Mordechai Tzvi Maneh (; 5 May 1859 – 15 October 1886), also known by the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

Ha-Metzayer (; also an

acronym An acronym is a word or name formed from the initial components of a longer name or phrase. Acronyms are usually formed from the initial letters of words, as in ''NATO'' (''North Atlantic Treaty Organization''), but sometimes use syllables, as ...

of , 'The young man Mordechai Tzvi, native of Radoshkevich'), was a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

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 ...

lyric poet Modern lyric poetry is a formal type of poetry which expresses personal emotions or feelings, typically spoken in the first person. It is not equivalent to song lyrics, though song lyrics are often in the lyric mode, and it is also ''not'' equi ...

, translator, and artist.

Life and work

Mordechai Tzvi Maneh was born to a poor

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Radashkovichy Radashkovichy ( be, Радашко́вічы, russian: Радошкóвичи, pl, Radoszkowicze, lt, Radaškonys) - is a town in the Maladzyechna District of Minsk Region, Belarus. A watershed of the Vileyka-Minsk water system is located in t ...

Vilna Governorate The Vilna Governorate (1795–1915; also known as Lithuania-Vilnius Governorate from 1801 until 1840; russian: Виленская губерния, ''Vilenskaya guberniya'', lt, Vilniaus gubernija, pl, gubernia wileńska) or Government of V ...

. His father, Moshe Maneh, was a ''

melamed Melamed, ''Melammed'' ( he, מלמד, Teacher) in Biblical times denoted a religious teacher or instructor in general (e.g., in Psalm 119:99 and Proverbs 5:13), but which in the Talmudic period was applied especially to a teacher of children, and ...

'' and tombstone engraver. As a child, he received a traditional ''

cheder A ''cheder'' ( he, חדר, lit. "room"; Yiddish pronunciation ''kheyder'') is a traditional primary school teaching the basics of Judaism and the Hebrew language. History ''Cheders'' were widely found in Europe before the end of the 18th ...

'' education, and was sent at the age of thirteen to study at a ''

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

'' in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

. Maneh's parents encouraged his early artistic talent and, in 1876, he enrolled in the Vilna Art School. While there, he began to write nature poetry and mastered the

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

languages. In 1880 Maneh received an offer of admission to the prestigious

Imperial Academy of Arts The Russian Academy of Arts, informally known as the Saint Petersburg Academy of Arts, was an art academy in Saint Petersburg, founded in 1757 by the founder of the Imperial Moscow University Ivan Shuvalov under the name ''Academy of the Thre ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. He remained there from 1881 to 1884, his studies subsidized by

philanthropist Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...

A. Kaufman on the recommendation of

Aleksander Zederbaum Aleksander Ossypovich Zederbaum (; August 27, 1816, Zamość – September 8, 1893, Saint Petersburg) was a Polish-Russian Jewish journalist who wrote primarily in Hebrew. He was founder and editor of ''Ha-Melitz'', and other periodicals published ...

. During his time at the academy, Maneh published poetry and articles on the

visual arts The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

in the

publications ''

Ha-Melitz ''Ha-Melitz'' or ''HaMelitz'' (Hebrew: ) was the first Hebrew newspaper in the Russian Empire. It was founded by Alexander Zederbaum in Odessa in 1860. History ''Ha-Melitz'' first appeared as a weekly, and it began to appear daily in 1886. From ...

'' and '' Ha-Tzfira'', under the pseudonym Ha-Metzayer. Maneh left for Warsaw in 1884, where he contributed to '' Ha-Asif'' and '. He soon, however, contracted a severe form of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

and was forced to return to his hometown, spending there the last two years of his life. Shortly before his death in 1886, Maneh composed his best-known poem, "Mas’at nafshi" (), wherein he expressed his longing 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 (see also Isra ...

Death and legacy

, an

anthology In book publishing, an anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. In genre fiction, the term ''anthology'' typically categ ...

of Maneh's work, was published posthumously in 1897 under the editorship of A. L. Schoenhaus. A ritual of frequent memorial ceremonies at Maneh's grave developed in his hometown, that continued to be observed for a number of decades after his death. "Mas’at nafshi" was set to music by composer , a version of which served as the musical opening to the 1970s Israeli television program ' The poem was translated into English as "My Longing" by H. H. Fein in 1934. Streets 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 ...

Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...

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 many ...

, and the

Talbiya Talbiya or Talbiyeh ( ar, الطالبية, he, טלביה), officially Komemiyut, is an upscale neighborhood in Jerusalem, between Rehavia and Katamon. It was built in the 1920s and 1930s on land purchased from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of ...

neighbourhood of

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

bear his name.

External links

Works of Mordechai Tzvi Mane
(in Hebrew)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maneh, Mordechai Tzvi 1859 births 1886 deaths 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Writers from the Russian Empire 19th-century Jews 19th-century male writers from the Russian Empire 19th-century poets from the Russian Empire Belarusian Jews Hebrew-language poets Imperial Academy of Arts alumni Painters from the Russian Empire Male poets from the Russian Empire Jewish writers from the Russian Empire Jewish painters Translators from German Translators from Russian Translators to Hebrew Tuberculosis deaths in Belarus People of the Haskalah 19th-century translators