RIFOEL KHASMAN (RAPHAEL CHASMAN)

RIFOEL KHASMAN (RAPHAEL CHASMAN) (October 27, 1895-January 21, 1972)

            He was born in Kelm (Kelmė), Lithuania.  He was the son of the Shchuchiner rebbe.  He studied in religious elementary school and yeshiva, and he acquired secular subjects on his own.  For a time he studied natural science and philosophy at Yur’yev (Dorpat) University.  Until 1935 he was a lecturer in journalism at the Kovno public university, before he later settled in Israel.  He wrote articles for Di idishe shtime (The Jewish voice) in Kovno (he was also its editorial secretary) and later Israeli correspondent for the newspaper; for many years he was correspondent from Lithuania for Forverts Forward) and Tog (Day) in New York and for Haarets (The land) in Tel Aviv, where he would later be a member of the editorial board.  He became a contributor and from 1955 editorial secretary of Hatsofe (The spectator) in Tel Aviv.  He published editorial articles, feature pieces, critical bibliographical essays, and translations.  He was the principal contributor to the periodical Velt-shpigl (World mirror) in Kovno (1927-1928).  He edited the Mizrachi weekly newspaper Dos idishe vort (The Jewish word) in Kovno (1931-1935).  He co-edited the publication Yahadut lita (Jews of Lithuania) (Jerusalem, 1958/1959), 256 pp.

Sources: D. Tidhar, in Entsiklopedyah leḥalutse hayishuv uvonav (Encyclopedia of the pioneers and builders of the yishuv), vol. 4 (Tel Aviv, 1950), pp. 1734-35; Y. Mark, in Zamlbukh lekoved dem tsveyhundert un fuftsikstn yoyvl fun der yidisher prese, 1686-1936 (Anthology in honor of the 250^th jubilee of the Yiddish press, 1686-1936), ed. Dr. Y. Shatski (New York, 1937), pp. 253, 287; N. Y. Gotlib, in Lite (Lithuania), anthology (New York, 1951), vol. 1, pp. 1106, 1111; Sefer hashana shel haitonaim (The annual of newspapers) (Tel Aviv, 1947/1948), p. 248.

Khayim Leyb Fuks