Gordon, Judah Leib

Gordon, Judah Leib

▪ Russian writer
also called  Leon Gordon,  byname  Yalag 
born Dec. 7, 1830, Vilnius, Lithuania
died Sept. 16, 1892, St. Petersburg, Russia

      Jewish poet, essayist, and novelist, the leading poet of the Hebrew Enlightenment ( Haskala), whose use of biblical and postbiblical Hebrew resulted in a new and influential style of Hebrew-language poetry.

      After he left Lithuania, Gordon was imprisoned as a political conspirator by the Russian government. After his release he became editor of Ha-Melitz. His early poems dealing with biblical subjects were followed by powerful satires in verse aimed against the harsher aspects of rabbinic Judaism. His last poems reflect bitter disillusionment with the ideals of Haskala, or Jewish Enlightenment. Although of limited poetic talent, Gordon's advocacy of social and religious reforms proved widely influential, and his skillful use of postbiblical idiom increased the flexibility of modern Hebrew. His poems were collected in Kol Shire Yehuda (1883–84) and his stories in Kol Kithbe Yehuda (1889).

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • GORDON, JUDAH LEIB — (Leon; 1831–1892), Hebrew poet, writer, critic, and allegorist. One of the outstanding poets of the 19th century, Gordon was also a witty, incisive journalist who courageously militated against the ills in Jewish society. He advocated social and… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Gordon, Judah Leib (Leon) — (1831–92)    Hebrew poet and writer. Gordon was the foremost poet of the Haskalah, the movement to introduce secular European culture into Jewish life. Born in Vilna, he worked as a teacher and headmaster and later as editor of the Hebrew… …   Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament

  • Judah Leib Gordon — (1831, Vilna 1892, St. Petersburg) (Hebrew: יהודה לייב גורדון) was among the most important Hebrew poets of the Jewish Enlightenment. Gordon was born to well to do Jewish parents who owned a hotel in Vilnius. As a privileged child, he was able to …   Wikipedia

  • GORDON, SHMUEL — (1909–1998). Soviet Yiddish prose writer. Gordon was born in Lithuania to a family related to the Hebrew poet judah leib gordon , but grew up in Jewish orphanages in the Ukraine. In 1928 he was a student of the Yiddish department at the Second… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • PERETZ, ISAAC LEIB — (Yitskhok Leybush; 1852–1915), Yiddish and Hebrew author. Peretz was one of the three classic Yiddish writers – with S.Y. Abramovitsh and sholem aleichem – and the founder of Yiddish modernism. In the first decade of the 20th century he was at… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Judaism — /jooh dee iz euhm, day , deuh /, n. 1. the monotheistic religion of the Jews, having its ethical, ceremonial, and legal foundation in the precepts of the Old Testament and in the teachings and commentaries of the rabbis as found chiefly in the… …   Universalium

  • Hebrew literature — Introduction       the body of written works produced in the Hebrew language and distinct from Jewish literature, which also exists in other languages.       Literature in Hebrew has been produced uninterruptedly from the early 12th century BC,… …   Universalium

  • Yiddish literature — Introduction       the body of written works produced in the Yiddish language of Ashkenazic (Ashkenazi) Jewry (central and eastern European Jews and their descendants).       Yiddish literature culminated in the period from 1864 to 1939, inspired …   Universalium

  • HEBREW LITERATURE, MODERN — definition and scope beginnings periodization …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • KABBALAH — This entry is arranged according to the following outline: introduction general notes terms used for kabbalah the historical development of the kabbalah the early beginnings of mysticism and esotericism apocalyptic esotericism and merkabah… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”