LEO SHMELTSINGER

LEO SHMELTSINGER (July 23, 1901-September 8, 1971)

            He was born in Brok, Lomzhe region.  He attended religious elementary school and yeshivas.  He worked as a religious teacher for Jewish children in Polish “Povshekhne” schools, and from 1928 he was a teacher of Yiddish and Yiddish literature in the schools, in the teachers’ seminary, and in the “people’s university” in Rio de Janeiro.  He wrote literary and pedagogical essays and feuilletons for Idishe prese (Jewish press) in Rio.  In book form: Fartseykhnte shmuesn (Recorded chats) (Rio: Folks-universitet, 1967), 309 pp.  He also wrote under the pen name: A. Avres.  He died in Rio de Janeiro.

Sources: Mortkhe Tsanin, in Letste nayes (Tel Aviv) (October 4, 1967); Yitskhok-Zelik Rayzman, Yidishe sheferishkayt in lender fun portugalishn loshn, portugal un brazil (Jewish creativity in lands of the Portuguese language, Portugal and Brazil) (Tsfat: Muzeon leomanut hadefus, 1975), pp. 312-16.

Byele Gottesman