Remove Your Shoes

The short-story writer Gershon Shofman received a traditional Jewish education in his native Belarus, at the same time immersing himself in Russian and Hebrew literature. In 1913, he moved to Vienna, where he lived until 1938, later settling in Tel Aviv and then Haifa. His short stories are known for their brevity and frugality, leaving much to the reader’s imagination. Charged with eroticism and often focused on cruelty, they were considered daring at the time. Shofman was awarded the Bialik Prize in 1946 and the Israel Prize in 1956.