HERSH FARBER

HERSH FARBER (b. 1893)

            He was born in Ukraine.  In his youth he was active in Yiddish theater, directing in drama circles in Ekaterinoslav.  During WWI he lived in Petrograd, and later until 1927 in Moscow.  He published articles and translations in: Petrograder togblat (Petrograd daiuly newspaper); and Emes (Truth) in Moscow; among others.  In book form: Der idisher premier, komedye in eyn akt (The Jewish premier, a comedy in one act) (Ekaterinoslav, 1917), 18 pp.  Among his translations which, according to A. Golomb, excelled in “authenticity and richness of language” were: A. P. Nechaev, Vunder fun der erd (Wonder of the earth) (Petrograd, 1917), 192 pp.; K. Bedit, Mayses fun vaytn indyen (Stories from distant India) (Moscow, 1919), 40 pp.; L. Trotsky, Der nayer etap, di velt-lage un unzere oyfgabn (The new stage, world conditions and our tasks [original: Novyi etap, mirovoe polozhenie i nashi zadachi]) (Homel, 1922), 156 pp.; K. A. Timiryazev, Dos lebn fun a geviks (The life of a plant [original: Zhizn’ rasteniia]) (Moscow, 1925), 162 pp.  Further details remain unknown.

Sources: Biography of Dovid Hokhberg in Leksikon fun der nayer yidisher literatur (Biographical dictionary of modern Yiddish literature) (New York, 1960), translation at: http://yleksikon.blogspot.com/2015/12/dovid-hokhberg.html; A. Golomb, in Literarishe bleter (Warsaw) 89 (1926); Z. Ratner and Y. Kvitni, Dos yidishe bukh in f.s.s.r. in di yorn 1917-1921 (The Yiddish book in the USSR for the years 1917-1921) (Kiev, 1930), see index.

Khayim Leyb Fuks