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Aaron Zeitlin (3 June 1898 – 28 September 1973) was a Jewish American educator and writer. He authored several books on Yiddish literature, poetry and parapsychology.
Zeitlin Family
" ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe''. Retrieved May 22, 2020. In 1939, Zeitlin accepted an invitation from Maurice Schwartz, the director of the Yiddish Art Theatre, to come to New York to work on the company's production of his play ''Esterke''; prevented from returning home by the beginning of the Second World War, Zeitlin settled in New York permanently. His play ''Chelmer Chachomim'' (the title refers to the fools of Chelm) had already opened to critical acclaim at the Yiddish Theatre in New York prior to his arrival, and he slowly became a fixture of the Yiddish scene. For a time, he was also Professor of
"Aaron (Eliezer) Zeitlin" Museum of Family History: Lives in the Yiddish TheaterJewish Philosophy Place: (Modern Jewish Esotericism) Holocaust Parapsychology (Aaron Zeitlin)"Aaron Zeitlin" Encyclopedia.com
Aaron Zeitlin (3 June 1898 – 28 September 1973) was a Jewish American educator and writer. He authored several books on Yiddish literature, poetry and parapsychology.
Biography
Zeitlin was born in Uvarovichi, Russia (now Belarus) to Hillel Zeitlin and Esther Kunin. He spent his formative years in Gomel and Vilna. In 1920, he and his brother Elchanan traveled toPalestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
, and in 1921 they returned to Eastern Europe, settling in Warsaw.
Zeitlin's literary abilities were apparent already in his youth when he contributed some articles to the Odessa-based children's journal ''Perachim'' and '' Hashachar''.
His first publication was a fictional piece that appeared in the journal '' Di yidishe velt'' (די ייִדישע װעלט "The Jewish World"), in 1914. His first published books of Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ver ...
poetry were ''Matatron'' (1922) and ''Shotns oyfn shney'' (Shadows on Snow; 1923)."Zeitlin, Aaron." ''Encyclopaedia Judaica''. 2nd ed. Edited by Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. Vol. 21, p. 496. Retrieved via ''Gale eBooks'' database, May 22, 2020.
In the 1920s to 1930s, he published short stories, as well as many philosophical and journalistic essays, and pieces of literary and cultural criticism.Krutikov, Mikhail, and Pinsker, Shachar (June 27, 2011).Zeitlin Family
" ''YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe''. Retrieved May 22, 2020. In 1939, Zeitlin accepted an invitation from Maurice Schwartz, the director of the Yiddish Art Theatre, to come to New York to work on the company's production of his play ''Esterke''; prevented from returning home by the beginning of the Second World War, Zeitlin settled in New York permanently. His play ''Chelmer Chachomim'' (the title refers to the fools of Chelm) had already opened to critical acclaim at the Yiddish Theatre in New York prior to his arrival, and he slowly became a fixture of the Yiddish scene. For a time, he was also Professor of
Hebrew literature
Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews. Hebrew literature was pro ...
at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a major center for academic scholarship in Jewish studie ...
, in New York.
He wrote the famous Yiddish song "Donna Donna
"Dona Dona", popularly known as "Donna, Donna", is a song about a calf being led to slaughter, written by Sholom Secunda and Aaron Zeitlin. Originally a Yiddish language song "Dana Dana" (in Yiddish דאַנאַ דאַנאַ), also known as "Dos ...
", whose music was composed by Sholom Secunda.
In 1969 Zeitlin and Abraham Sutzkever were the first recipients of the Itzik Manger Prize for Yiddish letters.
After WWII, Zeitlin married Rachel Wolfowski, a widow who hailed from Vilna. Her son from her previous marriage was Jewish philanthropist Zev Wolfson.
Zeitlin died in Queens, New York, at the age of 75.
Published works
''Ha-meziut ha-aheret'' (The other Dimension), Tel Aviv: Yavneh, 1967. ''Parapsychologia murchevet'' (Expanded Parapsychology), Tel Aviv: Yavneh, 1973. ''Poems of the Holocaust and Poems of Faith'' d./trans. Morris Faierstein(iUniverse), 1-217 (122, emended), 2007External links
"Aaron (Eliezer) Zeitlin" Museum of Family History: Lives in the Yiddish Theater
Sources
*Alpert, Reuven. ''Caught In The Crack'', Wandering Soul Press, 2002. pp. 151 *Faierstein, Morris M. trans. and Ed., "Poems of the Holocaust and Poems of Faith" By Aaron Zeitlin. iuniverse: New York, 2007.References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zeitlin, Aaron 1898 births 1973 deaths People from Buda-Kashalyowa District People from Gomelsky Uyezd Belarusian Jews Polish emigrants to the United States American people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Jewish American writers Yiddish-language playwrights Yiddish-language journalists Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives Yiddish-language poets 20th-century poets 20th-century dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American Jews