Yehuda Leib Katsnelson, (Russian: Лев (Иегуда Лейб Вениамин) Израилевич Каценельсон; 29 November 1846, (Hebrew Calendar 10 Kislev 5690),

Chernigov Chernihiv (, ; , ) is a city and municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative center of Chernihiv Oblast and Chernihiv Raion within the oblast. Chernihiv's population is The city was designated as a Hero City of Ukrain ...

– 1917,

Petrograd Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

), also known by his pen name 'Buki Ben Yogli', was a military doctor, writer and publicist of

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 ...

Early life

Katznelson was born in November 1846 in

in the South-West

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

). He studied at the

Zhytomyr Zhytomyr ( ; see #Names, below for other names) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the Capital city, administrative center of Zhytomyr Oblast (Oblast, province), as well as the administrative center of the surrounding ...

Rabbinical School and Teachers' Seminary, and began his medical study at the

University of Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

. During his studies he worked as a teacher of Hebrew for beginners at the Jewish school run by Eliezer Berman. In 1865, Katzenelson attended the government-sponsored rabbinical seminary in Zhitomir.

Career

After graduating, he served as a military physician in the Ottoman–Russian War (1877–78). At the end of the war, Katznelson settled in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

. As a young man, he worked for Hebrew-language newspapers (e.g.''Today'', a Russian newspaper) as an editor and contributed to articles on scientific matters. He began to write about

medical science Medicine is the science and practice of caring for patients, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pra ...

, drawing on the

Talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

as relevant to modern medicine. These articles were assembled later in his book ''The Wisdom of the Talmud and Medicine''. Katznelson did not identify as a

Zionist Zionism is an Ethnic nationalism, ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in History of Europe#From revolution to imperialism (1789–1914), Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the ...

at the beginning of his public career, but supported Jewish Territorialists. He was eager to promote Jewish-owned agricultural advances wherever possible, especially in southern Russia and the Jewish colonies in

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

.Nightingale
which was published in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, (1894) In 1909, he visited the

Land of Israel The Land of Israel () is the traditional Jewish name for an area of the Southern Levant. Related biblical, religious and historical English terms include the Land of Canaan, the Promised Land, the Holy Land, and Palestine. The definition ...

and toured Jewish settlements. This visit changed his opinion; he abandoned territorialism and began to support

practical Zionism The common definition of Zionism was principally the endorsement of the Jewish people to establish a Jewish national home in Palestine, secondarily the claim that due to a lack of self-determination, this territory must be re-established as a ...

. After the resignation of

Simon Dubnov Simon Dubnow (alternatively spelled Dubnov; ; rus, Семён Ма́ркович Ду́бнов, Semyon Markovich Dubnov, sʲɪˈmʲɵn ˈmarkəvʲɪdʑ ˈdubnəf; 10 September 1860 – 8 December 1941) was a Jewish-Russian historian, writer ...

, Katznelson was appointed to the main Iibrskyh encyclopedia. Katznelson taught Russian and lectured in

Oriental Studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studie ...

, focusing on the settlement of the Land of Israel. Many of Katznelson's books were published outside of Russia. Katznelson Leib practiced medicine in St. Petersburg until his death in 1917. He was the author of a work on

talmud The Talmud (; ) is the central text of Rabbinic Judaism and the primary source of Jewish religious law (''halakha'') and Jewish theology. Until the advent of Haskalah#Effects, modernity, in nearly all Jewish communities, the Talmud was the cen ...

ic medicine; among other topics it analyzed the parallels between

vitiligo Vitiligo (, ) is a chronic autoimmune disorder that causes patches of skin to lose pigment or color. The cause of vitiligo is unknown, but it may be related to immune system changes, genetic factors, stress, or sun exposure, and susceptibili ...

and biblical

Tzaraath ''Tzaraath'' (Hebrew language, Hebrew: ''ṣāraʿaṯ''), #Name, variously transcribed into English and frequently translated as leprosy (though it is not Hansen's disease, the disease known as "leprosy" in modern times), is a term used in the ...

. Katznelson developed fame with the Jewish people.

Monograph A monograph is generally a long-form work on one (usually scholarly) subject, or one aspect of a subject, typically created by a single author or artist (or, sometimes, by two or more authors). Traditionally it is in written form and published a ...

s on his life and works include those by David Frishman,

Jacob Fichman Jacob Fichman (; 25November 188118May 1958), also transliterated as Yakov Fichman, was an acclaimed Hebrew language, Hebrew poet, essayist and literary critic. Biography Fichman was born in Bălți, Bessarabia, Moldova in 1881. He initially ...

, Ben-Zion Katz, Menachem Ribolob and

Reuben Brainin Reuben ben Mordecai Brainin (; March 16, 1862 – November 30, 1939) was a Russian Jewish publicist, biographer and literary critic. Biography Reuben Brainin was born in Lyady, Belarus in 1862 to Mordechai Brainin, the son of Azriel Brainin ...

, Messed Lachover and Israel Cohen.

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

named a street after him, using his literary pseudonym "Buki Ben Yogli".

Literary work

Nightingale
/ by Buki Ben Yogli, Warsaw: Achiassaf, 1894. (series' stories Buki Ben Yogli (for. Katznelson); booklet a) * ''Tales and Stories'' (with an introduction by

), New York:1918. * ''Il Katzanalsan complete works'', in three parts (published by Joseph Luria), St. Petersburg: Trs"h −1905. * ''What I was seeing and my ears heard Memoirs of my life'', Jerusalem: Bialik Institute, 1947. * ''Mists of antiquity'': historical painting, Odessa: Achiassaf, Tra"b −1912. * ''Bone of organs'': some episodes in the Thought of Creation, St. Petersburg: Trm"h −1887. * ''Nightingale'': a selection of stories (together with its history written by

), Tel Aviv: Am Oved, Ts"d −1944. *
Medical Wisdom of the Talmud
', Berlin: The Life, −1928. *

'

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katzenelson, Yehuda 1846 births 1917 deaths People from Chernihiv 19th-century pseudonymous writers 20th-century pseudonymous writers Jews from the Russian Empire Hebrew-language writers Jewish physicians Military doctors from the Russian Empire Ukrainian military doctors Jewish encyclopedists Saint Petersburg State University alumni Russian military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Ukrainian Zionists Russian Zionists Territorialism