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Abraham Dov Ber Lebensohn (; – November 19, 1878), also known by the
pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume 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 name may be used to make the author's na ...
s Abraham Dov-Ber Michailishker () and Adam ha-Kohen (), was a
Lithuanian Jewish {{Infobox ethnic group , group = Litvaks , image = , caption = , poptime = , region1 = {{flag, Lithuania , pop1 = 2,800 , region2 = {{flag, South Africa , pop2 = 6 ...
Hebraist, poet and educator.


Biography

Avraham Dov Ber Lebenson was born in Katloŭka about Vilna. He became interested in Hebrew grammar and punctuation when studying the weekly portions of the
Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior, with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been variously described as a science and as the ar ...
for his bar-mitzvah. He was married, according to the custom of those times, right after his bar mitzvah and he spent the next eight years with his wife's parents in Michališki. This gave him the surname "Michailishker," which accounts for the last letter of his pen-name "Adam" (formed from the initials of Abraham Dob Michailishker). The family name "Lebensohn," which he adopted, is a literal translation of "ben Ḥayyim." He lived for four years in Oshmiany, where he attempted to establish himself as a merchant. He was an accomplished rabbinic scholar, but devoted most of his leisure time to the study of Hebrew poetical and grammatical works. On returning to his native city, where he remained for the rest of his life, he was a broker and teacher. He had two sons, the Hebrew poet Micah Joseph Lebensohn (aka Michal), and Aryeh Löb Lebensohn, a prominent businessman in Vilna.


Literary career

His first poetical work to be published was the ''Shir Ḥavivim'' (Vilnius, 1822), in honor of the marriage of Count Tyszkiewicz, one of the most powerful noblemen of Lithuania. It was followed by ''Evel Kaved'' (ib. 1825), an elegy on the death of Saul Katzenellenbogen, which established his reputation as a Hebrew poet. In 1828, he published his book ''Teudah beyisra’el'' (A Testimony in Israel), a work that became the springboard for the formation of the
Haskalah The ''Haskalah'' (; literally, "wisdom", "erudition" or "education"), often termed the Jewish Enlightenment, was an intellectual movement among the Jews of Central Europe, Central and Eastern Europe, with a certain influence on those in Wester ...
movement in Russia. The publication of the first volume of his poetry, entitled ''Shiray Sefat Ḳodesh'' (Leipzig, 1842; 2d ed.
Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...
, 1863), marks the beginning of a new epoch in Hebrew literature in
Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...
. It was received with enthusiasm. Thousands of followers of the Haskalah movement learned his poems by heart and his fame spread to all centers of Hebrew learning. When Sir
Moses Montefiore Sir Moses Haim Montefiore, 1st Baronet, (24 October 1784 – 28 July 1885) was a British financier and banker, activist, Philanthropy, philanthropist and Sheriffs of the City of London, Sheriff of London. Born to an History ...
visited Vilnius in 1846, Lebensohn prepared an article on the condition of the Jews in Russia and the means by which it was to be improved. This interesting document, embodying the views held by the '' Maskilim'' of that period, summarized the evils from which the Jews suffered and stated that they were to blame for their troubles. Lack of education and of skill in handicrafts, too early marriages, the ignorance of the rabbis and teachers, and extravagance were described as the four ''avot neziḳin'' or chief faults; and relief was proposed, as was customary in those times, through governmental intervention. I. M. Dick, ''Ha-Oraḥ,'' and Lebensohn, ''Yeter Shiray Adam'' pp. 67


Rabbinic commentary

In 1848, Lebensohn became one of the principal teachers in the newly established rabbinical school of Vilna, a position which he filled for nearly twenty years, until he was forced by age and impaired eyesight to relinquish it. He was succeeded by his son-in-law Joshua Steinberg. Also in 1848, he began, conjointly with the bibliographer Benjacob, the publication of a new edition of the
Bible The Bible is a collection of religious texts that are central to Christianity and Judaism, and esteemed in other Abrahamic religions such as Islam. The Bible is an anthology (a compilation of texts of a variety of forms) originally writt ...
, with a German translation, himself adding valuable glosses to the ''bi'ur'' (''Miḳra'e Ḳodesh,'' Vilna, 1848–53). Some of his commentaries on the Bible were later printed separately as a supplement to that edition (''Bi'urim Ḥadashim,'' ib. 1858). A second volume of ''Shiray Sefat Ḳodesh'' appeared in Vilna in 1856 (2d ed., ib. 1869); and in 1869 was published ''Yeter Shiray Adam'' the third volume of the same work, containing also poems written by his son Micah Joseph Lebensohn. The most important of his later works are the allegorical drama ''Emet ve-Emunah'' (ib. 1867; 2d ed., ib. 1870), on the harmony of science and religion; and ''Yitron le-Adam'' (ib. 1874), a commentary on Ben-Ze'ev's Hebrew grammar, ''Talmud Leshon 'Ivri'' with which it has been often reprinted. A new edition of the three volumes of ''Shiray Sefat Ḳodesh'' appeared in Vilna in 1895. Lebensohn was recognized in his later years as a pioneer of the Haskalah in northwestern Russia. The Maskilim of Vilna considered themselves as his pupils, while the traditionalist religious saw in him the embodiment of all the objectionable features of the Haskalah movement.


See also

*
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 ...


References


Further reading

* Fuenn, ''Safah le-Ne'emanim,'' pp. 156–158, Vilna, 1881; ''Keneset Yisrael,'' pp. 36–37; * Gordon, in ''Yevreiskaya Biblioteka,'' viii.160-177; * Salomon Mandelkern, in ''
Ha-Asif ''Ha-Asif'' () was a Hebrew language, Hebrew-language yearly journal, published in Warsaw by Nahum Sokolow, Naḥum Sokolow. Its first volume appeared in 1884; it continued to appear regularly every year until 1889, when the fifth volume came out ...
,'' iii.417-425; * William Zeitlin, ''Bibl. Post-Mendels.'' pp. 192–194 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lebensohn, Abraham Dob Bar 18th-century Lithuanian Jews Jewish poets Hebrew-language poets Hebrew-language writers 18th-century births 1878 deaths People of the Haskalah