Mordecai ben David Strelisker (; 8 November 1806 – 15 October 1875), also known by the

acronym An acronym is a type of abbreviation consisting of a phrase whose only pronounced elements are the initial letters or initial sounds of words inside that phrase. Acronyms are often spelled with the initial Letter (alphabet), letter of each wor ...

Marvad Sat (), was a Romanian

Maskilic The ''Haskalah'' (; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), often termed the Jewish Enlightenment, was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western Europe and th ...

writer, poet, and

ḥazzan A ''hazzan'' (; , lit. Hazan) or ''chazzan'' (, plural ; ; ) is a Jewish musician or precentor trained in the vocal arts who leads the congregation in songful prayer. In English, this prayer leader is often referred to as a cantor, a term also ...

. He served as

cantor A cantor or chanter is a person who leads people in singing or sometimes in prayer. Cantor as a profession generally refers to those leading a Jewish congregation, although it also applies to the lead singer or choir director in Christian contexts. ...

in the synagogue of Mihăileni.

Biography

Strelisker was born in

Brody Brody (, ; ; ; ) is a city in Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, Zolochiv Raion, Lviv Oblast, western Ukraine. It is located in the valley of the upper Styr, Styr River, approximately northeast of the oblast capital, Lviv. Brody hosts the administrati ...

, Galicia, in 1806, the son of David and Feyge Strelisker. His paternal grandfather was from the Galician town of Strelisk. He spent his youth in his native town, where he acquired a knowledge of

Hebrew literature Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews, mostly among the Arab cit ...

under the instruction of

Isaac Erter Isaac Erter (, ; 1792 – April 1851) was a Polish-Jewish satirist and poet of the Galician Haskalah. His Hebrew prose has been compared to that of writers Heinrich Heine and Ludwig Börne. Biography Isaac Erter was born into the family of a p ...

and

Nachman Krochmal Nachman HaKohen Krochmal (; born in Brody, Galicia, on 17 February 1785; died at Ternopil on 31 July 1840) was a Jewish Galician philosopher, theologian, and historian. Biography Nachman HaKohen Krochmal began studying Talmud at an early ...

. Strelisker's most important literary contributions are twelve essays in volumes 8–11 of ''

Bikkure ha-Ittim ''Bikkure ha-Ittim'' () was a Hebrew language, Hebrew-language Annual publication, annual published in Vienna from 1820 to 1831. Founded by Salomon Jacob Cohen, it was adopted by the Galicia (Eastern Europe), Galician Haskalah, Maskilim as their me ...

''. He also carried on a literary correspondence with Judah Jeitteles in ' (ii. 183). His other published works include ''Zakat shever'', a

lamentation A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about something ...

on the death of Zalman Margulies; ''Ta'aniyat yeshurun'', an elegy on the death of Emperor

Francis I of Austria Francis II and I (; 12 February 1768 – 2 March 1835) was the last Holy Roman Emperor as Francis II from 1792 to 1806, and the first Emperor of Austria as Francis I from 1804 to 1835. He was also King of Hungary, Croatia and Bohemia, and served ...

, sung during a mourning ceremony held in the old Brody synagogue; ''Zekher 'olam'', a biography and an elegy of his father; and ''Shirah la-kohen'' (reprinted from '' Ha-Maggid'', 1860), on the occasion of the seventieth birthday of J. S. Rappaport. He was also an activist of the ''

Alliance Israélite Universelle The Alliance israélite universelle (AIU; ; ) is a Paris-based international Jewish organization founded in 1860 with the purpose of safeguarding human rights for Jews around the world. It promotes the ideals of Jewish self-defense and self-suffi ...

'', and advocated for rationalism in Judaism, modern

Jewish education Jewish education (, ''Chinuch'') is the transmission of the tenets, principles, and religious laws of Judaism. Jews value education, and the value of education is strongly embedded in Jewish culture. Judaism places a heavy emphasis on Torah ...

, and the emancipation of Romanian Jewry. He died in Mihăileni during

Sukkot Sukkot, also known as the Feast of Tabernacles or Feast of Booths, is a Torah-commanded Jewish holiday celebrated for seven days, beginning on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei. It is one of the Three Pilgrimage Festivals on which Israelite ...

in October 1875.

Publications

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strelisker, Mordecai 1809 births 1875 deaths 19th-century essayists 19th-century Romanian Jews 19th-century Romanian poets Hazzans Hebrew-language poets Jewish activists Jewish Romanian writers Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Jews from the Principality of Moldavia Male essayists People from Brody Writers from Lviv Oblast People of the Haskalah Romanian Ashkenazi Jews Romanian male poets 19th-century Moldavian people