Eisig Silberschlag (; January 8, 1903 – September 30, 1988) was a Galician-born American

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

poet, translator, and

literary critic A genre of arts criticism, literary criticism or literary studies is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often influenced by literary theory, which is the philosophical analysis of literature' ...

. He received the

Tchernichovsky Prize Tchernichovsky Prize is an Israeli prize awarded to individuals for exemplary works of translation into Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasia ...

in 1951 for his translations of

Aristophanes Aristophanes (; ; ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek Ancient Greek comedy, comic playwright from Classical Athens, Athens. He wrote in total forty plays, of which eleven survive virtually complete today. The majority of his surviving play ...

and

Menander Menander (; ; c. 342/341 – c. 290 BC) was a Greek scriptwriter and the best-known representative of Athenian Ancient Greek comedy, New Comedy. He wrote 108 comedies and took the prize at the Lenaia festival eight times. His record at the Cit ...

into Hebrew.

Biography

Eisig (Yitzhak) Silberschlag was born in Stry, eastern Galicia, to Ḥasidic parents Bertha () and David Silberschlag. He studied

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

and

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

in the local gymnasium, and was active in the

Hashomer Hatzair Hashomer Hatzair (, , 'The Young Guard') is a Labor Zionism, Labor Zionist, secular Jewish youth movement founded in 1913 in the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, Austria-Hungary. It was also the name of the Hashomer Hatzair Workers Party, the ...

movement. Silberschlag immigrated with his family to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

in 1920, publishing his first poem in the weekly ''Hadar'' in 1925. That same year he returned to Europe, where he completed a doctorate at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

with a dissertation on Anglo-Russian relations during the reign of

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

. He died at the age of 85 at St. David's Hospital in Austin, and was buried at the Mount of Olives Cemetery in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Academic and literary career

In the early 1930s, Silberschlag taught at the

Jewish Institute of Religion The Jewish Institute of Religion was an educational establishment created by Rabbi Stephen S. Wise in 1922 in New York City. While generally incorporating Reform Judaism, it was separate from the previously established Hebrew Union College. It ...

and at the Teachers Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary. He published his first volume of poetry, ''Bi-shevilim bodedim'', in 1931. He also edited, along with

Aaron Zeitlin Aaron Zeitlin (3 June 1898 – 28 September 1973) was a Jewish American educator and writer. He authored several books on Yiddish literature, poetry and parapsychology. Biography Zeitlin was born in Gomel Region, Uvarovichi, Russia (now Belarus) ...

, several volumes of the Hebrew

quarterly A magazine is a periodical literature, periodical publication, print or digital, produced on a regular schedule, that contains any of a variety of subject-oriented textual and visual content (media), content forms. Magazines are generally fin ...

'. Silberschlag joined the faculty of

Hebrew College Hebrew College is a private college of Jewish studies in Newton Centre, Massachusetts. Founded in 1921, the college conducts Jewish scholarship in a pluralistic, trans-denominational academic environment. Its president is Rabbi Sharon Cohen ...

in 1944, rising to become

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, in which role he oversaw the college's

accreditation Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...

from the

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, and then

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

. Silberschlag was a candidate to succeed

Joseph Klausner Joseph Gedaliah Klausner (; 20 August 1874 – 27 October 1958), was a Lithuanian-born Israeli historian and professor of Hebrew literature. He was the chief redactor of the '' Encyclopedia Hebraica''. He was a candidate for president in the ...

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. It may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of modern

Hebrew literature Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the Hebrew language. It is one of the primary forms of Jewish literature, though there have been cases of literature written in Hebrew by non-Jews, mostly among the Arab cit ...

at the

Hebrew University The Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI; ) is an Israeli public research university based in Jerusalem. Co-founded by Albert Einstein and Chaim Weizmann in July 1918, the public university officially opened on 1 April 1925. It is the second-ol ...

upon the latter's retirement, but remained in the United States when Simon Halkin was hired in this position. After his retirement and the death of his wife Milkah, Silberschlag moved from

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

, where he was appointed professor of

at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. During this period he also served as president of the

National Association of Professors of Hebrew The National Association of Professors of Hebrew (NAPH) is a professional organization for university professors of the Hebrew language Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic language family. A reg ...

Published works

In Hebrew

* * * * * Editor, with . * * * * * * *

In English

* * * * * * '' Naphtali Herz Imber (1856-1909)'', Judaism: A Quarterly Journal of Jewish Life and Thought, vol. 5, no. 2, Spring 1956

Translations

* * * * * * * * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silberschlag, Eisig 1903 births 1988 deaths American Zionists Burials at the Jewish cemetery on the Mount of Olives Hebrew-language poets Jewish American academics Jewish American poets Jews from Galicia (Eastern Europe) Lyric poets Modern Hebrew writers People from Stryi Polish emigrants to the United States Translators of Ancient Greek texts Translators to Hebrew University of Texas at Austin faculty University of Vienna alumni Writers from Austin, Texas Writers from Boston 20th-century American Jews