HERSH ROZENFELD

HERSH ROZENFELD (March 15, 1884-May 20, 1960)

            He was a poet and translator, born in Rogatshev (Rahachow), Byelorussia.  He studied in the Berdichev yeshiva and secular subjects as well.  He came to the United States in 1906.  He worked in the laundry business and in auto factories, was director of a union local, and he also served as head of the Yiddish press division of the Joint Distribution Committee.  He studied chemistry at a college in Michigan and at Columbia University in New York.  He was active in the Bund from 1902.  He later was close to Communism, thereafter switching to the Jewish socialist alliance.  He published articles, book reviews, poems, and mostly translations.  He began writing around 1903, but his first published piece appeared in 1919—a translation of Arthur Ransome’s book, Rusland in 1918 (Russian in 1918), published serially in the Communist Der kamf (The struggle).  He did translations as well for Naye velt (New world).  He placed work in: Forverts (Forward)—some of his translated novels appeared therein; Dovid Ignatov’s Shriftn (Writings), Tsukunft (Future), Hamshekh (Continuation), Feder (Pen), Kinder-zhurnal (Children’s magazine), Inzl (Island), Hamer (Hammer), Frayhayt (Freedom), and Morgn frayhayt (Morning freedom), among others.  Rozenfeld’s main literary achievement was his translation of the great Finnish folk epic, Kalevala, folks epos fun di finen (The Kalevala, folk epic of the Finns) (New York, 1954), 194 pp.  Other translations include: Jack London, Der veg (The Road) (New York: Naye tsayt, 1921), 223 pp.; Ivan Sergeevich Turgenev, Der pritsisher hoyf (Gentry court [original Dvorianskoe gnezdo]) (New York: Maks N. Mayzel, 1921), 236 pp.; Karl Kausky, Geshikhte fun sotsyalistishen gedank (History of socialist thought), vol. 2 (New York: Kultur, 1921); Peter Kropotkin, Gezamelte shriftn (Collected writings), vol. 2: Idealen un virklikhḳeyt in der rusisher literatur (Ideals and reality in Russian literature [original: Idealy i deistvitel'nost' v russkoi literatur]) (New York, 1922-1923); Anatoly Lunacharsky, Di filozofye fun’m lebn (The philosophy of life) and Di kultur-oyfgabn fun’m arbeter klas (The cultural obligations of the working class); Jack London, Der yam-volf (The Sea Wolf), the first half; Vilya Ernburg (?), Di libe fun dzhana (The love of Janna).  He died in New York.

Sources: Yirmye Hesheles, in Vayter (New York) (1954), pp. 301-4; Yankev Glatshteyn, In tokh genumen (In essence), vol. 2 (Buenos Aires, 1960), p. 357; Y. Sh. Herts, Doyres bundistn (Generations of Bundists), vol. 3 (New York, 1968), pp. 514-15; Yeshurin archive, YIVO (New York).

Yekhezkl Lifshits