Literatureמיכאל פלזנבאום

Mikhoel Felsenbaum

Mikhoel Felsenbaum is a Yiddish novelist, poet and playwright who has lived in Israel since 1991.

born 1951Postmodern Yiddish fictionThe novel Shabesdike ShvebelekhFounding the Jewish theater of BălțiCo-founding the almanac Naye Vegn

Born: 30 June 1951, Vasylkiv
Occupation: poet, writer
Education: Saint Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts

Mikhoel Felsenbaum was born in 1951 in Vasylkiv

Felsenbaum was born in 1951 in Vasylkiv, Ukraine. He grew up in Florești, a city in Bessarabia.

He studied stage directing, theater and art history in Leningrad. From 1969 to 1973 he worked as a director at the national theater of Bălți.

In the mid-1980s he started publishing in the Yiddish journal Sovetish Heymland. In 1988 he founded the Jewish theater of Bălți and directed Yiddish plays there. He was also the first chairman of the city's Jewish cultural society.

After moving to Israel in 1991, he published books of poetry and prose in Yiddish and co-founded the almanac Naye Vegn. His work appeared in Yiddish journals in Israel, Oxford and New York. His novel Shabesdike Shvebelekh is a postmodern work in Yiddish and was discussed at a conference in Oxford.

He presents a weekly Yiddish radio program in Israel. In 2024 the National Authority for Yiddish Culture gave him a lifetime achievement award. He is the father of the singer Vira Lozinsky.

Milestones in Mikhoel Felsenbaum's life

1951
Born in Vasylkiv, Ukraine.
1969
Began working as a director at the national theater of Bălți.
1988
Founded the Jewish theater of Bălți.
1991
Immigrated to Israel.
2007
His Hebrew translation of a book by Binyamin Skuditsky was published in Tel Aviv.
2024
Received a lifetime achievement award from the National Authority for Yiddish Culture.