Micha Josef Berdyczewski was born in 1865 in the town of Medzhybizh in western Ukraine, to a family of Hasidic Rabbis.
His father was the town Rabbi.
In his youth he began to read works from the Jewish Enlightenment, and their influence is noticeable in his works.
Berdyczewski was forced to divorce his first wife following her family's objection to his involvement with secular literature.
He then moved to the Volozhin Yeshiva, but there too, his pursuit of unconventional literature stirred anger and objection.

One of his earliest publications was about this period of his life—an article titled "Hetzitz V'nifga" (הציץ ונפגע in Hebrew—literally "peeked and got hurt", meaning "gone to heresy"), published in 1888 in the newspaper Ha-Melitz.
Most of his works from this period were polemic, and his emotional style became his trademark throughout his writing career.

In 1890 he went to Germany and Switzerland, studied at the universities of Berlin, Breslau and Bern, and completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree.
In this period Berdyczewski studied the works of the great German philosophers Nietzsche and Hegel, and was deeply influenced by them.
In the ten years until his return to Ukraine, he published many articles and stories in Hebrew journals.
Up to 1900, the year in which he married Rahel Ramberg, Berdyczewski had published ten books.

Upon his return to Ukraine, Berdyczewski encountered the harsh reality of Jewish life in the Pale of Settlement, and subsequently the subject of many of his stories is the deterioration of the traditional way of life.

After a short stay in Warsaw, Berdyczewski returned to Germany in 1911, where he lived until his death in 1921.
He is buried in the Jewish Cemetery in Weißensee, Berlin.
Micha Josef Berdyczewski was born in 1865 in the town of Medzhybizh in western Ukraine, to a family of Hasidic Rabbis. His father was the town Rabbi. In his youth he began to read works from the Jewish Enlightenment, and their influence is noticeable in his works. Berdyczewski was forced to divorce his first wife following her family's objection to his involvement with secular literature. He then moved to the Volozhin Yeshiva, but there too, his pursuit of unconventional literature stirred anger and objection.
One of his earliest publications was about this period of his life—an article titled "Hetzitz V'nifga" (הציץ ונפגע in Hebrew—literally "peeked and got hurt", meaning "gone to heresy"), published in 1888 in the newspaper Ha-Melitz. Most of his works from this period were polemic, and his emotional style became his trademark throughout his writing career.
In 1890 he went to Germany and Switzerland, studied at the universities of Berlin, Breslau and Bern, and completed his Doctor of Philosophy degree. In this period Berdyczewski studied the works of the great German philosophers Nietzsche and Hegel, and was deeply influenced by them. In the ten years until his return to Ukraine, he published many articles and stories in Hebrew journals. Up to 1900, the year in which he married Rahel Ramberg, Berdyczewski had published ten books.
Upon his return to Ukraine, Berdyczewski encountered the harsh reality of Jewish life in the Pale of Settlement, and subsequently the subject of many of his stories is the deterioration of the traditional way of life.
After a short stay in Warsaw, Berdyczewski returned to Germany in 1911, where he lived until his death in 1921. He is buried in the Jewish Cemetery in Weißensee, Berlin.
Micha Josef Berdyczewski