SHAYE-MORTKHE TSANIN

SHAYE-MORTKHE TSANIN (April 1, 1906-February 4, 2009)

            He was born in Sokolov-Podlask (Sokolów-Podlaski), Shedlets (Siedlce) district, Poland.  In 1921 he moved to Warsaw and there received a Jewish and a general education.  He lived in Warsaw until the Nazi invasion of Poland, where he was active as a writer and also in the secular Jewish school organization—he helped organize and carry out the graphic and technical work for presentations on Sholem-Aleichem and Mendele which Tsisho (Central Jewish School Organization) put on in Paris in 1937.  In 1939 he escaped to Vilna, and from there in 1940 he traveled to Japan and in 1941 to the land of Israel.  His first years there he performed a variety of physical labors, from 1945 devoting himself entirely to the Yiddish press and literature.  In 1946 he left Israel on a trip to Poland, disguised as a Gentile, English journalist, and in the columns of the Forverts (Forward) in New York, he was the first to describe to the world the one hundred Jewish communities destroyed by the Holocaust, which he saw in Poland—later published in his book, Iber shteyn un shtok, a rayze iber hundert khorev-gevorene kehiles in poyln (Through thick and thin, a voyage through 100 decimated Jewish communities in Poland) (Tel Aviv, 1952), 313 pp.  Tsanin began work as a writer in 1928 in Oyfgang (Arise) and his journalistic activities with reportage pieces in Naye folkstsaytung (New people’s newspaper) in Warsaw.  Until 1939 he published reportage, stories, novels, literary criticism, and other journalistic work in: Naye folkstsaytung (including a novel entitled Af zumpiker erd [On swampy terrain], which suffered persecution by the censor), Vokhnshrift far literatur (Weekly writing for literature), Foroys (Onward), Literarishe bleter (Literary leaves), Yugnt-veker (Youth alarm), and Oyfgang (edited and publisher)—in Warsaw.  He was also a contributor (1937-1939) to Bikher nayes (Book news) in Warsaw.  Over the years 1947-1956, he was the Israel correspondent to the Forverts, as well as to a string of newspapers throughout the Jewish world.  He placed work in: Tsukunft (Future) in New York; Di goldene keyt (The golden chain), Davar (Word), Zamlung far literatur un kritik (Anthology for literature and criticism), Unzers (Ours), and Der idisher zhurnal (The Jewish journal) of Toronto, among others.  He edited (1948-1949) Ilustrirte vokhnblat (Illustrated weekly news) in Tel Aviv.  From 1949 he was editing Letste nayes (Latest news) in Tel Aviv (three times each week under the title Letste nayes and three times under various other names, and from 1957 as a daily), as well as edited Ilustrirte veltvokh (Illustrated world weekly) from 1956.  Tsanin took charge in the newspaper of a regular column dubbed “Shabesdike shmuesn” (Sabbath chats), which concerned problems that persisted on a daily basis both in the Jewish state and in Jewish Diaspora.  He also published in both his daily and weekly papers editorials, reviews of books and authors, and installments from his major work, the historical novel in eight parts Ortopanus kumt tsurik aheym (Ortopanus returns home).

            His book-length works include: Vivat lebn!, noveln (Live life!, stories), stories with cover and illustrations by the author (Warsaw, 1933), 117 pp.; Af zumpiker erd, a novel of poor village life in Poland, with drawings and cover by the author (Warsaw, 1935), 186 pp.; Vuhin geyt yapan?, reportazhn fun vaytn mizrekh (Whither Japan?, reportage from the Far East) (Tel Aviv, 1942), 177 pp., second edition under the title Tsvishn geter un mentshn (Between gods and men) (Tel Aviv: Letste nayes, 1962), 222 pp.; Iber shteyn un shtok, a rayze iber hundert khorev-gevorene kehiles in poyln; Shabesdike shmuesn (120 feature from the years 1950-1957) (Tel Aviv, 1957), 515 pp.; Fuler yidish-hebreisher verterbukh (Complete Yiddish-Hebrew dictionary), 2 volumes (Tel Aviv: Letste nayes, 1960), 888 pp., plus 112 pp. of addenda, abbreviations, the secular calendar, and a concise Hebrew grammar; Af di vegn fun yidishn goyrl, eseyen (On the path of Jewish fate, essays) (Tel Aviv, 1966), 95 pp.—this book attracted considerable attention due to the author’s innovative approach and bold analysis of the fateful issues facing the Jewish people and their cultural history—and a Hebrew edition, Darkhe hagoral hayehudi, masot (Tel Aviv, 1966), 91 pp.; Di dekadents fun a mashiekh, historishe paraleln, aktuele faktn un andere zakhn (The decadence of a Messiah, historical parallels, actual facts, and other matters) (Tel Aviv: Kegn shtrom, 1967), 146 pp.; Grenetsn biz tsum himl (Borders all the way to the sky) (Tel Aviv: Hamenorah, 1969/1970), 243 pp.; Der shlisl tsum himl, mayses fun fartsaytns (The key to heaven, stories from the past) (Tel Aviv: Albatros, 1979), 221 pp.; Fuler yidish-hebreisher verterbukh (Tel Aviv: Leivik Publ., 1982), 494 pp.  Tsanin’s Ortopanus eight-part epic was published in six volumes: 1. Yerusholaim un roym (Jerusalem and Rome) (Tel Aviv: Hamenorah, 1966), 376 pp.; 2. Fremde himlen (Strange skies) (Tel Aviv: Hamenorah, 1968), 402 pp.; 3. Libshaft in geviter (Love in a tempest) (Tel Aviv: Hamenorah, 1972), 296 pp.; 4. Di meride fun mezhibozh (The insurrection of Medzhibizh) (Tel Aviv: Hamenorah, 1976), 440 pp.; 5. Der yardn falt arayn in yam hamelekh (The Jordan [River] drops into the Dead Sea) (Tel Aviv: Hamenorah, 1981), 408 pp.; 6. Der gzer-din (The verdict) (Tel Aviv: Hamenorah, 1985), 375 pp.  (Hebrew and English editions also appeared.)  The overall name of this series is Ortopanus kumt tsurik aheym (Ortopanus returns home).  He also edited Briv fun sholem ash (Letters of Sholem Asch) (Tel Aviv, 1980), 302 pp.  He translated into Yiddish: Megiles rus (The scroll of Ruth) and Shir hashirim (The song of songs) (Tel Aviv: Letste nayes, 1962), 38 pp. in total.  As a journalist, editor, and newspaper entrepreneur, Tsanin accomplished a great deal to strengthen the position of Yiddish in Israel and for both written and spoken Yiddish.  He also published under such pen names as: M-tsn and Matsan.  He died in Tel Aviv.

            “Tsanin’s feature pieces,” wrote Sh. Ernst, “were unique.  They were, though, familiar to the literary genre to which the author did not add any flashy intellectualism.  For him there were no empty effects, no excessive luster but an inner charm in the use of the commonplace style of the Dubner Preacher, with the conventional forms of preaching in making use in his features of fables and tales from the folk treasury.  Tsanin’s features have been partially published in a separate volume—there is therein a reflection of Jewish life of recent immigrants in Israel over the course of ten years, since Israeli independence.  It is a cross-section from the cluster of a fascinating time.”

            “The energetic and highly successful editor of the Tel Aviv daily newspaper Letste nayes, M. Tsanin, is also a gifted journalist,” noted Shloyme Bikl.  “And serious journalism is connected by kinship to history….  M. Tsanin’s manner of writing is a mixture of academic detachment and passion.  The academicism of M. Tsanin’s explanations falls in the line of Zhitlovsky’s way of writing; in Zhitlovsky’s style such as when Tsanin endeavors to provide an example from science, so as to elucidate certain ideological forms.”

Sources: Shmuel Niger, in Tog (New York) (February 6, 1932); Sh. Rozenberg, in Keneder odler (Montreal) (May 11, 1953); D. Tsharni (Daniel Charney), in Byalistoker shtime (New York) (September 1953); Gershon Shufman, in Davar (Tel Aviv) (Shever 7 [= January 20], 1956); Dr. F. Fridman, in Tsukunft (New York) (April 1956); P. Shvarts, in Fun noentn over (New York) 2 (1956), p. 428; Y. Samter, in Undzer shtime (Paris) (November 8, 1957); Sh. Ernst, in Der amerikaner (New York) (November 15, 1957; December 2, 1960); Meylekh Ravitsh, Mayn leksikon (My lexicon), vol. 3 (Montreal, 1956), pp. 350-55; A. Lis, Heym un doyer, vegn shrayber un verk (Home and duration, on writers and work) (Tel Aviv: Y. L. Perets Library, 1960); G. Alimor, in Omer (Shevet 2 [= January 2], 1960); Dr. M. Gevyatski, in Idishe tsaytung (Buenos Aires) (October 7, 1960); H. Kruk, Togbukh fun vilner geto (Diary from the Vilna ghetto) (New York: YIVO, 1961), p. 249; M. Ginzburg, in Keneder odler (June 19, 1962; December 14, 1962); A. Glants, in Tog-morgn-zhurnal (New York) (October 12, 1965); Korot (Jerusalem) 7 (1965); Shimen Kants, in Letste nayes (Tel Aviv) (July 8, 1966); M. Gros-Tsimerman, in Di goldene keyt (Tel Aviv) 57 (1966), pp. 248-50; Yefim Yeshurin, 100 yor moderne yidishe literatur, biblyografisher tsushteyer (100 years of modern Yiddish literature, bibliographical contribution) (New York, 1966), see index; Sr. Shloyme Bikl, in Tog-morgn-zhurnal (December 4, 1966); Dr. Sh. Margoshes, in Tog-morgn-zhurnal (December 31, 1966); Biblyografye fun artiklen vegn khurbn un gvure in der yidisher peryodike (Bibliography of articles on the Holocaust and heroism in Yiddish periodicals) (New York, 1966), see index; Y. Emyot, in Forverts (New York) (January 15, 1967).

Khayim Leyb Fuks

[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 457.]