Benzion Hoffman (; 1 May 1874 – 14 October 1954), best known by the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Zivion (, ''Tsivyen''), was a

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 ...

writer, journalist, and political activist.

Biography

Hoffman was born in the village of Krug, near Boysk, in the

Courland Governorate The Courland Governorate, also known as the Province of Courland, Governorate of Kurland (german: Kurländisches Gouvernement; russian: Курля́ндская губерния, translit=Kurljándskaja gubernija; lv, Kurzemes guberņa; lt, K ...

. He studied at various ''

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

s'' in the region, meanwhile becoming acquainted with Maskilic literature, before moving to

Vilna Vilnius ( , ; see also other names) is the capital and largest city of Lithuania, with a population of 592,389 (according to the state register) or 625,107 (according to the municipality of Vilnius). The population of Vilnius's functional u ...

at the age of sixteen. There, he was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

as a rabbi by ''

av beis din The ''av beit din'' ( ''ʾabh bêth dîn'', "chief of the court" or "chief justice"), also spelled ''av beis din'' or ''abh beth din'' and abbreviated ABD (), was the second-highest-ranking member of the Sanhedrin during the Second Temple period, ...

'' Rabbi Shlomo ha-Kohen. He later studied at the Universities of Karlsruhe,

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, and

Bern german: Berner(in)french: Bernois(e) it, bernese , neighboring_municipalities = Bremgarten bei Bern, Frauenkappelen, Ittigen, Kirchlindach, Köniz, Mühleberg, Muri bei Bern, Neuenegg, Ostermundigen, Wohlen bei Bern, Zollikofen , website ...

, and obtained a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in engineering. Hoffman published under the

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

s Zivion (, a near-anagram of ), Tz. (), Ish Tikva (, 'Man of Hope'), Afna, and Rozman. His first articles appeared in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

in ''

Ha-Melitz ''Ha-Melitz'' or ''HaMelitz'' (Hebrew: ) was the first Hebrew newspaper in the Russian Empire. It was founded by Alexander Zederbaum in Odessa in 1860. History ''Ha-Melitz'' first appeared as a weekly, and it began to appear daily in 1886. From 18 ...

'' in 1895; he would go on to contribute to ', ''

Forverts ''The Forward'' ( yi, פֿאָרווערטס, Forverts), formerly known as ''The Jewish Daily Forward'', is an American news media organization for a American Jews, Jewish American audience. Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish-language daily socialis ...

'', '' Di tsukunft'', '' Der yidisher arbeyter'', ''

Folkstsaytung The ''Folkstsaytung'' ( yi, פֿאָלקסצייטונג, 'People's Newspaper') was a Yiddish language daily newspaper which served as the official organ of the General Jewish Labour Bund in Poland. ''Folkstsaytung'' was published in Warsaw, Se ...

'', and ''Fraynd'', among other periodicals. The following year, he co-founded a

socialist Zionist Labor Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת סוֹצְיָאלִיסְטִית, ) or socialist Zionism ( he, תְּנוּעָת הָעַבוֹדָה, label=none, translit=Tnuʽat haʽavoda) refers to the left-wing, socialist variation of Zionism. ...

circle in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

and joined the Bundist movement. He attended the Fifth Zionist Congress in 1901 as a correspondent for ''Forverts'', and later took part in the

5th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party The 5th Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party was held in London between May 13 and June 1, 1907. The 5th Congress had the largest attendance of the Congresses of the unified RSDLP.Thatcher, Ian D. Trotsky'. Routledge Historical B ...

. He emigrated to

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 * '' ...

in 1908, where he became a central figure in American Jewish journalism. In the years that followed, Hoffman edited and contributed to the Hebrew

daily Daily or The Daily may refer to: Journalism * Daily newspaper, newspaper issued on five to seven day of most weeks * ''The Daily'' (podcast), a podcast by ''The New York Times'' * ''The Daily'' (News Corporation), a defunct US-based iPad new ...

''Ha-Yom'', the Yiddish periodicals ''Der fraynd'', ''Di naye post'', ''Di tsukunft'', ''

Der tog ''Der Tog'' ( en, The Day) was a Yiddish-language daily newspaper published in New York City from 1914 until 1971. The offices of ''Der Tog'' were located on the Lower East Side, at 185 and 187 East Broadway. History The newspaper's first issue ...

'', ''Di naye velt'', and ''Gerekhtikeyt'', and the Yiddish section of the English-Yiddish Encyclopedic Dictionary. He died at his home in New York City on 14 October 1954.

Selected bibliography

* * * * * * * * * * * *

References

{{authority control 1874 births 1954 deaths 20th-century American essayists American male essayists American people of Latvian-Jewish descent Bundists Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United States Essayists from the Russian Empire Hebrew-language writers Jewish American journalists Journalists from New York City Labor Zionists People from Courland Governorate Yiddish-language journalists 20th-century American male writers 19th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers