SHIFRE KRISHTALKE

SHIFRE KRISHTALKE (b. December 19, 1909)

            She was born in Tishevits (Tyszowce), Poland.  She was raised in a traditional Jewish home.  She graduated from a Polish public school.  In 1931 she graduated from the Vilna Jewish teachers’ seminary.  In 1933 she emigrated to Montreal and for many years worked as a teacher in the local Jewish schools.  She was the author or adapter of a series of poetry and story booklets, mostly published by “Heym un shul” (Home and school) in Montreal in the 1970s: Di shul (The school), six booklets; In der heym (At home), 26 pp.; A gut shabes (Good Sabbath), Khanike (Chanukah), Der yontef fun di beymer (The trees’ holiday), Friling iz shoyn do (Spring is here already), and Zumer-leb (In the summer)—each 6-7 pp.; Peysekh (Passover), five booklets; and Di zun un di levone (The sun and the moon), five stories from the Bible; among others (may be found in the Montreal Jewish Public Library).  In Pinkes tishevits (Records of Tyszowce) (Tel Aviv, 1970), she published several items.  She published stories and articles about school matters, books, and writers in: Keneder odler (Canadian eagle) in Montreal, Der veg (The way), Vokhnblat (Weekly newspaper) in Toronto, Morgn frayhayt (Morning freedom) and Yidishe kultur (Jewish culture) in New York; and Kheshbn (Accounting) in Los Angeles; among others.  Her pen name: M. Fisher.

Sources: Khayim Leyb Fuks, Hundert yor yidishe un hebreishe literatur in kanade (A century of Yiddish and Hebrew literature in Canada) (Montreal, 1980); A. Baraban, in Yidishe tsaytung (Tel Aviv) (April 9, 1971); B. Orenshteyn, in Keneder odler (Montreal) (July 18, 1971); B. Grin, in Morgn frayhayt (New York) (December 26, 1971).

Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 492.