FROYM-FISHL FISHLZOHN (FISHELSOHN)

FROYM-FISHL FISHLZOHN (FISHELSOHN)

            He was born in Zamość in the first half of the nineteenth century.  He lived for a time in Lublin.  He was the author of the anonymous drama “Teater fun khsidim” (Theater of Hassidim), published in the first volume of Historishe shriftn fun yivo (History writings from YIVO) (Warsaw, 1929), pp. 623-93.  Max Erik demonstrated with an acrostic in the play providing Fishlzohn’s surname and personal name that it was his authorship.  Also, in Hamelits (The advocate) 5 (1860), p. 48, a correspondence piece was published and signed “Ephraim Fishlzon from Zamość,” and from this one can see that he was a Zamość native and that the play was written in 1839.  On the title page of the drama, it was noted: “Performed in Lemberg.”  This work consisted of two parts: a long Hebrew preface which was a satire of play; and “Teater” itself, an anti-Hassidic satire written in verse.  This play was first published by Khayim Borodyanski, but without the Hebrew preface.  Borodyanski only provides the contents of the preface.

Sources: Zalmen Zilbertsvayg, Leksikon fun yidishn teater (Handbook of the Yiddish theater), vol. 3 (New York, 1959), pp. 2129-30; Yisroel Tsinberg, Geshikhte fun literatur bay yidn (History of Jewish literature), vol. 8, part 2 (Vilna, 1936), pp. 230-33; Rifoel Mahler, Der kamf tsvishn haskole un khsides in galitsye in der ershter helft fun 19tn yorhundert (The struggle between Jewish Enlightenment and Hassidism in the first half of the nineteenth century) (New York: YIVO, 1942), pp. 16, 19, 65, 66, 75; Y. Shatski, in Yivo-bleter (New York) 28.1 (1946), p. 44; Shmuel Niger, Dertseyler un romanistn (Story-tellers and novelists) (New York, 1946), p. 48; Sh. Lastik, Di yidishe literatur biz di klasikers (Yiddish literature up to the classic writers) (Warsaw, 1950), pp. 180-82.

Yankev Kahan