Ḥayim Druker

Taking his name “Druker” (printer) from his profession, Ḥayim, based in Amsterdam, was a leading producer of early Yiddish books and shorter printed works. His roles included editor, printer, publisher, and translator, and while he only briefly owned his print shop, Ḥayim often held a financial stake in the books he produced, once selling his clothes—and those of his wife and daughters—to get a book to press. Druker’s titles included the ethical work Lev tov (A Good Heart) and Tsene rene (Go Forth and See), a Yiddish version of the Hebrew Bible read widely throughout Eastern Europe, especially by women, into the twentieth century.