Ester Rachel Kamińska

Ester Rachel Kamińska (; Ester-Rokhl Halpern; 10 March 1870 in Porozów – 25 December 1925 in Warsaw) was a Polish actress of Jewish descent, known as the mother of Yiddish theatre.

Early life Ester-Rokhl Halpern was born on 10 March 1870 into a poor Jewish family in the shtetl of Porozów, near Grodno, which had a large Jewish community.

Family and legacy She was the mother of three children. Regina Kaminska (1894–1913) became an actor but died young. Jozef Kaminski (1903–1972) became a violinist and composer. Ida Kamińska (1899–1980), the well known stage and film actress and director, who cofounded the Warsaw Yiddish Art Theater in the 1920s, and, in 1946, following the Second World War, performed in reestablished Yiddish theaters in Poland.