Born on 24 December 1897 in Vilna, Polish Lithuania. Father -- a glove maker, who moved over to Bialystok, where he cast aside his craft, and opened a shop of gloves and ties. He learned in a modern (msukn) cheder, and after the pogrom of 1905 he went with his family back to Vilna, and entered into the school of the Vilna teacher's institute. Here B. recited during the school holidays, and when he joined in the higher classes of the school. he organized and participated in the school productions. Then he organized a dramatic circle, where he acted in Russian.

During the German occupation, B. went away to work in Germany, and here  he arranged once in Lewenstein's Yiddish productions. Returning to Vilna, B. entered into a dramatic circle directed by Malski. From 1917 until 1919 he prompted in a professional Yiddish theatre, and then in Kustin's miniature troupe, with whom he traveled to Lodz, and here he joined as a prompter in the "Vilna Troupe". In 1921 there came an opportunity with the troupe to perform in "Bel-habit" in "Dorfsyung", and he remained as an actor in the "Vilna Troupe" with whom he went on a tour until 1923 across Poland and in Vienna. In a year's time he rejected the stage and was an employee in a ship business, later he entered into the Vilna dramatic troupe (Esther Rukhl Kaminska, Zygmunt Turkow, Sh. Kutner and Samberg), then a short time with Morevsky, later a season in Lipovski's folks-theatre, then with Lidia Potocka, acting with the guest-starring Baratov and Julius Adler, a short time in "Vikt", and he then performed later in the founding of Riga's "New Yiddish Theatre".