Tuesday 13 May 2014

YITSKHOK (ISAAC) UNTERMAN

YITSKHOK (ISAAC) UNTERMAN (October 15, 1889-mid-May 1984)
Born in Warsaw into a Hassidic family.  Until age sixteen, he studied in yeshivas in Lithuania.  He obtained rabbinic ordination and joined a Russian-Jewish teaching seminary in Vilna.  In 1904 he first published poetry in a hectographically produced journal, Yugnt (Youth) in Vilna.  He published sketches in: Der veg (The way), Undzer lebn (Our life), and Moment (Moment) in Warsaw.  In 1911 he emigrated to the United States.  He contributed to Dos yidishe folk (The Jewish people) in New York, in which he published translations from Hebrew and German; also in Yidisher kurier (Jewish courier) in Chicago; Keneder odler (Canada eagle) and Toronter zhurnal (Toronto journal) in Canada; and he co-edited work for Di yidishe velt (The Jewish world) in Philadelphia.  He also published there novels: Moyshe rebeynu (Our R. Moses) and Di muter rokhl (Mother Rachel).  He edited the weekly Yidishe nayes (Jewish news) in Philadelphia, Morgnshtern (Morningstar) in Newark, and Der stern (The star) in Paterson.  Among his books: Yidishe un algemayne dertsiung (Jewish and general education) (Chicago, 1916), 115 pp.; Fun di shkhite-shtet (From the cities of slaughter) (Jersey City, 1925), 160 pp.; Nuarker yidn (Newark Jews) (Newark, 1934), 144 pp.; Unzere yamim-toyvim (Our holidays) (Philadelphia, 1936), second printing (Buenos Aires, 1947); Di yidishe neviim (The Jewish prophets) (Philadelphia, 1938); Rashi, zayn lebn, shafung un oyftu (Rashi, his life, works, and accomplishments) (Philadelphia, 1940), 63 pp.; Lekoved yontef (In honor of the holiday) (New York, 1946), 152 pp.; Dray yubilarn, grafishe portretn un kharakter-skitsn (Three jubilees, graphic portraits and character skits) (Miami Beach, 1956), 48 pp.  He was also the author of a number of works in English.  He had a both a Ph.D. and a J.D. degree.  He lived in Miami, Florida, which is where he died.

Sources: P. Viernik, in Morgn-zhurnal (New York) (November 8, 1931); M. Shtarkman, in Yorbukh (Annual) (New York, 1943)


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