Peretz Smolenskin

Peretz Smolenskin (ca.1865)

Peretz ben Mosche Smolenskin (also: Peretz Smolenski , Peres Smolenskin , Smolensky or Perez Smolenskin ; * 1842 in Monastyrschtschina near Smolensk , † February 1, 1885 in Meran ) was a Russian Jew who became known as a novelist and publicist.

Life

In 1868 he founded the Hebrew monthly Haschachar (dt. The Dawn ) in Vienna , which under his editorship became the most important literary platform of the late Haskala , in which he fought both orthodoxy and assimilation.

In search of a middle ground between orthodox hostility towards enlightenment ideas on the one hand and assimilatory tendencies on the other, Smolenskin pleaded for a renewed Jewish national consciousness .

He was a passionate advocate of the Hebrew language and literature, in his view the essential foundations of Jewish national identity and - for the time being - a substitute for a state of its own.

In 1882, Smolenskin was one of the founders of the first Jewish national student union Kadimah (student union) (the name of the organization comes from Smolenskin) and became a pioneer of Zionism .

In February 1885 he was buried in the old Jewish cemetery in Merano. In 1952 his remains were brought to Jerusalem and buried with a state funeral.

Works

ha-toe be-darke ha-chajim ("The erring man on the path of life"), novel by a vain seeker, partly autobiographical (1876)

literature

K. Hödl: Smolenskin Perez. In: Austrian Biographical Lexicon 1815–1950 (ÖBL). Volume 12, Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, Vienna 2001-2005, ISBN 3-7001-3580-7 , p. 375 f. (Direct links on p. 375 , p. 376 ).
Ruben Brainin published a monograph on Smolenskin in 1896

Web links

Commons : Peretz Smolenskin - collection of images, videos and audio files

Biography and bibliography from the Institute for Translation of Hebrew Literature
Isidore Singer, M. Seligsohn: SMOLENSKIN, PETER (PEREZ) BEN MOSES. In: Isidore Singer (Ed.): Jewish Encyclopedia . Funk and Wagnalls, New York 1901-1906.

Individual evidence

↑ Israel Premier Attends Reburial of Peretz Smolenskin's remains. In: Jewish Telegraphic Agency. May 29, 1952. Retrieved May 10, 2020 (American English).
↑ The Jewish cemetery in Meran | Jewish Community of Merano. Retrieved May 10, 2020 .

personal data
SURNAME	Smolenskin, Peretz
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Smolenski, Peretz; Smolenskin, Peres; Smolensky, Peretz; Smolenskin, Perez; Smolenski, Peter
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Russian-Hebrew novelist and publicist
DATE OF BIRTH	1842
PLACE OF BIRTH	Monastyrschtschina near Smolensk , Russian Empire
DATE OF DEATH	February 1, 1885
Place of death	Meran

[1] Israel Premier Attends Reburial of Peretz Smolenskin's remains. In: Jewish Telegraphic Agency. May 29, 1952. Retrieved May 10, 2020 (American English).

[2] The Jewish cemetery in Meran | Jewish Community of Merano. Retrieved May 10, 2020 .