YEKHIEL VORTMAN

YEKHIEL VORTMAN (1908-August 22, 1942)

            He was born in Apt (Opatów), Kielce district, Poland.  He was orphaned on his father’s side as a youngster.  He studied in religious primary school, synagogue study chamber, public school, and with private tutors.  He was active until 1925 in Hashomer Hatsair (Young guard), later in Communist circles which he quickly left in disappointment.  He worked for a time as a private tutor, later becoming a bookkeeper.  He subsequently lived in Brazil, and from there in early 1931 he returned to Poland and settled in Warsaw.  He wrote poetry, later moving to literary criticism and current events journalism.  He debuted in print in Y. M. Vaysenberg’s (Weissenberg’s) Inzer hofenung (Our hope) in Warsaw, and later contributed stories and essays to: Dos vort (The word), Ekspres (Express), Literarishe bleter (Literary leaves), Vokhnshrift (Weekly writing), and Foroys (Onward), among others—in Warsaw—as well as in the Yiddish press in Brazil.  His books include: Arum unz, bilans-pruv fun a dor (Around us, balance sheet of a generation) (Warsaw, 1938), 41 pp.—a polemic with Jewish writers concerning their insufficiently warm connections to Yiddish and their “neutrality” concerning reproducing a young generation of Yiddish writers.  When the Germans invaded Poland in September 1939, he returned to Apt, and from there he was sent by the Nazis to a labor camp, and for praying in prayer shawl and phylacteries he was horrifically tortured.  In the summer of 1940 he succeeded in escaping from the camp.  He lived until August 1942 in Sandomierz and there he died.

Sources: Literarishe bleter (Warsaw) (May 6, 1938); M. Zaltsman, in Yidishe shriftn (Warsaw) (September 1958); information from Leyzer Trayster in New York and Sh. Mitsmakher in Toronto.

Khayim Leyb Fuks

SHLOYME VORZOGER (SHLOMO WARZAGER)

SHLOYME VORZOGER (SHLOMO WARZAGER) (b. May 10, 1917)

            He was born in Chelm and studied in religious primary school, yeshiva, secular Jewish schools, and a Jewish senior high school.  During WWII he was in Russia.  In 1946 he returned to Poland and later was in Germany.  From 1949 he was living in Israel.  He debuted in print in 1933 with a poem entitled “Oblave” (Police raid) in Fraye yugnt (Free youth) in Warsaw.  He later published poetry in: Der fraynd (The friend) in Warsaw; Bafrayung (Liberation) and Hemshekh (Continuation) in Munich; Oyfgang (Arise) in Austria; Di idishe tsaytung (The Jewish newspaper) in Buenos Aires; Folksblat (People’s newspaper) in Montevideo; Unzer vort (Our word) in Paris; Letste nayes (Latest news), Nayvelt (New world), and Di goldene keyt (The golden chain) in Tel Aviv; Tsukunft (Future) in New York; and elsewhere.  His books include: Zayn, lider (To be, poems) (Munich, 1948), 66 pp.; Broyt (Bread), a novel (Tel Aviv: Perets Publ., 1960), 180 pp.; Zamd (Sand), a novel (Tel Aviv: Perets Publ., 1963), 260 pp.; Goyroles (Destinies), a novel (Tel Aviv: Hamenorah, 1967), 198 pp.; Yorn (Years), novella and poetry (Tel Aviv: Perets Publ., 1973), 172 pp.; Do geyt oyf di zun (The sun rises here), poetry (Tel Aviv: Perets Publ., 1975), 198 pp.; Hi, noveln (Here, novellas) (Tel Aviv: Perets Publ., 1982), 211 pp.; Tisha sipurim (Nine stories), translated from Yiddish by Moshe Yungman (Jerusalem: M. Neuman, 1979), 158 pp.; Azoy tsu zogn, eseyen (As follows, essays) (Tel Aviv: Perets Publ., 1985), 367 pp., essays on Yiddish writers.

Sources: Y. Morgenshtern, in Nayvelt (Munich) (1948), p. 6; M. Kroshnits, in Shriftn far literatur un kunst (Writings on literature and art) (Munich, 1949), p. 53; Y. Viner, Zayn un shafn (Being and creating) (Austria, 1949), p. 8; M. Yofe, in Yisroel-shtime (Tel Aviv) (November 7, 1957); Y. Gar, in Fun noentn over (New York) 3 (1957), pp. 163, 174, 175; M. Ravitsh, Mayn leksikon (My lexicon), vol. 3 (Montreal, 1958), p. 475.

[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 233.]

KHAYIM-BOREKH VORZOGER (CHAIM WARZAGER)

KHAYIM-BOREKH VORZOGER (CHAIM WARZAGER) (b. April 20, 1911)

            He was born in born in Dubienko, Lublin district, Poland, into a well-to-do family.  In 1918 he moved with his parents to Chelm.  He studied in religious primary school, junior yeshiva, “cheder metukan” (improved religious elementary school), and in a small Orthodox house of study.  He was later for several years a student at the Vilna Teachers’ Seminary.  He was an active leader among the left Labor Zionists.  In 1931 he moved to Argentina.  He was a cofounder and member of the central committee of the Central Secular Jewish School Organization (Tsvisho [Tsentraler veltlekh-yidisher shul-organizatsye]) and for a time the secretary of the “Society for Laborers in the Land of Israel.”  From 1934, he was living in Montevideo, Uruguay.  He was a cofounder and builder of the local Sholem-Aleichem School and one of the most active builders of Uruguayan Jewish cultural life generally.  He belonged to the Zionist central council, was a councilor in the Jewish community, and served as director of Vaad haḥinukh (Educational council).  He debuted in print with correspondence pieces and articles in: Fraye yugnt (Free youth) in Warsaw (1928); and Khelemer folksblat (Chelm people’s newspaper).  He later contributed to: Arbeter-tsaytung (Workers’ newspaper) in Warsaw; Dos arbeter-palestine (Workers’ Palestine), Unzer vort (Our word), and Shul-bleter (School pages) in Buenos Aires; Folksblat (People’s newspaper), Unzer baytrog (Our contribution), Unzer veg (Our path), Unzer shul (Our school), and Tsvisho yedies (News from Tsvisho) in Montevideo, as well as in the Spanish-language Gaceta israelita there.  In book form: 60 teg in medines yisroel (Sixty days in the State of Israel) (Tel Aviv: Peretz Publ., 1965), 183 pp.  In Yizker-bukh—khelm (Remembrance volume for Chelm) (Johannesburg, 1954), he published a piece entitled “Khelm tsvishn di yorn 1924-1931” (Chelm between the years 1924 and 1931).

Sources: Unzer vort (Montevideo) (Augiust-September 1947); L. Halpern, in Folksblat (Montevideo) (December 16, 1955); Y. Vaynshenker, Boyers un mitboyers fun yidishn yishev in urugvay (Founders and builders of the Jewish community in Uruguay) (Montevideo, 1957), pp. 87-88.

[Additional information from: Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 233.]

KH. VOROTITSKI (CHARLES WOROTISKY)

KH. VOROTITSKI (CHARLES WOROTISKY)

            He was born in the village of Burman, Grodno district.  He moved to the United States in 1921.  He was a musician by trade.  In the 1930s he began writing satirical poetry for Fraye arbeter shtime (Free voice of labor), Feder (Pen), Morgn-zhurnal (Morning journal), and other serials.  In book form: In geroysh fun beymer, lider (Among the rustling leaves, poems) (New York, 1971), 176 pp.  Among his pen names: Yat-Ebedam.  He also signed his name Vorotinski.

Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 233.

MOYSHE VOROBEYTSHIK-RAVIV (MOÏ VER)

MOYSHE VOROBEYTSHIK-RAVIV (MOÏ VER) (1904-1995)

            He was born in the town of Lebedev, Vilna district.  He studied in religious elementary school, later in the Vilna Tarbut high school where he joined the editorial collective of the student magazine Pirḥe tsiyon (Flowers of Zion).  He demonstrated talents in drawing and later studied in a number of art schools.  He took part in the art show entitled “Fun shulhoyf biz glezer-gas” (From the synagogue courtyard to glazier’s street) in Vilna (1927), and he brought out afterward a photo album entitled Di yidishe gas in vilne (The Jewish street in Vilna), sixty-five images, with a preface by Zalmen Shneur, published by Uriel Fisli (Zurich-Leipzig, 1929), 64 pp. in Yiddish and German and 14 pp. in Hebrew and German.  He went on to study in Germany and France where he worked as a photo journalist for the Parisian illustrated press, and in 1930 he brought out a second volume of photographs, Paris, with a foreword by the painter Fernand Léger.  He published a report on Manual Chapman’s book, William Schwartz: A Study in Yivo-bleter (Pages from YIVO) 4.4-5 (1932) in Vilna, as well as travel impressions of Spain in Vilner tog (Vilna day) (February-April 1933).  In 1934 he settled in Israel, and there in 1935 he brought out a photo album of laboring Israeli youth, Ḥevraya, hanoar haoved (Comrades, working youth) (Tel Aviv, 64 pp.).  More recently he published the first ten leaves of his major photo album Polin (Poland) (Tel Aviv, 1945/1946).

Sources: M. Shalit, in Vilna anthology, edited by Y. Yeshurin (New York, 1935), p. 369; Z. Shik, in 1000 yor vilne (1,000 years of Vilna) (Vilna, 1939), p. 458; M. Bahelfer, “A briv in redaktsye” (A letter to the editors), Afn shvel (New York) (September 1947)

Leyzer Ran

ARN VOROBEYTSHIK

ARN VOROBEYTSHIK (1895-1941)

            He was a children’s writer, literary researcher, and teacher.  He worked as a teacher of Yiddish literature in Latvia, later moving to the Soviet Union where he taught Yiddish literature initially in Kharkov and later in the Odessa. He was at that time the manager of the Mendele Museum in Odessa. Over the 1920s and 1930s, he published in a variety of serials materials concerning Mendele Moykher-Sforim, Sholem-Aleichem, Yitskhok-Yoyel Linetski, and others. He was one of the editors of the planned publication of Mendele’s collected works with the Moscow publisher “Emes” (Truth). He died during World War II.

His works include: Perl, maysele (Pearl, a story) (Riga: Arbeterheym, 1922), 29 pp.; Kinder-dertseylungen (Children’s stories) (Kharkov: State Publ., 1925), 58 pp.; Farvos un bizvanen, kinder-mayse (Why and how far, a children’s story) (Kharkov: Ukrainian State Publ., 1926), 14 pp.; Shneyelekh-khavertes, kinder mayse (Snowflake girlfriends, children’s story) (Kharkov: State Publ., 1927), 6 pp.  He contributed important materials concerning Mendele and Sholem-Aleichem, which appeared in: Mendele un zayn tsayt (Mendele and his times) (Moscow: Emes, 1940), 251 pp., and Sholem-aleykhem, zamlung fun kritishe artiklen un materyaln (Sholem-Aleykhem, anthology of critical articles and materials) (Kiev: Ukrainian State Publishers for National Minorities, 1940), 297 pp.

Sources: Sovetish heymland, Materyaln far a leksikon fun der yidisher sovetisher literatur (Materials for a handbook of Soviet Jewish literature) (September 1975); Chone Shmeruk, comp., Pirsumim yehudiim babrit-hamoatsot, 1917-1961 (Jewish publications in the Soviet Union, 1917-1961) (Jerusalem, 1961), see index.

Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), cols. 232-33; and Chaim Beider, Leksikon fun yidishe shrayber in ratn-farband (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers in the Soviet Union), ed. Boris Sandler and Gennady Estraikh (New York: Congress for Jewish Culture, Inc., 2011), pp. 131-32.

MENASHE VAKSER (MANASSEH VAXER)

MENASHE VAKSER (MANASSEH VAXER) (January 1, 1897-July 11, 1968)

            He had a large bookkeeping business in New York, whence he came from Ukraine in the early 1930s.  He was the author of Dos mishpokhe-lebn bay idn in amerike (The family life of Jews in America) (New York, 1939), 39 pp., and Dos lebn fun a yidishn dikhter (The life of a Yiddish poet), about Y. L. Perets (Vilna, 1939).  He died in New York.

Berl Kagan, comp., Leksikon fun yidish-shraybers (Biographical dictionary of Yiddish writers) (New York, 1986), col. 232.