Hayim Nahman Bialik ( he, חיים נחמן ביאַליק; January 9, 1873 – July 4, 1934), was a Jewish poet who wrote primarily in
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
but also in
Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
. Bialik was one of the pioneers of modern Hebrew poetry. He was part of the vanguard of Jewish thinkers who gave voice to the breath of new life in Jewish life. Being a noted essayist and story-teller, Bialik also translated major works from European languages. Although he died before Israel became a state, Bialik ultimately came to be recognized as Israel's
national poet
A national poet or national bard is a poet held by tradition and popular acclaim to represent the identity, beliefs and principles of a particular national culture. The national poet as culture hero is a long-standing symbo ...
.
Biography
Bialik was born in ,
Volhynian Governorate
Volhynian Governorate or Volyn Governorate (russian: Волы́нская губе́рния, translit=Volynskaja gubernija, uk, Волинська губернія, translit=Volynska huberniia) was an administrative-territorial unit initially ...
in the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
to Itzik-Yosef Bialik, a scholar and businessman from
Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative ...
, and his wife, Dinah-Priveh. He had one older brother Sheftel (born in 1862) and two sisters Chenya-Ides (born in 1871) and Blyuma (born in 1875). When Bialik was 8 years old, his father died and his mother took him to
Zhytomyr
Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative ...
to live with his
Orthodox grandfather, Yankl-Moishe Bialik. Bialik did not see his mother for twenty years, until he took her to live with him in Odessa.
In Zhytomyr he received a traditional Jewish religious education, but also explored European literature. At the age of 15, inspired by an article he read, he convinced his grandfather to send him to the
Volozhin Yeshiva
Yeshivas Etz Ḥayyim (), commonly called the Volozhin Yeshiva (), was a prestigious Lithuanian ''yeshiva'' located in the town of Volozhin, Russian Empire (now Valozhyn, Belarus). It was founded around 1803 by Rabbi Ḥayyim Volozhiner, a stude ...
in
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, to study at a famous
Talmud
The Talmud (; he, , Talmūḏ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law ('' halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the ce ...
ic
academy
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosop ...
under
Rabbi
A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...
Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin
Naftali Zvi Yehuda Berlin (20 November 1816 in Mir, Russia – 10 August 1893 in Warsaw, Poland), also known as Reb Hirsch Leib Berlin, and commonly known by the acronym Netziv, was an Orthodox rabbi, '' Rosh yeshiva'' (dean) of the Volozhin ...
, where he hoped he could continue his Jewish schooling while expanding his education to European literature as well. Attracted to the
Jewish Enlightenment movement (
Haskala
The ''Haskalah'', often termed Jewish Enlightenment ( he, השכלה; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Western Euro ...
), Bialik gradually drifted away from yeshiva life. There is a story in the biography of Rabbi
Chaim Soloveitchik
Chaim (Halevi) Soloveitchik (Yiddish: חיים סאָלאָווייטשיק, pl, Chaim Sołowiejczyk), also known as Reb Chaim Brisker (1853 – 30 July 1918), was a rabbi and Talmudic scholar credited as the founder of the popular Brisker appr ...
that cites an anonymous student reputed to be him. The story goes that Rabbi Chaim, after expelling Bialik from the yeshiva for being involved in the Haskala movement, personally escorted his former student out. When asked "Why?" the rabbi replied that he spent the time convincing Bialik not to use his writing talents against the yeshiva world. Poems such as ''HaMatmid'' ("The Talmud student") written in 1898, reflect Bialik's great ambivalence toward that way of life: on the one hand admiration for the dedication and devotion of the yeshiva students to their studies, on the other hand a disdain for the narrowness of their world.
At 18 Bialik left for
Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
, the center of modern Jewish culture in the southern Russian Empire, drawn by admiration of
Mendele Mocher Sforim
Mendele Mocher Sforim ( yi, , he, מנדלי מוכר ספרים, also known as Moykher, Sfarim; lit. "Mendele the book peddler"; January 2, 1836, Kapyl – December 8, 1917 .S. Odessa), born Sholem Yankev Abramovich ( yi, , russian: Соло ...
and
Ahad Ha'am
Asher Zvi Hirsch Ginsberg (18 August 1856 – 2 January 1927), primarily known by his Hebrew name and pen name Ahad Ha'am ( he, אחד העם, lit. 'one of the people', Genesis 26:10), was a Hebrew essayist, and one of the foremost pre-state Zi ...
. In Odessa, Bialik studied Russian and German language and literature and dreamed of enrolling in the Modern
Orthodox Rabbinical Seminary in Berlin. Alone and penniless, he made his living teaching
Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
. The 1892 publication of his first poem, ''El Hatzipor'' "To the Bird", which expresses a longing for
Zion
Zion ( he, צִיּוֹן ''Ṣīyyōn'', LXX , also variously Romanization of Hebrew, transliterated ''Sion'', ''Tzion'', ''Tsion'', ''Tsiyyon'') is a placename in the Hebrew Bible used as a synonym for Jerusalem as well as for the Land of Isra ...
, in a booklet edited by
Yehoshua Ravnitzky (1859–1944) (a future collaborator), eased Bialik's way into Jewish literary circles in Odessa. He joined the
Hovevei Zion
Hovevei Zion ( he, חובבי ציון, lit. ''hose who areLovers of Zion''), also known as Hibbat Zion ( he, חיבת ציון), refers to a variety of organizations which were founded in 1881 in response to the Anti-Jewish pogroms in the Russi ...
movement and befriended Ahad Ha'am, who had a great influence on his
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
outlook.
In 1892 Bialik heard news that the Volozhin Yeshiva had closed and returned home to Zhytomyr to prevent his grandfather from discovering that he had discontinued his religious education. He arrived to find both his grandfather and his older brother close to death. Following their deaths, Bialik married Manya Averbuch in 1893. For a time he served as a bookkeeper in his father-in-law's lumber business in
Korostyshiv
Korostýšiv (, , ) is a city in Zhytomyr Raion, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine. Prior to 2020, it served as the administrative center of the former Korostyshiv Raion. Population:
History
The city was founded around the VI-VII centuries. According ...
, near
Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe.
Ky ...
. But when this proved unsuccessful, he moved in 1897 to
Sosnowiec
Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Silesian Metropolis municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Indus ...
, a small town in
Zaglebie, southern
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
, which was then part of the
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War ...
, near the border with
Prussia
Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...
and
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
. In
Sosnowiec
Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Silesian Metropolis municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Indus ...
, Bialik worked as a Hebrew teacher and tried to earn extra income as a coal merchant, but the provincial life depressed him. He was finally able to return to Odessa in 1900, having secured a teaching job.
Bialik's first visit to the US was to Hartford, CT, where he stayed with cousin Raymond Bialeck and his family. His closest living relatives in the US include Hal Bialeck, Alison Bialeck, and Richard Bialeck. He is the uncle of actress
Mayim Bialik's great-great-grandfather.
Literary career
For the next two decades, Bialik taught and continued his activities in
Zionist
Zionism ( he, צִיּוֹנוּת ''Tsiyyonut'' after '' Zion'') is a nationalist movement that espouses the establishment of, and support for a homeland for the Jewish people centered in the area roughly corresponding to what is known in Je ...
and literary circles, as his literary fame continued to rise. This is considered Bialik's "golden period". In 1901 his first collection of poetry was published in
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
, and was greeted with much critical acclaim, to the point that he was hailed "the poet of national renaissance." Bialik relocated to
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...
briefly in 1904 as literary editor of the weekly magazine ''
HaShiloah'' founded by Ahad Ha'am, a position he served for six years.
In 1903 Bialik was sent by the Jewish Historical Commission in Odessa to interview survivors of the
Kishinev pogroms and prepare a report. In response to his findings Bialik wrote his epic poem "
In the City of Slaughter", a powerful statement of anguish at the situation of the Jews.
Max Dimont wrote that "Bialik's poem caused thousands of Jewish youths to cast off their
pacifism
Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace camp ...
and join the Russian underground to fight Czar and tyranny."
Bialik's condemnation of passivity against anti-Semitic violence is said to have influenced the founding Jewish self-defense groups in the Russian Empire, and eventually the
Haganah
Haganah ( he, הַהֲגָנָה, lit. ''The Defence'') was the main Zionist paramilitary organization of the Jewish population ("Yishuv") in Mandatory Palestine between 1920 and its disestablishment in 1948, when it became the core of the I ...
in
Palestine. Bialik visited Palestine in 1909.
[
It was during this 1903 visit to Odessa that Bialik first met Ira Jan,] the painter whom he secretly loved, as revealed by Prof. Ziva Shamir in her book "A Track of Her Own".
In the early 20th century, together with Ravnitzky, Simcha Ben Zion and Elhanan Levinsky, Bialik founded a Hebrew publishing house, ''Moriah'', which issued Hebrew classics and school texts. He translated into Hebrew various European works, such as Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, an ...
'', Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...
's ''Wilhelm Tell
William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland.
According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Al ...
'', the Miguel de Cervantes
Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (; 29 September 1547 (assumed) – 22 April 1616 NS) was an Early Modern Spanish writer widely regarded as the greatest writer in the Spanish language and one of the world's pre-eminent novelists. He is best kno ...
novel ''Don Quixote
is a Spanish epic novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts, in 1605 and 1615, its full title is ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'' or, in Spanish, (changing in Part 2 to ). A founding work of West ...
'', and Heine
Heine is both a surname and a given name of German origin. People with that name include:
People with the surname
* Albert Heine (1867–1949), German actor
* Alice Heine (1858–1925), American-born princess of Monaco
* Armand Heine (1818–188 ...
's poems; and from Yiddish S. Ansky
Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport (1863 – November 8, 1920), known by his pseudonym S. Ansky (or An-sky), was a Jewish author, playwright, researcher of Jewish folklore, polemicist, and cultural and political activist. He is best known for his play ' ...
's ''The Dybbuk
''The Dybbuk'', or ''Between Two Worlds'' (russian: Меж двух миров �ибук}, trans. ''Mezh dvukh mirov ibuk'; yi, צווישן צוויי וועלטן - דער דִבּוּק, ''Tsvishn Tsvey Veltn – der Dibuk'') is a play by ...
''.
Throughout the years 1899–1915, Bialik published about 20 of his Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
poems in different Yiddish periodicals in the Russian Empire. These poems are often considered to be among the best achievements of modern Yiddish poetry of that period. In collaboration with Ravnitzky, Bialik published '' Sefer HaAggadah'' (1908–1911, ''The Book of Legends''), a three-volume edition of the folk tales and proverbs scattered through the Talmud. For the book they selected hundreds of texts and arranged them thematically. ''The Book of Legends'' was immediately recognized as a masterwork and has been reprinted numerous times. Bialik also edited the poems of the medieval poet and philosopher Ibn Gabirol
Solomon ibn Gabirol or Solomon ben Judah ( he, ר׳ שְׁלֹמֹה בֶּן יְהוּדָה אִבְּן גָּבִּירוֹל, Shlomo Ben Yehuda ibn Gabirol, ; ar, أبو أيوب سليمان بن يحيى بن جبيرول, ’Abū ’Ayy ...
. He began a modern commentary on the Mishnah
The Mishnah or the Mishna (; he, מִשְׁנָה, "study by repetition", from the verb ''shanah'' , or "to study and review", also "secondary") is the first major written collection of the Jewish oral traditions which is known as the Oral Tor ...
, but only completed Zeraim
Seder Zeraim ( he, סדר זרעים, Seder Zra'im, lit. "Order of Seeds") is the first of the six orders, or major divisions, of the Mishnah, Tosefta, and the Talmud, and, apart from the first tractate which concerns the rules for prayers and bles ...
, the first of the six Orders. Bialik intentionally chose to use the traditional Vilna edition of the Mishnah instead of a more scientific text and created, arguably, the first modern commentary to a seder of Mishnah that included in its introduction a short summary of the content as well as all of the relevant biblical passages. During the 1950s, the Bialik Institute published a commentary on the entire Mishnah by Hanoch Albeck
Hanoch Albeck (Hebrew: חנוך אלבק) (August 7, 1890 - January 9, 1972) was a professor of Talmud at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel. He was a foremost scholar of the Mishna and one of the pioneers of the scientific approach to Mis ...
, which was considered an elaboration and expansion of Bialik's project. He also added several commentaries on the Talmud.
In 1919 in Odessa, he was also able to found the ''Dvir
Dvir ( he, דְּבִיר), also known as Dvira ( he, דְּבִירָה), is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located near Rahat and Beersheba, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bnei Shimon Regional Council. In it had a population of .
History ...
'' publishing house, which would later become famous. This publishing house, now based in Israel, still exists, but is now known as Kinneret Zmora-Bitan Dvir after Dvir was purchased by the Zmora-Bitan publishing house in 1986, which later merged with Kinneret.
Bialik lived in Odessa
Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous city and municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern shore of the Black Sea. The city is also the administrativ ...
until 1921, when the Moriah publishing house was closed by Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
authorities, as a result of mounting paranoia following the Bolshevik Revolution
The October Revolution,. officially known as the Great October Socialist Revolution. in the Soviet Union, also known as the Bolshevik Revolution, was a revolution in Russia led by the Bolshevik Party of Vladimir Lenin that was a key mom ...
. With the intervention of Maxim Gorki
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and sociali ...
, a group of Hebrew writers were given permission by the Soviet government to leave the country. While in Odessa he had befriended the soprano
A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880& ...
Isa Kremer
Isabelle Yakovlevna Kremer (russian: Изабелла Яковлевна Кремер; 21 October 1887 – 7 July 1956) was a soprano of Russian Jewish descent who at various times of her life held citizenship in Russia, the United States, and A ...
whom he had a profound influence on. It was through his influence that she became an exponent of Yiddish music on the concert stage; notably becoming the first woman to concertize that music.
Move to Germany
Bialik then moved, via Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
and Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
, to Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
, where together with his friends Ravnitzky and Shmaryahu Levin
Shmaryahu Levin (russian: Шмарьяху Левин; born 1867 in Svislach, Minsk Governorate; died 9 June 1935, Haifa), was a Jewish Zionist activist. He was a member of the first elected Russian Parliament for the Constitutional Democratic ...
he re-established the ''Dvir'' publishing house. Bialik published in ''Dvir'' the first Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
language scientific journal with teachers of the rabbinical college Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums contributing. In Berlin Bialik joined a community of Jewish authors and publishers such as Samuel Joseph Agnon (sponsored by the owner of Schocken Department Stores, Salman Schocken, who later founded his own publishing house), Simon Dubnow
Simon Dubnow (alternatively spelled Dubnov, rus, Семён Ма́ркович Ду́бнов, Semyon Markovich Dubnov, sʲɪˈmʲɵn ˈmarkəvʲɪtɕ ˈdubnəf; yi, שמעון דובנאָװ, ''Shimen Dubnov''; 10 September 1860 – 8 Dece ...
, Israel Isidor Elyashev (Ba'al-Machshoves), Uri Zvi Greenberg, Jakob Klatzkin (founded ''Eschkol'' publishing house in Berlin), Moshe Kulbak, Jakob-Wolf Latzki-Bertoldi (founded ''Klal'' publishing house in Berlin in 1921), Simon Rawidowicz (co-founder of ''Klal''), Salman Schneur, Nochum Shtif (Ba'al-Dimion), Shaul Tchernichovsky
Shaul Tchernichovsky ( he, שאול טשרניחובסקי) or Saul Gutmanovich Tchernichovsky (russian: link=no, Саул Гутманович Черниховский; 20 August 1875 – 14 October 1943) was a Russian-born Hebrew poet. He is c ...
, elsewhere in Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
Shoshana Persitz
Rosalia Gillelovna "Shoshana" Persitz (née Zlatopolsky; 16 November 1892 – 22 March 1969), also known as Shoshana Persitz ( he, שושנה פרסיץ), was a Zionist activist, educator and Israeli politician.
Biography
Rosalia Gillelovna Zlat ...
with Omanuth publishing house in Bad Homburg v.d.H. and Martin Buber
Martin Buber ( he, מרטין בובר; german: Martin Buber; yi, מארטין בובער; February 8, 1878 –
June 13, 1965) was an Austrian Jewish and Israeli philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of existentialism ...
. They met in the Hebrew Club ''Beith haWa'ad ha'Ivri בית הועד העברי'' in Berlin's Scheunenviertel, or in ''Café Monopol'', which had a Hebrew-speaking corner, as Eliezer Ben-Yehuda's son Itamar Ben-Avi
Itamar Ben-Avi (; []; 31 July 1882 – 8 April 1943) was the first native speaker of modern Hebrew, Hebrew in modern times. He was a journalist and Zionism, Zionist activist.
Biography
Itamar Ben-Avi was born as Ben-Zion Ben-Yehuda in Jerusalem ...
recalled, and in ''Café des Westens'' (both in Berlin's more elegant western boroughs).
The still-Soviet theatre HaBimah
The Habima Theatre ( he, תיאטרון הבימה ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the center of Tel Aviv.
History ...
toured through Germany, much-acclaimed by Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein ( ; ; 14 March 1879 – 18 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist, widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest and most influential physicists of all time. Einstein is best known for developing the theor ...
, Alfred Kerr
Alfred Kerr (''né'' Kempner; 25 December 1867 – 12 October 1948, surname: ) was an influential German theatre critic and essayist of Jewish descent, nicknamed the ''Kulturpapst'' ("Culture Pope").
Biography
Youth
Kerr was born in Breslau, ...
and Max Reinhardt
Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born theatre and film director, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he is regarded as one of the most pr ...
. Bialik succeeded Saul Israel Hurwitz after his death on August 8, 1922, as Hebrew chief editor at ''Klal'' publishing house, which published 80 titles in 1922. In January 1923 Bialik's 50th birthday was celebrated in the old concert hall of the Berlin Philharmonic
The Berlin Philharmonic (german: Berliner Philharmoniker, links=no, italic=no) is a German orchestra based in Berlin. It is one of the most popular, acclaimed and well-respected orchestras in the world.
History
The Berlin Philharmonic was fo ...
bringing together everybody who was anybody. In the years of Inflation
In economics, inflation is an increase in the general price level of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduct ...
Berlin had become a centre of Yiddish
Yiddish (, or , ''yidish'' or ''idish'', , ; , ''Yidish-Taytsh'', ) is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated during the 9th century in Central Europe, providing the nascent Ashkenazi community with a ve ...
and Hebrew
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...
and other foreign language publishing and printing, because books could be produced at ever falling real expenses and sold to a great extent for stable foreign currency. Many Hebrew and Yiddish titles were also translated into German. Once the old inflationary currency (Mark
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* Finn ...
) was replaced by the new stable Rentenmark
The Rentenmark (; RM) was a currency issued on 15 October 1923 to stop the hyperinflation of 1922 and 1923 in Weimar Germany, after the previously used "paper" Mark had become almost worthless. It was subdivided into 100 ''Rentenpfennig'' an ...
and Reichsmark
The (; sign: ℛℳ; abbreviation: RM) was the currency of Germany from 1924 until 20 June 1948 in West Germany, where it was replaced with the , and until 23 June 1948 in East Germany, where it was replaced by the East German mark. The Reich ...
this period ended and many publishing houses closed or relocated elsewhere, as did many prominent publishers and authors.
Move to Tel Aviv
In 1924, Bialik relocated with his publishing house ''Dvir
Dvir ( he, דְּבִיר), also known as Dvira ( he, דְּבִירָה), is a kibbutz in southern Israel. Located near Rahat and Beersheba, it falls under the jurisdiction of Bnei Shimon Regional Council. In it had a population of .
History ...
'' to Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
, devoting himself to cultural activities and public affairs. Bialik was immediately recognized as a celebrated literary figure. He delivered the address that marked the opening (in 1925) of the Hebrew University
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; he, הַאוּנִיבֶרְסִיטָה הַעִבְרִית בִּירוּשָׁלַיִם) is a public university, public research university based in Jerusalem, Israel. Co-founded by Albert Einstein ...
in Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
and was a member of its board of governors. In 1927 he became head of the Hebrew Writers Union, a position he retained for the remainder of his life. In 1933 his 60th birthday was celebrated with festivities nationwide, and all the schoolchildren of Tel Aviv were taken to meet him and pay their respects to him.
Works and influence
Bialik wrote several different modes of poetry. He is perhaps most famous for his long, nationalistic poems, which call for a reawakening of the Jewish people. Bialik had his own awakening even before writing those poems, arising out of the anger and shame he felt at the Jewish response to pogroms. In his poem "Massa Nemirov", for example, Bialik excoriated the Jews of Kishinev who had allowed their persecutors to wreak their will without raising a finger to defend themselves.
However no less effective are his passionate love poems, his personal verse, or his nature poems. Last but not least, Bialik's songs for children are a staple of Israeli nursery life. From 1908 onwards, he wrote mostly prose.
By writing his works in Hebrew, Bialik contributed significantly to the revival of the Hebrew language
Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserve ...
, which before his days existed primarily as an ancient, scholarly tongue. His influence is felt deeply in all modern Hebrew literature. The generation of Hebrew language poets who followed in Bialik's footsteps, including Jacob Steinberg and Jacob Fichman
Jacob Fichman ( he, יעקב פיכמן) also transliterated as Yakov Fichman (25 November 1881 – 18 May 1958), was an acclaimed Hebrew poet, essayist and literary critic.
Biography
Fichman was born in Bălți, Bessarabia, Moldova in 18 ...
, are called "the Bialik generation".
To this day, Bialik is recognized as Israel's national poet. Bialik House, his former home at 22 Bialik Street in Tel Aviv, has been converted into a museum, and functions as a center for literary events. The municipality of Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
awards the Bialik Prize
The Bialik Prize is an annual literary award given by the municipality of Tel Aviv, Israel, for significant accomplishments in Hebrew literature. The prize is named in memory of Israel's national poet Hayyim Nahman Bialik
Hayim Nahman Bialik ...
in his honor. Kiryat Bialik, a suburb of Haifa, and Givat Hen, a moshav
A moshav ( he, מוֹשָׁב, plural ', lit. ''settlement, village'') is a type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists between 1904 ...
bordering the city of Raanana
Ra'anana ( he, רַעֲנָנָּה, lit. "Fresh") is a city in the southern Sharon Plain of the Central District of Israel. It was founded in 1922 as an American-Jewish settlement, 1 km south of the village of Tabsur, where an important ...
, are named after him. He is the only person to have two streets named after him in the same Israeli city – Bialik Street and Hen Boulevard in Tel Aviv. There is also Bialik Hebrew Day School in Toronto, ON, Canada; Bialik High School in Montreal, QC, Canada; and a cross-communal Jewish Zionist school in Melbourne called Bialik College
Bialik College is an independent comprehensive co-educational early learning, primary and secondary Jewish day school, located in the Melbourne suburb of Hawthorn East, Victoria, Australia. Established in 1942 in Carlton North, Victoria ...
. In Caracas, Venezuela
Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...
, the largest Jewish community school is named Herzl-Bialik. Also in Rosario, Argentina
Rosario () is the largest city in the central Argentine province of Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous city in the country, and is also the most po ...
the only Jewish school is named after him.
Bialik's poems have been translated into at least 30 languages, and set to music as popular songs. These poems, and the songs based on them, have become an essential part of the education and culture of modern Israel.
Bialik wrote most of his poems using Ashkenazi
Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...
pronunciation, while modern Israeli Hebrew uses the Sephardi
Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), pt, Judeus sefa ...
pronunciation or, as Miryam Segal has called it, the "new accent," an amalgam of vowels and consonantal sounds from variety of sources. Consequently, Bialik's poems are rarely recited in the meter in which they were written, though according to Segal, the Ashkenazi (penultimate) stress pattern is somewhat preserved, and Bialik comes to stand for the Diasporan desire constituting Hebrew-Israeli identity.
Death
Bialik died in Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
, Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, on July 4, 1934, from a sudden heart attack a week after having had a successful prostate
The prostate is both an accessory gland of the male reproductive system and a muscle-driven mechanical switch between urination and ejaculation. It is found only in some mammals. It differs between species anatomically, chemically, and phys ...
operation. He was buried in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
; a large mourning procession followed from his home on the street named after him, to his final resting place.
Gallery
File:Mendele Mos Sholem Aleichem Ben-Ami Bialik Odessa 1910.jpg, Mendele Mocher Sforim
Mendele Mocher Sforim ( yi, , he, מנדלי מוכר ספרים, also known as Moykher, Sfarim; lit. "Mendele the book peddler"; January 2, 1836, Kapyl – December 8, 1917 .S. Odessa), born Sholem Yankev Abramovich ( yi, , russian: Соло ...
, Sholem Aleichem
)
, birth_date =
, birth_place = Pereiaslav, Russian Empire
, death_date =
, death_place = New York City, U.S.
, occupation = Writer
, nationality =
, period =
, genre = Novels, sh ...
, Mordechai Ben Ami, Hayim Bialik in Odessa, 1910
File:Hebrew Writers in Odessa before leaving the Soviet Russia.3.jpg, Hebrew writers in Odessa before leaving the Soviet Russia, 1921
File:Пашпарт грамадзяніна БНР, выдадзены Хаіму-Нахману Бяліку. 1921 (03).jpg, Passport of Belarusian People's Republic
The Belarusian People's Republic (BNR; be, Беларуская Народная Рэспубліка, Bielaruskaja Narodnaja Respublika, ), or Belarusian Democratic Republic, was a state proclaimed by the Council of the Belarusian Democratic R ...
, 1921
File:Hayyim Nahman Bialik stamp.jpg, Israeli postal stamp, 1959
File:Israel 10 Lirot 1968 Obverse & Reverse.jpg, Israel 10 Lirot Obverse & Reverse, 1968
File:Bialik statue 007.jpg, Statue in Ramat Gan
Ramat Gan ( he, רָמַת גַּן or , ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv and part of the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. It is home to one of the world's major diamond exchanges, and man ...
, Israel
Notes
References
Selected bibliography in English
*''Selected Writings (poetry and prose)'' Hasefer, 1924; New York, New Palestine, 1926; Philadelphia, Jewish Publication Society, 1939; New York, Histadrut Ivrit of America The Histadruth Ivrith of America, (1916 - 2005), was part of the movement for the revival of the Hebrew language that sought to revive Hebrew, a language then used for prayer and the study of holy texts, as a living language that would be spoken a ...
, 1948; New York, Bloch, 1965; New York, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, 1972; Tel Aviv, Dvir and the Jerusalem Post, 1981; Columbus, Alpha, 1987
*''The Short Friday'' Tel Aviv, Hashaot, 1944
*''Knight of Onions and Knight of Garlic'' New York, Jordan, 1939
*''Random Harvest – The Novellas of C. N. Bialik'', Boulder, Colorado, Westview Press (Perseus Books), 1999
*'' The Modern Hebrew Poem Itself'' (2003),
*''Songs from Bialik: Selected Poems of Hayim Nahman Bialik'', Syracuse, Syracuse University Press, 2000
*''Selected Poems: Bilingual Edition'', (translated by Ruth Nevo), Jerusalem: Dvir, 1981.
Further reading
*
* Tamar Rotem
"''The Flower is Forgot'': the life and works of national poet ''Hayyim Nahman Bialik'' are not taught properly"
Haaretz
''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...
Newspaper ,17/07/2001
* Ziva Shamir
"''Spiritual Merchant & Motionless Wanderer'': Dramatis Personae and Speaking Voice in Bialik's Works"
"Bikort & Parshanut" Magazin 2002
* Ziva Shamir, "
A Thousand Mouths Anointed With Poison: The Anatomy of Modern Anti-semitism in Bialik's Oeuvre"
', "KESHER" Journal #33, Spring 2003.
External links
*
*
*
Hayim Nahman Bialik Personal Manuscripts and Letters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bialik, Hayim Nahman
1873 births
1934 deaths
People from Zhytomyr Oblast
People from Zhitomirsky Uyezd
Ukrainian Jews
Ashkenazi Jews in Mandatory Palestine
Modern Hebrew writers
Hebrew-language poets
Jewish folklorists
German emigrants to Mandatory Palestine
Jewish writers
Kishinev pogrom
Burials at Trumpeldor Cemetery
Yiddish-language poets