# Bracha Peli
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{{Short description|Israeli publisher (1892–1986)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Bracha Peli
| image = Bracha Peli.jpg
| image_size =
| caption = Peli, 1940s
| native_name = ברכה פלאי
| birth_name = Bronya Kutzenok
| birth_date = 1892
| birth_place = [Kiev](/source/Kiev)
| death_date = 1986
| death_place = Israel
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| nationality =
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| native_name_lang = he
| other_names =
| known_for = [Hebrew Book Week](/source/Hebrew_Book_Week)
| education =
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| employer =
| occupation = Publisher
| years_active =
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| spouse = Meir Pilipovetsky (Peli)
| partner =
| children = [Alexander Peli](/source/Alexander_Peli) and daughter
| parents =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
'''Bracha Peli''' ({{langx|he|ברכה פלאי}}; 1892–1986) was the founder and owner of the [Israel](/source/Israel)i publishing house, Massada. She was the driving force behind the publication of ''[Encyclopaedia Hebraica](/source/Encyclopaedia_Hebraica)'',[Founder of the Hebrew Enterprise, Uri Dromi, accessed October 2009] and is credited with starting Israel's annual [Hebrew Book Week](/source/Hebrew_Book_Week).[
==Biography==
Bronya Kutzenok (later Bracha Peli) was born in Starovitzky, a small village in Russia, now [Ukraine](/source/Ukraine)][[http://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/peli-bracha Bracha Peli], Asher Weill, Jewish Women's Archive. accessed October 2009] to a family of [Hasidic Jews](/source/Hasidic_Judaism). She was the eldest of seven children. Her father, Shmuel Kutzenok, was a wealthy lumber merchant who supplied timber for artillery wagons to the Russian army. Her mother, Sarah, ran the village general store. She acquired an education by overhearing her brothers' lessons.[
In 1914, after her mother died of tuberculosis, Peli met a young [Zionist](/source/Zionist) teacher, Meir Pilipovetsky, whom she married against her family's wishes. After her son, [Alexander](/source/Alexander_Peli), was born she opened a Jewish secondary school that attracted 400 students in its first year.][
thumb|Encyclopedia Hebraica
In July 1921, Peli and her husband left Russia for [Palestine](/source/Palestine_(region)), settling in [Tel Aviv](/source/Tel_Aviv).][ In 1926, Peli opened a stall in Tel Aviv to sell books cheaply, which led to the inauguration of an annual event.][[http://www.jewish-theatre.com/visitor/article_display.aspx?articleID=700 Hebrew Book Week :from an open, urban fair into an entertainment festival] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031111846/http://www.jewish-theatre.com/visitor/article_display.aspx?articleID=700 |date=October 31, 2007 }}, Shiri Lev-Ari, Jewish Theatre, accessed October 2009]
In 1930, she started publishing the books "Masada" in her home. In 1932, she officially founded the publishing house on Herzl Street in Tel Aviv and founded the Palai Press, where the publishing house's books were printed. The first project produced by the publishing house was "The General Encyclopedia" edited by Prof. Yosef Klausner. Other multi-volume projects were the Bible with S.L. Gordon's commentary, a history of music in Europe, the encyclopedia of psychology, "Encyclopedia Mesada" in five volumes, an encyclopedia of culture, an encyclopedia of culture and the world of culture originally translated from Italian (Fabri Publishing) and an encyclopedia for youth "Aviv".
Today [Hebrew Book Week](/source/Hebrew_Book_Week) is a national 10-day event.[[http://www.frankfurt-book-fair.com/en/networking/search_find/book_markets/asia//israel/00023/ Israel - Book Production Data Economic situation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010103805/http://www.frankfurt-book-fair.com/en/networking/search_find/book_markets/asia/israel/00023/ |date=2009-10-10 }}, Frankfurt Book Fair, accessed October 2009] The Encyclopaedia Hebraica project began using Bracha Peli's publishing house in 1946 with her son, Alexander, supervising. The last volume was published in 1996.