ABSTRACT
The broad spectrum of issues besetting Jewish education in 19th century Russia was a matter of great import to one of the outstanding figures of Yiddish and Hebrew literature, Shalom Jacob Abramowitz, best known by the pen-name Mendele Mokher Sefarim. Even the belletristic works published throughout Mendele’s various periods of literary creativity are replete with realistic descriptions of contemporary educational institutions both traditional and modern, drafted in the critical spirit of his newspaper articles. Mendele himself not only experienced in his childhood and youth the traditional educational institutions that he describes from time to time with such acute perception and sensitivity, but also played an active role in the government-supported Jewish schools during his stay in the city of Kamenitz. Even during the period that witnessed his growing fame as a Yiddish and Hebrew novelist Mendele received acclaim as an educational figure.
