebn (Jews in the Baltic countries, interesting images from life) (Riga, 1928), 48 pp.; Got fun rakhmones (God of mercy), “images of Jewish life in Soviet Russia, in the form of a dramatic story, following my own experiences” (Riga, 1930), 32 pp.  In the 1930s Morat lived in Paris and published a series of works there: Menakhem mendl mit zayn mishpokhe in pariz (Menakhem Mendl with his family in Paris), “a satirical, witty piece of writing to make you ‘burst out’ laughing” (Paris, n.d.), 32 pp.; Der vaybersher goylem (The female golem), “a Parisian tale to make you laugh heartily” (Paris, n.d.), 32 pp.; and the like.  He also published a pamphlet in German about his “escape from Soviet Russia” (Riga, 80 pp.); and in Russian a booklet about life in Soviet Russia (Riga, 1927), 88 pp.  Further biographical details about him remain unknown.

Sources: Biblyografishe yorbikher fun yivo (Bibliographic yearbooks from YIVO), vol. 1 (Warsaw, 1928); Zalmen Zilbertsvayg, Leksikon fun yidishn teater (Handbook of the Yiddish theater), vol. 2 (New York, 1934); M. Shalit, in Literarishe bleter (Warsaw) (February 28, 1930).

Zaynvl Diamant

[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 366.]