Yitzchak Rayz (1885, Narayiv – 1943,

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

), better known by his pen name Moyshe Nadir (Yiddish: משה נאדיר ; also transliterated "Moishe") was an American

Yiddish language 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 ...

writer and satirist. Rayz was born in the town of Narayiv, in

eastern Galicia Eastern Galicia ( uk, Східна Галичина, Skhidna Galychyna, pl, Galicja Wschodnia, german: Ostgalizien) is a geographical region in Western Ukraine (present day oblasts of Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk and Ternopil), having also essential h ...

, then

Austro-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. He died in 1943, in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

Biography

In 1898, at the age of 13, Rayz immigrated to New York and adopted the Americanized name Isaac Reiss. Within a few years his work was published widely in the New York Yiddish press, under a variety of pseudonyms, including Rinnalde Rinaldine, Dilensee Mirkarosh, Der Royzenkavalir, Doctor Hotzikl, and, finally, Moishe Nadir. The name "Nadir" is a Yiddish expression meaning "here you are" or "that's for you," but can also mean "take this and choke on it." As a teenager, he wrote for Der Groyser Kundes (The Big Prankster) and later co-edited Der Yiddisher Gazlon (The Yiddish Bandit) with

Jacob Adler Jacob Pavlovich Adler (Yiddish: יעקבֿ פּאַװלאָװיטש אַדלער; born Yankev P. Adler; February 12, 1855 – April 1, 1926)IMDB biography was a Jewish actor and star of Yiddish theater, first in Odessa, and later in London and ...

. He wrote for an assortment of Communist Yiddish publications including the Frayhayt (Freedom) newspaper and its successor Morgn Frayhayt (Morning Freedom) and the magazines Der Signal (The Signal) and Der Hammer (The Hammer). When his sharp-tongued theater reviews caused him to be banned from theatrical productions, he resorted to attending plays in disguise. His own plays were performed by

Maurice Schwartz Maurice Schwartz, born Avram Moishe Schwartz (June 18, 1890 – May 10, 1960),Yiddish Art Theater The Yiddish Art Theatre was a New York Yiddish theatre company of the 20th century. History The organization was founded in 1918 by actor and impresario Maurice Schwartz, to present serious Yiddish drama and works from world literature in Yiddis ...

, Zuni Maude and

Yosl Cutler Yosl Cutler ( yi, יאסל קאטלער, 1896 – June 11, 1935) was a Yiddish-American cartoonist, poet, satirist and founder of the first Yiddish puppet theatre in the United States. Biography Yosl Cutler, an orphaned son of a butcher, w ...

's Modicut puppet theater, Artef (Arbeter Teater Faraband, Workers Theater Alliance) and the

Federal Theater Project The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–1939) was a theatre program established during the Great Depression as part of the New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by ...

. Among his better known poems are the erotic Vilde Royzen (Wild Roses, 1915) and his 1932 Rivington Strit (Rivington Street). After a long association with the

Freiheit ' is the German word for both liberty and political freedom. Freiheit may also refer to: Political parties * Freie Demokratische Partei, a liberal party in Germany * South Tyrolean Freedom (', STF), a nationalist political party active in South ...

and the

Morgen Freiheit Morgen Freiheit (original title: ; English: ''Morning Freedom'') was a New York City-based daily Yiddish language newspaper affiliated with the Communist Party, USA, founded by Moissaye Olgin in 1922. After the end of World War II the paper's pro- ...

, Rayz began to distance himself from the Communist cause with the onset of the show trials in the Soviet Union and publicly broke with the Morgn Frayhayt in the wake of the Molotiv-Ribbentrop Pact. He set out his reasons in “Di, vos blayben mit der Morgn Frayhayt” (“Those who stay with the Morgn Frayhayt”) in response to Morgn Frayhayt editor Moissaye Olgin’s “Di vos gayen avek” (“Those who leave”). Rayz discusses his relationship to the Communist Party in his posthumous Moyde Ani (Confessions).

Published works

Yiddish originals

* https://archive.org/search.php?query=moishe%20nadir

English translations

* From Man to Man ("fun mentsh tsu mentsh") (2006) (This includes an extensive biographical essay by the translator, Harvey Fink.) * For a 1920 collection of his literary improvisations in English translation se
Peh-el-peh (Face to Face)"> Peh-el-peh (Face to Face)
translated by Joseph Kling, Pagan Publishing Co., New York. * Anthologised in Proletpen : America's rebel Yiddish poets / edited by Amelia Glaser and David Weintraub ; translated by Amelia Glaser ; with illustrations by Dana Craft ; special editorial assistance from Yankl Salant. University of Wisconsin Press 2005 * Messiah in America ("Moshiekh in Amerika"), Farlag Press (2018) http://www.farlag.com/messiah-in-america * Puppet Play: In the other World ("Marioneten Shpil: In Yener Velt") https://archive.org/details/InTheOtherWorld

References

External links