Bracha Peli ( he, ברכה פלאי) (1892–1986) was the founder and owner of the

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i publishing house, Massada. She was the driving force behind the publication of ''

Encyclopaedia Hebraica The ''Encyclopaedia Hebraica'' ( he, האנציקלופדיה העברית) is a comprehensive encyclopedia in the Hebrew language that was published in the latter half of the 20th century.ha-Entsiklopediyah ha-ʻivrit (האנציקלופדיה ...

'',Founder of the Hebrew Enterprise, Uri Dromi, accessed October 2009 and is credited with starting Israel's annual

Hebrew Book Week Hebrew Book Week ( he, שבוע הספר העברי) is an annual week-long event in Israel celebrating Hebrew literature. History Hebrew Book Week evolved from a one-day event on Rothschild Boulevard in Tel Aviv organized by Bracha Peli, foun ...

Biography

Bronya Kutzenok (later Bracha Peli) was born in Starovitzky, a small village in Russia, now

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

Bracha Peli
Asher Weill, Jewish Women's Archive. accessed October 2009 to a family of

Hasidic Jews Hasidism, sometimes spelled Chassidism, and also known as Hasidic Judaism (Ashkenazi Hebrew: חסידות ''Ḥăsīdus'', ; originally, "piety"), is a Jewish religious group that arose as a spiritual revival movement in the territory of contem ...

. She was the eldest of seven children. Her father, Shmuel Kutzenok, was a wealthy lumber merchant who supplied timber for artillery wagons to the Russian army. Her mother, Sarah, ran the village general store. She acquired an education by overhearing her brothers' lessons. Early on, she became proficient in Yiddish, Russian and Hebrew. In 1905, when she was about to study at a Gymnasium in

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

, pogroms against the Jews erupted, disrupting her plans. She waited two years to complete her secondary education and study economics. In 1914, after her mother died of tuberculosis, Peli met a young

Zionist Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after ''Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...

teacher, Meir Pilipovetsky, whom she married against her family's wishes. After her son,

Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

, was born she opened a Jewish secondary school that attracted 400 students in its first year. Encyclopaedia Hebraica 2

In July 1921, Peli and her husband left Russia for

Palestine __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 ...

, settling in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

. In 1926, Peli opened a stall in Tel Aviv to sell books cheaply, which led to the inauguration of an annual event.Hebrew Book Week :from an open, urban fair into an entertainment festival
, Shiri Lev-Ari, Jewish Theatre, accessed October 2009 Today

is a national 10-day event.Israel - Book Production Data Economic situation
, Frankfurt Book Fair, accessed October 2009 The Encyclopaedia Hebraica project began using Bracha Peli's publishing house in 1946 with her son, Alexander, supervising. The last volume was published in 1996. Bracha Peli died in 1986.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Peli, Bracha 1892 births 1986 deaths Encyclopedists Israeli women chief executive officers Israeli Ashkenazi Jews Israeli publishers (people) 20th-century Israeli businesswomen 20th-century Israeli businesspeople Naturalized citizens of Israel Businesspeople from Kyiv Businesspeople from Tel Aviv Ukrainian emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Ukrainian Ashkenazi Jews Zionists Ukrainian schoolteachers Jewish encyclopedists

Biography

See also

References