Menachem Kipnis (1878–1942)[1] was a singer, critic, journalist, humorist, and photographer.[2][3][4][5] He was also an ethnographer of Yiddish songs.[6][7] As a tenor, Kipnis was a common performer of Yiddish songs.[7][8] He died from a stroke in 1942.[6]
Menachem Kipnis | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 1878  Ushomyr, Volhynia |
| Died | 1942 (aged 63–64) Warsaw Ghetto |
Menachem Kipnis' father was an educated cantor. From the age of eight, Menachem Kipnis lived with his older brother, who was also a cantor and is the father of the writer Levin Kipnis. Menachem Kipnis received a traditional Jewish education and sang with his brother in the choir of the Chernobyl synagogue. In this he impressed with his beautiful alto voice.[9]
Kipnis was a major contributor to the lore of the Wise Men of Chelm. He published a column of Chelm stories in the Warsaw Yiddish daily Haynt, pretending to be a journalist reporting from Chelm. There was a (possibly apocryphal) story that the women of Chelm asked Kipnis to stop doing this because their daughters could not find bridegrooms: every time they hear from shadkhn that the girl is from Chelm, they cannot stop laughing.[10] He later published these tales in the book Khelemer mayses (Chelm Stories; Polish transcription: Chelemer Majses, 1930).[11]