Yitzhak Lamdan (; ‎ 7 November 1897 – 17 November 1954) was a Russian-born Israeli

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 ...

-language poet, translator, editor and columnist.

Biography

Itzi-Yehuda Lubes or Lobes (later Yitzhak Lamdan) was born in 1897 in Mlynov, Russia (now Mlyniv,

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 ...

). Born into an affluent family, Lamdan lived in Mlynov until the outbreak of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

and the civil wars that followed. Lamdan wrote a diary while still in Mlynov describing his life and his burning desire to make aliyah to the Land of Israel. The diary covers the period from 1914 just before World War I, when he was 16, until just before he wrote his famous poem, Masada, in Mandatory Palestine. Some details about Lamdan's early life also appear in the Mlynov-Mervits Memorial Book, such as his involvement in an early failed attempt with the few young Zionists in town to send Yaakov-Yosi to the Land of Israel. The Memorial book also includes a description of Lamdan's father, R. Yehuda Lubes. During World War I, he was uprooted and wandered through Southern Russia with his brother before joining the Red Army. In 1920, after his parents’ home was destroyed and his brother was killed, Lamdan immigrated to

Mandatory Palestine Mandatory Palestine was a British Empire, British geopolitical entity that existed between 1920 and 1948 in the Palestine (region), region of Palestine, and after 1922, under the terms of the League of Nations's Mandate for Palestine. After ...

as part of a socialist youth group in what has come to be known in Zionist history as the

Third Aliyah The Third Aliyah () refers to the third wave, or aliyah, of modern Jewish immigration to Palestine (region), Palestine from Europe. This wave lasted from 1919, just after the end of World War I, until 1923, at the start of an economic crisis in P ...

. In 1927, he published a Hebrew epic poem called "Masada: A Historical Epic" about the Jewish struggle for survival in a world full of enemies, in which

Masada Masada ( ', 'fortress'; ) is a mountain-top fortress complex in the Judaean Desert, overlooking the western shore of the Dead Sea in southeastern Israel. The fort, built in the first century BCE, was constructed atop a natural plateau rising ov ...

, as a symbol for 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 the

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 ...

enterprise, was seen as a refuge, but also as a potential ultimate trap. The poem was hugely influential, creating the seed for what became the

Masada myth The Masada myth is the early Zionist retelling of the Siege of Masada, and an Israeli national myth. The Masada myth is a selectively constructed narrative based on Josephus's account, with the Sicarii instead depicted as national heroes in the F ...

, but the latter aspect was left out in its mainstream Zionist reception and interpretation. According to literary scholar and cultural historian David G. Roskies, Lamdan's poem even inspired the uprising in the

Warsaw Ghetto The Warsaw Ghetto (, officially , ; ) was the largest of the Nazi ghettos during World War II and the Holocaust. It was established in November 1940 by the Nazi Germany, German authorities within the new General Government territory of Occupat ...

Awards and recognition

* In 1955, after his death, Lamdan was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize (; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History Prior to the Israel Prize, the most significant award in the arts was the Dizengoff Prize and in Israel ...

, for literature. *

Brenner Prize The Brenner Prize is an Israeli literary prize awarded annually by the Hebrew Writers Association in Israel and the Haft Family Foundation. It recognizes and honors Hebrew literature Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern w ...

From 1954 until 1983, the

Ramat Gan Ramat Gan (, ) is a city in the Tel Aviv District of Israel, located east of the municipality of Tel Aviv, and is part of the Gush Dan, Gush Dan metropolitan area. It is home to a Diamond Exchange District (one of the world's major diamond exch ...

Municipality, in conjunction with the

Hebrew Writers Association in Israel The Hebrew Writers Association in Israel (, previously אגודת הסופרים העבריים בארץ ישראל or אגודת הסופרים העבריים or אגודת הסופרים העברים במדינת ישראל) is a professional ass ...

, awarded the annual Lamdan Prize in his memory, for literary works for children and youth.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamdan, Yitzhak Hebrew-language poets Israel Prize in literature recipients Brenner Prize recipients 1899 births 1954 deaths Ukrainian emigrants to Israel Jewish Ukrainian writers Jews from Mandatory Palestine Jewish Israeli writers Israeli columnists 20th-century Israeli translators 20th-century Israeli poets Epic poets Immigrants of the Third Aliyah

Biography

Awards and recognition

See also

References