{"id":2290,"date":"2024-10-19T13:29:56","date_gmt":"2024-10-19T18:29:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/?p=2290"},"modified":"2024-10-22T14:57:39","modified_gmt":"2024-10-22T19:57:39","slug":"when-boris-met-mendele-an-episode-from-thomashefskys-1913-european-tour","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/when-boris-met-mendele-an-episode-from-thomashefskys-1913-european-tour\/","title":{"rendered":"When Boris Met Mendele: An Episode from Thomashefsky\u2019s 1913 European Tour"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Forverts<\/em> (Forward<\/em>, New York), December 7 and 14, 1913<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translated by Zachary M. Baker<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Translator\u2019s Introduction.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The stars of the Yiddish theatre in its heyday spent a lot of time on the road\u2014and at least two of them chronicled their overseas travels in the pages of the New York Forverts<\/a>. Boris Thomashefsky<\/a>\u2019s account of his European travels ran in that paper in 1913, and there was a follow-up in 1924 with reporting on his South American tour. Six years later, in 1930, the<\/em> Forverts published Maurice Schwartz<\/a>\u2019s South American travelogue, succeeded in 1932 by a European travel series. A long sea voyage provided an ideal setting for these ordinarily over-programmed performers to lean back and jot down their impressions of the sights and sounds of the distant locales that they were visiting. Although Abraham Cahan<\/a>, the editor of the <\/em>Forverts, sometimes skewered Thomashefsky\u2019s and Schwartz\u2019s performances and productions on Second Avenue, he evidently appreciated the breezy and conversational tone of their travel writing.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Boris Thomashefsky visited Europe during the late spring and summer of 1913, he performed with Yiddish theatre troupes from London to Odessa and numerous points in between. Upon his return to New York the<\/em> Forverts announced, \u201cThomashefsky has returned from Europe with a whole heap of news\u201d (September 5, 1913). Over the course of the next four months, starting on September 21, 1913, fifteen travel articles by Thomashefsky appeared in that newspaper.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though Thomashefsky had been to Europe on performance tours previously, this was the first and only time that he returned to the Russian Empire, the land of his birth. Boris was in his early teens when the Thomashefsky family immigrated to the United States from Kiev [Kyiv] in 1881. His European tour thirty-two years later took him to the following cities: London, England; Warsaw and \u0141\u00f3d\u017a, in Russian-ruled Congress Poland; Berdichev,<\/em>1<\/a><\/sup> Yekaterinoslav [Dnipro], Kyiv, and Odessa [Odesa], in Russia\u2019s Pale of Settlement (present-day Ukraine); and Lemberg [Lw\u00f3w, Lviv] and Czernowitz [Chernivtsi], in the Austro-Hungarian Empire (present-day Ukraine). His sojourn in Russia coincided with preparations for the trial of Mendel Beilis in Kyiv, on ritual-murder charges.<\/em>2<\/a><\/sup> More than once, Thomashefsky conveyed his anxieties concerning the oppressively fraught political atmosphere prevailing that summer in Tsarist Russia.The Yiddish theatres of the European cities that Thomashefsky visited were the main focus of his travel journalism. In his estimation, the material circumstances of the theatres in the Russian Pale, Galicia, and Bukovina were pitiful, and much the same could be said of the troupes that he encountered there. The one glowing exception was Odesa, where a company of superb actors led by a first-rate director, Mark Arnshteyn<\/a>, performed in the well-appointed<\/em> Russkii Teatr (Russian Theatre) on Grechka Street.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Russkii Teatr [Russian Theatre], Odessa, early 1900s.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Odesa was, moreover, the home of the classic Yiddish writer Sholem Yankev Abramovitsh\u2014best known by his pen name and literary alter ego, Mendele Moykher Sforim <\/a>(Mendele the book peddler)\u2014with whom Boris Thomashefsky and his eighteen-year-old son Harry spent a memorable summer afternoon. Portions of two installments were devoted to this famous actor\u2019s encounter with the grandfather (zeyde<\/em>) of Yiddish literature. Boris took a fair amount of poetic license in his renditions of their conversations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Sholem-Yankev Abramovitsh \/ Mendele Moykher Sforim<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Mendele told Thomashefsky that he maintained an arms-length relationship with the Yiddish theatre. He had first seen Yiddish plays back in the Goldfaden era, before the tsarist regime banned Yiddish performances for more than two decades, and was also familiar with the more recent, \u201crealistic\u201d dramas by Jacob Gordin (at least in their published versions), although he disdained their reliance on European source material. He and Arnshteyn were currently at work on a play, Mendele continued. The unlikely subject of their collaboration, according to the Yiddish theatre historian Zalmen Zylbercweig, was the colorful German-Jewish socialist leader, Ferdinand Lassalle<\/a>. Thomashefsky told Mendele that he would like to stage the play in New York someday, hopefully with the zeyde<\/em> himself in attendance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When their conversation shifted to the subject of theatre criticism, Thomashefsky placed more than a few words in Mendele\u2019s mouth, while putting his own vanity on full display. The alleged shortcomings of the critics were clearly a sore point with the visitor from New York, who went on at some length detailing his own\u2014and Mendele\u2019s (purported)\u2014grievances directed at such scribblers. Thomashefsky presumably had in mind those critics who made a habit of ridiculing the so-called shund<\/em><\/a> plays and operettas that were his stock in trade. He let his editor, Cahan, off the hook by carefully exempting \u201cresponsible and serious writers\u201d from his negative assessment of Yiddish theatre criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although Boris\u2019s son Harry took a photograph of these two eminences standing side by side during their visit to the Abramovitsh dacha, it was not reproduced in the pages of the Forverts<\/em> and is probably lost. It was too bad, too, that Mendele\u2019s neighbor, the poet Chaim Nachman Bialik<\/a>, was not at home when Thomashefsky passed by before returning to town from the countryside. An encounter between these two personalities would have made for an interesting postscript to Thomashefsky\u2019s account of his afternoon with the zeyde<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less than a year later, the Great War broke out in Europe, upending life and disrupting communications channels between the two continents. By the time that Mendele died, on December 8, 1917 (he was nearly 82), the Russian empire was in the throes of revolutionary turmoil, the Bolsheviks having seized power in Petrograd just a month earlier. The play that he promised to Thomashefsky was lost to posterity\u2014and Mendele never did manage to visit New York.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I have mentioned, in 1924 the Forverts <\/em>published a second series of travel articles by Boris Thomashefsky, devoted to his one and only tour of South America, where he and Harry were joined by Boris\u2019s longtime companion Regina Zuckerberg<\/a> and her daughter, Pauline Kobak. A follow-up account of that travelogue is in the works.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
 <\/strong>Boris Thomashefsky<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

[Start: from \u201cInteresting Yiddish Actors in Odessa,\u201d December 7, 1913<\/em>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During one of my evening performances, the editor of Odessa Jewish Life <\/em>[sic<\/em>], Mr. Hochberg,3<\/a><\/sup> <\/sup>approached me on behalf of Mendele Moykher Sforim and suggested that I pay him a visit. Mendele is an old man, you see; he lives in a dacha far from the city, and it\u2019s hard for him to make his way to the theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The following afternoon we traveled by automobile to Mendele Moykher Sforim\u2019s house. This was the most joyous car trip of my entire life. I\u2019ve read all of the works, many times over, by the zeyde <\/em>of our literature. My entire life, I\u2019ve dreamed and fantasized about getting to meet the venerable \u201cgrandfather\u201d Reb Mendele\u2014and here I was, traveling to meet the old man whom I idolize. The faster the automobile moved the slower its pace felt to me, but eventually we reached a garden not far from the sea. We arrived at an ordinary wooden Russian house with a wide balcony that was overgrown with vines and flowers. An elderly man greeted us and asked who we were and what we wanted. This was Reb Mendele\u2019s son-in-law. When we identified ourselves, he said that Reb Mendele was asleep, and we might see him in a couple of hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All of a sudden, through a window I heard a voice: \u201cI\u2019m not sleeping; I\u2019ll come right out. Excuse me, I\u2019ll be with you in a few minutes.\u201d That\u2019s what old Reb Mendele said from his bedroom window overlooking the balcony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And soon there stood before me a tall, proud, regal figure with a short, white, well-trimmed beard, an old and wrinkled face, two fading yet intelligent and expressive eyes, and a large and high forehead with two deep indentations in it. Even if you didn\u2019t know that this was Reb Mendele, a mere glance would convince you to treat him with all due respect and deference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As I grasped his hand in mine, my unending anticipation and yearning to meet our zeyde<\/em> Reb Mendele released a flow of tears in my eyes. These were tears of joy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My [son] Harry, who had heard about the zeyde<\/em> only when we spoke of him during our brief time in Odessa, said to me in English, \u201cPapa, it feels like Tolstoy is standing in front of us now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I replied to him in English, \u201cThis is our Jewish Tolstoy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The zeyde<\/em> was quite familiar with my reputation. He had heard a lot about me from American [sources] and had read all of the critical articles about me in the Russian [press]. He was well informed about the American Yiddish theatre, the actors and writers, and in particular he was aware of the condition of Yiddish theatre in America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My reception by the zeyde<\/em> and his family was very gracious and heartfelt. He apologized that up to that point he hadn\u2019t attended my performances. He\u2019s an old man, so it was too difficult for him to travel late at night to and from the theatre. (His summer residence is quite far from the city.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Naturally, I forgave the zeyde<\/em>, and as we drank tea from a genuine Russian samovar on his spacious balcony, we swapped yarns, in the course of which a conversation about the Yiddish theatre unfolded. I had scarcely opened my mouth when exquisite words like pearls began to drop from Reb Mendele\u2019s old, pale lips. Yet he spoke with a young man\u2019s liveliness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My Harry was incredibly enthused by the way that the zeyde<\/em> expressed himself, and he remarked to me in English, \u201cPapa, this is the first time in my life that I\u2019ve heard someone use such beautiful language.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cZeydenyu<\/em>, why don\u2019t you try to write something for the Yiddish theatre?\u201d I asked the elderly grandpa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYes, why shouldn\u2019t I write for the theatre?\u201d Reb Mendele responded with his eyes closed, leaning on the handrail of his wide chair, and for a few seconds he became lost in thought. He furrowed his large, high, and wrinkled brow even more. \u201cIn my younger years I might have tried my hand at it, and once I even started to write a play, but it didn\u2019t come out in the form of a theatre piece.4<\/a><\/sup> I didn\u2019t understand how to handle characters on stage\u2014the scenes either turned out too large or too small for what I\u2019d imagined.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI rewrote it, but not for the theatre. After all, did Luzzatti<\/a> write specifically for the theatre? That\u2019s just how things turned out at the time\u2014and even now I\u2019d like to write something for the theatre, but I can\u2019t do it on my own; that\u2019s a bit too much for a grandfather; I need to have a \u2018grandson\u2019s\u2019 assistance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd now, I\u2019ll tell you a secret. No one knows about it\u2014just yours truly, my daughter, my son-in-law, and a few acquaintances who live in the dachas nearby.\u201d With that, the old man laughed, and we joined in. \u201cI\u2019ve begun to write something for the Yiddish theatre,\u201d he continued. \u201cAnd my \u2018grandson,\u2019 Mark Arnshteyn, is helping me. That is, we\u2019re helping each other out, and when the piece is finished, I\u2019ll have something to leave for posterity.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

[Continuation: from \u201cThomashefsky\u2019s Conversation with Mendele Moykher Sforim,\u201d December 14, 1913<\/em>]<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During our visit with Sholem Yankev Abramovitsh, he told us about his first visit to a Yiddish theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI remember,\u201d the zeyde<\/em> Reb Mendele said, \u201cwhen I received my first invitation to the Yiddish theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo tell the truth, I didn\u2019t greatly relish going. However, once I observed a Jewish theatre, a Jewish audience, and Jewish actors speaking in a juicy Yiddish, I thought that the Messianic Age had arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut let\u2019s not speak about the Yiddish theatre back then. I knew that as time passed the Yiddish theatre would turn into what it is today. But I think that it\u2019ll continue to evolve.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The zeyde<\/em> took a couple of sips from his glass of tea. He remarked that the tea was growing cold. His daughter brought another glass of tea right away and the zeyde<\/em> continued:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cJacob Gordin<\/a> \u2018converted\u2019 the Yiddish theatre [into something new], but it still wasn\u2019t what it needed to be: [thoroughly] Jewish\u2014[a reflection of] Jewish life. In my opinion, Yiddish theatre needs to be Jewish, not a borrowing or an imitation. The Yiddish theatre needs to embody the Jewish spirit and do so in a form that\u2019s light and accessible. You can\u2019t spoon-feed philosophy to the folk because we don\u2019t have many philosophers. We need to grow close to the masses and not distance ourselves from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd I\u2019m not pleased when I see, or rather, when I read pieces that are written for the Yiddish theatre and they\u2019re not our own but have been borrowed or rehashed, or for that matter are imitations of \u2018Faust\u2019 and \u2018Hamlet,\u2019 or facsimiles of Sudermann<\/a>\u2019s and Hauptmann\u2019<\/a>s works. They can\u2019t appeal to the average Jew because he can immediately detect what isn\u2019t Jewish\u2014he can sniff out Jewishness, and Jewish qualities can and must appeal to him. Even so, Gordin\u2019s pieces aren\u2019t bad. I can embrace that kind of Yiddish theatre and write like that for you to put on in America. And it\u2019s possible that I\u2019ll even sit in a box and watch my play. What do you think?\u201d the zeyde<\/em> asked me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI very much hope to live to see that, zeydenyu<\/em>,\u201d I answered. \u201cAnd many, many of our people over there in America would feel fortunate indeed to see a work of yours produced on the Yiddish stage, and see you in person in the theatre at the performance. I think that Jews would pay an awful lot of money just to see you in person, even without a work of yours being staged.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ll come to America when my play gets produced,\u201d the zeyde<\/em> resumed. \u201cI\u2019ve read all of the critical articles about you in our Russian newspapers. They write very nice things about you; they compare you to our Dalsky<\/a>, even in your mimicry and posture. That\u2019s very nice, very nice. Among us, Dalsky is recognized as a great talent.5<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut that\u2019s completely in tune with what I\u2019m saying: The critics all reproach you for the pieces that you\u2019re putting on. Some of the newspapers claim that your talent surpasses the writers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve read\u2014and others have told me\u2014that in America you have great, talented actors: Kessler, Adler, Liptzin, Mogulesko<\/a>. You have a union. All of your actors are good, genuine artists. Nice, very nice. Here, too, we have fine Yiddish artists: Zhelazo,<\/a> Dranov<\/a>, Kaminski<\/a>, Teitelbaum<\/a>, Lando<\/a>.\u201d (The zeyde<\/em> enumerated the good Yiddish and Russian actors on his fingers.) \u201cIn other words, if we put them all together, we\u2019d have an incredibly great Yiddish art theatre.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 \u201cBut where will we find the artistic plays for the artistic actors?\u201d I asked the zeyde<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have a lot of good Yiddish writers nowadays, both over there in America and here in Europe, but they need to pay attention to what they\u2019re writing. Spend a little more time at it and put in more soul. In America, after all, you do everything at a \u2018hurry up\u2019 pace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNow, here\u2019s what really annoys me,\u201d the zeyde<\/em> continued. \u201cI mean, our critics. In my opinion, we\u2019re far behind the rest of the world. It seems to me that when a child is good at learning, he should be given some encouragement. But our Jewish critics come along and demand a bit too much of the Yiddish actor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe can\u2019t be a Figner<\/a>, a Possart<\/a>, a Coquelin<\/a>, and be any better than he is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe few times that I was at the Yiddish theatre, I was impressed by the Yiddish actors. If I were to write about them, I wouldn\u2019t say anything bad\u2014on the contrary, only good things. And I say it\u2019s a great sin to criticize a Yiddish actor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou should point out errors that he ought to correct, but not run him down. I get heartburn whenever I read a critical article about the Yiddish theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd that\u2019s why I don\u2019t care to read any Yiddish theatre criticism whatsoever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I explained to the zeyde<\/em> how Yiddish criticism gets \u201cmanufactured\u201d in America. When a responsible and serious writer comes to the theatre and critiques a Yiddish play, he writes truthfully, with a critical perspective, and the result is an honest critique. The actors (and readers, too) are able to learn something from that kind of criticism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes, though, irresponsible parties visit the Yiddish theatre\u2014would-be authors peddling ready-made dramas and comedies, \u201cmasterpieces\u201d that they consider to be better than Ibsen<\/a>\u2019s, Sudermann\u2019s, and Shakespeare\u2019s works. In reality, though, their dramas and comedies are a mockery. When we decide to turn down their \u201cmasterpieces,\u201d you understand, this crowd launches dishonest critiques, pouring out their resentment at the managers and the actors. Consequently, criticism in America can\u2019t always be believed. Responsible writers provide responsible criticism. And we actors are always grateful for honest criticism. The irresponsible writers have become so popular now with their nonsensical critiques that the actors ridicule them, and the public doesn\u2019t take them seriously either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAmerica, as you doubtless know, zeydenyu<\/em>, is a free country,\u201d I explained to Reb Mendele. \u201cMagazines, pamphlets, and journals spring up there like mushrooms after the rain. Anyone who gets tossed out of an editorial office immediately launches his own magazine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd we need to keep all of these rags satisfied\u2014paying the price of advertisements, a favorable mention, or getting a picture inserted on the front or back page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s our great good fortune that no one takes their jottings seriously; otherwise, we\u2019d have to give up on the Yiddish theatre and we\u2019d need to start publishing our own Yiddish newspapers. There are laments and wailing (with crocodile tears) in our Yiddish newspapers that the Yiddish theatre is now in a state of total decline. Entire editorials are written about that: \u2018We\u2019re about to toss the last shovelful of earth onto the theater\u2019s coffin.\u2019 And what effect does that have? These writers and their scribblings are an absolute joke, because instead of the two or three Yiddish theatres that New York used to have, we now have lots of Yiddish theatres\u2014large and small\u2014in New York. And they\u2019re all \u2018making a living,\u2019 a nice living at that. And with thousands upon thousands of dollars they\u2019re repaying those very same newspapers which are trying to bury the Yiddish theatre through their phony libels and false critiques.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo, you\u2019re not the only one, zeydenyu<\/em>, who is sick at heart when you read such scurrilous critiques of the Yiddish theatre. Every Jew, every educated person feels the same degree of pain.\u201c But we scoff at them; they aren\u2019t taken seriously\u2014and you shouldn\u2019t let them get to you, zeydenyu<\/em>. So, when I get a chance to put on a play of yours in New York I\u2019ll have an answer for all of the critics, and your play will lure to the theatre the connoisseurs who know how and what to criticize. The publishers\u2014one and all\u2014will put their noses to the grindstone, and anyone with the good fortune to critique a play by the zeyde<\/em> will attend.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The zeyde<\/em> laughed in response. He appreciated my deep knowledge of the Yiddish theatre in America, and accordingly he assured me that he would write a play for the Yiddish theatre in America and was very eager to attend the premiere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The hours that I spent with the zeyde<\/em> on his balcony were a couple of the most satisfying hours of my entire lifelong career. We went on to speak about a variety of matters. Then we began to prepare for our return trip to the city, because I was scheduled to go on stage that very evening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The zeyde<\/em> accompanied us to the gate. On the way there, he chatted with my Harry. He noticed that Harry was carrying a camera on his shoulder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWell, in that case,\u201d said the zeyde<\/em>, \u201clet\u2019s take a photograph.\u201d Naturally, I was especially pleased. For me, it was an honor to stand next to the zeyde<\/em> in a picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we stood there, my Harry got ready to take the picture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow shall we pose for this picture?\u201d the zeyde<\/em> asked with a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cLet\u2019s strike a pose as if we\u2019re bidding each other farewell, zeydenyu<\/em>,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The zeyde<\/em> thought for a moment, put his hand upon my shoulder, and responded, \u201cNo, my child, I wouldn\u2019t want that kind of pose. Let\u2019s take our picture, posing not as if we\u2019re saying goodbye to each other, but as though we\u2019ll meet again twenty years from now.\u201d (According to the editor Hochberg in Odessa, the zeyde<\/em> is now 96 years old.<\/sup>6<\/a><\/sup>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was heartbreaking to hear the zeyde<\/em> utter these words with such sensitivity and with a sigh and a smile. A realm of tragedy resided within those few words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The picture of the zeyde<\/em>  and me is sacred because the moments of my meeting with the zeyde<\/em> and my parting from him will remain the most hallowed moments of my life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we said our farewells, I clasped the zeyde<\/em>\u2019s hand in mine for a very long time and said to myself, \u201cZeyde<\/em> is old, very old. Hold onto his hand; greet him once again; who knows?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Taking leave from the zeyde<\/em>, we approached our great poet Mr. Bialik\u2019s place. But we didn\u2019t find him at home\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Appendix. Names of Actors and Other Personalities Mentioned in This Article:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sholem-Yankev Abramovitsh<\/strong><\/a>, aka, Mendele Moykher-Sforim (1836-1917), dubbed the \u201cgrandfather\u201d (zeyde<\/em>) of Yiddish literature (Zylbercweig Leksikon<\/em> 2:1358-1368). A product of the Russian Jewish Enlightenment, or Haskalah, Abramovitsh wrote in both Hebrew and Yiddish. Best known for the rich language and biting satire of his novels, one of his early works was the play \u201cDi takse\u201d (The [Meat] Tax). Adaptations of his fiction also made their way onto the Yiddish stage and screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacob P. Adler<\/strong><\/a> (1855-1926), famous Yiddish dramatic actor, active in Odessa, London, and New York (Zylbercweig Leksikon<\/em> 1:13-28). Adler was a sometime partner and frequent rival of Thomashefsky; he was also the patriarch of one of the best-known family dynasties of the Yiddish theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mark Arnshteyn<\/strong> \/ Andrzej Marek<\/a> (1878-1943), Polish Yiddish journalist, playwright, translator, and director (Zylbercweig Leksikon<\/em> 1:98-102, 5:4414-4467). In 1913, Arnshteyn was directing the Odessa Yiddish theatre troupe with which Thomashefsky performed. Arnshteyn was murdered by the Nazis following the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hayim Na\u1e25man Bialik<\/strong><\/a> (1873-1934), the preeminent Hebrew poet of the first half of the twentieth century, who also wrote in Yiddish<\/a>. Bialik was a long-time resident in Odessa who relocated to Tel-Aviv in 1924 and was buried there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beno\u00eet-Constant Coquelin<\/strong><\/a> (1841-1909), French actor. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mamont Viktorovich Dalsky<\/strong><\/a> (n\u00e9 Neelov), 1865-1918, Russian actor, born near Kharkiv, died in Moscow. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natan (Nisn) Dranov<\/strong><\/a> (1884-1920), Yiddish actor, active in the Russian Empire (Zylbercweig Leksikon <\/em>1:569-570), married to Nadia (Meytus) Dranov <\/strong>\/Dranoff<\/strong> (1889-1955), Yiddish actress, active in the Russian Empire and the United States (Zylbercweig Leksikon <\/em>1:568-569).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nikolay Nikolayevich Figner<\/strong><\/a> (1857-1918), Russian tenor, and Medea Figner<\/strong> (1859-1952), Italian-born mezzo-soprano, married to Nikolay Figner, brother of the Russian revolutionary Vera Figner (1852-1942).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jacob Gordin<\/strong><\/a> (1853-1909), prominent Yiddish playwright, active in New York. He was an apostle of realism and naturalism (Zylbercweig Leksikon<\/em> 1:392-461).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Henrik Ibsen<\/strong><\/a> (1828-1906), Norwegian playwright and director. His plays \u201cA Doll\u2019s House (Nora)\u201d and \u201cGhosts\u201d were staples of the Yiddish theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ester-Rokhl Kaminska<\/strong> <\/a>(1870-1925), eminent Polish Yiddish actress (Zylbercweig Leksikon<\/em> 6:5433-5616), married to Avrom-Yitskhok Kaminski<\/strong> <\/a>(1867-1918), Polish Yiddish actor, director, playwright, and translator (Zylbercweig Leksikon<\/em> 6:5254-5281).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Kessler<\/strong><\/a> (1860-1920), famous Yiddish dramatic actor, active in London and New York (Zylbercweig Leksikon<\/em> 4:2689-2803). He was a sometime rival of Adler and Thomashefsky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shmuel Landau-Kleckau <\/strong>\/ Lando-Klekoy<\/strong><\/a> (1882-[194-]), Yiddish and Polish-language actor, active in Poland, who perished during the Holocaust (Zylbercweig Leksikon<\/em> 2:999-1000, 5:3940-3953).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ferdinand Lassalle<\/strong><\/a> (1825-1864), pioneering socialist leader in pre-unification Germany. Born to a Jewish family in Breslau (now Wroc\u0142aw, Poland), Lassalle was a philosopher and pioneering political activist who founded the precursor of the influential Social Democratic Party in Germany. He died following a duel over the affections of Helene von D\u00f6nniges, a young woman from a Protestant family.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keni Liptzin<\/strong><\/a> (1856-1918), eminent Yiddish dramatic actress, active in New York (Zylbercweig Leksikon<\/em> 2:1108-1127). Remembered for her roles in plays by Jacob Gordin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luigi Luzzatti<\/strong><\/a> <\/em>(1841-1927), Italian Jewish financier, political economist, social philosopher, and jurist. Luzzatti was Prime Minister of Italy between 1910 and 1911.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sigmund (Selig) Mogulesko<\/strong> <\/a>(1858-1914), pioneering Yiddish comic actor, active in Bucharest and New York (Zylbercweig Leksikon<\/em> 2:1180-1208).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ernst von Possart<\/strong><\/a> (1841-1921), German actor and theatre director.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hermann Sudermann<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>(1857-1928), German playwright and novelist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Avrom (Sholem, Sam) Teitelbaum <\/strong>\/ Taytelboym<\/strong><\/a> (1889-1947), Yiddish Hebrew actor, director, translator, and critic, active in the Russian Empire, Europe, Palestine, and the United States, where he performed with Maurice Schwartz\u2019s Yiddish Art Theatre troupe (Zylbercweig Leksikon<\/em> 2:875-878).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Boris Thomashefsky<\/strong><\/a> (1866 or 1868[6]<\/sup>-1939), pioneering Yiddish actor, director, playwright, and impresario (Zylbercweig Leksikon <\/em>2:804-840). He founded one of the first Yiddish troupes in New York City and was one of the most enduringly successful personalities of the Yiddish theatre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Leyzer (Eliezer) Zelazo <\/strong>\/ Zhelazo<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>(Zhelazni) (1877-?), Yiddish actor, active in the Russian Empire, Congress Poland, and the United States (Zylbercweig Leksikon<\/em> 1:797-798). Zelazo performed with the Vilna Troupe in Europe.

<\/p>\n\n\n

  1. In Berdichev, Boris visited the large synagogue where he had been a boy chorister, under the tutelage of Cantor Nisan (Nisi) Belzer. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  2. During the trial, which was held in the autumn of 1913, Beilis was acquitted. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  3. Shaul Hochberg (1870-1942) edited Unzer leben<\/em>, a daily newspaper which was published in Warsaw from 1907 to 1912, and in Odessa from 1912-1917. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  4. Two of Mendele\u2019s works take the form of plays: Di takse<\/em> [The Meat Tax] and Der priziv<\/em> [Conscription]. In addition, some of his fictional works were dramatized by other authors and produced on stage and screen. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  5. This is probably the noted Russian dramatic actor Mamont Dal’sky (1865-1918). Dal’sky was of Russian noble birth, which must have pleased Thomashefsky. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li>
  6. Sholem Yankev Abramovitsh was born on January 2, 1836, making him 77 years old at the time of his encounter with Thomashefsky. \u21a9\ufe0e<\/a><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Forverts (Forward, New York), December 7 and 14, 1913 Translated by Zachary M. Baker Translator\u2019s Introduction. The stars of the Yiddish theatre in its heyday spent a lot of time on the road\u2014and at least two of them chronicled their overseas travels in the pages of the New York Forverts. Boris Thomashefsky\u2019s account of his […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35946,"featured_media":2293,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"[{\"id\":\"e4cff2b2-2985-4f6a-8722-9b53649d21ac\",\"content\":\"In Berdichev, Boris visited the large synagogue where he had been a boy chorister, under the tutelage of Cantor Nisan (Nisi) Belzer.\"},{\"id\":\"5c6e6901-5dce-4832-a4f3-917c1d806140\",\"content\":\"During the trial, which was held in the autumn of 1913, Beilis was acquitted.\"},{\"id\":\"83eb0e2e-5988-45b6-b040-75ee0fa83685\",\"content\":\"Shaul Hochberg (1870-1942) edited Unzer leben<\\\/em>, a daily newspaper which was published in Warsaw from 1907 to 1912, and in Odessa from 1912-1917.\"},{\"id\":\"0494f8b5-cfc2-4717-af5f-384bf964415c\",\"content\":\"Two of Mendele\\u2019s works take the form of plays: Di takse<\\\/em> [The Meat Tax] and Der priziv<\\\/em> [Conscription]. In addition, some of his fictional works were dramatized by other authors and produced on stage and screen.\"},{\"id\":\"ce8730c9-7ad1-456d-bf3d-8cb9658df712\",\"content\":\"This is probably the noted Russian dramatic actor Mamont Dal'sky (1865-1918). Dal'sky was of Russian noble birth, which must have pleased Thomashefsky.\"},{\"id\":\"5c8abc2d-6e8b-426c-b4bc-3d504ca8810d\",\"content\":\"Sholem Yankev Abramovitsh was born on January 2, 1836, making him 77 years old at the time of his encounter with Thomashefsky.\"}]","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[11,22,46,20,16,9,21],"tags":[145,146],"class_list":["post-2290","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-actors","category-central-europe","category-early-20th-century","category-eastern-europe","category-impersarios","category-people","category-western-europe","tag-boris-thomashefsky","tag-mendele-moykher-sforim"],"yoast_head":"\nWhen Boris Met Mendele: An Episode from Thomashefsky\u2019s 1913 European Tour - Digital Yiddish Theatre Project<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/yiddish-stage\/when-boris-met-mendele-an-episode-from-thomashefskys-1913-european-tour\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When Boris Met Mendele: An Episode from Thomashefsky\u2019s 1913 European Tour\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Forverts (Forward, New York), December 7 and 14, 1913 Translated by Zachary M. 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