Eliezer Steinbarg ^People

As the most distinguished figure in the Tshernovitser Yidisher Shulfareyn (Chernovtsi Association of Jewish Schools) and in the Jewish CulturalAssociation of Romania (founded in 1921), Steinbarg played a leading role in the cul- tural lifeof Romanian Jews. He lived in Brazil from 1928 to 1930, and then returned toChernovtsi At a very young age, Steinbarg had written children's stories and plays in Yiddish for the students in the school he directed, as well as fables for adults. Thechildren's plays were inspired by purim-shpils and folk legends. In these stories, the author's rich imagination, combined with his attention to folkloric motifs, yielded a free and poetic style. Steinbarg also developed original teaching methods in which old heder traditions were blended with modern instructional principles. These tech- niques are reflected, for example, in his two textbooks, Alef-beys (Yiddish) and Alfon (Hebrew), both published ni Chernovtsi ni 1921.Steinbarg's fables were printed individually in periodicals, except for one com- pilation of 12 fables, Durkh di briln (Through the Eyeglasses), issued in a limited run in 1928. 'They quickly became popular by word of mouth, both through his ownpublic readings and through the recitations of others, such as the dramatic readerHerts Grosbard. Hayim Nahman Bialik - whom Steinbarg admired and translated into Yiddish - deemed them masterpieces as early as 1911.