O. Taviev, born in Russia, lives in Moscow. He is one of the most prominent Hebrew journalists, authors and educationists. He is one of the originators of the modern Hebrew style. For several years he contributed regularly to Ha’melitz and other Hebrew papers and reviews. He has written causeries and critical essays in an easy and pleasant style, and has also translated some works of belles lettres. His principal services, however, lie in the domain of pedagogy.
Joshua Thon, born in Galicia, now Rabbi and preacher at the temple of the Jewish Congregation at Cracow, took an active part in the Students’ national movement as a student in Berlin, where he graduated, and distinguished himself by great learning and strength of character. A convinced Zionist and an enthusiastic champion of Hebrew, he entered the Zionist Organization, of which, owing to his oratorical powers and personal influence, he is one of the most active leaders. Besides his numerous writings in Polish and in German, he is a Hebrew writer of value, and his essays, mostly published in Ha’shiloach, exhibit a considerable critical faculty.
Chaim Tschernowitz, born in Russia, had a thorough talmudic education, was Rabbi in Odessa, then studied at a German University and graduated in Switzerland. His contributions to Ha’shiloach, under the nom de plume, Rav Zaair (A young Rabbi), attracted attention by the broadminded views and comprehensiveness of historical sense in dealing with religious and ritual matters which they disclosed. He has also written historical and talmudic sketches. He was for several years Principal of the Odessa Rabbinical College. He is in the closest touch with the Chovevé Zion movement, and is one of the leaders of those nationalistic Rabbis who unite faithfulness to the old traditions with a modern spirit of science and critical inquiry.
Hillel Zeitlin, born in Russia, active in Wilna, and more recently in Warsaw, was one of the editors of the Wilna Ha’zman, to which he contributed valuable essays and articles. A Talmudist of erudition, an authority on Chassidism, a semi-mystic enthusiast endowed with a poetical imagination, a master of the Hebrew language and of the forms and methods of modern literature, he achieves a degree of pathos and beauty unsurpassed in modern Hebrew literature. He joined the Zionist movement, but afterwards identified himself with Territorialism. In recent years he has gone over to the Yiddish press, of which he is one of the most gifted and influential writers.
Other Hebrew writers worthy of mention are Joshua Steinberg, from a scientific point of view one of the most important of the Hebraists of Russia; Bendetsohn, who exceeded Mapu in biblical purity of language in the form of an idealistic prose; Moses Reichersohn; Mordecai Wohlmann; T. E. Epstein; A. B. Gottlober, the popular poet, superficial yet clear and graceful; Eleazer Ha-Cohen Zweifel, the sweet Midrash-like moralist, homiletical critic and essayist; the wonderful modern novelists Feuerstein, Jehuda Steinberg, Berschadski and Grassin; Eleasar Atlas the sharp-witted critic, M. A. Schatzkes, who notwithstanding his loquacity had a rich style and some good ideas, and his other protagonist in the same field of Agada-explanation; Jehouda Schereschewski, distinguished by his concentrated calm—and their followers; Weissberg; Dubzevitch; Edelman (“Adulami”); Maskileison; the learned and thoughtful Joseph Rosenthal; the serious scholars Jacob Bachrach; A. I. Bruck; David Kahane; Salomon Mandelkern, the industrious scholar and skilled poet who translated Byron’s Hebrew Melodies with masterly skill; Slominsky; Lichtenfeld; Lipkin; Medalie; Barasch; Y. Margulies; Hirsch Rabinovitch; and Sosnitz, who introduced natural science into Hebrew literature; J. L. Kantor; Proser; Silberman; J. Kohn Zedek; Werber; Frumkin; Fischer; Ch. L. Markom; Joseph Brill, masters of journalistic style—all these writers and many, many others were the precursors of the revival of Hebrew. In this connection, special mention must be made of some of the living writers who, though not showing any special nationalistic or Zionist tendency, have greatly contributed to the enrichment and development of the Hebrew language and literature.
Great attention and acknowledgment are due to David Fischmann, the charming poet, the brilliant causeur and essayist, the wonderful critic who deals in a witty way with the most serious questions, the translator of many works of science and fiction; to the old Hebrew novelist and poet, Nathan Samuely, whose poetry is replete with sweetness and harmony; to the greatest of Jewish historians, bibliographers and critics of world-wide fame, Dr. Abraham Harkavy; the learned Israelsohn; the able Abraham Cahan; the Talmudist, N. A. Getzow; the learned and thoughtful Heller; the ingenious scholar and mathematician, Ch. J. Bornstein (who translated Hamlet into Hebrew); the bibliographer, Wiener; the orientalist, Isaac Marcon; the studious T. Ratner, magid; the old writer of lyric impulse, I. L. Levin (Jehabel), a poet and publicist of merit; the critic and essayist, A. J. Paperna, one of the last representatives of the old school; the able journalist and talmudical critic, Benzion Katz; the talented modern novelists: Brenner, Schofman, Berkowitsch, Kaabak; Sneur, the young poet of vigour and ardour, noble spirit and bold fancy, who refreshed Hebrew poetry by a new stream of modern fiction; and Isaac Katzenelsohn, Ben Schimon, Heftmen, Pinski and others, who gave us sunny thoughts and beautiful pictures, in which delicacy of taste is accompanied by versatile and roaming fancy. Shalom Asch, the greatest in the coterie of the artists of the Polish Ghetto, gave us some of his tales in Hebrew; the gifted Abraham Reisin, a master of Yiddish, and the talented Numberg, who masters the Hebrew language, and who besides writing essays and tales of value in Hebrew worked hard and successfully in Hebrew journalism, have contributed very much to the modernization of Hebrew literature. And, as regards the two greatest stars of the Yiddish literature, “J. L. Peretz” and S. Rabinowitsch (“Scholom Aleicham”), whose loss we so deeply lament, and whose undying names belong to the chief glories of our literature of the present age, it is well known that both of them were partly Hebrew poets and writers of considerable genius.
Finally, there are Ben Ami Rabinowitzch (Mark Jakovlevitch), born in Russia, lived in Odessa, and now in Geneva, Switzerland, who is one of the best writers of fiction on Jewish life in Russia. His writings breathe a noble passion of love for the Jewish people, his observations are those of a high-minded man and an artist, and are full of national, noble emotion. He joined the Zionist movement from its very beginning.
Vladimir Jabotinski, born in Odessa, studied in Russia, in Italy and in Austria, and graduated at Petrograd, is a brilliant journalist and an orator of great eloquence and power. He is a contributor to great Russian newspapers, and has established a reputation as correspondent and an essayist of admirable skill. He worked with great devotion and success in the Zionist propaganda. Having acquired a sound knowledge of Hebrew, he translated Bialik’s poems into Russian, and wrote also some articles in Hebrew.
It will also be interesting to mention that the famous Russian-Jewish writer of the last generation, Lewanda, who was one of the representative writers of the period of enlightenment, during his successful literary career adhered in the last years of his life to the national idea, and supported the Chovevé Zion movement.
It is impossible to enumerate all the literary and educational representatives of the National Revival in Palestine; but a few names of note, in addition to those which have already been mentioned, cannot be omitted.
Israel Belkind has given proof of considerable literary ability in a series of pamphlets dealing with Palestine. J. Menuchas, who was born and is still living in Jerusalem, is a prominent contributor to the Hebrew press, as well as an excellent teacher. Ahroni, the zoologian, a scholar of renown, is pursuing his idealistic, scientific work at Rechoboth. Isaac Epstein now lives in Switzerland, but he is in spirit and style decidedly a Palestinian. He lived for years in seclusion, in a rustic tent among the hills of Upper Galilee, and wrote his work by the light of heaven. He remained faithful, as few priests have ever remained to their calling, a priest of the Hebrew language, which was revealed to him in all its beauty. M. Scheinkin, the devoted and popular worker, is a prolific publicist. Freimann, the old settler of Rishon, writes excellent books. Aronovitz, with his contributors, made the Ha-Poel Ha-Zaiv one of the best Hebrew weeklies which have ever existed; the Ha-Omer and the Moledet, splendid magazines, had a real Palestinian charm. (Of the last-mentioned the excellent essayist, pedagogical writer and poet, Fischmann, was recently the editor.) The numerous and various writings of Ben-Zion Guttman have been added to in Palestine; the “Waad Ha-Lashon” (Committee for the Language) at Jerusalem, with Yellin, Ben Yehouda, Zouts, Dr. Mazie and others, has done good work. Nearly all the specialists in agriculture and in medicine write in Hebrew; and Brenner, the most modern belles-lettres writer in Jerusalem.
On the other hand, the new Hebrew schools brought into the country a host of intellectual workers: Metman-Cohn, Bogratschow, Turow, Mossinsohn, Alexander Rabinowitsch, Lurie, Zutta, Segal, Schiller, Ladyshewski, Marschak, Biram, Tachower, Rosenstein, Ziphroni, Feldmann, Mowschensohn, Ozerkowsky, Jehieli, Papper. Others added merely their young modern efforts to the brilliant abilities of a Yellin or of that admirable type of a national educator represented by Vilkomitsch at Yessod Ha-Maaleh. All these pioneers are inspired Zionists, and they are paving the way for a great Revival.
In addition to these writers, the following prominent Hebrew journalists may be mentioned:—
Abraham Loudvipol, a writer of great ability and strength of conviction, who became editor of the Ha’zofeh; Moses Kleinmann, a shrewd journalist, and a publicist of sound judgment; Samuel Tschernowitz (the brother of Chaim Tschernowitz), a journalist of a high order, who worked with great success for Ha’zefirah and Ha’zman; Nahum Syrkin, a wholehearted Zionist, an orator and a publicist of keen observation, and an eloquent exponent of the national idea, author of hundreds of articles, sketches, causeries and speeches¹; N. J. Frenk, a moderate and consistent publicist of wide experience, who takes a leading part in the work of Ha’zefirah; and S. Jatzkan, at present editor of the Haint, formerly a contributor to Ha’melitz and Ha’zefirah, a zealous journalist and fighter: and among those of the older generation, M. Braunstein of Roumania (“Mibaschan”), master of a flowery and elaborate biblical style, author of many pedagogical books, but best known by his innumerable contributions to the Hebrew press; Lazar, the able editor of Ha’mitzpeh in Cracow; M. M. Pross of Warsaw, a judicious writer of causeries and criticisms in the old style; Ch. Z. Zagorodzki of Warsaw, a polished Hebrew stylist, author of several fine sketches, for many years one of the principal collaborators of Ha’zefirah; Shimón Volkov, a talmudical parodist with a peculiar style of his own; Dr. Berkowitz, of Vienna, a Jewish scholar and an excellent Hebrew writer, who was at one time Hebrew Secretary of the Vienna Zionist Organization and a regular contributor to Ha’zefirah; M. Rabinsohn, author of several sketches and translator for Ha’zman and Ha’zefirah; Z. Prilutzki, an old Chovevé Zion writer and worker. These and many others have perhaps done more to make Zionism popular by their everyday work as journalists than many authors of books.
Other contributors to modern Hebrew journalism are: Leon Rabinowitsch, who was editor of Ha-Melitz in Petrograd after Zederbaum; S. Rosenfeld, who afterwards came into prominence as a Yiddish publicist; J. E. Triwusch of Wilna; Samuel Leib Zitron of Wilna; the late Hirsch Neimanowitsch and M. Weber of Warsaw; E. Goldin of Lodz; J. D. Berkowitsch, now in New York; P. Lachover of Warsaw; Hermoni of Palestine; and E. D. Finkel of Warsaw. To the new Hebrew pedagogical literature: Ch. D. Tawiow of Riga, Salomon Berman, P. Kantorowitz, A. Libuschitzki of Warsaw, P. Berkman of Lodz, and the two great Yiddish poets Simon Frug of Odessa and Jehoasch of New York have played important parts in the awakening of the national feeling.