''Bikkure ha-Ittim'' () was a Hebrew-language annual published in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

from 1820 to 1831. Founded by

Salomon Jacob Cohen Salomon Jacob Cohen (; 23 December 1771 - 20 February 1845) was a German Jewish Hebrew scholar, teacher, writer and translator of the Bible. He was an important representative of the Haskalah in Berlin, Hamburg and Vienna. Life Cohen was born in M ...

, it was adopted by the Galician Maskilim as their means to promote culture and education among

Galician Jews Galician Jews or Galitzianers () are members of the subgroup of Ashkenazim, Ashkenazi Jews originating and developed in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria and Bukovina from contemporary western Ukraine (Lviv Oblast, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk Oblas ...

. The publication was a forerunner of modern Hebrew journalism and played a significant role in the

revival of the Hebrew language The revival of the Hebrew language took place in Europe and the Levant region toward the end of the 19th century and into the 20th century, through which the language's usage changed from purely the sacred language of Judaism to a spoken and wr ...

History

''Bikkure ha-Ittim'' originally appeared as a supplement to the Hebrew calendar ''Ittim Mezumanim''. In 1822, it stopped being a supplement and became an independent magazine. The magazine mostly featured contributions from writers in Galicia,

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...

, and the Italian-Austrian provinces. It had a significant impact on European Jews in the first half of the 19th century. According to Delitzsch, ''Bikkure ha-Ittim'' also became the publication of the New-German school of poetry in Austria, with the influence of

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

as evident in the magazine as

Lessing Lessing is a German surname of Slavic origin. The original Sorbian form, ''Lěsnik'', means either "forest dweller" or "woodman", ''lěs'' meaning "wood forest". People with the surname Lessing include a German family of writers, artists, musicians ...

's influence was in '' Ha-Me'assef''. The early issues of the magazine contained a mix of Hebrew and German articles (written in Hebrew characters) and reprints from the defunct ''Ha-Me'assef''. The magazine gradually improved in both style and content and eventually became the chief publication for the greatest Hebrew writers of the era, including Samuel David Luzzatto, Solomon Judah Löb Rapoport, and Isaac Samuel Reggio, who contributed to it for many years. ''Bikkure ha-Ittim'' also nurtured the talents of many young Hebrew writers, such as Isaac Erter, who published some of his highly regarded papers on elegant composition and wit in the magazine. Publication of ''Bikkure ha-Ittim'' ceased in 1831. Two attempts to revive the journal, one by Max Emanuel Stern in 1844 and another by Isaac Samuel Reggio and Isidor Bush, were unsuccessful.

Notable contributors

Among the periodical's contributors were: * Abraham Aberle * Isaac Benjacob * Jacob Samuel Bick * Berish Blumenfeld * David Caro * Aaron Chorin * Baruch Czatzkes *

Lelio Della Torre Lelio Hillel Della Torre (1805–1871) was an Italian Jewish scholar and poet writing in Italian, German, French and Hebrew, best known for his critical translation of the Book of Psalms (1845, 1854). He was the son of Solomon Jehiel Raphael ...

* Isaac Erter * Josef Flesch * Judah Jeitteles *

Max Letteris Meïr Halevi (Max) Letteris (; 13 September 1800 – 19 May 1871) was an Austrians, Austrian poet, editor, and translator of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Galician Haskala. He translated into Hebrew language, Hebrew works by Virgil, Lucian ...

* Solomon Judah Löb Rapoport * Solomon Pergamenter * Joachim Pollak * Isaac Samuel Reggio * David Samoscz * * * Yom-Tob Spitz * Marcus Strelisker * * Samuel David Luzzatto * Samuele Vita Zelman

References

{{Authority control Defunct newspapers published in Austria Haskalah Defunct Hebrew-language newspapers Publications established in 1820 Publications disestablished in 1831