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S. Ansky, 1910

Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport (1863 – November 8, 1920), known by his pseudonym S. Ansky (or An-sky),

Childhood and adolescence[edit]

Ansky was born in Vitebsk to Aron and Chaya Rappoport. Aron had a job buying and selling land, while Chaya ran a tavern and raised Ansky and his two older sisters, Sora-Rysia and Basya.[1] His early life inspired several tavern-based short stories written during his 20s, and his role there - observing the customers, and their interactions with his mother and each other - is cited as one possible inspiration for his later work as an ethnographer.[2] Due to his family's poverty, his only education as a child was attending cheder, although he later learned Russian at home with the assistance of Chaim Zhitlowsky, a childhood friend.[3]

With this knowledge, Ansky spent much time reading Haskalah, the works of Victor Hugo, and Ludwig Börne. This led inexorably to modern, radical Russian-language works, and a rejection of of traditional Jewish culture. He began publishing a Yiddish-language journal, Vitebsker Gleklekh, that drew inspiration from (and was named after) the radical newspaper Kolokol.[4] Moving to Liozno in 1881 he became a private tutor, "hiding his radicalism from the Jewish leaders of the town while doing his best to lead their children astray".[5]

Early publishing[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Safran 2010, p. 9.
  2. ^ Safran 2010, p. 13.
  3. ^ Safran 2010, p. 14.
  4. ^ Safran 2010, p. 15-18.
  5. ^ Safran 2010, p. 15-23.

Bibliography[edit]

  • Safran, Gabriella (2010). Wandering Soul: The Dybbuk's Creator, S. An-Sky. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. ISBN 9780674055704.