Friday 20 February 2015

Y. BEN-YEMINI

Y. BEN-YEMINI (1859-November 26, 1930)
     This was the pseudonym of Yankev-Binyomin Katsenelson (father of the poet Yitskhok [Itzhak] Katsenelson, the martyr).  He was born in Kapulye (Kopyl), Minsk district, and later moved with his parents to Bobryusk (Babruysk).  He studied in the yeshivas of Volozhin and Kovno, and he received rabbinical ordination.  After marrying, he settled in Karelitsh (Korelice).  He studied for a time to become the “official” [state-recognized] rabbi, but he did not graduate.  He then left for Warsaw and became a contributor to the Hebrew-language encyclopedia Haeshkol (The encyclopedia).  Due to a conflict with N. Sokolov, he left the editorial board.  From 1900 until his death he ran a “cheder metukan” (improved religious elementary school) in Zgierzh (Zgierz), near Lodz.  Among his writings: Ḥazon ben-yemini (Ben-Yemini’s vision) (Warsaw, 1913), 45 pp.; Yehuda hamakabi veyonatan (Judah Maccabee and Jonathan) (Warsaw).  In Yiddish: Gedalye deriga (Gedalia from Riga) (Lodz, 1912), 32 pp.  He also wrote poetry for Der yidisher zhurnalist (The Jewish journalist) (Lodz, 1919) and for Lodzher tageblat (Lodz daily news).  He died in Lodz.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 3; D. Katsenelson-Nokhumov, Yitskhok katsenelson (Buenos Aires, 1948).


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