G. was born in October 1864 in Yekaterinoslav, Ukraine. His father traded in fashion. He learned in the home of a teacher (melamed), then in a gymnasium, later he became an extern and took up with "giving hours (gebn shtundn)". Under the influence of Jacob Gordin's society "Geystik-biblishe brudershaft", he became a carpenter and for seven years worked in this profession, directing at the same time the peasants of the village, and due to that, in 1893, he was sent out from the village and became in Krivoy-Rog a manager of a small business, then G. was a representative of the insurance business "Yakor", and at the same time with teaching and literary societal activity.

In each time G. write a Russian children's play "Khnukhh", which
was staged by the children of the school under G.'s direction.

Due to persecution by the police, he fled in October 1903 to America, where Jacob Gordin recommended him to "peddle" tea among the actors and theatre people, later further he took up carpentry. In 1904, acter learning Yiddish, he published stories in the weekly press as well as a one-acter, "Git in tseyt" in the "Fraye arbeter shtime".

In 1901 through Jacob P. Adler, there became staged in the Thalia Theatre G.'s drama "In vald" or "Olia di kretshmarke" [suzhet]. A second play by G., written in Adlers a [suzhet], remains unperformed, in Adler's archive.