Peretz Hirshbein

1880–1948

Peretz Hirshbein (Hirshbeyn) was a prolific Yiddish writer, remembered chiefly for his travelogues, his memoirs, and his dramatic works. His legacy includes a range of plays, from naturalist dramas rich in political symbolism to his beloved, understated plays concerning the lives of rural Jews. Hirshbein lived an itinerant life, traveling constantly around the world together with his wife, the Yiddish poet Esther Shumiatsher-Hirshbein, and producing dozens of travelogues about locales both exotic and mundane. He eventually settled in Los Angeles.

Entries in the Posen Library by This Creator

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Two Cities

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Rebbe Levi YitskhokTsine, his wifeKhayim, their sonGnendl, their daughterTaybele, their daughterHenekh Yoel, gabbaiOyzer, butcherZavl, butcherItsheMordkheMoysheKhveder, shabes-goyPave…

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Miriam

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[The play opens with a damp, moldy cellar room illuminated by windows splattered in mud from the passersby on the street and a smoky oven. The room is furnished with a bench, table, sofa, crib, broken…

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From Distant Lands

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[ . . . ] Jewish immigration to South America has now been going on for fully twenty-five years, primarily to Argentina. This immigration began with such energy and…