YITSKHOK (ISAAC) BERLINER

YITSKHOK (ISAAC) BERLINER (1899-June 27, 1957)

He was born in Lodz, Poland.  During WWI, he was dragooned into forced labor for the Germans.  He began writing in 1917, and his first publications were poems in the literary volumes S’feld (The field) in Lodz.  In 1922 he emigrated to Mexico and was one of the pioneers of local Jewish cultural life.  He published poems, essays, articles, and stories, and—aside from S’feld in Lodz—they appeared in: Vokhnshrift (Weekly writings) in Warsaw; Fraye arbeter shtime (Free voice of labor), Yontef bleter (Holiday leaves), Tsukunft (Future), Zamlbikher (Anthologies), and Vokhnblat (Weekly news) in New York; Literarishe zamlung (Literary collection) in Chicago; Der shpigl (The mirror) in Buenos Aires; Belgishe bleter (Belgian leaves) in Brussels; Tint un feder (Ink and pen) in Toronto; Goldene keyt (Golden chain) in Tel Aviv; Di tsayt (The times), Di shtime (The voice), Undzer vort (Our word), and Der fraynd (The friend) in Mexico; and in a series of other periodicals.  Among his books: Shtot un palatsn (City and palaces) (Mexico, 1936), 212 pp.; Ad mosay (Until when?) (Mexico, 1941), 157 pp.; Shtil zol zayn (It should be quiet) (Mexico, 1948), 179 pp.; Gezang fun mentsh (Song of man) (Mexico-New York, 1954), 160 pp.  He contributed poems to Dray vegn (Three paths), the first Yiddish literary collection in Mexico, published by the literary group “Yugnt” (Youth) (Mexico, 1927), 96 pp.  He dramatized and staged the poem Toyt-symfanye (Death symphony) (Mexico, 1941); edited various publications of OZE (Obschestvo zdravookhraneniia evreev—Society for the Protection of the Health of the Jewish Population) and of the Jewish aid association in Mexico.  From 1949 he was a regular contributor (and for a time literary editor) of Der veg (The way).  In 1931 he received an award for the best story in a competition sponsored by Der veg.  In 1955 he received the Zvi Kessel Prize for his book, Gezang fun mentsh.  He died in Mexico City.

Sources: A. Ben-Tov, in Di shtime (Mexico) (November 18, 1948, June 1, 1949, October 8, 1949); Y. Botoshanski, in Di prese (Buenos Aires) (1942); N. Y. Gotlib, in Keneder odler (October 3, 1941); Yankev Glatshteyn, in Yidisher kemfer (New York) (January 28, 1949); B. Varshavski, in Literarishe bleter (Warsaw) (November 20, 1936); N. Mayzil, in Yidishe kultur (New York) (August 1947); Shmuel Niger, in Tog (New York) (August 8, 1936); G. Pomerants, in Tsukunft (New York) (1936); Moyshe Shtarkman, in Tog (August 16, 1936); S. Kahan, in Tsukunft (1955).

YANKEV BERLINER

YANKEV BERLINER (1897-1942)

He was born in Lodz, Poland, into a Hassidic family.  He received a traditional education and studied in a yeshiva.  He was living in Lodz until the start of WWII, and he worked as a commercial employee and late a businessman.  He was co-founder of the “Young Agudas Yisroel” in Poland, and he was an active leader and speaker in the organization.  He published articles, mainly concerned with religious and labor issues, in Ortodoksishe yugnt-bleter (Orthodox youth pages), Ortodoksishe bletlekh (Orthodox leaves) in Warsaw, Beys-yankev (Beth Jacob), the anthology Friling (Spring) in Lodz, and from time to time in Yid (Jew) and Yidishe togblat (Jewish daily newspaper) in Warsaw.  In September 1939 he left Lodz for Bochnia, and there during the liquidation of the Jews, he was murdered.

Khayim L. Fuks, “Dos yidishe literarishe lodzh” (Jewish literary Lodz), in Fun noentn over (From the recent past), vol. 3 (New York, 1956).

KHANANYE BERLINER

KHANANYE BERLINER (August 8, 1858-April 19 1921)

This was the pseudonym of Moses Gotthold Loewen.  He was born in Sambor (Sambir), Galicia.  He received a traditional education and worked as a commercial employee.  In 1886 he converted to Christianity and wrote missionary works.  Together with Yedidye Luki, he published a missionary periodical in Hebrew entitled Edut leyisrael (Testimony to the Jewish people).  He published stories and poems in Gustaf Dalman’s Brit am (Covenant of the people), and a selection from them appeared in book form as Broyt un zalts (Bread and salt)—“an assortment of articles, stories, and poems” (London: Edut leyisrael, 1901), 96 pp.  His most popular work was Hapode un hamatsil (The redeemer and the savior) (Leipzig, 1898), 122 pp.  He also wrote: Siaḥ leelohim (A conversation with God)—“a group of prayers for men and women”—written in both Hebrew and Yiddish; Mayn bakoshe (My plea) (London: Edut leyisrael, 3^rd printing, 1915), 23 pp.; and a series of over twenty short booklets entitled Orḥim (Visitors) (Vienna, 1908-1913).  He died in Vienna.

Source: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 1.

NOSN BERLIN

NOSN BERLIN

In the 1880s, he was living in London.  He was by trade a raincoat maker.  He worked in the sweatshops of London, and he was among the first to cluster around Arn Liberman, founder of the first Jewish socialist association “Agudas hasotsyalistim haivrim belondon” (The socialist Jewish association of London).  He began writing in the 1870s, and later he contributed to Moris Vintshevski’s Der poylisher idl (The Polish Jew) which commenced publication in London on July 25, 1884.  He also published in the progressive New York weekly, Der folks-advokat (The people’s advocate), which was put out by Mikhl Mints, edited from July 1888 through December 1889 by Zelik Zelikovitsh; and Arbayter-fraynd (Workers’ friend) in London, edited by F. Krants.  In book form: Di emese ṿelt, oder ayne rayze in gehenem letoyves haklal (The real world, or a trip to hell on behalf of the public) (London, 1886), 40 pp.  This booklet was a satire on the order of Jewish life, on the master craftsmen who fleeced the workers, on the benefactors, on the Jewish newspapers and editors, on the messengers from Palestine, and on the socialists and anarchists as well.  The satire was written in the form of a dialogue.  Berlin was a pioneer of the semi-publicist proletarian writers of fiction in the 1880s.

Sources: Geshikhte fun der yidisher arbeter bavegung in di fareynikte shtatn (History of the Jewish labor movement in the United States), vol. 2 (New York, 1945), see index; K. Marmor, Di onheyn fun a yidisher literatur in amerike (The beginning of a Yiddish literature in America) (New York, 1940), see index; and Marmor, in Morgn-frayhayt (New York) (October 16, 1938); Shmuel Niger, in Tsukunft (June 1940).

MEYER BERLIN (BAR-ILAN)

MEYER BERLIN (BAR-ILAN) (April 10, 1880-April 17, 1949)

     He was born in Volozhin, Lithuania, the son of R. Tsvi-Yehude (Ha-Natsiv), the well-known leader of the Volozhin yeshiva.  He studied in the yeshivas of Volozhin, Telz (Telts, Telshe), Brisk (Brest), and Navaredok (Navahrudak) from which he received ordination into the rabbinate.  From his earliest youth, he was active in Mizrachi, a delegate to Zionist congresses, to a conference of Tsiyoni Tsiyon (Zionists for Zion) in Freiburg, Germany, and to all the Mizrachi conferences.  He was initially general secretary, later chairman, of World Mizrachi.  He served as the publisher and editor of the Hebrew periodical Haivri (The Jew) in Berlin.  During WWI, he was interned in Germany.  Thanks to Louis Brandeis, he was freed and came to the United States, where he took part in aid work for the settlement in Palestine at the time, and he was a member of the Central Relief Committee and the management of the Joint Distribution Committee.  He served as chair of Yeshivas Rabbi Yitzchak Elchanan in New York.  He was one of the founders of Histadruth Ivrit (Hebrew organization) and Bet hamidrash lemorim (Teacher training school), both in New York.  He was a member of the Zionist Action Committee.  From 1924 he was living in Palestine.  From 1925 he was a member of the director’s council of the Jewish National Fund.  From 1929 he was a member of the Jewish Agency.  He served as an envoy from Zionist institutions to Europe and other parts of the world.  He also served on the editorial board of Entsiklopediya hatalmudit (Talmudic encyclopedia) (10 volumes), and he authored such Hebrew religious works as: Mivolozhin ad yerushalayim (From Volozhin to Jerusalem) (Tel Aviv, 1939/1940), 2 volumes; Raban shel yisrael (Teacher of Israel) (Tel Aviv, 1943), 157 pp.; Bishevile hateḥiya (On the paths of renewal) (Tel Aviv, 1940), 288 pp.  In Yiddish: Fun volozhin biz yerusholaim, epizoden (From Volozhin to Jerusalem, episodes) (New York, 1933), 471 pp. in 2 volumes.  He also contributed to the anthology: Vos tut der mizrakhi in erets yisroel (What is Mizrachi doing in Palestine), “a survey of Mizrachi’s work in Palestine in the economic and cultural realms” (New York, 1925), 31 pp., together with Y. L. Ha-cohen Fishman.

Sources: D. Tidhar, in Entsiklopedyah leḥalutse hayishuv uvonav (Encyclopedia of the founders and builders of Israel) (Tel Aviv, 1947-1971), vol. 3, see index; P. Viernik, in Morgn-zhurnal (June 9, 1933); R. Yankev Levinzon, in Morgn-zhurnal (June 15, 1933).

YISROEL BERLIN (ISH-BERLIN)

YISROEL BERLIN (ISH-BERLIN) (b. 1868)

He was a Hebrew writer who contributed to Subalsky’s Kneset hagedola (Great assembly) in 1890 and to the Jewish Encyclopedia.  In book form, he wrote: Shire yisrael ish-berlin (Songs of Israel by Ish-Berlin) (St. Petersburg, 1892), 27 pp.  In Yiddish: Moyshe der treger (Moyshe, the porter) (New York, 1901), 16 pp.; and Lernbukh fun der englisher shprakh (Textbook for the English language) (New York, 1906)

Source: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 1.

D.-TS. BERLIN

D.-TS. BERLIN

He was the translator of Adolf Friedemann’s Das Leben Theodor Herzls [1914] as Dos lebn fun theodor hertsl (Berlin, 1921), 127 pp.