Bikurei Ha'itim The 'First Fruits' of Haskalah: An Annotated Index to Bikurei Ha'itim, the Hebrew Journal of the Haskalah in Galicia.

[TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII.] (Bikurei Ha'itim The 'First Fruits' of Haskalah: An Annotated Index to Bikurei Ha'itim, the Hebrew Journal of the Haskalah in Galicia). By Moshe Pelli. Pp. 379 + xxiv *. Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 2005. Cloth, $24.78.

"Bikkurei Ha'ittim" was the leading Hebrew periodical that was published after "Hame'assef" (the first Haskalah Hebrew periodical) for a relatively long time. There are scholars who consider "Bikkurei Ha'ittim" the periodical that continued the tradition of "Hame'assef." Either way, "Bikkurei Ha'ittim" heralds the transition of the Haskalah from its first German period to its second stage of its evolution, the Galicia stage. That periodical reflected the sense of transition by the Maskilim, who absorbed their Haskalah sources from Berlin and attempted to adopt it to the periodical's new environment. While some of the writers were those who had already earned fame and reputation via "Hame'assef," others were young writers who blazed their first trail in the field of Hebrew literature and thought. "Bikkurei Ha'ittim" published a lot of material that was already published in "Hame'assef."

In this manner, the new periodical enables us to follow systematically the gradual evolution of both Haskalah literature and Haskalah movement. The annotated index of the periodical in focus, which is hereby introduced, includes all the material that had been published in that periodical in twelve volumes (1820-1851). That material consists of a bountiful array of topics such as Bible, Talmud, Jewish thought, historical events, and figures in the Jewish world, Hebrew language, Hebrew literature, science, translations, Jewish entities and organizations, Hebrew writers, reviewed Hebrew books, public affairs in the Jewish community, and more. Due to that annotated index, it is possible for the first time to follow the scholarly and literary evolving agenda of the editors of the periodical. Now it is possible to discern the influence of "Hame'assef" on "Bikkurei Ha'ittim," which is another paramount perspective to evaluate the evolution of "Bikkurei Ha'ittim."

The "narrative" of "Bikkurei Ha'ittim" is the one that reflects the transition of the Haskalah from Germany to Austria and Galicia. In this respect, studying the chronicles of "Bikkurei Ha'ittim" provides us with insight of the evolution of Jewish/Hebrew Haskalah as well as the history of the Jewish people during a prominent period of the nineteenth century. It is a matter of much interest, however, that the first volume of "Bikkurei Ha'ittim" did not publish any credo or agenda regarding the scholarly, historical, and literary policy of the periodical.

The matter that ignites further curiosity is its first editor, Shalom HaCohen. HaCohen was a well experienced editor, who edited the last three volumes of the renewed "Hame'assef" and also composed the policy and agenda of the renewed "Hame'assef" in 1808. However , the publisher of the periodical published the forthcoming policy of publication of the periodical, one that will consist of Jewish history, biographies of Jews who had earned fame, moral stories and adages from the Talmud, a selection of publications from "Hame'assef," Hebrew poems, stories and articles, issues associated with Jewish culture, education, and other public matters in the Austrian empire, genealogy of European kings, events engaged with the Austrian royalty, practical information for commerce and trade in Austria such as tax stamps, post offices, distances between European cities, annual European festivals, and more. Nevertheless, as "Hame'assef" was a monthly periodical and "Bikkurei Ha'ittim" was an annual periodical, the policy of editing the new periodical differed from the old one. That change was reflected, among other things, in the reciprocal dialogue between the editor and the readers. The literary yield which is included in the first volume of "Bikkurei Ha'ittim" is quite meek. The poems which were published were translations and no other belles letters were included in that volume. Nevertheless, some promising writers and poets started publishing their literary work in "Bikkurei Ha'ittim," such as Shlomoh Yehudah Rappoport ("Shi?r," 1790-1867) and Meir HaLevi Leterist (1800-1871), who already edited a literary periodical, "Hatzfira" (The Morning; 1823).

The second volume of "Bikkurei Ha'ittim" was published in 1821. That volume keeps the structure of the first volume and commences with essays about Jewish history while consisting of "The Wars of the Jews" by Flavius Josephus. The leading trend of those essays is associated with the relations between the Jews and the kings who ruled the countries where those Jews resided. The second section of that issue is dedicated to biographies of prominent Jews from Jewish history and the third section focuses on moral stories from the Talmud. The literary section is quite modest and it includes some Romantic poems which deliver feelings of mourning and lament. That poetic inclination will prove to be rather dominant in literary sections of future volumes of "Bikkurei Ha'ittim."

In the third volume of "Bikkurei Ha'ittim," the historical part turns significantly smaller. As in previous volumes, the essays are composed in German but written in Hebrew letters. The most significant literary contribution to that third volume of "Bikkurei Ha'ittim" was the satire "Scales of Weight" by the renowned Haskalah writer Itzhak Erter (1791-1851).

In the fourth volume of "Bikkurei Ha'ittim," the "commercial inclination" is deleted while the educational portion earns prominence. The literary part becomes more prominent as some of its contributors were well accomplished writers, such as Aharon Hurin (1776-1844) and Baruch Shenfeld (1787-1852 ) whose poetry volume, "A Cluster of Poems" ("Tzror P'rachim") was published in 1814. A new part was introduced in that volume of the periodical and was dedicated to topics of modern Jewish history.

The sixth volume of "Bikkurei Ha'ittim" was edited by Shlomoh Pragmenter, who published in 1813 a book on Hebrew grammar. In this volume, the number of materials in German, in Hebrew characters is decreased while the Hebrew material is increased significantly. Another inclination displayed in that volume (and in others as well) is work on biblical topics, including poetry in biblical style. In this volume a new genre, the riddle, is introduced.

The seventh volume of "Bikkurei Ha'ittim" is edited by a well known author at that time, Issachar Ber Shlezinger. In this volume, one of the addressed topics is the survival of the soul after the decay of the body. One of the essays included in that volume criticizes blatantly the utopian idea of Immanuel Noach to establish a Jewish state in New York, named "Ararat." That volume also includes biographies and commentaries on verses from the biblical books of Psalms, Isaiah, and Job.

The ninth volume of "Bikkurei Ha'ittim" is edited by Itzhak Shmuel Regio (1784-1855). In that volume an article appears that is dedicated to Mendelssohn, the "forefather" of the Haskalah in Germany. That volume also includes detailed biographies of Jewish scholars and writers such as Se'adiah Ga'on.

Volumes 11 and 12 were edited by Yehudah Yetlesh (1773-1838) who advocates combining religious studies with scholarly, secular studies. Also this volumes repeats the credo of Haskalah, to redeem the spirit of mankind from old prejudices and let it ascend to the freedom of knowledge and beauty.

In a comprehensive, and equally insightful discussion, Professor Pelli summarizes the accomplishments of "Bikkurei Hai'ittim" in the fields of Hebrew poetry, literary poetics, prose-fiction, Biblical stories, anecdotes, fables, dialogues, conversations of the dead, adages, riddles, book-reviews, biographies, education, secular scholarship, Hebrew language, Bible, Talmud, Jewish history, Jewish congregations in Europe, science, and moral essays.

The second part of the book by Professor Pelli includes numerous indices of all the material included in all the volumes of "Bikkurei Ha'ittim." The contribution of this amazing book to the history of Hebrew literature in general and Hebrew Haskalah literature in particular is enormous. Hence this book is a true treasure for all scholars and students of Hebrew literature.

Yair Mazor

University Of Wisconsin--Milwaukee

Milwaukee, Wisconsin 53201

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