YISROEL-ISER KATSOVITSH

YISROEL-ISER KATSOVITSH (September 14, 1859-October 10, 1934)

            He was born in Maliske, a village in Vilna district.  He was raised in various villages where he father had to find work.  He studied for several years in yeshivas.  He prepared to study law, but due to the pogroms of 1881 he left with an “Am Olam” (Eternal people) group for the United States.  He returned twice to Russia, and after the third time in 1905, he remained in the new country.  He worked as a farmer and studied agriculture.  Over the years 1910-1925, he co-edited the monthly Idisher farmer (Jewish farmer).  The book that made him known in Yiddish literature was Zekhtsig yohr leben, erinerungen eygene un algemeyn-idishe (1959-1919) (Sixty years of life, my own experiences and general Jewish ones, 1859-1919) (New York: M. N. Mayzel, 1919), 375 pp., second edition (1924).  In his foreword to the book, Dovid Pinski wrote: “The 60 years of life guided him through our poor and our better off.  His book is an authentic picture of great misery, great struggle, and great hope.”  And Zalmen Reyzen adds: “One of the most beautiful works in our memoir literature.”  The special school edition, entitled Der litvisher ingel (The Lithuanian boy) (New York, 1922 [1929], 103 pp.), was a much beloved book to read in the Jewish American school, and many chapters from it appeared in readers.  His other books include: Heymishe oyfes, a lehr-bukh vegen hihner, genz, entlekh, indikes un toyben (Familiar fowl, textbook on chickens, geese, ducks, turkeys, and pigeons) (New York: Agricultural Society, 1921), 287 pp., enlarged edition (1924); Dos eybike folk, yontef shtimungen un gedanken vegen iden un identum (The eternal people, holiday feelings and thoughts about Jews and Judaism) (New York, 1925), 314 pp.; Ideale heyrat, a gliklikhe familyen leben fun an ideale folk (Ideal marriage, a happy family life of an ideal people) (New York: Hebrew Publishing Co., 1929), 217 pp.; M’ken vern kliger, a populere ophandlung vegn klugheyt un narishkeyt (People can get smarter, a popular treatment of intelligence and idiocy) (New York: Hebrew Publishing Co., 1944), 69 pp.  He translated his volume Zekhtsig yohr leben into Hebrew under the title Shishim shanot ḥayim (Brooklyn: Devir, 1925).  He died in New York.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 3; E. Broyde, in Tsukunft (New York) (August 1919); Shmuel Niger, in Der fraynd (New York) (January-February 1922); Y. Y. Sigal, in Shriftn 8 (New York); Ts. H. Maslyanski, in Morgn zhurnal (New York) (September 2, 1932); Yeshurin archive, YIVO (New York); American Jewish Yearbook (New York, 1935), pp. 253-73.

Sh. Apter