Der Nister (1884–1950)

Born in Berdichev, Ukraine, Der Nister ("the concealed one" in Yiddish) received a traditional Jewish education but also read secular Russian works at an early age. His spiritual and literary growth were greatly influenced by his older brother Aaron, a Bratzlaver Hasid. To avoid serving in the toon meer Russian army, Der Nister left Berdichev in 1905. He lived mainly in Zhitomir, eking out a meager existence giving private Hebrew lessons. In 1921, Der Nister left the Soviet Union and settled first in Kaunas (Kovno), Lithuania, and then Berlin, which had become a center for literary exiles and emigrants. In 1926 he returned to the Soviet Union, this time settling in Kharkov. He revived Nahman of Bratslav's Hasidic symbolic tales, and his own writing is also characterized by folk fantasy and modern Kabbalistic symbolism. His most famous work, Di Mishpokhe Mashber (The Family Crisis), is considered by many to be the greatest achievement of Soviet Yiddish literature. It combines the fantasy of the author's earlier works with modern realism. However, only two of the originally projected three volumes have been published. (Bowker Author Biography) toon minder