PINKHES TURBERG

PINKHES TURBERG (January 4, 1875-September 14, 1951)

            He was born in Jedwabne (Yedvabne), Lomzhe district, Russian Poland.  He studied in the Volozhin Yeshiva, where he became acquainted with Kh. N. Bialik.  In 1890 he began to write poetry and articles.  He also published a handwritten weekly Haḥayim (Life), and it was distributed in handwritten form among the boys at the yeshiva.  In 1892 he published another work, Haboker or (Good morning)—thirteen issues appeared—to which other beginning writers also contributed; even Bialik who published in it his poem “Malkat shva” (The Queen of Sheba).  In 1893 he began publishing (also using the pseudonym Yehoshefat) essays and bibliographical works in Hamelits (The advocate) and Hatsfira (The siren).  In 1898 he moved to the United States.  In Hebrew he went on to contribute to: Hapisga (The summit), Hateḥiya (Revival), Meet-leet (Around the clock), Hamodiya haḥadashim (The herald of the months), Haivri (The Jew), Hayehudi (The Jew), Haleom (The nation), Hadoar (The mail), and Talpiyot (Fortresses), among others.  He contributed (1901) to Di natsyon (The nation), “monthly journal of literature, scholarship, and entertainment, published by N. M. Shaykevitsh (Shomer) and M. Goldman” in New York.  Subsequently, in partnership with Sh. Yudson, he opened in New York a publishing house, and they brought out Meet-leet.  When Tsvi-Hirsh Maslyanski began in 1903 to publish Di idishe velt (The Jewish world) in New York, Turberg became his right-hand man in editing the newspaper and in it published articles and essays, in which he demonstrated bibliographic proficiency in Hebrew and Yiddish literature, a great rarity at the time among Jewish journalists.  After Di idishe velt folded, Turberg no longer involved himself with Jewish journalism.  He died in New York.  A collection of his legacy, Kitve pinḥas turberg (The writings of Pinkhes Turberg), was compiled by E. R. Malachi and published in New York in 1952/1953.

Sources: E. R. Malachi, in Kitve pinḥas turberg (The writings of Pinkhes Turberg) (New York, 1952/1953), pp. 7-12; Malachi, in Kitve maslianski (The writings of Maslyanski), vol. 3 (New York, 1928/1929), pp. 206-7; Malachi, in Morgn-zhurnal (New York) (February 24, 1933); D. Perski, in Hadoar (New York) (Elul [= September] 1951); obituary notices in Hadoar (Elul 1951), p. 790; Sefer shimon dubnov (Shimon Dubnov volume) (London-Jerusalem, 1953/1954).

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