MAISELS, MOSES ḤAYYIM

MAISELS, MOSES ḤAYYIM (Misha; 1901–1984), Hebrew writer. Born in Warsaw, Maisels, as a member of the staff of the Hebrew papers Ha-Yom and Ha-Ẓefirah in his native city, contributed numerous articles on contemporary and literary problems. In 1930 he emigrated to the United States where, from 1932, he was a member of the staff of Hadoar and, after the death of M. Ribalow\>\> , its editor. In 1959 he emigrated to Israel where he became one of the editors of Mosad Bialik, the scholarly publishing house of the Jewish Agency for Israel. His major work, Maḥashavah ve-Emet (1939), is a two-volume essay: the first deals with philosophy in the past and its implications for the present; the second, with Judaism in the context of general philosophy. An abridged edition appeared under the pseudonym of M.Ḥ. Amishai (1961) and an English translation and condensation was published by A. Regelson under the name Thought and Truth, a Critique of Philosophy (1956). Among Maisels' translations are Upton Sinclair's Oil, published under the pseudonym of M. Avishai (1929); M. Balaban's Polish studies on the history of the Jews (1930–33), and on the Frankist movement (1934–35); and Louis M. Epstein's The Jewish Marriage Contract (1954). Maisels' passion for anonymity led him to publish under numerous pseudonyms. -BIBLIOGRAPHY: Kressel, Leksikon, 2 (1967), 343. (Eisig Silberschlag)