YEHONOSN YONATHANZON

YEHONOSN YONATHANZON (b. July 5, 1853)

            He wrote under the pen name “Kal Vaḥomer” (minor-to-major inference in Talmudic reasoning).  He was born in Vilna.  He drew his pedigree from Rabbi Yehonatan Eybeschütz of Prague.  His father, Rabbi Arn Yonathanzon, was a well known follower of the Jewish Enlightenment and gave his son a good Hebrew and European education.  He studied in a high school, later completing a course of study in pharmacy.  In 1890 he moved to the United States.  He lived in New York.  He published poems, humorous sketches, stories, and articles in: Yidishes tageblat (Jewish daily newspaper), Der teglekher herald (The daily herald) which was edited by Mikhl Mints, Idishe velt (Jewish world), and Minikes yontef bleter (Minikes’s holiday sheets) (1900-1902); in the last of these he published poems in the vein of holiday liturgy, feature pieces, and parodies, as well as poems of mourning, such as: “Baym keyver fun r’ arn hurvits (ish kiev)” (At the grave of R. Arn Hurvits, a man from Kiev).  In 1906 he published in the sole issue (March 30) of Filadelfyer idisher prese (Philadelphia Jewish press), edited by Yikhezkl Levit.

Sources: Zalmen Reyzen, Leksikon, vol. 1; Minikes yontef bleter (New York) (October 1900); D. B. Tirkel, in Pinkes fun amopteyl (Records of the American division of YIVO), vol. 1 (New York, 1928); Shaul Chajes, Otsar beduye hashem (Treasury of pseudonyms) (Vienna, 1933); The Jewish Encyclopedia, vol. 7, p. 238.

Zaynvl Diamant