MORTKHE MAYDANIK (MORDEKHAI, MARCOS MAIDANIK)

MORTKHE MAYDANIK (MORDEKHAI, MARCOS MAIDANIK) (1896-April 23, 1960)

            He was born in Trastiniets, Podolia.  Until age thirteen he attended religious elementary school, and thereafter he turned solely to self-study.  In 1913 he made his way to Argentina, where he worked as the director of a Hebrew school in Basavilbaso, Entre Rios Province.  His literary activities began in 1918 with articles in Hebrew, and from 1923 he was publishing stories and sketches in Yidishe tsaytung (Jewish newspaper) in Buenos Aires, Yidishes tageblat (Jewish daily newspaper), and Yudishe gazetten (Jewish gazette) in New York (1924-1930).  He also wrote for: Di prese (The press), Der shpigl (The mirror), and Di idishe velt (The Jewish world) for which he was also editor (1927-1946)—all in Buenos Aires.  In addition, he contributed work to Hadoar (The mail) in New York and Haolam (The world) in the land of Israel.  He edited the Argentinian Hebrew journal Darom (South) and the historical-literary collection Sefer argentina (Volume for Argentina) (1954).  He was one of the leaders of Argentinian Zionism.  In his stories, he described the life of Jewish colonists and their struggle to remain in the colonies.  He published a volume of stories in Hebrew, entitled Bearvot argentina, sipurim ureshimot (Amid the willows of Argentina, stories and notes) (Buenos Aires: Histadrut ivrit, 1948), 200 pp.  His work was represented by stories in Antologye fun der yidisher literatur in argentine (Anthology of Jewish literature in Argentina) (Buenos Aires, 1944), pp. 481-85.  He died in Buenos Aires.  Among the pen names he used: M. Ben-Barukh, M. B. Rivtses, M. Barukhi, and M. Shteynfinkl.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 2; Sh. Rozhanski, Dos yidishe gedrukte vort in argentina (The published Yiddish word in Argentina), vol. 1 (Buenos Aires, 1941), pp. 136, 166, 186; Y. Botoshanski, in Di prese (Buenos Aires) (April 7, 1948; October 16, 1954); Botoshanski, Algemeyne entsiklopedye (General encyclopedia), “Yidn 5” (New York, 1957), p. 379; Y. L. Gruzman, in Der shpigl (Buenos Aires) (June-July 1958; May 1960); Davke (Buenos Aires) (April 22, 1960), p. 124; V. Tsukerkop, in Forverts (New York) (August 7, 1960).

Yankev Kahan