MORDECAI ZE'EV FEIERBERG (1874-1899) rebelled
against his traditional religious Jewish education, and developed a strong resentment towards his father, the town's Shokhet (ritual slaughterer). His father wanted to teach him his trade, which
shocked him, as he later wrote in one of his stories, The Calf.
When he was eighteen, Feierberg fell ill, resulting in the cancellation of his engagement. He began to study by himself, first reading Haskalah literature and then reading the Jewish poets of the
Middle Ages. Impressed by Yehuda Halevi's writings, he employed Halevi's works as arguments in his troubled relationship with Jewish tradition. As his illness worsened his friends helped him reach
Warsaw in search of a cure. There he showed his work to Sokolow and to Y L Peretz, who advised him to concentrate on prose.
His first story was published in 1896, and Whither? was published just prior to his death in 1899.
Translated and with an introduction by Hillel Halkin.
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