PERETZ, ISAAC LEIB

born May 18, 1852, or May 20, 1851, Zamosc, Pol., Russian Empire died April 3, 1915, Warsaw also spelled Yitskhek Leyb Perets, Leib also spelled Loeb, or Lb prolific writer of poems, short stories, drama, humorous sketches, and satire who was instrumental in raising the standard of Yiddish literature to a high level. Peretz began writing in Hebrew but soon turned to Yiddish. For his tales of Hasidic lore, which he introduced into literature (e.g., the Silent Souls series), he drew his material from the lives of impoverished Jews of eastern Europe. Critical of their humility and resignation, he urged them to consider their temporal needs while retaining the spiritual grandeur for which he esteemed them. In his drama Die Goldene Kaite (1909; "The Golden Chain"), Peretz stressed the timeless chain of Jewish culture. To encourage Jews toward a wider knowledge of secular subjects, Peretz for several years wrote articles on physics, chemistry, economics, and other subjects for Yiddishe Bibliothek, which he also edited. The Peretz home in Warsaw was a gathering place for young Jewish writers, who called him the "father of modern Yiddish literature." During the last 10 years of his life, Peretz became the recognized leader of the Yiddishist movement, whose aim-in opposition to the Zionists-was to create a complete cultural and national life for Jewry within the Diaspora with Yiddish as its language.