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Olshvang Yakov (1840-1896)

Personal data
SurnameOlshvang
NameYakov
Birth year1840
Birth placeKokhanovo
Death year1896
Death placeYekaterinoslav
SexM

Olshvang (Olschwang) (Levin) Yakov (Jakov) Solomon (1840, Kokhanovo, Mogilev Governorate – 1896, Yekaterinoslav) — journalist.

Yakov Olshvang came from a distinguished Hasidic family and received a traditional education in yeshivot. In the 1860s he changed his surname from Levin to Olshvang. In 1862 he moved to Friedrichstadt (Courland Governorate), where he became closely associated with local maskilim (supporters of the Haskalah, the Jewish Enlightenment).

He collaborated with the newspapers and journals Ha-Melitz (“The Advocate”), Ha-Shahar (“The Dawn”), Ha-Boker Or, and others. In his satirical essays he mocked aspects of Hasidic life. Most of his articles were signed with the pseudonym Jaschbiel.

He maintained correspondence with M.-L. Lilienblum, A. Tsederbaum, L. Shulman, Ya. Reifman, and others.