B. Z. Goldberg papers - Philadelphia Area Archives (2025)

Call Number:

Arc MS 1

Repository:

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Extent:

110 linear feet

Language:

Yiddish, Hebrew, Russian, English, and German

Preferred Citation:

B. Z. Goldberg papers, 1873-1989 (bulk: 1917-1976), Arc MS 1, Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts, University of Pennsylvania

Date:

1873-1989 (inclusive) and 1917-1976 (bulk)

Creator:

Goldberg, B. Z. (Ben Zion), 1895-

Form:

Correspondence, Research notes, and Writings (documents)

Abstract:

Benjamin Waife (1895–1972) was a Belarusian-born Jewish-American journalist. He is primarily known by his pen name Ben Zion Goldberg. He worked with a variety of newspapers, including Der tog (The Day); Eynikayt (Unity); Jewish Digest; and American Jewish Almanac. His best known books include The Sacred Fire : The Story of Sex in Religion and The Jewish Problem in the Soviet Union : Analysis and Solution. This collection largely documents Goldberg's professional career, through correspondence, writings, publicity, and his own research. There is some personal and family material; and material relating to his father-in-law, Yiddish humorist Sholem Aleichem, particularly via My Father,the biography Marie Waife-Goldberg (daughter of Aleichem and wife of Golberg) wrote about her father.

Benjamin Waife (1895–1972) was a Belarusian-born Jewish-American journalist. He is primarily known by his pen name Ben Zion Goldberg which he mostly used in public.

Goldberg was born Ben Zion Waife on January 9, 1895 in the Tsarist Empire, in the town Golshany (today: Halshany, Northwest Belorussia). His father was the Olshan scribe and ritual slaughterer, R. Moyshe Veyf. On this side of the family tree Goldberg was related to the Dvinsker rabbi. His mother, Khyene, was of the Margolis family. She was the daughter of the Gedritser rebbe. This side of the family was related to the author of Pitḥon tshuva (Voice of response) and to R. Chaim Ozer Grodzinski. Before immigrating, Goldberg studied with his grandfather in a religious primary school and later in yeshivas in the cities Lide (Lida) and Volozhin.

In 1907, he and his family emigrated to the United States. For a year, Goldberg studied at the yeshiva of R. Yitskhok Elchonon in New York. Between 1908–1914, his family lived in the states of Michigan and Iowa where Goldberg attended elementary and middle school. During his last year in the Midwest, he studied at the University of Iowa. Afterwards he returned to the East Coast, where he continued to study at Harvard and Columbia universities. In 1920, he earned his doctorate in philosophy from Columbia University.

In 1914, Goldberg visited the Yiddish writer Sholem Aleichem in New York and invited him to speak in front of the Jewish students from Columbia University. From that time on, he regularly visited Sholem Aleichem's home and made particular friends with the latter's daughter Marie Rabinowitz, to whom he married in 1917. They had two children, Shlomo Omi and Mitchell Waife.

Goldberg began writing while he was a teenager. In 1920 he placed his first journalist pieces in the Yiddish daily Der tog (The Day). In 1924, he began writing a daily column entitled "In gang fun tog" (Starting of the day) in this newspaper in which he discussed various topics concerning general and Jewish life. Between 1924 and 1940, he served as managing editor of Der tog and, with only short interruptions, he remained a staff member until the close of the newspaper in December 1971. He wrote, as well, for several other Yiddish journals and in the second half of the 1940s he was the publisher of the New York based newspaper Eynikayt (Unity), which was inspired by the same-named Soviet newspaper of that time.

Goldberg published mainly in Yiddish, but also in English and Hebrew. In the early 1930s, he had a daily column in the Brooklyn Eagle, entitled "The World Today." In 1940, he became editor of Jewish Digest; and in 1941, editor of the American Jewish Almanac. Throughout his career, he wrote for The Jewish Week and The American Examiner; he was a member of the editorial board of Israel Horizons; and he wrote a column for Al HaMishmar. On occasion, Goldberg was a correspondent of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Toronto Star Weekly, and the New Republic. In some of his English articles he used his birth-name Benjamin Waife, other articles were published under less known pen-names, among others "Ida Brener", "B. Marusin", and "B. Margolis".

During his lifetime, Goldberg traveled internationally as a journalist, writing for Der tog as well as in other newspapers. These extensive trips often lasted for several months. In 1921, he made his first voyage through Europe; in 1932, he traveled to the Middle East; and in 1934, he visited the Soviet Union, China, and Japan. He also traveled as a correspondent to Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Iran, Israel, and several other countries. In 1946 and 1959, Goldberg once again visited the Soviet Union. As a columnist with a distinctive opinion, he remained, until the end of his life, a controversial figure, particularly among the Yiddish-speaking public.

In addition to his work as a journalist, Goldberg lectured on topics such as Jewish life behind the Iron Curtain, Jewish life in the Soviet Union, the American Jewry, Israel, and the life and oeuvre of Sholem Aleichem. Goldberg also served as a life long cultural and political activist. During the years 1916 to 1926, he served as director of the New York Jewish Folk University and the Jewish Teachers' Seminary. Later, he became active in IKOR (Jewish Colonization Organization in (Soviet) Russia), and IKUF (Jewish Cultural Association). He was affiliated with the Organization for Jewish Colonization in Russia (Ambijan) and was one of the founders of the American division of YIVO Institute for Jewish Research. In the period during and after the Second World War, he served as a member of the American Jewish-Russian Relief Committee, vice-president of the Jewish Council for Russia Relief, and president of the American Committee of Jewish Writers, Artists, and Scientists (CJWAS). In 1943, Goldberg served as chair of the reception committee for a two-person delegation from the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee from Moscow and was a contributor to the Black Book project between Jewish organizations from the US, the Soviet Union, and Palestine.

As the son-in-law of Sholem Aleichem, Goldberg was, in many ways, committed to the preservation of the heritage of the Yiddish writer. For instance, he was affiliated with the Sholem Aleichem Foundation in New York in the 1920s and involved in the establishing of the Sholem Aleichem House in Tel Aviv (Israel) in the 1960s.

Goldberg published several books in Yiddish. His two main English publications are "The Sacred Fire" (1930), about the connection between sex and religion, and "The Jewish Problem in the Soviet Union" (1961). His second book was translated into Spanish, Hebrew, and Yiddish.

In 1972 Goldberg and his wife were invited by Israeli trade union, Histadrut, to travel to Israel. During this trip, on December 29, 1972, Goldberg died as a result of a heart attack. His body was buried in the writers' section of Kiryat Shaul Cemetery in Tel Aviv.

Works consulted:

-New York Times. "B. Z. Goldberg, Columnist, Dies; Wrote for Yiddish Papers Here," December 30, 1972, Page 24

- Congress for Jewish Culture. Goldberg, Ben-Tsien (Ben-Zion) (January 9, 1895–December 29, 1972) (https://congressforjewishculture.org/people/6139/Goldberg-Ben-Tsien-Ben-Zion-January-9-1895-December-29-1972)

-Jewish Telegraph Agency. "Funeral Services Held for B.z. Goldberg, Dead at 78" (https://www.jta.org/archive/funeral-services-held-for-b-z-goldberg-dead-at-78)

-Documents from ancestry

-Katz Center Biographical description

-Goldberg, B.Z. The Jewish Problem in the Soviet Union, 1962.

This collection documents the professional and personal life of B.Z. Goldberg, providing a glimpse into his career as a journalist, his work as an activist, and his role as a Yiddish intellectual who worked to report on Jewish communities and life across the globe throughout much of the 20th century. There appears to be little distinction between Goldberg's personal causes and his professional work and therefore, boundaries between groups of material and even topics found throughout the collection are frequently interconnected. The bulk of the material is written in English, German, Hebrew, Russian, and Yiddish; however, material in Arabic, French, Polish, and Spanish is also present in the collection. Languages of material is noted at the folder level; but researchers should be prepared for a significant amount of material within folders containing more than one language to be non-English.

This collection is arranged in seven series: I. Correspondence; II. Writings; III. Sholem Aleichem material; IV. Personal and family material; V. Publicity; VI. Research and notes; and VII. Subject files. It is important for researchers to know that this collection was organized and described by a team of processors, many of whom are not fluent in German, Hebrew, Russian, and Yiddish. Despite consultation and advice from and extensive work by colleagues proficient in those languages, mistakes will have been made—if a researcher identifies inaccurate description, please contact the Kislak Center so that corrections can be made to the finding aid. Handwritten documents proved difficult even for the readers of languages. Brief descriptions of series are included here; but more extensive notes are found within the collection.

Series I. Correspondence contains an enormous amount of correspondence received by Goldberg during his career as journalist and activist, largely professional in nature. Written primarily in English, German, Hebrew, Russian, and Yiddish, most letters (in English) appear to relate to Goldberg's work and respond positively or negatively to his columns. There are only a few correspondents who have more than one or two letters; and it seems that the topic was usually more important than the correspondent themselves, many of whom may have been fans or critics, but not acquaintances or friends of Goldberg. While the bulk of the correspondence is contained within this series, correspondence that was connected to specific files was not separated during processing.

Series II. Writings contains drafts (typescript and handwritten), clippings, and bound publications of Goldberg's articles, essays, stories, books, lectures, and addresses. There are articles from his time as editor and columnist for the following news publications: The Day/Der Tog, Jewish Digest, Al HaMishmar, Die Einigkeit, and World Today; and material related to his books: The Sacred Fire, The Withering Root, The History of Jews in America, and The Jewish Problem in the Soviet Union. The predominant languages of his writings are Yiddish and English, while some writings are in Russian, Spanish, German, and Hebrew. There are also writings by others, arranged alphabetically by the author's last name. Most folders contain supporting documentation, especially correspondence.

Series III. Sholem Aleichem material contains material related to B.Z. Goldberg's father-in-law, Sholem Aleichem. Aleichem (1859-1916) was a Yiddish author and playwright best known for his Tevye the Dairyman stories that inspired the musical Fiddler on the Roof. Included is information on My Father, Sholem Aleichem, a biography of Aleichem written by his daughter (and B. Z. Goldberg's wife) Marie Waife-Goldberg; typescripts of plays written by Sholem Aleichem; correspondence and documents related to usage rights and royalties associated with Aleichem's works; and plays about or inspired by Sholem Aleichem.

Series IV. Personal and family material contains photographs, postcards, drawings, correspondence, mementos, and documents about Goldberg's education and professional career, as well as legal matters. There are also state, medical and financial papers in this section. The material covers a time frame from 1840 to 1973.

Series V. Publicity contains documents about Goldberg's journalistic activities, his book publications, lecture announcements, his trips abroad, photographs, and newspaper clippings about himself and his public appearance. It covers a time frame from 1914 to 1972.

Series VI. Notes and research contains Goldberg's notes, some article drafts and his research material, which was not sorted into his own system of subject files. There are also notes for speeches and notes relating to his writings. As with other series, this series is intertwined largely with Series II. Writings. The main languages of the this group of material are English and Yiddish, with some documents in Hebrew and Russian. The material covers a time frame from 1927 to 1970, even though many of the documents are undated.

This collection may be of interest to researchers focusing on Jewish studies, Eastern European studies (particularly of the Soviet Union, post World War II), the labor movement (particularly in relation to the strike at Der Tog), and 20th century political science. Researchers interested in Sholem Aleichem and his legacy as both a person and a figure in the theater will find substantial material in this collection. The languages in this collection are diverse and researchers interested in viewing substantial components of the collection should be aware that they will need reading skills in German, Hebrew, Russian, and Yiddish.

At YIVO Research Institute for Jewish Research:

Day-Morning Journal ("Der Tog"), 1922-1972, RG 639 (http://www.yivoarchives.org/index.php?p=collections/controlcard&id=32998)

Goldberg is present in almost 200 other archival collections: https://researchworks.oclc.org/archivegrid/?q=ben+zion+goldberg

People

• Aleichem, Sholem, 1859-1916
• Waife-Goldberg, Marie

Subject

• Authors
• Authors, American
• Families
• Jews -- Europe, Eastern
• Jews -- History
• Jewish refugees
• Jews -- Social life and customs
• Jews -- United States
• Religion -- Study and teaching
• Sex -- Religious aspects
• Theater

Place

• Soviet Union -- Politics and government -- 1936-1953
• Soviet Union -- Politics and government -- 1945-1991

Publisher

University of Pennsylvania: Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts

Finding Aid Author

Olivia Backal-Balik, Tristan Dahn, Hope Jones, Anna Juliar, Regan Kladstrup, Louis Meiselman, Holly Mengel, Kelin Baldridge Smallwood, Sam Sfirri, Jakob Stuermann, Casper Voca, and Brittney Washington, Prior to 2024, the collection was partially organized by Anat.

Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Use Restrictions

Copyright restrictions may exist. For most library holdings, the Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania do not hold copyright. It is the responsibility of the requester to seek permission from the holder of the copyright to reproduce material from the Kislak Center for Special Collections, Rare Books and Manuscripts.