(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
Ephraim Raskin, first publisher of Jewish calendars, died here at the age of 80.
The Raskin calendar has for many decades been a permanent fixture in Jewish households in Eastern Europe. The Raskin calendars gave the date not only according to the Gregorian and Julian reckonings but also according to the Jewish calendar. In addition to the dates, the daily leaves contained references to historic events in Jewish life and a certain number of proverbs and folk sayings and stories.
The late publisher was a boyhood friend of Peretz Smolenski, the Hebrew writer. He was also one of the pioneers of the Chovevei Zion movement, being one of the founders of the Agudath Ha’eleff.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.