SHMUEL-DOV MAYZLISH

SHMUEL-DOV MAYZLISH (1902-September 20, 1942)

            He was born in Przemyśl, Galicia, the son of an itinerant school teacher.  He studied with his father and with private tutors.  He was cofounder of the first Agudat Yisrael branch in Galicia.  He published his first Hebrew poems in Deglanu (Our banner) in Warsaw (1922), and he debuted in print in Yiddish in Beys-yankev-zhurnal (Beys-Yankev journal) in Lodz (1923)—and he later became a regular contributor to both newspapers.  In addition, he also published poetry and articles in: Dos yidishe togblat (The Jewish daily newspaper) and Ortodoksishe yugend-bleter (Orthodox youth sheets) in Warsaw (1928-1939); Unzer veg (Our way) in Przemyśl (1928-1931), which he also served as editor; Der yudisher arbayter (The Jewish worker) in Lodz; and in Hebrew, in Darkhenu (Our path) in Warsaw (1924-1935) and Yavne (Yavne) in Lemberg (1929-1931), among others.  His Hassidic tale “Derhoybung” (Exaltation) was included in Antologye fun religyeze lider un dertseylungen (Anthology of religious poems and stories) (New York, 1955), pp. 478-82, and his poem “Ḥezyon” (Vision) was republished in the anthology Udim (Firebrands) (Jerusalem, 1960), pp. 186-87.  From 1933 he was living in Yaroslav, Galicia, where the Nazis shot him in the middle of the street on the eve of Yom Kippur, 1942.

Sources: M. Prager, Antologye fun religyeze lider un dertseylungen (Anthology of religious poems and stories) (New York, 1955), p. 477; Udim (Firebrands) (Jerusalem, 1960), p. 186.

Khayim Leyb Fuks