David ben Saul Frischmann (, 31 December 1859 – 4 August 1922) was a Hebrew and

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 ...

modernist writer, poet, and translator. He edited several important Hebrew periodicals, and wrote

fiction Fiction is any creative work, chiefly any narrative work, portraying individuals, events, or places that are imaginary, or in ways that are imaginary. Fictional portrayals are thus inconsistent with history, fact, or plausibility. In a traditi ...

, poetry, essays, feuilletons,

literary criticism Literary criticism (or literary studies) is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of literature's goals and methods. Th ...

s, and translations.

Biography

David Frischmann was born in the town of Zgierz to Shaul and Freida Beila Frischmann. Frischmann's family moved to Lodz when he was two years old, where he received a private education combining Jewish and humanistic studies. Frischmann showed literary talent at a young age, and was considered a prodigy. Leonid Pasternak

Between 1895 and 1910 Frischmann studied philology,

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

and the history of art at the University of Breslau where he befriended Micha Josef Berdyczewski. Frischmann was imprisoned in Berlin as an enemy alien at the outbreak of the World War I. After a few months he was allowed to return to Poland; he returned to Warsaw and was deported to

Odessa Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...

by the Russian authorities when the German troops approached in 1915. In Odessa he translated the works of the Brothers Grimm, Tagore, Goethe,

Heine Heine is both a surname and a given name of German origin. People with that name include: People with the surname * Albert Heine (1867–1949), German actor * Alice Heine (1858–1925), American-born princess of Monaco * Armand Heine (1818–1883) ...

, Byron, Wilde, and France, and contributed poetry to the Yiddish magazine ''Undzer Lebn''. He briefly moved to Moscow following the

Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and ad ...

of 1917, where he became chairman of the editorial board of the Stybel Publishing House. He returned to Warsaw after the Bolsheviks closed the publishing house down in 1919. Frischmann went to Berlin in 1922 to be treated for a serious illness, and died there that year.

Eulogies A eulogy (from , ''eulogia'', Classical Greek, ''eu'' for "well" or "true", ''logia'' for "words" or "text", together for "praise") is a speech or writing in praise of a person or persons, especially one who recently died or retired, or as a ...

at his funeral were delivered by Hayim Nahman Bialik and

David Bergelson David (or Dovid) Bergelson (, russian: Давид Бергельсон, 12 August 1884 – 12 August 1952) was a Yiddish language writer born in the Russian Empire. He lived for a time in Berlin, Germany before moving to the Soviet Union following ...

. His last work was a translation of Shakespeare's '' Coriolanus'' into Hebrew, which appeared posthumously.

Journalism and literary career

He published his first article, in

Chaim Selig Slonimski Ḥayyim Selig ben Ya'akov Slonimski () (March 31, 1810 – May 15, 1904), also known by Hebrew abbreviations, his acronym ḤaZaS (), was a Hebrew publisher, mathematician, astronomer, inventor, science writer, and rabbi. He was among the first t ...

's journal ''

Ha-Tsfira ''Ha-Tsfira'' ( he, הצפירה) was a Hebrew-language newspaper published in Poland in 1862 and 1874–1931. History The first issue of ''Ha-Tsfira'' appeared in Warsaw, Congress Poland, in 1862, edited by Chaim Selig Slonimski. ''Ha-Tsfira'' ...

'', at the age of 16 (written at age 13). He went on to publish articles and poems in '' Ha-Shachar'', '' Ha-Melitz'', and ''

Ha-Yom ''Ha-Yom'' ( he, היום, "The Day") was a Hebrew-language newspaper published from 1886 to mid-1888 from Saint Petersburg, Russia.Schreiber, Mordecai, Alvin I. Schiff, and Leon Klenicki. The Shengold Jewish Encyclopedia'. Rockville, Md: Schreibe ...

'', and later edited ''Ha-Dor'' and ''Ha-Tkufa''. In 1883 he published a ''Tohu va-Vohu'' ('Chaos and Emptiness'), a scathing criticism of Hebrew journalistic methods, especially directed against ''Ha-Melitz''. He moved to Warsaw in the mid-1880s, where he wrote ''Otiyot porḥot'' ('Flying Letters'), a series of long stories. In 1886, he became an editor of ''Ha-Yom'' in St. Petersburg. Frischmann translated works of European literature into Hebrew, among them works by Nietzsche, Pushkin, Eliot, Shakespeare,

Baudelaire Charles Pierre Baudelaire (, ; ; 9 April 1821 – 31 August 1867) was a French poet who also produced notable work as an essayist and art critic. His poems exhibit mastery in the handling of rhyme and rhythm, contain an exoticism inherited fro ...

, and

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

. At the same time he worked as a Yiddish journalist for the Warsaw Jewish newspapers ''Hoys-Fraynd'', ''Der Yud'', and ''Fraynd''. He visited the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine (see also Isra ...

in 1911 and 1912 on behalf of the newspapers ''Ha-Tzefira'' and ''Haynt''. Reports from his visits to Israel were collected in the book ''Sur la terre d'Israël'' ('On the Land of Israel', 1913), in which he described the landscapes, sacred places, and the revival of the Hebrew language. The impressions gathered there led him to believe in the future of Hebrew as a spoken language, although in his writings he remained faithful to classical Hebrew all his life.

Published works

* ''Be-Yom Ha-Kipurim'' ('On the Day of Atonement'), Y. Alepin, 1881 * ''Tohu Va-Vohu'' ('Chaos and Void'), C. Kelter, 1883 * ''Otiyot Porchot: Sipurim, Reshimot ve-Tziyurim'' ('Flying Letters'), Ben Avigdor, 1892 * ''Michtavim Al Devar Ha-Sifrut'' ('Letters on Literature'), Achiasaf, 1895 * ''Ha-Golem: Ma'aseh'' ('The Golem''), Achiasaf, 1907 * ''Ketavim Niḥharim'' ('Selected Works'), Tushia, 1905 * ''Tziyurim u-Reshimot'' ('Drawings and Notes'), Moriah, 1910 * ''Ketavim Ḥadashim'' ('New Works'), Sifrut, 1910–1911 * ''Partzufim'' ('Portraits'), Sifrut, 1911 * ''Yizkor'' ('Remember'), Ben Avigdor, 1913 * ''Ba-Aretz'' ('In the Land of Israel'), Achi Sefer, 1913 * ''Col Kitvei'' ('Collected Works'), Merkaz, 1914 * ''Aḥarit Yerushalayim'' ('The End of Jerusalem'), Zionist Confederation in Poland, 1910 * ''Ba-Midbar'' ('In the Desert'), Ha-Sefer, 1923 * ''Kol Kitvei'' ('Collected Words'), Stybel, 1924

References

1859 births 1922 deaths Hebrew-language writers Hebrew-language poets Modernist writers Polish literary critics Translators to Hebrew University of Breslau alumni Yiddish-language journalists {{Jewish Encyclopedia, article=Frischman, David ben Saul, url=http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6398-frischman-david-ben-saul, first1=Herman, last1=Rosenthal, first2=Peter, last2=Wiernik, volume=5, page=522

Biography

Journalism and literary career

Published works

See also

References