Avrom Ber Gotlober
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Avrom Ber Gotlober (; 14 January 1811 – 12 April 1899), 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 ...
s Abag () and Mahalalel (), 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 ...
Maskilic writer, poet, playwright, historian, journalist and educator. His first collection was published in 1835.


Biography

Avrom Ber Gotlober was born to a
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
Starokonstantinov Starokostiantyniv ( uk, Старокостянтинів; pl, Starokonstantynów, or ''Konstantynów''; yi, אלט-קאָנסטאַנטין ''Alt Konstantin'') is a city in Khmelnytskyi Raion, Khmelnytskyi Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. ...
, where he received a traditional
Jewish education Jewish education ( he, חינוך, ''Chinuch'') is the transmission of the tenets, principles, and religious laws of Judaism. Known as the "people of the book", Jews value education, and the value of education is strongly embedded in Jewish cul ...
. His father was a '' ḥazzan'' who sympathized with the
progressive movement Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techno ...
. At the age of fourteen Gotlober married the daughter of a wealthy
Hasid Ḥasīd ( he, חסיד, "pious", "saintly", "godly man"; plural "Hasidim") is a Jewish honorific, frequently used as a term of exceptional respect in the Talmudic and early medieval periods. It denotes a person who is scrupulous in his observ ...
in
Chernigov Chernihiv ( uk, Черні́гів, , russian: Черни́гов, ; pl, Czernihów, ; la, Czernihovia), is a List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in northern Ukraine, which serves as the administrative ...
, and settled there. When his inclination for secular knowledge became known, his father-in-law, on the advice of a Hasidic rabbi, caused the young couple to be divorced. After a failed second marriage, in 1830, he married for the third time and settled in
Kremenetz Kremenets ( uk, Крем'янець, Кременець, translit. ''Kremianets'', ''Kremenets''; pl, Krzemieniec; yi, קרעמעניץ, Kremenits) is a city in Ternopil Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It is the administrative center o ...
, where he formed a lasting acquaintance with
Isaac Baer Levinsohn Isaac Baer Levinsohn (; October 13, 1788 – February 13, 1860), also known as the Ribal (), was a Jewish scholar of Hebrew, a satirist, a writer and Haskalah leader. He has been called "the Mendelssohn of Russia." In his ''Bet Yehudah'' (1837), ...
. Gotlober traveled and taught from 1836 to 1851, when he went to
Zhitomir Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative ...
and passed the teachers' examinations at the rabbinical school. After teaching for three years at a government school for Jewish boys in
Kamenetz-Podolsk Kamianets-Podilskyi ( uk, Ка́м'яне́ць-Поді́льський, russian: Каменец-Подольский, Kamenets-Podolskiy, pl, Kamieniec Podolski, ro, Camenița, yi, קאַמענעץ־פּאָדאָלסק / קאַמעניץ, ...
, he was transferred to a similar position in his native city, where he remained for about eleven years. Among Gotlober's students were
Mendele Mocher Sforim Mendele Mocher Sforim ( yi, , he, מנדלי מוכר ספרים, also known as Moykher, Sfarim; lit. "Mendele the book peddler"; January 2, 1836, Kapyl – December 8, 1917 .S. Odessa), born Sholem Yankev Abramovich ( yi, , russian: Сол ...
,
Sholom Aleichem ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Pereiaslav, Russian Empire , death_date = , death_place = New York City, U.S. , occupation = Writer , nationality = , period = , genre = Novels, sh ...
, and
Abraham Goldfaden Abraham Goldfaden (Yiddish: אַבֿרהם גאָלדפֿאַדען; born Avrum Goldnfoden; 24 July 1840 – 9 January 1908), also known as Avram Goldfaden, was a Russian-born Jewish poet, playwright, stage director and actor in the languages Yid ...
. In 1865 he became a teacher in the rabbinical school in Zhitomir, and remained there until it was closed by the government in 1873. He then settled in
Dubno Dubno ( uk, Ду́бно) is a city and municipality located on the Ikva River in Rivne Oblast (province) of western Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Dubno Raion (district). The city is located on intersection of two major Eu ...
with his son-in-law, who was the official rabbi of that town. Thence he removed to
Kovno Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
, and subsequently to
Białystok Białystok is the largest city in northeastern Poland and the capital of the Podlaskie Voivodeship. It is the tenth-largest city in Poland, second in terms of population density, and thirteenth in area. Białystok is located in the Białystok Up ...
, where the aged poet, who in later years had become blind, ended his days in poverty and neglect.


Work

Gottlober was a prolific writer and one of the foremost of
modern Hebrew Modern Hebrew ( he, עברית חדשה, ''ʿivrít ḥadašá ', , '' lit.'' "Modern Hebrew" or "New Hebrew"), also known as Israeli Hebrew or Israeli, and generally referred to by speakers simply as Hebrew ( ), is the standard form of the He ...
poets. The first collection of his poems, which was entitled ''Pirḥe ha-Aviv'', appeared in ''Yozefov'' in 1836. A second collection, entitled ''Ha-Nitzanim'' (Vilna, 1850), was followed by ''Anaf Etz Avot,'' three poems, on the death of
Nicholas I of Russia Nicholas I , group=pron ( – ) was List of Russian rulers, Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Congress Poland and Grand Duke of Finland. He was the third son of Paul I of Russia, Paul I and younger brother of his predecessor, Alexander I ...
, on the peace of 1856, and on the
coronation A coronation is the act of placement or bestowal of a coronation crown, crown upon a monarch's head. The term also generally refers not only to the physical crowning but to the whole ceremony wherein the act of crowning occurs, along with the ...
of Alexander II, respectively (Vilna, 1858). Soon afterward he visited Austria, where he published ''Shir ha-Shirim'', a translation of a Passover sermon delivered by
Adolf Jellinek Adolf Jellinek ( he, אהרן ילינק ''Aharon Jelinek''; 26 June 1821 in Drslavice, Moravia – 28 December 1893 in Vienna) was an Austrian rabbi and scholar. After filling clerical posts in Leipzig (1845–1856), he became a preacher at t ...
(Lemberg, 1861), and ''Mi-Mitzrayim'', a translation of
Ludwig August von Frankl Ludwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Ludwig (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Ludwig (surname), including a list of people * Ludwig Ahgren, or simply Ludwig, American YouTube live streamer and co ...
's account of his travels in the
Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
, with an appendix by
Max Letteris Meïr Halevi (Max) Letteris (; 13 September 1800 – 19 May 1871) was an Austrian poet, editor, and translator of the Galician Haskala. He translated into Hebrew works by Virgil, Lucian, Jean Racine, Lord Byron, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Fri ...
(Vienna, 1862). Gottlober's next important work was the ''Bikoret le-Toledot ha-Kara'im'', a critical investigation of the history of the Karaites, with notes by
Abraham Firkovich Abraham (Avraham) ben Samuel Firkovich (Hebrew אברהם בן שמואל - ''Avraham ben Shmuel''; Karayce: Аврагъам Фиркович - ''Avragham Firkovich'') (Sept. 27, 1786–June 7, 1874) was a famous Karaite writer and archaeologi ...
(Vilna, 1865). In the same year were published his ''Yerushalayim'', a translation of
Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...
's ''
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
'', with an introduction, and his allegorical drama ''Tif'eret li-Bene Binah'' (Zhitomir, 1867), modeled after
Moshe Chaim Luzzatto Moshe Chaim Luzzatto ( he, משה חיים לוצאטו, also ''Moses Chaim'', ''Moses Hayyim'', also ''Luzzato'') (1707 – 16 May 1746 (26 ''Iyar'' 5506)), also known by the Hebrew acronym RaMCHaL (or RaMHaL, ), was a prominent Italia ...
's ''La-Yesharim Tehillah''. His ''Iggeret Tza'ar Ba'ale Ḥayyim'' (Zhitomir, 1868) is a polemic against 's critical work "Ḥeker Dabar." Gottlober's ''Toledot ha-Kabbalah veha-Ḥasidut'' (Zhitomir, 1869), which purports to be a history of
Kabbalah Kabbalah ( he, קַבָּלָה ''Qabbālā'', literally "reception, tradition") is an esoteric method, discipline and Jewish theology, school of thought in Jewish mysticism. A traditional Kabbalist is called a Mekubbal ( ''Məqūbbāl'' "rece ...
and of Hasidism, is only a diatribe against Kabbalah in which the history of Ḥasidism is scarcely mentioned. He also wrote several short Hebrew novels, and translated Lessing's ''
Nathan the Wise ''Nathan the Wise'' (original German title: ', ) is a play by Gotthold Ephraim Lessing from 1779. It is a fervent plea for religious tolerance. It was never performed during Lessing's lifetime and was first performed in 1783 at the Döbbelinsch ...
'', to which he added a biography of the author (Vienna, 1874). Gottlober was the founder and editor of the Hebrew monthly ', to which some of the best contemporary writers contributed poems, articles, and stories. It had an interrupted existence of about seven years, first appearing in
Lemberg Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...
(1876-1879) and then in
Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...
(1880–81), in which place also the last five numbers were issued in 1885–86. His most important contribution to this magazine was undoubtedly his
autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life. It is a form of biography. Definition The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
''Zikronot mi-Yeme Ne'urai'', containing much material for the culture-history of the Jews of Russia, which was reprinted in book form at Warsaw, 1880–81. The last collection of his poems is entitled ''Kol Shire Mahalalel'', 3 vols., Warsaw, 1890.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gotlober, Avrom Ber 1811 births 1899 deaths People from Starokostiantyniv Jews from the Russian Empire Jewish dramatists and playwrights Jewish historians Jewish poets Hebrew-language writers Yiddish-language playwrights Hovevei Zion 19th-century poets 19th-century dramatists and playwrights Yiddish-language satirists People of the Haskalah