The Emergence of Modern Hebrew Creativity in Babylon, 1735- 1950

Chapter 2. Four Poets of Babylonian Origin

51 Chapter 2: Four Poets of Babylonian Origin The poets Shaul Yosef, Rabbi Saliman Mani, Rabbi Avraham Barukh Mani, and Rabbi Ezekiel Hai Albeg were born in Babylon and emigrated from there. Shaul Ben Abdallah Yosef (1849-1906) was born in Baghdad, and he emigrated from Babylon in 1868. He was a poet who emulated the style and themes of Spanish Hebrew poetry. His poetic style is rich, his knowledge of the Bible and of Spanish Hebrew poetry is meticulous, and his imagery is intense. Rabbi Saliman Mani (1850-1924) immigrated with his family to Israel during his childhood. He held important rabbinical positions in Israel and wrote Hebrew poetry, stories, and fables. Rabbi Saliman Mani and his brother, Rabbi Avraham Barukh Mani, were pioneers of Babylonian Jewish modern Hebrew literature, and both wrote poems expressing personal experiences. Saliman Mani’s poetry employed rhetorical questions, puns, biblical and medieval Hebrew poetry contents and poetics, and original similes and metaphors. In addition, he demonstrated linguistic sensitivity to poetic sounds and syntax. Rabbi Avraham Barukh Mani’s (1854-1882) short life story reminds us of the short life story of the Hebrew poet Mikha Yosef Levensohn, who also died in his youth and left us beguiling lyrical poetry. Rabbi Ezekiel Hai Albeg (Babylon, 1910-U.S., 1995) migrated from Babylon to Israel in 1925 and from Israel to the United States in 1933. He lived first in New York and then in Los Angeles. In Israel, he studied at a Talmudic college (Yeshiva). Albeg published eight books. Many of his poems were liturgies. In America, he was a proofreader of Hebrew books and a cantor. He wrote a play about a Jewish Babylonian wedding, he was an editor and a publisher of Jewish prayer books, and he was recorded reading the Torah (Ben-Yaacob Introduction to Albeg’s Divan, 6-15). The fact that these poets were born in Babylon clearly impacted their poetry in various ways related to both contents and forms. They all share a thorough knowledge of Jewish sources and have deep religious feelings. They knew medieval Hebrew poetry and emulated it (see below the poem of Shaul Yosef 52 Part 1: Poetry about this subject) to one degree or another. Some of their poems are set in Babylon . The Arab world was not strange to them. Shaul Yosef proudly claimed his understanding of it and its literature. Rabbi Saliman Mani wrote a poem about a beautiful Arab woman, and Albeg wrote poems of adoration about the Tigris River’s beauty and a poem welcoming Shabbat in Baghdad. Chapter 2 53 Shaul Yosef: An Enlightened Poet Shaul Yosef (1849-1906) was born in Baghdad to parents of noble lineage. He had both a traditional Jewish education in a religious school (Talmud Torah) and a secular education (in Alliance). In 1968, he went to Bombay where he continued his education, married, and had four children. In 1883, he went with his family to Hong Kong where he was a businessman until his death in a shooting accident. His friend, Z. S. Gabai, published a brief biography about Shaul Yosef (Abulafia, I-IV). He was a religious man, known for his strong memory, speaking abilities, and his knowledge of the Old and New Testament and the Koran. David Yelin published a detailed article about Shaul Yosef (ibid., Vol. 2, XLVIII-CII) revealing him as an author, scholar, poet, and enlightened man who spread enlightenment . Yelin acknowledged Yosef’s great talents and skills in interpreting medieval Hebrew poetry and correcting its printed texts. A remarkable man, Yosef’s main interest was Hebrew literature, and he wanted to establish methodical editions and well founded interpretations of medieval Hebrew poetry. He represented with modesty the knowledge and skills that he possessed in the field of medieval Hebrew poetry. Additionally, he supported Hebrew periodicals that were published in Europe by getting them new subscribers (for Ha-Tsefira for example) or new members (for Mekitseh Nirdamim ). Yosef also published seven articles in Ha-Tsefira in the field of medieval Hebrew poetry. The articles are important for their content, style, and also for the expression of the struggle of a Jewish man from Baghdad who strove to make a meaningful contribution to the research of medieval Hebrew literature. In this chapter, I will present only one of Shaul Yosef’s poems, and in a later chapter, I will discuss his articles. In his poem “Leshon...