Osip Aaronovich Rabinovich (; – ) was a Russian-Jewish writer, journal, and belletrist. He is notable as the founder of the first Jewish journal published in Russian.
Life
Rabinovich was born in
Kobeliaky
Kobeliaky (, ) is a city in Poltava Raion, Poltava Oblast, Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Kobeliaky urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population:
History
During World War II, Kobeliaky was under German occupation from 15 ...
on to a well-off family. His father gave him an education in not only
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...
and in European languages, history, mathematics, art, and music.
He was married at age 18. In 1840, he went to study in
Kharkov
Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine. . Rabinovich desired to study law, but the laws of the time banned Jews from studying law; instead, he studied medicine. In Kharkov, he met the poet
Nikolay Shcherbina; they would later go on to become good friends, with Rabinovich helping Shcherbina to publish his poetry, and one of the characters in his novel ''Kaleidoscope'' being inspired by Shcherbina. Rabinovich could not complete his studies in Kharkov, as he needed to financially support his father. In 1845 he moved to
Odessa
ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...
and began to work as a notary.
He published his first literary work in 1847, a translation of
Jacob Eichenbaum's work ''Ha-Kerav'' into Russian. He published a novel, ''Moritz Sefardi'', in 1850; and wrote short stories as well. He was compared in style to
Dmitry Grigorovich. He drew controversy from the Jewish community for his articles criticizing Jewish society; however, he also wrote articles criticizing Russian antisemitism.
He was the founder and co-editor (alongside Joachim Hayyim Tarnopol) of the first Jewish journal in Russian, ''Rassvet'' (). The journal began publication in 1860, with contributors such as
Lev Levanda and
Isaac Markus Jost
Isaak Marcus (Markus) Jost (February 22, 1793, Bernburg – November 22, 1860, Frankfurt am Main) was a Jewish historical writer.
He studied at the universities of Göttingen and Berlin. In Berlin he began to teach, and in 1835 received the appo ...
. However, it faced struggles due to strict government censorship,
and lasted only 1 year, as they were made to cease publication by the government. The journal was passed to others, where it was published under the name ''Sion'' and published for another year.
Here Rabinovich's literary activity ended. In his later years, he suffered from poor health, and went to
Merano
Merano (, ; ) or Meran () is a (municipality) in South Tyrol, Northern Italy. Generally best known for its Spa town, spa resorts, it is located within a Depression (geology), basin, surrounded by mountains standing up to Height above mean sea ...
in
Tyrol
Tyrol ( ; historically the Tyrole; ; ) is a historical region in the Alps of Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Empire and Austria-Hungary, f ...
to convalesce. There he died of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
on .
As a writer, he was completely forgotten.
Bibliography
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References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rabinovich, Osip
1817 births
1869 deaths
19th-century male writers from the Russian Empire
Ukrainian Jews
People from Poltava Oblast
19th-century Jews from the Russian Empire